DPM Gan Kim Yong aka S'pore's 'Taskforce Man' on answering the call & keeping it real

There's been a lot said about Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong over the past few days.

He's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's "right-hand man". Singapore's "Taskforce Man". Steady, reliable, dependable; dispatched across the island and tasked to anchor the capricious seas of a new constituency.

In the Punggol team, he stands out immediately. His peers, Sun Xueling, Janil Puthucheary, and Yeo Wan Ling, are in their 40s and 50s. He's over 10 years older than the second-oldest member of the team.

But when PM Wong — then still deputy prime minister — asked him to stay on and be his deputy, Gan agreed without hesitation.

"Whenever there's a job to be done, I will step up and do my best to fulfil the task given to me," he says. Come pandemics or economic maelstroms, he has always answered the call.

Duty-bound

Gan, it's clear, is a man of duty.

Since Nomination Day, he's walked the ground in Punggol — giving out flyers at MRT stations, as early as 6am — and already he has a to-do list of what he hopes to work on.

"One of the things [residents] are concerned about is cost of food, particularly cooked food," he says.

On this, he's begun discussions with the team on how to resolve the issue, such as by bringing in more value meals into Punggol town.

But there are also anxieties that are less easy to solve: anxieties about jobs, the tariffs, and the world economy.

Gan doesn't bother with rosy solutions, only solemn, plain-spoken explanations that border on bleak. Unlike with Covid-19, he explains, there may not ever be a "Liberation Day".

"When this whole storm is over, it's going to be a new world. We are not going to go back to where we were before," he says.

The PAP may not be perfect; but he opines that it is the "best choice, the best option" that people have. It's why he's stuck around so long.

"What is important is to look at our track record. We have steered Singapore through many crises," he says

"There are crises, there are unknowns. But we make our best judgment, and we do our best to steer the country through."

Boomer dad

That's one aspect of his personality. On the other hand, he's also a bit of a Boomer Dad™.

I tell him that he seems like a very serious person. "Well, I can be very serious when it comes to serious issues like economic challenges, like a tariff war," he says.

"But I can also be very lighthearted."

I don't believe him until our conversation shifts to social media. "Tell me about how you come up with your social media posts," I say.

We start with his selfies. Every time he travels overseas, Gan takes a photo of himself. (He handles most of his Instagram posts by himself, by the way.)

One day, he decided to try switching things up. "It's all the same position. So I said, why not take a post of me looking out the window?"

"Then my thought was, how do I do that?"

He decided to hold the camera a distance away, looked out of the window, and snapped a photo. "I thought it didn't look too bad, so I posted it."

"Then my daughter immediately texted me: 'Dad, stop taking photos of yourself'," he laughs.

Every year, he also posts his Easter well-wishes on his social media. He explains his process behind this year's post — he searches for an appropriate photo online, and adds a "personal touch" (he uses Meitu).

"I appreciate their advice and comments. But at the end of the day, very often, I tell my daughters: I am me, and you are you," he says.

"So I cannot pretend to be you."

Authenticity

I realise a common thread in everything Gan talks about.

He's not blunt per se, but he's plain and no-nonsense. Just like how he won't dress up his Instagram posts, he refuses to tone down problems he feels are real; won't soften them or sugarcoat them. No way.

Even in an election-season interview, which he could probably have chosen to use to his advantage, he doesn't have any catchy soundbytes prepared. Only honest, straightforward answers.

Still, once or twice, our conversation turns to topics that are more relatable.

He mentions how he's tried a few of the "value meals" he hopes to introduce in Punggol, and his latest attempt at a Game of Thrones-themed social media video.

At the end of our conversation I ask him about good "paktor" spots in Punggol.

"I haven't spent my time paktor-ing in Punggol," he admits.

Still, he suggests two "very romantic" spots: the upcoming Punggol Linear Park, and Punggol Waterway Park. The latter, especially, is "one of the most romantic places to be in", where couples young and old hold hands and stroll under the moonlight.

As we wrap, he muses, almost absently: "After this I'll join my wife in Punggol Waterway."

As politicians go, Gan may not be the most charming or smooth-talking. Certainly he doesn't have on his belt a host of snappy Parliament exchanges, or rousing rally speeches, or viral TikTok videos.

But you gotta admit — he keeps it real, every step of the way.

Top image by Khoo Wen-en/Mothership