Comment: If Victor Lye is part of PAP's Ang Mo Kio team, it sends the message that perseverance is rewarded

U.S. President Harry S Truman once said that if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

In 1952, Truman took his own advice and refused to seek another term as president, exhausted by rising inflation and the Korean War. It would be eight years before the Democratic Party returned to power.

But if you want an example of a Singaporean politician who keeps returning to that heated kitchen, look no further than Victor Lye.

At 63, at an age where most Singaporeans would be contemplating retirement, Lye was recently spotted in the company of none other than Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

This fueled speculation that he would be fielded in SM Lee's home turf of Ang Mo Kio GRC for the upcoming election.

Lye first stood for election 10 years ago in 2015, PAP's best performance in a GE in modern Singapore history. He was fielded in Aljunied GRC, where his team nearly beat the Workers' Party's A-Team, losing by a shade under 3,000 votes.

Lye retained his spot in the PAP's Aljunied team for the 2020 election, but this time the PAP had a worse performance.

Lye's Aljunied team went from a 49 per cent vote share to just above 40 per cent, on the back of a national swing against the PAP.

Hardware Zone's favourite politician

If you're not "terminally online", that's probably the limit of what most people would know about Lye.

But there's a certain subsection of Singaporeans for whom Lye is an endlessly fascinating figure.

I'm referring of course to the users of Hardware Zone Forum. They have created literally dozens upon dozens of threads about the man.

There's even one titled "Official PAP Victor Lye Thiam Fatt's Fan Club", started in 2015, running to 228 pages and still going strong today.

The obvious question is "why?"

There's an obvious answer — unlike some other politicians, Lye appears to have no qualms about sharing cringeworthy videos on social media.

Here's a video of him gamely dancing at a Sparkletots event.

Here's a photo of him in a singlet, about to work out at a hotel gym.

And there are endless photos of Lye taking selfies with residents, grinning hammily as he makes house and community visits.

In today's irony-poisoned world, Lye stands out as a throwback to a simpler and less connected age.

Lye probably doesn't know about the derision he receives from Hardware Zone and others of their online ilk. Maybe he does and doesn't care.

But while most people wouldn't be caught dead in an embarrassing video, Lye shares them anyway, putting you in mind of a boomer grandpa. Here is a man who touches grass, as those of us who are terminally online implore others to do. He is likely blissfully unaware of the existence of skibidi toilets and the Rizzler, and I envy him for it.

What Lye lacks in Internet savvy, he makes up for in tenacity. It can't be good for one's psyche to lose twice on the national stage, all the while getting mocked online for it. But Lye keeps going.

And perhaps it is that very same tenacity that the PAP sees fit to field him again in a safer seat in Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Fighting hard

In the launch of PAP Manifesto in 2020, then-PAP Sec-Gen Lee Hsien Loong praised both Lye and Hougang SMC candidate Lee Hong Chuang for fighting "extremely hard".

He noted that Lee improved the PAP's vote share in Hougang, while "Lye's GRC team did well enough to demand a recount of the votes".

Both Lee and Lye contested in GE 2015 and GE2020, spending over a decade serving as PAP's longtime representatives in Opposition strongholds.

Ang Mo Kio's man?

Yes, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said there are no longer any "safe seats" and SM Lee is no longer the head of government.

But being in a GRC team together with SM Lee is about one of the safest spots you can be in a general election.

Anything can happen in politics, but I'm pretty confident in saying that Lye will become a Member of Parliament before the year is out.

If that does come to pass, what is the message that the PAP may be trying to send?

I suspect it would be this; "Tenacity, perseverance is rewarded".

There are immense barriers to entry for politics in Singapore. Yes, our MPs and political office-holders are well-paid, but candidates have become increasingly put off by the loss of privacy and public scrutiny, especially for women.

This would be even worse for losing PAP candidates fielded in the opposition strongholds of Hougang and Aljunied (and now perhaps Sengkang). They get the same scrutiny but not the opportunity to enter Parliament.

It's about sending a message

The PAP has shown their favour to Lye before. He was co-opted into the party's Central Executive Committee in 2020, one of the two non MPs to be in the party's high decision making body.

And with PM Wong speaking of the need for renewal and new blood and the importance of listening to the youths, a 63-year-old veteran of two GE campaigns may be straining the definition of a "new face".

But PM Wong has other candidates that can represent that youthful turnover. Lye's presence will send a different message, but one that is no less important.

In fact, on Apr. 14, the PAP announced that another candidate who had lost twice in Hougang SMC, Lee, would also be fielded in Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC.

For despite all the public scrutiny, online memes, heartbreak of two losses and the shoe leather he's worn out walking the paths of Aljunied, Lye will (likely) be a Member of Parliament once GE2025 wraps up.

He (and maybe Lee too) will have the opportunity to contribute to great national debates, shape public policy and serve the residents officially as MP.

And that outcome, earned through loyalty and sweat, is more than what many other veteran politicians may never achieve.

Top image from Victor Lye's Facebook page.