Baey Yam Keng - Our Selfie MP.

An interesting question came in this morning through my usual instant messenger.

"What do you think about Baey Yam Keng Selfie?"

Your friendly neighbourhood MP!

 I mean, am I suppose to have some opinion about it? I mean my colleague showed it to me yesterday and I went,

"Very free hor?"

It set me thinking again. Is it okay? Is it not okay? What are the fundamental "problems"?

I wouldn't say it's bad, I wouldn't it's wrong but I guess it makes a big difference to his image but is it all good? Let me break it down with examples. So being an MP makes you not just a politician but also a public figure for sure and being public figure means you are pretty much a role model. This discussion have been discussed multiple times especially when some teachers are caught doing something and getting themselves onto the New Papers right?

I like and respect how he is using Social Media and new media to bridge the gap between the people and him but frankly the bottomline is "I can't take him seriously anymore.". (I hope it's just me.)


Imagine a scenario of MM, SM or PM doing the same thing? How would that be? You can argue and say that he is not them but what is the difference between the MM, SM and PM and him? They are all public figures and politician no? So if it's just the rank that allows people to do different things online, where does that line stop and who is to say what is right or wrong? Time for another guideline by another scholar?  

To make things for easy comparison sake, this is the example I came out with.

Friendly Teacher Vs Strict Teacher.

This is a classic example that everyone should have at least encounter once or at least watched about this one TV.

The old and strict teacher is less popular in school but she command more "respect" and have a better maintained classroom. I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that her kids are the smartest or produce better academic results but one thing for sure, better discipline. At that age, maybe not so mature yet and can't handle "self-discipline" that well yet.

On the other hand, we have the younger, bubbly and popular teacher. She don't command that much respect but maybe more well liked and loved but more often than not, classic example shows that her class is noisier and less organized. I wouldn't jump into conclusion that the kids don't respect her or wouldn't do her work and climb over her head but I am sure we heard one of these conversations before,

"Mrs Tan (Older teacher) home work forget to do!! Die ah. Later get scolded. Better do now." and "Ms Cindy's (The younger teacher) homework forget to do sia. Aiya, nvm lah. She very nice one. Later I tell her forget and maybe I hand in tomorrow."

So it's a fact that we get different result but the variable here is that the result varies from individual audience. So who is a better leader or teacher? It depends on the audience I guess. And are Singaporean ready to have such freedom and "self-discipline" to accept and work with a MP who is more ground level? You know the answer better.

Is doing less means more these days for us as a nation? Are we ready for freedom and making decisions for ourselves? Do we really comprehend liberty like the western countries? Do you want to live in a place where we can have our flags as fashion accessories, your kid calling your name instead of calling you dad, high divorce rate and you can walk around with a pistol and calling it self defense? I am not saying that these are the definite by-products but I am saying these are the differences and possible scenario. Are you ready? 

I guess the bottom-line goes down this;

Are we ready to sacrifice one thing for another?

In his (Baey) case maybe a little power distance for closer relationship. Is this what works best for him as a MP? Are people going to feel it and work closer to him because he is friendly or will people take advantage of him or can't take him seriously?  

Full story from ST.com.


Mr.Smith, I want to be a politician one day but I don't think Google agrees.