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Mrs Lim’s duties as MP allow her to
better plan and implement her policies for the well being of the community. Meet
the People Sessions are a regular platform for her to communicate with the
people and better learn how the Government can meet the citizens’ constantly
evolving needs.
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While basic needs like the
availability of cheap housing was the dominant concern in the 1990s,
today’s issues have shifted towards higher needs, such as quality
education.
Going into politics is commonly
viewed as a challenging move, particularly in Singapore. This is even
more so if you are a woman needing to juggle the demands of motherhood
with that of career building. So what inspires women to become
politicians? I spoke to Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Member of Parliament (MP) and
Minister of State for Transport and Finance, to find out what drives her
and her views on women’s roles in today’s society. |
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Meeting the Dynamic Lady
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua is a bundle of energy.
Besides holding the portfolios of Minister of State for Finance and Transport,
she is also an MP under Marine Parade GRC and the chairman of PAP Women’s Wing.
Added to that, she is a wife and mother. In 2002, she became the first woman to
be appointed Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
But Mrs Lim seems to take all these in
her stride, citing her family background where determination and hard work were
orders of the day. It explains how she managed to clinch a Government
scholarship to fund her university education, before leaping into the world of
finance where she was identified as a fitting candidate for her current
political appointments.
A Day in the Life of a Minister and MP
A Minister’s role mostly alternates
between policy review and implementation. Policy review is necessary to ensure
that existing policies remain relevant. If not, they may need to be improved or
changed. After consulting and discussing the matter with different parties, a
decision would be reached and a series of actions are then taken to make sure
the implementation is properly carried out. Under Mrs Lim’s portfolio of
Transport and Finance, examples of policy review and implementation include the
need for more roads or MRT lines, regulation of transport charges, regulation of
taxes, and the budgets allocated to different sectors of industry like education
and defence.
Mrs Lim’s duties as MP allow her to
better plan and implement her policies for the well being of the community. Meet
the People Sessions are a regular platform for her to communicate with the
people and better learn how the Government can meet the citizens’ constantly
evolving needs. While basic needs like the availability
of cheap housing was the dominant concern
in the 1990s, today’s issues have shifted towards higher needs, such as quality
education.
Women in Politics
Politics has traditionally been a
male-dominated domain. Mrs Lim feels that this is due to the “lack of females
stepping forward”, either because they are too modest about their abilities,
lack the confidence or perceive that the barriers are too difficult to overcome.
She hopes to alter this mindset and increase opportunities for women to
contribute politically. It is therefore apt that Mrs Lim is heads the PAP
Women’s Wing – an organisation with the mission of raising political
consciousness among women and contributing to Singapore’s economic, social and
political development. Through the various platforms, Mrs Lim hopes to “engage
women on a larger scale and set more women thinking about their contributions”.
Overcoming and Challenging Stereotypes
Mrs Lim feels that it is not outright
discrimination that discourages women from becoming politicians but age old
gender stereotypes held by both men and women. A common question posed to Mrs
Lim is: “Who looks after
your children when you’re busy?” implying
that women’s top priority should be childrearing. Mrs Lim encourages women to
shake off traditional mindsets and challenge these stereotypes head on, as the
rewards are great. Speaking from experience, she recalls how a company she was
working for was looking for an expatriate man to head a country team. Believing
that she could do the job and encouraged by people around her, she asked for the
job - and got it. This led to her employers reviewing and changing the company’s
HR practices.
Mrs Lim feels that some of the barriers
and problems faced by women are self imposed. “When given half a chance, men
would seize it. Women could be given more than one chance and they still
wouldn’t take it,” she laments. Again, she urges women not to undermine their
own abilities but to rise up to the challenge of contributing to the country.
Personal Philosophy
One of Mrs Lim’s fundamental principles
is to strive to be always true to herself. She emphasises the importance of
“evaluating one’s strength and weaknesses, and matching these to what one
intends to do.” As a Christian, Mrs Lim focuses on being a good role model and
serving people to the best of her ability. In fact, her desire to contribute to
society stems from the benefits she received from her scholarship. This prompted
her to become a politician. Her source of motivation is the ability to influence
people’s lives in a positive manner. “Something as simple as constructing a ramp
and seeing the happiness on people’s faces may sound mundane and ordinary, but
it makes me glad,” philosophises Mrs Lim. After all, an MP’s work is all about
making a difference in people’s lives. Mrs Lim acknowledges that being a
Minister and MP has given her a deeper appreciation of people and society. She
counts passion, commitment and diligence as necessary attributes for all
workers, together with job fulfillment.
Conclusion
I profiled Mrs Lim because of her role in
the field of politics and her admirable involvement in championing women’s
rights and their role in society today. Through the profile, I had hoped to
capture not only her capability and knowledge but also the courage,
determination and grit needed for women to reach the top.
Gleaning from the experiences of Mrs Lim,
I realise that we can all do our part to improve the environment so that
traditional viewpoints and expectations of women may not impede women from
achieving their personal successes.
I feel that women today have a key role
to play in contributing to our country’s economic growth, political stability
and social welfare. It is therefore important to believe in ourselves and not to
let circumstances or stereotypes govern our paths and directions. We need to
seize opportunities and take advantage of them. In a society where the sky is
our limit and the world our oyster, our boundaries are only defined as we allow
them to be.
References
Interview with Mrs Lim Hwee Hua on
Friday, 1 July 2005
http://www.pap.org.sg/womenswing/mission.html
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