| Yaw Shin Leong | |
|---|---|
| Yaw Shin Leong during his rally speech at Serangoon Stadium as a candidate of the Workers' Party of Singapore. | |
| Member of Parliament for Hougang SMC |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 May 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Low Thia Khiang |
| Majority | 6,780 (29.63%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 June 1976 |
| Nationality | Singapore |
| Political party | Workers' Party |
| Religion | Christian |
Yaw Shin Leong (Chinese: 饶欣龙) (born June 2, 1976) is currently the Treasurer of The Workers' Party of Singapore,[1] and a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Hougang after the 2011 Singapore General Elections.
Yaw Shin Leong's father died when he was 13. His widowed mother then struggled to bring up both his younger sister and himself, supporting them through tertiary education. He is the Programme Director of Eduhearts Consultancy and a Managing Partner of Easto Global LLP. He is also an adjunct Lecturer in Business Studies.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA, Merit) degree in Political Science & Sociology from National University of Singapore Yaw Shin Leong also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Western Sydney. .[2]
Yaw Shin Leong served as a combat medic during his National Service. He is currently with the Singapore Armed Forces' ROVERS (Reservist On Voluntary Extended Reserve Service) program. Yaw is a Teochew clansman of the Nanyang Pho Leng Hui Kuan and a member of the Singapore Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan. He is married.[3]
In December 2010, Yaw published a Chinese book ‘Towards Political Vibrancy & Development’ (迈向政治发展与繁荣) a translation of his selected English blog posts which include reflections on his 10-odd years of political participation.[4]
Yaw Shin Leong joined the Workers' Party in June 2001. He is a member of the party's Central Executive Committee, holding the office of Treasurer. He is also Chairman of the Workers' Party Hougang Constituency Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council and the Vice-Chairman of Hougang Education Trust.
In the 2006 Singapore General Elections, Yaw Shin Leong was candidate and leader of The Workers' Party team that contested the Prime Minister's seat of Ang Mo Kio Group Representative Constituency. Made up largely of young, first-time candidates under the age of 35, the team was dubbed the "suicide squad" by the media, and the PAP chairman Lim Boon Heng boldly predicted that the Prime Minister's team would win 80 to 85% of the votes, putting the "suicide squad" at risk of losing their deposits. However, Yaw's team managed to secure more than one-third of the votes against the PAP team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.[5]
Yaw became the Workers' Party candidate for Hougang Single Member Constituency during the Singapore General Election 2011 after the former MP, party leader Low Thia Khiang, opted to vacate his seat of 20 years to contest in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency with other Workers' Party of Singapore candidates. Low gave Yaw his strong personal endorsement after explaining to the voters of Hougang that his decision to leave was one of the most difficult decisions in his life, saying that he needed to do so in order to break the PAP's monopoly on Parliament.
On 7 May 2011, Yaw won the Hougang Single Member Constituency with 64.8% of the vote beating Desmond Choo of the People's Action Party, who took 35.1% of the vote. His margin of victory was the highest-ever achieved by the Workers' Party since it first won the constituency in 1991. Yaw, along with fellow MP, Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Ong Teng Koon, has been invited to join the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (Accord) which he accepted.[6]