NMP Hopeful Beatrice Chia Flattered to Be Considered 'Dangerous'

Today ran this story on 15 May 2009:

NMP hopeful Beatrice Chia flattered to be considered 'dangerous'
By Neo Chai Chin

SINGAPORE: She says she is flattered to be considered "more dangerous than Siew Kum Hong", after submitting her application for the post of a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).

And theatre practitioner Beatrice Chia-Richmond has "absolutely no issue with netizens voicing their opinions, approvals or disapprovals", even after reading the scorching comments on the government's REACH website on Thursday night.

TODAY had reported about the deluge of comments to REACH's thread on NMP candidates, and on Thursday night, the number of posts and page views tripled from a day earlier, with 337 comments and 5,661 hits as of 10.45pm.

While some accused NMP hopefuls Chia-Richmond and theatre director Loretta Chen, as well as incumbent Siew of having a "personal agenda", others defended Mr Siew's record in Parliament.

Ms Chia-Richmond said she welcomed the netizens' feedback, although many of her friends were mortified by some of the scathing remarks.

"I would say that it might be too early to presume the issues I would be voicing should I have the opportunity to be in Parliament," she said.

Her body of work has dealt with themes of discrimination, and the "gay theme has been featured often as it is an issue", she said, adding: "As a citizen of Singapore, a working artist, a wife and a young mother, I believe I have many other concerns besides LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues."

Some netizens like Chan Chow Phang believe the NMP nomination should not be determined by a single issue.

Another, Mr Bryan Tan, pointed out that then-First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had said in 1989 that the NMP scheme was implemented to evolve a "consensual style of government where alternative views are heard and constructive dissent accommodated".

Mr Siew said he was heartened and comforted by those who had spoken in his favour. But many of those who oppose his re-nomination have "mischaracterised my position", and "there are a number of baseless accusations and misrepresentations there".

Ms Chen said she was "bemused by the comments", adding that as a "working-class artist" - her father was a clerk, mother a homemaker, and her brothers had to quit school early to work - she was capable of handling and raising issues for the arts, youth, elderly and disenfranchised.

"If you truly want an open harmonious society, you must allow for diversity," she added.

A REACH portal spokeswoman told TODAY that "the interest and discussion show that Singaporeans are not an apathetic lot and they will come forward to give views and feedback to REACH when they feel strongly about an issue, and we are heartened".

"As with every issue, there will always be diverse views, so it's not surprising to see different views being expressed on this issue, whether mature or less so," she said, adding that Parliament's NMP Select Committee will make an independent decision based on a set of evaluation criteria.