Acclaimed actors Neo Swee Lin and Lim Kay Siu are continuing to publicly support Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan and have partnered with the opposition leader to bring music activities to children at Bukit Batok SMC.
It is certainly unusual for actors or members of the local media industry to associate with opposition parties and some media personalities fear being blacklisted when they do so. Ms Neo Swee Lin and Mr Lim, who have been married for nearly three decades, are among a rare few media artistes who have publicly supported Dr Chee over the past several years.
Ms Neo Swee Lin, who is perhaps best well known for her role as Ah Ma on the Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd television series, first met Dr Chee in 2011. She told the press later that she was surprised to find that the SDP leader was “a nice man and a gentleman” during their first meeting.
The veteran actress publicly supported the SDP during that year’s election and was spotted watching the rally with a temporary tattoo of the SDP logo emblazoned on her face:
Ms Neo Swee Lin and Mr Lim also boldly supported Dr Chee when he first contested Bukit Batok SMC in the 2016 by-election. Ms Neo said, then:
“I’m moved by his passion and impressed by his dedication. I’m here today because I believe he will stand up for the people who have no one to represent them. And through the hardship he had to endure, I think he has become a wise statesman.”
The actress delivered a speech at Dr Chee’s rally during the election campaign in 2016. Clad in the red SDP uniform, the actress expressed disappointment over how members of the government seemed to vilify and make personal attacks against Dr Chee. Mr Lim, who was also wearing the SDP’s party color, was spotted cheering at the rally.
The celebrity couple, who were among a group of 30 prominent individuals who urged the ruling party to conduct the by-election in a dignified manner in an open letter, also showed up to the M1-Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2016, wearing the SDP uniform.
They duo won best ensemble for their play HOTEL at the awards ceremony and visited Dr Chee at Bukit Batok with their trophy. They also brought Ms Neo Swee Lin’s father along, who told Dr Chee that he was a PAP grassroots leader for 25 years and has never supported any other party until he decided to support the SDP that year.
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More recently, Ms Neo was spotted in the SDP’s campaign videos for the 2020 general election in which Dr Chee re-contested Bukit Batok SMC. Despite a close fight, Dr Chee failed to clinch the ward with a vote share of 45.2 per cent – his personal best score in his entire political career.
After the election, Dr Chee said he intended to remain in Bukit Batok SMC and re-contest the ward in the next election. He also launched a grassroots campaign to help Bukit Batok residents and raised funds for the initiative.
Dr Chee revealed that his friendship with Ms Neo Swee Lin and Mr Lim continues when he announced that the couple will be leading a ukulele workshop for children at Bukit Batok during the school holidays.
On Saturday (17 Oct), the opposition leader said that he is involved in helping put together a series of activities for children who cannot travel during the year-end holidays. The activities are aimed at exposing children to experiences and activities that they might not otherwise get to do during their busy school-terms.
Ms Neo Swee Lin and Mr Lim’s ukulele workshop is one of the first activities that have been lined up for the young ones at Bukit Batok. The session, which is called ‘Ukulele Fun with the NeoKELELims’, will take place on 7 November. The couple are set to conduct activities for primary school kids to express themselves through music.
Dr Chee said: “With the help of the ukulele, Swee Lin and Kay Siu will take participants to the world of song and open their hearts to new ideas and dreams…So not only can you give your children the rare experience of learning about music and the arts, but also meet up close and personal with our local celebrities.”
Another celebrity couple are also set to take part in Dr Chee’s initiative. Artistes Amy J Cheng and R Chandran, who are also Bukit Batok SMC residents, will be conducting an acting workshop for children that same day.
The couple, who direct a children’s theatre company, are set to give children “a fun and practical introduction to acting techniques with exercises involving voice projection, movement, use of the body, drawing out emotions, etc.”
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