SINGAPORE: The 2020 General Election saw, for the first time, two female former officers from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Marymount SMC’s Gan Siow Huang and Sembawang GRC’s Poh Li San.
Ms Gan, 50, is the first woman to hold a general rank in the SAF, having been promoted to Brigadier-General in 2015. From 2019 to 2020, she served as Chief of Staff—Air Staff of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and stepped down to contest the election under the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
Ms Poh, 49, meanwhile, is a former helicopter pilot with the RSAF who served as the first woman aide-de-camp to President S. R. Nathan. In 2010, she left the Armed Forces with the rank of Major and joined the Changi Airport Group, where she is currently a Senior Vice President.
Ms Gan was made Minister of State for Education and Manpower after winning at Marymount with 55 per cent of the vote in 2020. Barely half a year into her position as MP, she wrote in a Facebook post, “Some people believe that it’s difficult for women to do well in a male-dominated work environment.
I had a fulfilling military career protecting Singapore for more than 20 years. I had colleagues and comrades with shared core values, and bosses who were supportive of staff with families, especially those with young children and elderly parents at home.”
At around the same time, Ms Poh had also posted on social media about the discrimination women face, saying that when she joined SAF when she was 18, one of six women pilots, she “had to work much harder in order to be acknowledged” in comparison to her male peers.
“I am certain that many women face similar issues during the course of their careers. It’s always easier to accept the situation and remain silent. However, I do not recommend such an approach.
I am glad that since 1965, Singaporean women have played a critical role in our nation’s success. Looking forward to have more women take on senior leadership positions!”
Not that Ms Gan and Ms Poh are the only former women officers in politics. Kala Manickam, a former platoon commander of the Women Wing in the Officer Cadet School, was a candidate for the Progress Singapore Party in the 2020 GE. She has since left PSP and is now with Red Dot United.
Former officers in the PAP: Gan Siow Huang & Poh Li San
It is not unusual for the PAP to recruit would-be candidates from the SAF, with former brigadier-general Desmond Tan, now Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC MP, and former lieutenant-general Ng Chee Meng as examples. Mr Ng, current NTUC Secretary-General and former Education Minister, had been part of the PAP team that lost at Sengkang GRC in the 2020 GE but appears to be poised to enter the political arena this year.
In the current cabinet, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing is also a former SAF man, having reached the rank of major-general and served as Chief of Army between 2010 and 2011, leaving the SAF in 2011 when he entered politics.
This year, after Major-General David Neo announced that he was stepping down as Chief of Army last month, speculation has arisen regarding whether he, too, will be fielded as a PAP candidate.
The proliferation of former officers among MPs has led some in Singapore to question the SAF-to-politics path, wondering whether military officers make the city-state’s best leaders. /TISG
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