“Good for the party, bad for the people”: Netizens skeptical of PAP potential candidate Gan Siow Huang

In response to the news of Singapore’s first female general, Gan Siow Huang, being a potential People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate, there has been an outpouring of skepticism, as people have questioned the number of PAP politicians who already have a military background. Given the notion of soldiers being trained to follow directions, netizens raised the concern of Ms Gan possibly being “another yes man that can only take orders.”

According to a story by Asia One, not only does Ms Gan hold a degree from the London School of Economics, but she also earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from the MIT Sloan Fellows Program. On top of this, in 2015, she became Singapore’s first female general.

After Ms Gan was seen at a walkabout next to Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in March, people began to wonder if she would be a candidate that the PAP would field in the General Elections. A month before, she was also spotted greeting residents alongside Member of Parliament Chee Hong Tat in a Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC dinner.

In a recent story, straitstimes.com reported that Ms Gan has now undertaken the deputy chief executive position at the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Employment and Employability Institute. She is also anticipated to be a candidate that the PAP will field for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the upcoming elections, which many speculate is close at hand.

In response to the news about Ms Gan, many netizens raised concerns over her background–especially as a soldier. While many expressed their disappointment over “another paper general,” one teased, “Now we know why it’s called the General Election.”

Still, others singled out the notion that soldiers always follow orders, which one netizen saw as a quality that may make Ms Gan “good for the party (but) bad for the people they serve.”