Fresh face in NSP creates a buzz online

SINGAPORE — Even before it officially announces its slate for the upcoming General Election (GE), one of the National Solidarity Party’s (NSP) potential candidates has been generating a buzz online, not least because she worked as a part-time model.

At 26, Ms Kevryn Lim’s youth has already drawn comparisons to former NSP member Nicole Seah, who, being 24 at the time, was one of the youngest candidates to run in the 2011 GE.

Speaking to TODAY on Friday (July 31), Ms Lim said she was indeed inspired by Ms Seah, who resigned from the NSP last year, to enter politics.

“She really connected with the young crowd,” said Ms Lim, who also cited the book Can Singapore Survive by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the American political drama House Of Cards, which stars Kevin Spacey, as sources of political inspiration and influence.

Ms Lim, who joined the NSP in March, lives with her parents and two younger siblings in a condominium. She moved to Hong Kong after her O-Levels to study fashion design, earning a higher diploma, and juggled studies with part-time work as a model, actress and radio deejay.

She returned to Singapore to start her own events management and digital marketing company, after earning a Master’s degree in Professional Communication at Curtin University of Technology in Australia.

During a walkabout at MacPherson today, NSP members could be heard introducing her as a potential GE candidate. Ms Lim said she chose to join the NSP as she felt that it being a smaller party, she would have room to shine.

 “One of the NSP’s missions is to build a multi-party political system. I strongly believe (in that) as well. I think if we share the same beliefs, it is easier for us to move together, that is why I chose the NSP, and I hope to continue what Nicole left,” she said.

Referring to some less-than-savoury comments she has gotten online over her part-time modelling career, Ms Lim said she does not let herself be affected by what other people say.

“I still model once in a while, so for me it is something I like to do. Like I said before, it’s not a shameful career, it is also a profession,” Ms Lim said.

Although she is relatively new to the NSP, she hopes to be able to contribute by helping the party connect with more young people, using her expertise in social media. Asked what issues she felt strongly about, she pointed to transport, citing the rising public transport fares and Certificate of Entitlement premiums, and the increases in Electronic Road Pricing rates.

“For me, it’s a bit conflicting and contradicting … if they try to encourage people to make use of public transport, then there should be policies to help people be comfortable with that and opt to do so.

“But everything is increasing, so I don’t even know which direction they should be moving in,” she said.

For now, Ms Lim has to wait until after the opposition parties’ meeting today, where they will discuss where they plan to contest, to find out if the NSP will field her as a candidate.

“I don’t really get bothered (by the comparisons with Nicole Seah), because when the time comes they can see our differences. We have different personalities, we are two different people, characters, but the one common thing is we really want to make a change. We dare to speak out, and we dare to stand out.”