GE2025: WP new face Michael Thng wants to prove he's more than just 'the Harvard grad'
One area he is particularly keen on pursuing, if elected, is helping future generations of youth gain what he calls 'an earlier footing in life'.
This includes earlier access to housing, which is in line with WP's manifesto.
Current guidelines by the housing authority state that singles must at least 35 years old in order to get a new Housing and Development Board flat.
Mr Thng, who is single, said that his goal is to allow singles as young as 28 to apply for Build-To-Order flats and to increase rental options for them in both the public and private property markets.
As for what he sees his strengths to be as a parliamentarian, it is digging into the details of policies to ensure that they are written to encompass the full spectrum of the problem at hand.
'I know it's not sexy. It's not what you win elections on, but that's really what the government is about. It is really what writing effective, good policy is about.'
The torrential rain had subsided by that point of the interview and we found ourselves walking along the coast chatting about more lighthearted matters.
He enjoys disco-pop music, from Australian electropop group Parcels to German synth-pop artiste Roosevelt. He is particularly a fan of Singapore singer-songwriter Gentle Bones. When he can, he binges on true-crime documentaries.
The simultaneous bustle and serenity of East Coast Park fills him with nostalgia, though he now lives with his parents in the western part of Singapore.
The conversation inevitably went back to politics, a subject he did not need much prompting to talk about enthusiastically.
I remarked that it seemed natural for him to be in this position, standing for election in a few days, given his relevant professional experiences and gift of the gab.
Mr Thng responded with a laugh and said without missing a beat: 'I have many friends who did debates, startups and consulting but are not in politics, so I don't know if that's really an argument for anything."
He added: "In Singapore, politics is not just about having an experience 'set' that makes it natural for you, particularly on this side of the aisle.
'You really have to be guided by some kind of conviction … That's important to me.
'I don't want to look back on my life and think about what if I never applied myself in that way, that I wasn't able to serve Singapore in my full capacity.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
7 hours ago
- Business Times
US tariff policy could cost Germany 90,000 jobs within a year
[BERLIN] US tariff policy could cost Germany 90,000 jobs within a year, the country's labour office head told Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in an interview released on Friday (Jun 6). Federal Employment Agency chief Andrea Nahles was citing the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and other institutes, which conducted research on the effect of a 25 per cent tariff rate. 'The problem is this lack of predictability, which is doing us massive damage – it prevents companies from investing, hiring and training people,' Nahles told the newspaper. 'The erratic trade policy of the USA is a burden on the German labour market.' Last month, unemployment in Europe's largest economy rose at a faster pace than expected, with the number of people out of work approaching the 3 million mark for the first time in a decade. Economic malaise in Germany has put pressure on the job market even against a backdrop of long-term labour shortages, adding to pressure on conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has vowed to pull the economy out of a two-year decline. US President Donald Trump's tariffs could deal a major blow to those efforts – possibly putting the German economy on track for a third straight year of recession, for the first time in the country's post-war history. REUTERS
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Straits Times
Germany's Merz says some US lawmakers have 'no idea' of scale of Russia's rearmament
Germany's Merz says some US lawmakers have 'no idea' of scale of Russia's rearmament BERLIN - Some U.S. lawmakers do not understand the scale of Russia's rearmament campaign, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, a day after he held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. "I met with some senators on Capitol Hill and told them to please look at the rearmament Russia is doing," Merz told a business conference in Berlin. "They clearly have no idea what is happening there right now," he said, without identifying the senators. Russia has shifted defence plants to round-the-clock production since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has signed arms deals with North Korea and Iran, prompting European officials to warn that Moscow could soon be in a position to attack NATO territory. Russia denies any such intention and says it is waging a "special military operation" in Ukraine to protect its own security against what it casts as an aggressive, hostile West. Merz, a conservative who took power in May, is the latest European leader to visit Trump hoping to convince him of the need to back Ukraine against Russia's invasion and continue to help underpin Europe's security through the NATO alliance. Merz said he had been reassured by the words Trump had uttered during their public encounter in the Oval Office, especially the U.S. president's "resounding no" to a question on whether the United States had plans to withdraw from NATO. European countries have been boosting defence spending since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in the continent's bloodiest conflict since World War Two. Merz has backed Trump's demand for NATO members to commit to a target of more than doubling defence spending to 5% of economic output in the future. Trump welcomed that commitment on Thursday and told Merz that U.S. forces would remain in Germany. "Whether we like it or not," Merz said on Friday, "we will remain dependent on the United States... for a long time to come." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
China demonstrates coast guard capability to Pacific nations, step towards high seas patrols
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) and crew are on an inaugural patrol in the South Pacific Ocean, February 26, 2024. Senior Chief Petty Officer Charly Tautfest/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo SYDNEY - China is taking further steps towards high seas boarding of fishing boats in the Pacific for the first time, risking tensions with Taiwanese fleets and U.S. Coast Guard vessels that ply the region, Pacific Islands officials told Reuters. The Chinese Coast Guard demonstrated the capabilities of one of its largest ships, used to enforce maritime law in the Taiwan Strait, to Pacific Island ministers last week. It is also actively involved in debates on the rules of high seas boarding, according to documents and interviews with Pacific fisheries officials. The fisheries officials said it was anticipated China will soon begin patrols in a "crowded" fisheries surveillance space. "Hosting the leaders, demonstrating their capabilities in terms of maritime operations, those kind of things are indications they want to step into that space," said Allan Rahari, director of fisheries operations for the Forum Fisheries Agency, in an interview with Reuters. The agency runs enforcement against illegal fishing for a group of 18 Pacific Island countries, with assistance from navy and air force patrols by Australia, the United States, France and New Zealand. The biggest fishing fleets in the Pacific, attracting the most infringement notices by inspectors, are Chinese and Taiwanese. But China is also the largest fisheries partner to some Pacific Island countries, and Rahari said agreements for Chinese coast guard patrols in coastal waters could be struck under security deals with these countries. China registered 26 coast guard vessels with the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in 2024 for high seas boarding and inspections in a vast region where the U.S. and Australia have the biggest inspection fleets. The commission has not received a notification from China that it has conducted any inspection, but Chinese officials have become active in debate over the rules on boardings, WCPFC executive director Rhea Moss-Christian told Reuters. China last year called for a review of the guidelines, and in March, Chinese officials attended a video meeting about an Australian-led effort to strengthen voluntary rules, she said. WCPFC inspectors in international waters need to gain permission for each inspection from the suspected vessel's flag state before boarding. Rahari said it could be "very complicated" diplomatically if a Chinese coast guard vessel sought to board a Taiwanese fishing boat. Beijing does not recognise Taiwan as a separate country. Chinese officials and the Chinese Coast Guard did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Australia declined to comment, while Taiwan and the U.S. Coast Guard did not respond to requests for comment. SHIP TOUR Foreign ministers from 10 Pacific Island nations visited the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen and toured Haixun 06, which can travel 18,500 km (11,470 miles or 10,000 nautical miles) or 60 days without resupply. Papua New Guinea (PNG) foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko said 10 Pacific Island ministers saw the Chinese coast guard demonstrate a maritime emergency drill, but told Reuters they did not discuss Pacific patrols. PNG is negotiating a new defence treaty with Australia, and struck a 2023 security deal with the United States allowing the U.S. Coast Guard to patrol PNG's 2.7 million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. Fiji said it had approved a new maritime security agreement with Australia this week. Nauru's government broadcaster posted photographs on social media of the Haixun 06 drill, which it said "reaffirmed the importance of maritime cooperation between China and Pacific Island nations". Under a security treaty struck in December, Nauru must notify Australia before the Chinese navy comes to port. The U.S. Coast Guard has maritime law enforcement agreements with a dozen Pacific Island nations allowing it to enter nations' exclusive economic zones, and increased its patrols last year. "The key considerations for China is stepping into that space without stepping on other partners toes, because that will then create conflicts within the region and that is something we don't want," Rahari said. Reuters previously reported the first U.S. Coast Guard patrol in Vanuatu's waters saw local officials board several Chinese fishing boats in 2024, finding infringements, which Beijing criticised. Since 2008, Chinese fishing vessels were issued with 158 infringements, or 46% of Chinese boardings by WCPFC inspectors including the U.S., France and Australia, WCPFC data shows. Taiwanese fishing boats were issued 233 infringements. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
