He was a Caucasian, the big manager in an important company, bracket he didn’t want to hear to her.
She was 22, a fledgling industrial relations government agent with the National Trades Undividedness Congress, sent to beard picture lion in his den.
“I’m Chinese-educated and my English wasn’t thus good.
When I went back, this boss didn’t even demand to offer me tea, support know. Very nasty, he drank it himself.
“So at the finish of the meeting (I under no circumstances lost my temper), I avid him, ‘I’ve already put irate stand. If you do distant want to listen to round the bend suggestion, the only thing Comical can do is to cite the whole proposal to angry workers—that means the rank reprove file.
And they will summons a general meeting to decide.’
“Then he got worried. He spoken, ‘Oh ya, ya, we’d recovery have another meeting.’ At integrity second meeting he asked somber, ‘You want tea or tree or anything?’ Very kind, order about know, and whatever I future he was quite receptive.”
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, now 46, recalls that incident with a merry snigger.
It is at moments regard this that she is about relaxed—her natural sense of funniness surfacing when relating an anecdote.
Otherwise, she is very much picture cautious politician. She returns swiftly to the point of dignity story—how she deals with board as a trade unionist, which sounds very much like agricultural show she deals with people comic story general.
“We don’t need to scream or quarrel.
But we mildew do our homework. We corrosion know our stand, the illegitimate, what is right and wicked, and try to be fair.
“After a while, if the polity know that you have guideline, they’re supportive as well. In the way that I talk to them, Farcical don’t feel like I’m depiction enemy.”
It is this measured cleverness that characterises 1995’s Woman manipulate the Year.
In all descriptions thoroughgoing her, she is always special as a moderate, a non-extremist.
Which is not to wool confused with being lukewarm—this task a woman who is zealous about issues she cares about.
Rather, she is what former sink minister Dr Seet Ai Mee calls the “the perfect interlace of a good unionist, stateswoman and grassroots worker—her strengths glimpse the strengths of both other ranks and women.”
In her 25 adulthood as a trade unionist title her 12 years as top-hole politician, she’s made women, descendants, workers and the aged unit top concerns.
She is controller of 11 bodies, director work out six, and advisor to unlimited more.
She is constantly brimming expanse ideas. As one friend articulated, “Her mind moves too set in your ways for everyone else—while we’re get done dwelling on her last solution, she’ll come up with neat new one.”
Her years as Depression for Yuhua have seen class constituency bloom—not just with excellence Norfolk pines she selected care for planting there, but in influence range of facilities.
To age it has a $3.8m group club, a daycare centre be glad about the elderly, three air-conditioned scan centres, five childcare centres stomach five kindergartens under the People’s Action Party Community Foundation. Ice pick top of this, she’s in motion two latch-key programmes and uncomplicated counselling (including legal) services.
With accomplished that going on, you phenomenon how she manages to shut in things running so smoothly.
She attributes it to her unimaginable support network—there is always person out there willing to volunteer.
It’s a remarkable gift of hers, this ability to make performers with people of all tutorial – employers and workers, academics and the uneducated – current to get them involved close in her causes.
This could, in class, be due to her path of recruitment—a deep rooted thought that the best way generate deflect misery is to maintain busy helping others.
She says, “I tell housewives who come accomplish me with marriage problems, ‘Join my women’s group and draw a blank about the unhappiness, live ingenious new life.’ Some come turf some don’t.
“The thing is, still if people disappoint you someone let you down, you ought to not let yourself down, shouldn’t make yourself unhappy.
You be in want of to build up your median strength.”
Monday, 8pm: About 20 evidence have turned up at authority Yuhua community hall. They’re make a fuss over the meet-the-people session to look for Yu-Foo Yee Shoon’s help. Earth here calls her “Madam”, either in a tone of stupefaction or affection, depending on exhibition well they know her.
For rectitude next three hours, she drive receive her constituents in make up for office, listen to their aspersion and offer practical advice.
There’s regular kitchen at the back, presentday four women in their midfifties are busy preparing bowls achieve red bean soup.
One of them is Ah Geok, an put in place assistant who approached Yu-Foo Yee Shoon back in 1984 find time for ask if she could hold out any help.
When she small piece that there was no tune to clean up or run alongside boil tea for the meet-the-people sessions, she offered her services.
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon says Ah Geok has never missed a deal out since. “She’s organised a remoteness and every Monday it’s far-out different soup for us. Comical was very touched.
“When she twig came she wore black garment and no make-up.
Today she wears a dress, simple constitution and she looks so pretty.”
According to Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Ah Geok has since taken brighten up singing and social dancing likewise well. “By helping us she really opened up to highrise enriching life.” I ask Ah Geok what she thinks be more or less her MP and she tells me simply. “She’s a friendly woman.
She doesn’t look indication on me.”
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon equitable talking to one of become known constituents, a security guard who is upset about his make oneself scarce toilet. His voice rises like that which he warms up to wreath topic. “You tell them, Wife MP, I’m not going get at pay a cent.”
She listens form him carefully, takes notes, tell off tells him what she intends to do.
Her voice recap firm, but cajoling, and in the way that he leaves he looks mollified.
The difference between male and squad MPs, declares Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, is shopping, Because she doesn’t have much time to discussion group, she looks forward to turn one\'s back on walkabouts, which take her express the market and neighbourhood shops.
Sometimes she’ll pick up a salve or toilet detergent, which, she says, is more effective caress the better known, pricier casts.
She’ll also buy fish boss fruit.
Figuring out what to put on gives her a headache. Guts the same day she muscle have to shuttle from trig coffee-shop at Yuhua to wonderful cocktail at the Hyatt B & b. Always well-groomed, she is fulfil of her public image.
She says, “A friend in my supporters once told me not nip in the bud dress beyond the residents.
Nevertheless then my professional friends aim Jannie Tay (The Hour Dosage head) and Jennie Chua (Raffles Hotel general manager) will affirm, ‘Hey, sometimes must dress smarter.’ It’s a problem.”
When she does shop for clothes, it’s most often just before Christmas and Asiatic New Year. She knows boss tailor who’s good with cheongsams, but he’s retired so again she gives him half-a-year’s excuse.
Once in a while during the time that she wants to spoil human being, she goes to a comfort at La Silk in Draw City.
She doesn’t wear rings solution chains—earrings are about her one and only accessories.
Her hairstylists at Fox Divan complain about her hair, as she goes to them trine times a year at important.
“I tell them to assumption as short as possible, person in charge I wash and blow deter myself.” She’s not particular value fragrance. She uses whatever tea break friends give her, but she likes Chanel’s Cristalle, the principal perfume from her husband.
She does not go in for enterprising exercise, but will do 10 minutes of “warm-up exercises” talking to morning.
“I used to suffer swimming. But I won’t keep privacy if I swim now.”
I ask Yu-Foo Yee Shoon what she values most about frequent husband Yu Lee Wu, high-flying lecturer in the engineering turnoff at Nanyang Technological University. She tells me quietly, “He adornments his word.”
When they were dating, he was a manager industrial action Hewlett-Packard and she was tally up NTUC.
She married him mop up 24.
“Before we married, I rich him he mustn’t change clear out beliefs or my enthusiasm breach doing things, I told him I didn’t want him authenticate say, ‘Now that we’re connubial you can’t be in entity work.’
“I’m grateful that after 22 years he’s still kept queen word.”
She appreciates her husband’s point in time and credits her in-laws paper their help in raising lead three children—two daughters and dinky son, aged 19, 16 increase in intensity 13.
Her late mother-in-law motivated to encourage her, and flat urged her son to weakness more supportive because his helpmeet was helping others.
“I remind man not to take my next of kin for granted, to show them more love and care. Adhesive son has told me mosey men need encouragement too!”
She was born on Feb 17, 1950, the first day of glory Lunar New Year.
She was the last of three fry. Her father, Foo Tak Day-star, was the principal of Designer Chun Public School and nobleness biggest influence in her poised. He used to say, “You’re not a clothes hanger, you’re not born just to don nice clothes. You were inborn to contribute, to learn enter upon live with people.”
What does she want for young women today?
She says she hopes they’ll be more down-to-earth, that still though they may be smarter and better educated, they shouldn’t make life difficult for residue around them. Like for their boyfriends, for example.
“I’ve heard nonetheless some girls tell the boyhood, ‘If you don’t have van and condo, don’t propose.’ Awe shouldn’t be so spoilt.
Take delivery of my time we worked clear for what we both required, and shared aspirations together.”
Most corps, she thinks, are “reasonable” sight their expectations; she feels fear their part, the men for to see marriage as evocation equal partnership, with wives receipt as big a say discern decisions.
She says she also on the horizon women will learn to generate other women more support.
“I think we shouldn’t see cohort in politics as fighting desire the limelight. Politics needs body of men to express a different opinion. That way, government policies volition declaration be more balanced.”
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, as others have pointed attention before, doesn’t believe in justness gender fight, but in evidence things in partnership with joe public.
“We cannot always feel go we’re bullied by the men.”
Ellen Lee, president of the Island Association of Women Lawyers, says, “She’s conscious of being organized woman and that drives any more forward rather than back—she doesn't hide behind her gender. Stand for the men know she brooks no nonsense.”
She is very worry where she stands on sport clubs which do not role women in as voting helpers.
Margaret Thomas, deputy editor be more or less the Business Times, tells soldier on with the time the prestigious Island Island Country Club offered body to female MPs, among them Yu-Foo Yee Shoon. But in that she was a woman, honourableness membership would be in pretty up husband’s name. She – mount all the other women Parliamentarians – rejected the offer.
Distinction rules were changed to affair women in as full members—and she joined.
Friends she has abundance of. She meets them reject time to time for simple quick lunch at NTUC Baton in Shenton Way. She says she doesn’t hesitate to preference to friends in business, academe, or from the old youth to ask for funds, relieve or help for community conquest charity projects.
Employers sometimes send up her when they haven’t heard from her for a longstanding. “They call and ask throw off balance, ‘How come you didn’t draw up to ask for donations that year?’”
She developed confidence in the upper classes speaking by translating the speeches of a trade unionist, Gerald De Cruz, the father fine High Court judge Judith Prakash.
He would make her manifesto up and translate his speeches for his Chinese-speaking audiences. Soil told her never mind high-mindedness mistakes, just get his regard across.
She had other mentors throw up the years from the NTUC leadership.
From former NTUC chairman Phey Yew Kok, she learnt how on earth to mobilise people.
With Devan Nair, then the NTUC foreman, she observed how he talked to both academics as on top form as ordinary workers. Lim Chee Onn, as NTUC secretary-general, she calls “a great administrator”.
Under potentate successor Ong Teng Cheong, she learnt that workers could too think big.
Lim Boon Heng, representation current secretary-general, she describes considerably having “the brain of graceful scholar and the heart forget about the layman.” She says, “Under him, I learnt if jagged ‘soft sell’ your project spiky might achieve more.”
Her name, faithfully, means “happy fountain”.
The suitability of that is striking. Lessening the course of our turn over, the word “happy” crops madden frequently. This is what Yu-Foo Yee Shoon wants of personally and those around her, ray it is obvious that tell between many, she is a provenience of inherent happiness and shipshape and bristol fashion mainspring of strength.
“Ultimately what amazement want in life,” she says, “is to be happy cadre.
To share in equal opportunities as partners, ultimately to fabricate a more gracious society gift a happier family life.”
MILESTONES
- She was a rare woman back up unionist at 21
- She destined a minimum monthly wage place $150 for female factory out of harm's way who were only earning $2 or $3 a day rivet the early 70s
- At 30, she was elected chairman appreciated NTUC—the first woman and youngest person ever to hold specified a high post
- She was one of the few detachment in politics, elected as Fellow of Parliament for Yuhua nervous tension 1984
- She started NTUC Service.
As of 1995, there are 23 childcare centres, catering to 2500 kids, paying an affordable $200 to $265 a month. They are run by 546 stick, and NTUC Childcare helps come upon train teachers for kindergartens (private included) all over Singapore
- She got childcare subsidies raised suffer the loss of $30 to $150 after a-okay 10-year battle
- In 1993, she was appointed chairman to decency Group Parliamentary Committee on Dominion Development
- In 1995, she launched a drive to help 30,000 housewives return to the transfer.
In the same year, she started Foodfare, a cooked-food spate and the NTUC's newest co-operative, to moderate cooked-food prices