Xavier Samy and Vinay Palathinkal
This Journey Continues…
Xavier Samy:
Xavier Samy took part in the first parade in 1966. He is still able to describe in great detail the special performances put up by the PAP over the years during National Day Parades. Like the PAP float, the slogans, the banners, and most importantly, he remembers the leaders, the Old Guard who marched alongside him.
A walking history book of sorts, Xavier Samy said, "I take great pride in being a PAP member, that is why I always volunteer to march in the PAP contingent during National Day Parades. As years go by, I am proud to be associated with the Party that has brought so much progress, success, and achievement for Singapore.
I salute the Old Guard, who made sure we made it and sincerely hope that when we celebrate our Golden Jubilee, Singapore will be the model city of the equator.
I was marching in the PAP contingent in the National Day Parades for many years since the first one in 1966. I took it with pride carrying heavy banners with slogans during those parades because with each parade the country had developed even more.
I love the NDP. We had marched through long different routes of Singapore every year, such as from the Padang to Bukit Timah, Thomson, Queenstown, later from National Stadium when it was opened in 1972 and the Heartland Stadiums when the parades were decentralised. I always looked forward every year to represent the Party.
It was indeed joy, thrill, and fun to take part in these Parades, meeting a lot of 'old' and 'new' friends from other branches. We had ministers and MPs in our contingent/s. We normally had our practices at the old Police Academy at Thomson Rd, every Sunday evening starting from May for the great event in August.
I remember in 1968, the NDP was held in the morning. We were marching from the Padang in heavy rain. Our PM Lee Hsien Loong, then a student, participated in the school band with an instrument of the clarinet. Their contingent position at the Padang was near ours. Our President, PM Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), Ministers, and VIPs were then watching the parade from the platform of the City Hall steps in the downpour.
In the 1980 NDP, I recall, then PM LKY's mum had passed away on the eve of National Day (ND). In that sad mood, PM LKY was there on ND at the then NDP venue at National Stadium to take the salute as the PM.
To me it was really a pleasure to take part in the NDPs. Thereafter, we were awarded beautiful, impression certificates from the Party for our participation with a dinner gathering at the Istana hosted by Party Chairman Dr. Toh Chin Chye.
I still treasure the many certificates for remembrance, especially the rare one big-sized certificate by Party Chairman Dr. Toh Chin Chye for participation in the NDPs for the first 10 years.
I had joined the PAP in early 1964. Since then I had been an active PAP activist, like at MPS, doing house visits, polling and counting agents at every GE, and bi-elections. I was also an activist for the First Elected President election in 1992 for Mr. Ong Teng Cheong.
I used to take every 9 days of vacation leave just for these elections. No regrets, for the party that I loyally and faithfully serve till today. Sweet memories, especially the contest at Tanjong Pagar constituency where at every election there will be someone taking on Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and eventually some losing their deposits.
Mr. Lee was cordial and obliging, even to those who wanted to shake his hands or have his autograph, If the feedback or comment was useful, you can be assured that he will remember and take the necessary action.
What particularly struck me was Mr. Lee's attitude and patience when handling residents' feedback. You could tell that he was keen to listen to public feedback. He was always observing and listening.
Looking back, I acknowledge that years of serving alongside Mr. Lee had ingrained in me the importance of feeéback and most importantly, lending an ear to those in need. I had occasions then when I had voiced some feedback and concerns on the ground to LKY some of it he took action subsequently.
I was an Exco member of the PAP Tanjong Pagar Branch in the 70s and 80s. In 1990, I moved to Bishan and started helping the new Bishan North PAP Branch, where I am still serving. During the last GE in 2020, I was an activist for our new candidate, Ms. Gan Siow Huang at our newly named Marymount SMC which was earlier known as Bishan North Division part of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
I was abroad when LKY was ill and his health was deteriorating in the hospital in Feb 2015. When I came back on 21 Mar 2015, I send a get-well card to him on the evening of 22 Mar 2015 through Teck Ghee CC.
Sadly, in the early hours of 23'd Mar 2015, PM Lee Hsien Loong announced that LKY had passed away. It was a sad moment for me. After LKY's remains were brought to Parliament
Building for the wake, PM Lee Hsien Loong came out to move around to meet those coming to pay their last respects to LKY. He happened to see me from a distance and came over to me. I conveyed my condolences to him then.
In Remembrance of LKY, Bishan North Constituency held a Tribute Ceremony at the Void Deck of BIk 231 Bishan St 23 on 28 Mar 2015 headed by our former MP, Mrs. Josephine Teo. I was one of the speakers at this ceremony and spoke about LKY’s concern on the workers. Here I quote my first and last sentences of the tribute speech.
“Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the Father of Our Nation and a Brother Comrade to Our Workers.”
“May You Rest In Peace with your dear loving wife, Mrs. Lee. Good Bye Mr. Lee.”
To remember LKY further, I was touched with an acknowledgment note from him for my wishes to him on his last birthday on 16th September 2014. I will treasure this last note from him.
We will never find another LKY who had spent his entire life, so much of it, building up this country.
Vinay Palathinkal:
My First MPS And How The Journey Started In University
I was first exposed to volunteering with PAP when I joined MPS. I was an economics student at NUS, Tembusu College, where students were passionate about various political issues. It was here that I discovered my interest in politics, and attending PAP MPS every Tuesday provided many inspiring take-aways for me. I learnt how important it is to empathise with the residents' day to day concerns and problems. In fact, many issues that were raised to me were completely unfamiliar, and really opened my eyes to the bread and butter issues faced by my fellow neighbours in Marymount.
Moving To New York
After graduating from NUS, I flew to New York City to work at a financial technology (fintech) company called Arcus, a payments fintech based in NYC. Previously, I was an intern at Arcus, but soon after arriving, I was promoted to Director of USA. In this role, I helped oversee Arcus's presence in the US - managing operations, compliance, and business development. Under my leadership, total processed volume in 2020 at Arcus USA rose to $1 billion, a 100x increase from the past year. It was a really eye-opening time and I travelled all around the US for work and even went to Mexico a number of times, where my company also had an office. While I was there, I had the great honour of meeting PM Lee at the annual Singapore Day event. I also helped build a community for fellow Singaporeans who were living in the East Coast area of the US, specifically for the alumni of the NUS Overseas College (NOC) Programme. We hosted our Director of NOC for a dinner when he travelled to New York for a business trip.
Back To Singapore With A New Job
During the COVID pandemic, I returned to Singapore to be closer to family. A positive side effect of this move was that my eyes were open to the opportunity of fintech in Southeast Asia. As a region with a massive unbanked population, I thought that there was a really big problem to be solved. When I was offered a role in Singapore, I was very excited by it and decided to move back to Singapore permanently as my home. My current role is Regional Head at Wise (formerly TransferWise), a leading company in cross-border money movement, processing nearly $100 billion every year and employing 2500 people across 14 global offices, including a 300-person office in Singapore.
Contributing To Singapore's Fintech Ecosystem
I have been inspired to go beyond my job to figure out how we, in Singapore, can build a good ecosystem for the fintech industry to thrive. As a result, I helped to co-found a SEA-focused angel investment syndicate, Fintech Angel Operators, with Chia Jeng Yang (Principal, Saison Capital) and Keng Low (Founder, Finantier), and Rachael Defoe (Founder, RDF Strategies). This fund focuses on investing in young start-ups in SEA and is already playing an integral part in providing the initial funding for making new ideas possible. My interest in fintech has also driven me to write a well-subscribed weekly newsletter called Island Fintech Weekly, focused on events and happenings on fintech in SEA.
Community-building In Marymount
I was very fortunate to be able to support Ms. Gan Siow Huang for her election run in 2020, where I was able to work closely with other party members and interact with residents. This inspired me to play a more active role in the community here in Marymount. Currently, I am a member of PAP Marymount Branch (Exco), Marymount CCMC, and Fulton NC (Bishan East). I am looking forward to playing a part in community building in Marymount in the years to come.
‘This journey continues…’
