Saktiandi hopes to contribute to the S'pore dream
Saktiandi bin Supaat, People's Action Party's new candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — For Mr Saktiandi Bin Supaat, it is all about “helping the people who have slipped through the cracks” – be it disadvantaged families, single mothers, or Institute of Technical Education and diploma holders looking for a job.
“Through the house visits, I’ve seen vulnerable families, like single mothers with young children to fend for … It’s our job to help them out and tide them through difficult times,” said the current executive vice-president and head of the FX Research team at Maybank.
Inviting reporters to call him Andi, Mr Saktiandi shared that he was born in a kampung and raised in a working-class family, where his mother worked as a radio DJ and his father a policeman.
He said: “Through my childhood, I’ve seen Singapore progress from a kampung (to where it is today). It’s provided me a good platform, a good education, and for my family to build a good life and I treasure that.”
A father of three, he added: “I believe in the Singapore dream, and I hope to contribute to that, so that’s one of the reasons why (I want to serve the public). I want my children to have the opportunity to see that progress.”
Driven to give back to society, Mr Saktiandi began volunteering as a member of the youth wing of the Association of Muslim Professionals by providing career guidance in 2004. In 2008, he was invited by Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim to help as a case writer at Meet-the-People sessions at PAP’s Kolam Ayer Branch.
In the past few years, he has served in Bishan Toa Payoh GRC in Community Club Management Committees, as vice-chairman of the Toa Payoh East Citizens’ Consultative Committee, and as a Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Councillor. He also champions more help for ITE and diploma-holders looking for jobs. “For a start, it’s about directing them to know where to get help because the help is already there,”he explained.
Asked about his thoughts on Bishan-Toa Payoh area, Mr Saktiandi said there are elderly residents who hold strong attachments to the neighbourhood. People are generally warm, and he hopes to keep “this gotong royong spirit alive and kicking”, he added.
PAP'S NEW FACES FOR BISHAN-TOA PAYOH GRC
Chong Kee Hiong, 49
Chief Executive Officer of OUE Hospitality REIT Management
• Currently the Chairman of NTUC Foodfare, a social enterprise that helps working people and their families
• Married with four children aged between 9 and 17 years old
• Involved in grassroots activities in Bishan East for past two years
HE SAID: “One thing I have a conviction about - and it gets stronger everyday - is to look out for residents. Every household comprises of different (demographics), be it elderly parents, or young families, but they each come with different challenges and aspirations. We need to be on the ground to help them to the best of our ability.”
Saktiandi Bin Supaat, 42
Executive Vice President and Head of FX Research at Maybank
• Previously at Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) from 1999 to 2010
• Married with three children aged 5, 8 and 12 years
• Helped out at Meet the People Sessions at Kolam Ayer from 2008 to 2012
HE SAID: “Going on house visits helped me see that there are residents out there who have fallen through the cracks. These are vulnerable families, like single mothers with young children to fend for... It’s our job to help them out and tide them through difficult times.”
Chee Hong Tat, 41
Former second permanent secretary with the Ministry of Trade and Industry
• With the Civil Service for 17 years, and has worked in the Home Affairs, Finance, Transport and Education ministries
• Principal Private Secretary to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in 2008
• Father of four children aged between 4 and 15 years old
• A resident in the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, he was involved in grassroots activities in Marine Parade GRC for the past two years
HE SAID: “Going into politics is not an easy decision… I eventually managed to persuade my wife to support my decision because I explained to her that we are at a very critical juncture of our nation’s development and this is the time when we need people who can contribute to step forward.”
