In the last instalment of a three-part series, recently retired politician Amy Khor recounts her philosophy on politics.
Amy Khor vividly remembers a meeting with Mr Lee Kuan Yew, when she first entered politics, 24 years ago. The first thing he told the assembled MPs: Politics is not a career.
In an interview with Petir, Dr Khor recounted how the late Mr Lee had dinner with the batch of seven women Members of Parliament elected during the 2001 General Election. This was one of the largest batches of female MPs from the People’s Action Party. Besides Dr Khor, the batch included Minister Indranee Rajah, former President Halimah Yacob, and former MPs Cynthia Phua, Madeleine Ho, Irene Ng, and Penny Low.
“I had the good fortune to meet him because he was still in Parliament when I joined politics, and we had a meeting,” she said. “The first thing he told us was that politics is not a career, in a way, it’s a calling.”
The 67-year-old continued: “It is a service. You need to know that you want to serve and benefit people. If you view politics as a career, you just want to do well and go up. It’s not like that, right? In politics, you are put where you are needed. Your role is based on where you [are] best fit. But, every five years, there’s an election, you may be [voted] out. So, [the motivation] must be because you want to serve [the people].”
Dr Khor had an illustrious 24-year career spanning multiple roles before retiring from politics in May. She began her political journey in the 2001 GE, contesting in Hong Kah GRC, which was later merged into Chua Chu Kang GRC. In 2011, Hong Kah North became an SMC.
Throughout her career, Dr Khor held key roles in several ministries, including Sustainability and the Environment, Transport, Health, and Manpower. Additionally, she served as the mayor of the Southwest District from 2004 to 2014.
Amy Khor advice to women entering politics: If you have the passion to serve, just do it.
When asked how she managed her political career, Dr Khor expressed gratitude for the guidance and mentorship she received from women MPs before her like Dr Aileen Wong, Dr Lily Neo, and Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon. They had proven that they were just as competent as their male colleagues, and this had alleviated her concerns about coping in the role.
Juggling multiple roles, she joked that she has learnt that she does not need to be a superwoman.
“Actually, the men also never say they are supermen. Why do we need to prove that we are superwoman? Obviously, you cannot. You have to juggle many roles,” she continued, “You must be practical and realistic that you cannot be good at everything. Therefore, you need to prioritise and focus.”
Dr Khor readily admitted she was not “afraid or ashamed” to ask for help to “survive and discharge her responsibilities”. Thankfully, she had the support of her family, including her late parents, husband, brothers, and grassroots volunteers.
“My parents were a great help when my kids were very young,” she said. “If the teacher calls up and say, I need to complain about your kid, my husband goes, not me. Meet the parent session, my husband goes, not me. I’m not very proud of that. But it gives me peace of mind that somebody is taking care of some of these things.”
It helped that her constituents look beyond gender bias. “I never felt that people look at you as a woman, and then they had some bias. They just look at whether you are sincere. Have you done your best even if you cannot address the problem?”
For women aspiring to enter politics, Dr Khor’s advice is simply: “If they have the passion, they want to serve, just do it.”
Politicians must be able to accept criticisms: Amy Khor
Over the years, Dr Khor has faced criticism regarding government policies, which she accepted as part of her role as a politician. With a peal of laughter, the livewire Dr Khor threw up her hands and remarked: “People being very angry and making unfair remarks is par for the course. You have to accept it [as a politician].”
She continued: “Views are so diverse. Every policy cannot satisfy the views, the needs of everybody. There’ll be some groups that do not agree with you. I think you have to accept that.”
Politicians must also have thick skin as they must brace themselves for heightened criticisms, especially during elections when netizens may dig up their information or “scold you upside down”, Dr Khor said in jest.
“You must accept it,” she added. “Some will say you asked for it. You learn to take it if you want to be a politician. It is all part of this package. If you cannot take criticism, it is difficult. There will [always] be criticisms.”
