Former Member of Parliament Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon vividly remembered that equal work did not guarantee equal pay in the 1980s.One of Singapore’s longest serving women politicians with 27 years of service, she worked tirelessly to advocate for equal benefits for women.
“Even as a MP, my medical benefits differed from the male MPs,” she recalled. “Medical benefits for a male civil servant covered his entire family while a female civil servant servant received benefits only for herself.”
The 76-year-old entered politics in 1984 and retired in 2011. She was one of only three women MPs at the time, alongside Dr Aline Wong and Dr Dixie Tan. She was a senior industrial relations officer with the National Trades Union Congress before she entered politics.
Mrs Yu-Foo also served as Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Mayor of Southwest District. She was the first woman Mayor in Singapore.
In an exclusive interview with Petir, she looked back at her career, and the great steps that Singapore has taken to advance equal rights for all. She also recalled the hard work done by her PAP MP colleagues advocating for many women’s issues. These included citizenship rights for the spouses and children of Singaporean women.
She also championed affordable and high-quality childcare, noting that men earned an average of $800 per month then.
“Families need dual incomes. The men needed wives to supplement the income,” she said. “Therefore, we pushed for childcare facilities, and I am happy that Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew agreed to subsidise childcare services.”
She advocated for subsidies for childcare and professionalising the industry, focusing on training, better facilities, and integrating community support.
‘A resident’s sons walked from Clementi to Jurong West for school.’
Mrs Yu-Foo recalled facing significant challenges when she first became the MP for Yuhua SMC. As Yuhua was a newly formed constituency, she had to “set up everything from scratch”.She worked to establish grassroots organisations like the Citizens’ Consultative Committee and collaborated with the National Trades Union Congress to secure funding and manpower resources.
Over three decades, Mrs Yu-Foo has helped many residents resolve their problems. One case from her Meet-the-People sessions remains with her today. A woman with four children sought her help to apply for a HDB flat. Mrs Yu-Foo suspected the woman was suffering from malnutrition.
“She looked pale,binchhechhe(“sickly look”).I asked her,‘What happened to you? Do you have food? She cried and explained that sometimes she had food, but other times she didn’t,” she continued. “Every morning, her husband and sons ate a piece of bread each, and her sons walked from Clementi to Jurong West for school.”
Mrs Yu-Foo and her team provided immediate financial assistance to help this woman and her family, including bus cards for her sons.
Mrs Yu-Foo found out that the woman was from Malaysia and has achieved relatively good “O” Level results. Mrs Yu-Foo encouraged her to enrol in night school. After completing her external secretarial course, the woman became a supervisor at McDonald’s. One of her sons also enrolled in polytechnic.
“As an MP, you can’t just listen to constituents’ request. You must look at them and truly understand their lives and circumstances. You must go into detail. You don’t just look at the surface,” she said.
“You must also mobilise your support network. Friends who are successful in their lives or businesses can help. You need a comprehensive network to help your residents, so you don’t depend solely on government resources.”
During her illustrious career, Mrs Yu-Foo worked with three of Singapore’s four prime ministers: founding PM Lee Kuan Yew, second PM Goh Chok Tong, and third PM Lee Hsien Loong. Mr Lee Kuan Yew left a deep impression on her.
“PM Lee Kuan Yew looked very fierce on the surface, but he was kind and showed concern for us. He once told a few of us: ‘Politics is a marathon. You work hard but you must also take care of yourselves.'”
Mrs Yu-Foo also described Mr Lee as understanding. She had previously disagreed with him about a union matter, but he was convinced after listening to her reasons.
According to Mrs Yu-Foo, Mr Lee was also an excellent teacher. She recalled how he would organise sessions with MPs after Parliament sittings to critique their performance.
“He would say, ‘So-and-so, you should not eat your words. If you’re saying ‘probability,’ don’t eat half your words and end up saying something else,'” she explained.
“He treated us Chinese-educated MPs with kindness. He encouraged us, saying, ‘When you stand up to speak, don’t worry so much about grammar. Getting your point across matters more.’ Even when he criticised you, you learnt a great deal from him.”
Mrs Yu-Foo: MPs should be sincere and have a listening ear
With close to 30 years’ experience serving residents, Mrs Yu-Foo said that MPs should be sincere and have a listening ear.
“After listening to your resident’s issue, you should find a solution, no matter how big or small the problem,” she explained. “If the case involves a genuine policy concern, we have a duty to either raise it in Parliament or provide feedback to our minister or leaders.”
She recalled a CEO of three hospitals proposed that she set up video-conferencing facilities at the Southwest CDC office in Jurong East during SARs. This would allow family members and relatives to talk to their loved ones in the hospital.
She arranged the set up by securing sponsorship, and many people welcomed the initiative.
“If you feel you want to push for something that can make a difference, you don’t wait for the government.”
Mrs Yu-Foo said she has no regrets about being an MP. She also encouraged capable women to enter politics or become involved in social work.
“As a female MP, we can offer advice from the perspectives of a woman, a mother, and a daughter. This allows our male colleagues to have a more comprehensive understanding [of the issue],” she said.
She has three children. They are married and she has five grandchildren. She credits her supportive husband and in-laws for her successful career.
“Although being a good MP is demanding and requires sacrificing family time, in a corruption-free and efficient country like Singapore, my participation is still worthwhile,” she said.“Therefore, I encourage capable Singaporean women to enter politics or become involved in community work.”
