COVERSTORY
In
By Farhan Shah
He takes selfies, works
out at the gym and is
very popular with the
people. Welcome to
the life of Member of
Parliament Baey Yam
Keng. We go on a run
with him and pick his
brain about all things
Singapore.
I took a sweaty selfie with
Baey Yam Keng.
Well, technically, it wasn’t a selfie
since there were two people in
the picture, but for the intents and
purposes of this article, we’ll refer to
it as a selfie.
We had just completed a morning
run (three point four kilometres
for the number crunchers) along
the Singapore River – me valiantly
plodding along with a paper list
of questions in one hand and a
tape recorder in the other as Baey
cruised serenely – while exchanging
thoughts, ideas and anecdotes about
his family, the increasingly chaotic
political landscape, and our dreams
and hopes for the country. The run
was my idea, the location his.
So, let’s get the obvious superficial
questions out of the way.
Baey stands at an above average
height, I would estimate it to be in
the region of 178 cm, with kindly
brownish black eyes and nary a
wrinkle on his handsome visage.
His facial hair is manicured but
not overly so, a sign of a man
understanding the importance of
being presentable without being
unnecessarily fastidious, while his
enviable healthy mane has just the
right blend of fashion forwardness
and political correctness.
8
Family & Life • Jul 2014
We Trust
tsurT eW
Baey
Surprisingly, the 44-year-old Baey
tells me that he only started regularly
working out four years ago, “quite
ironic considering that (he has) no
more physical commitments – ICTs
and IPPTs – to meet”. He laughs when
I let slip that it could be a mid-life
crisis. “Maybe, or maybe it was an
epiphany. I honestly cannot explain
why I wanted to start keeping fit,” he
says. “But, it has become a routine
now and I feel strange if I don’t run or
hit the gym.”
A HEART FOR THE PEOPLE
Baey’s admission into Singapore’s
political cauldron too was
spontaneous rather than strategic.
While people v