KopiTalk, held at, you guessed it, a
kopitiam. “It’s free and easy. Anyone
can come in and have a meal, and
if they have any questions, they can
fire away. Even if they don’t, they
are more than welcome to sit down
and listen,” says Baey. The KopiTalk
sessions are popular. The chairs
are always filled with people from
all walks of life. And while some of
their opinions might run contrary to
Baey’s position on the matter, the MP
welcomes and even entertains the
differing and dissenting views.
His forthright nature is refreshing
and certainly quite the antithesis to
a party usually regarded as cold and
economical. His passion for serving is
infectious – he left his corporate job
in 2012 because he wanted to spend
more time helping the people.
Without being prompted, Baey
acknowledges that more could
definitely be done by the incumbent
government to reach out to the people.
“The occasional dialogue session
that is organised for the people are, I
guess you could say, ‘organised’. For
example, there are 200 seats in the
auditorium and to make sure that you
have a good turnout, you fill perhaps
half of the seats with grassroots
people. Then you bring in school
students and other volunteers to fill
up a couple more seats. So, the actual
number of people walking in are quite
little,” says Baey.
We jog in step and in silence for
a few heartbeats.
“Perhaps we don’t do enough publicity
for these sessions,” Baey ponders.
THAT T WORD
We’ve finally come to the crossroads
in our conversation, that tipping point
when I could choose to either plunge
headlong into a healthy debate about
the uneasy relations between the
government and the people in the
online space or veer the interview
into safe, not-choppy waters. I had
envisioned this in my head prior to the
run and up to that point, I had still not
decided the path I wanted to jog on.
But now, I was sure.
Baey’s stance on online regulation
is well-documented. He’s always
advocated for a light touch even though
recently, the government has started
to be a tad more heavy-handed.
He doesn’t blame them.
“The government has to have
certain rules in place and some of
the actions they take is to send the
message that they have this stick
that they can use if they want to, but
they’ll use it sparingly.”
Baey, on the other hand, believes that
the online sphere, especially social
media, is capable of self-regulation.
“Social media is a neutral platform
and can work both ways. While it
seems that there are overwhelming
anti-government views online, I
believe that the majority are rational
people. They are reading everything
but they are keeping silent,” says
Baey. “The key is to trust the people.
Put your point across in an acceptable
and digestible way and then, let the
people form their own judgement.”
Trust. It’s an interesting, almost
alien concept in a country that has
been described as a benevolent
dictatorship but Baey genuinely feels
that in an increasingly chaotic political
landscape, it is perhaps the only way
forward. Trust that the bulk of the
population is able to discern the right
from the wrong and the fabrications
from the truths; trust that the online
situation will not get out of control;
trust the people. And indeed, Baey
tells me that the government is indeed
in the process of switching gears.
It might take a while but Baey, with
an ironic wink, tells me to trust the
government too.
TRADITIONAL VALUES IN
A MODERN WORLD
With his modernist societal views,
you’ll be surprised to know that Baey
adheres to a rather traditional mindset
when it comes to family matters. He
grew up in a typical Asian family, a
mother who stayed at home and took
care of the family while the father
worked in the day and returned to a
home-cooked dinner. Education was
seen as the golden ticket and Baey and
his two brothers studied hard, scoring
university degrees and scholarships.
Baey and his wife have also
compromised on one of the country’s
most hotly debated academic issue –
tuition. “Our children have never gone
for any tuition lessons,” Baey reveals,
the result of