Chief Change Officer
#190 Pei Ling Tin: A Life-Altering Election for Singapore's Youngest Elected Parliamentarian - Part One
Thu, 20 Feb 2025
Part One. From psychology textbooks to political debates, Tin Pei Ling took an unexpected career turn—and not everyone was thrilled about it. Becoming Singapore’s youngest female parliamentarian meant facing criticism, age bias, and a whole lot of unsolicited advice. But instead of folding, she leaned into resilience, grassroots work, and a no-nonsense approach to leadership. Tune in to hear how she turned skeptics into supporters and lessons into legislation. Key Highlights of Our Interview: A Life-Altering Election “My first general election was intense—personally and professionally. As the youngest candidate and a woman, I faced doubts and criticisms. Every day, I had to focus on helping constituents despite the noise. It was a challenging baptism of fire but one that shaped my resilience and growth.” The Unique Burdens of Social Media “Social media amplifies everything. Comments—relevant or not—come in waves, and the pressure can be immense. Learning to filter the noise and focus on sincere feedback was crucial. Ultimately, actions spoke louder than words. Over time, trust and authenticity won out.” Resilience Through Adversity “Facing biases about age and gender was tough, but time became my ally. By consistently engaging with my constituents and showing my sincerity, I was able to forge bonds that matter deeply to me. Challenges don’t just test us—they teach us to thrive.” The Power of Perspective “Looking back, I see growth. The moments of doubt and struggle turned into valuable lessons. Now, I approach criticism with a clearer head and use those experiences to inspire others. Resilience isn’t just about enduring—it’s about learning and evolving.” _________________________ Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Tin Pei Ling --Chief Change Officer-- Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself. Open a World of Deep Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives, Visionary Underdogs, Transformation Gurus & Bold Hearts. 6 Million+ All-Time Downloads. Reaching 80+ Countries Daily. Global Top 3% Podcast. Top 10 US Business. Top 1 US Careers. >>>100,000+ subscribers are outgrowing. Act Today.<<< --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.12 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>140,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: Who is Tin Pei Ling and why is she significant in Singapore politics?
Welcome, Pei Ling. Thank you for joining me on this podcast. Well, thank you, Vince. It's really nice to reconnect.
Before you got into politics, you were in psychology. Why did you give up on that?
Chapter 2: Why did Tin Pei Ling transition from psychology to politics?
I was the youngest elected member of parliament for two terms. So I'm in my third term now. I majored in psychology in university. That would be out of the norm amongst my classmates from high school or what we call junior college. Actually, most of my classmates would have gone to engineer or science.
Probably would have chosen, but somehow I got really passionate about mental health and I wanted to do something about it. So I chose to major in psychology. And so for the large part of my time in college, in university, I was solely focused on trying to achieve this aspiration to become a clinical psychologist.
Whether it's from the internship that I sought out, forums that I organized, so on and so forth, it was with that goal in mind. But then a few things in that sense compelled me to have to change path. One was that my father had a mild heart attack and as the only child I had to take over this small coffee business that was sustaining the family. So I had to run it for some time.
So I had to take some time off college in between. And even after my father recovered, the stamina was just not the same. And so he had to retire earlier than expected. And so that meant that I could not continue to pursue a clinical program, which is actually required to practice in Singapore. So I had to rethink. So that's the resource part of it. For about a year, I had to think very hard.
If I can't continue to pursue this, then what could I do? In the end, I distilled into two points. One is what do I look for in a career? And two is how can I continue to pursue my passion? For the passion part, because I've already been in the grassroots, I've been already volunteering in the community for a few years by then.
I realized that for mental health, I could continue to pursue this course within the community as a volunteer and still create a hopefully positive impact on others in the community by raising awareness, by availing channels. But then how did you get into business consulting? In terms of career, I hope it's dynamic. It's people facing new challenges all the time.
Then that really opens up a lot of options. So shortly after graduation, I'm thankful and I think I was fortunate to have made it into Ernst & Young Advisory. So basically that's business consulting. I never thought that I would pursue this, but I guess... After joining, I learned to like it.
It was a very good first job because there's a lot of fundamentals that you learn in a role like this, from project management to discipline. Because of the nature of the work, you really have to develop framework thinking. One of my bosses used to say, from zero to hero in no time. So it forces you to pick up things and learn different concepts along the way.
That is exhilarating because it helps you to gain breath. It always kept me on my toes.
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Chapter 3: What challenges did Tin Pei Ling face during her first election?
For me personally, because there were a lot of doubts and criticisms and it was really very challenging. Very, very trying just even to go through the campaigning period, even after the election itself. It was life-changing.
Would you say the move into politics was a big move for you? And you were a student in psychology. So let me flip the table to ask you about your own psychology. How did you feel about this change?
Really depends on how you see it. I actually was a volunteer in the grassroots and a political party member since second year of university. So I had some exposure to what being an MP is like in Singapore. So in that sense, I didn't have a root shock. I do have some inkling of what the demands would be. But having gone through the general election itself,
Having gone through what some described as baptism of fire for me, that was quite a tremendous change. At that point, because I was still considered fairly junior and young career-wise, I was also new to the constituency that I was filled in. I had to choose between...
my career development, my professional development and doing a good job, at least to be responsible enough to build up within the constituency. Professionally, at that point in time, I wasn't a senior, so I couldn't quite delegate. I would have to do most of the work and fairly so, fairly so.
But if I had to take time away from work and focus on serving the people, then that wouldn't be fair to my colleagues or my bosses or to the clients. So in the end, I realized that being elected is a very sacred duty. I owe it to the voters who voted for me. At that point, I decided to quit my job at Ernst & Young and just focus on my duties as a parliamentarian. Because I was a newbie, right?
So I was new to the constituency. I was new to the role as an MP. And I really wanted to devote myself to that. I spent the time to understand the constituency, to understand the issues that my constituents faced, from bread and butter to municipal to aspirational type of issues.
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Chapter 4: How did Tin Pei Ling manage her career and political responsibilities?
Honestly, looking back, the most precious asset to me in the past 12 years as a parliamentarian would be the bonds that I've forged with the people within Macpherson. Every time when I see our elderly, them smiling at me, we ask about each other, them hugging me. It feels like family and that's precious. And I've also watched kids grow up and that's precious. And so these are, to me, invaluable.
So I think that the change, partly because of circumstances, partly due to my own choice, There were adjustments. The nature of work is different. I have to spend a lot of time on the ground. As a parliamentarian, to be honest, there is no so-called official working hours. It's 24-7 every day.
You're always on call.
Always, always. Yeah, so it's either you're on the ground in parliament or on emails. So it's really super, super stretchy in that sense. But I think it's fulfilling. It's fulfilling. Yeah.
You touched upon a bit about great election and after you being the youngest, also being a woman. So when you look back about your experience, how did you try to make peace with them, but at the same time, overcome these issues in order to do your job, also to take good care of your own mental health?
The fact that the political party, in this case, our ruling party, PAP, decided to field me. I was in my 20s and I was a female and that they decided to field me in the election to show that they are progressive enough to create opportunities and that space for someone young and a young female to rise up and be a representative for the people because it is an important role.
responsibility when you are elected as a parliamentarian. So I think that's one. At that point in time, it's also managing certain preconceived notions or stereotypes that people may have of certain gender and age. So to me, the big challenge that I faced was age. That was only my 20s.
And even though I already had seven years of grassroots experience by then, I guess track record wise, people still do not have a clear grasp of what I have to offer. Bam, I'm young, I'm new. And I think a lot of people will be thinking, who are you? Do you really understand my problems? Are you able to, you know, solve it even if you do understand?
And some also felt that I was riding on the coattail of former prime minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, his emeritus. So there were all these criticisms. And I think this was the main doubt about me. So online, anything that I post on my own social media, I get thousands of responses. Not so nice comments. And then on other platforms, other online forums, etc.
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