NSP’s Spencer Ng: MacPherson is still on

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NSP’s Spencer Ng: MacPherson is still on


August 25th, 2015 |
Author: Editorial




Spencer Ng, NSP candidate for Marine Parade in GE2011
(Photo: Yahoo)


Despite Steve Chia’s withdrawal from a 3-cornered fight in MacPherson SMC
against WP and PAP, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) said it is still
committed to contesting there.

This was disclosed by NSP’s Organising Secretary Spencer Ng yesterday (24
Aug). He said that Mr Chia’s withdrawal did not affect the party’s appetite for
a rumble with the other 2 heavyweights.

Speaking to the media after a meeting at the party’s headquarters in Jalan
Besar, Mr Ng said that the CEC had collectively decided to contest MacPherson,
and it was standing by its decision.

Mr Ng said, “MacPherson is still on.”

“We’ve been there for 10 years and we want to go back because many residents
had requested that we do,” he added.

It’s not known how many residents have requested NSP to contest
MacPherson.

Mr Ng said that yesterday’s meeting was about preparing for the impending
general election (GE), and was not about party succession. He added that the
party’s election manifesto will be out “in the next few days”.

The media reported that the following NSP members were present at the
meeting:

• Mr Eugene Yeo
• Mr Elvin Ong
• Mr Nicky Tan
• Mr Yadzeth Haris
• Ms Kevryn Lim

Neither Steve Chia nor party president Sebastian Teo was present.

Spencer Ng’s remark contradicts Steve Chia’s

Mr Ng’s remark that “MacPherson is still on” seemingly contradicts Mr Chia’s
earlier decision to pull out from MacPherson.

On Sunday (23 Aug), Mr Chia posted a message on his Facebook page [Link] saying he would not be
contesting MacPherson SMC‬ and the upcoming GE.

“With this notice, I am announcing that I will not be standing for this
coming ‪GE2015‬ and will not be contesting in ‪MacPherson SMC‬ anymore,” he
said.

Mr Chia also expressed a strong desire for WP to field someone capable of
defeating incumbent Tin Pei Ling.

“I can only wish WP will send a strong candidate and take down MacPherson SMC
and take ‪KateSpade‬ out of Parliament. From my many conversations with
residents there these 2 days, she is not as strong nor popular as rumours put it
out to be. She has improved, definitely. But many older residents still do not
really know her nor like her. Some have not seen her till recently too.”

“So WP, with a strong brand name, and a stronger candidate sent there, will
have every chance to take her out,” Mr Chia concluded.

Spencer Ng accused of indiscretions

According to Yahoo [Link],
during the last GE, a former female student of Spencer Ng accused him of
crossing the boundaries of a teacher-student relationship. Mr Ng was an NSP
candidate in Marine Parade GRC then.

The 20-year-old came forward after Mr Ng himself revealed to the media that
he had left the teaching profession due to accusations of indiscretion in the
school where he taught.

At the time, the girl approached the media and said she wanted to tell the
truth. She claimed that the “indiscretions” happened in 2007, when she was a
16-year-old Secondary 4 student in North Vista Secondary School.

She said that Mr Ng took her to school on numerous mornings and gave her
roses on Valentine’s Day. They also went on movie dates and nice dinners – all
paid by him – and strolled in the park or by the beach.

They held hands and hugged, and once he even tried to kiss her on the lips
but she rebuffed him.

Sometimes, after school, Mr Ng would spend time chatting with her in a
fast-food restaurant near the school.

His close relationship with the student was said to be known to the staff and
students.

The principal of the school confirmed that Mr Ng had been suspended while
under investigation for inappropriate behaviour with a student.

“He resigned before the investigations were completed,” the principal said in
response to media enquiry. The Ministry of Education would only say that Mr Ng
joined the teaching profession in July 2003 and resigned in 2007.

Apparently, the relationship between Mr Ng and the girl came under the
spotlight when another teacher confiscated the girl’s mobile phone and read the
SMS exchanges between her and Mr Ng.

In the text messages they exchanged, she called him “king” and he addressed
her as “princess”.

Spencer Ng’s side of the story

In a media interview during GE2011 [Link],
Mr Ng explained that the student first approached him with a personal
problem.

“She had broken up with her boyfriend, so I tried to counsel her. I cared for
her as a teacher (would) but I wasn’t dating her,” he said.

He showed the reporter a photograph of himself with his fiancee, adding,
“Look, I have a pretty fiancee. We have been dating for nine years, since our
university days. We will get our HDB flat in a few months’ time and we will be
registering our marriage later this year.”

As for the nicknames, he said he would call his students “prince” and
“princess” while they called him “king” or “godfather”. He said he introduced
the nicknames to make their lessons more interesting. The female student
concerned was not in his class but Mr Ng still called her “princess”.

He said, “With this new generation, we need to explore new methods of
engaging them, like using SMSes, online chatting and connecting with them on
Facebook.”

“Students find me approachable and came to me with their problems even though
some of them were from other classes. When that happened, the other teachers got
upset and complained about me.”

He said he wore his engagement ring at all times to remind himself and his
students that he is engaged.

He said his innovative ways of engaging the students won him the school’s
most popular teacher award soon after he joined the school. “When one becomes so
popular a short time after joining the school, it is inevitable that some
teachers will not accept it,” he said.

He added that it was the female student’s form teacher who complained to the
principal about him, not her parents.

Explaining why he resigned from the school despite being a popular teacher,
he said, “The principal was very nice. He told me to take a break from work and
to go on a holiday. But I felt jaded and unappreciated for all my contributions
to the school. So I wanted to take the opportunity to explore other options and
gain experiences outside the teaching world.”

Mr Ng also emphasized teaching morality to students, “To me, teaching is more
than ensuring that students do well academically. We need to teach them moral
values and take care of their well-being.”

Who do you believe, Mr Ng or the girl?


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