Charles Yeo (Singapore Politician)
Charles Yeo | |
---|---|
Born | 1990 |
Education | Bachelor of Laws |
Alma mater | University of Warwick |
For a complete directory of the 192 candidates in Singapore's 2020 General Elections, click here.
Charles Yeo Yao Hui (born 1990) is a Singaporean politician and criminal defence lawyer.[1] In the 2020 general elections, Charles Yeo was fielded as a Reform Party candidate in the Ang Mo Kio group representation constituency (GRC).[2] As of July 2020, he is active on Instagram where he has over 10,000 followers.
Background
As an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore, Charles Yeo is a qualified practising lawyer.[3] According to two reports by Asia One, Charles Yeo is also an avid gamer of Dota 2[4] and World of Warcraft.[5][6] In a comment to a Facebook post on 12 July 2020, he called himself a "fairly hardcore gamer".[7]
Early life
According to the Reform Party website, Charles Yeo read Make It Right For Singapore by the late opposition politician, J.B. Jeyaretnam at 12 years old.[8] J.B. Jeyaretnam was the founder of the Reform Party and the father of Kenneth Jeyaretnam, the current chief of the Reform Party.[9] After reading the book, Charles Yeo realised that he wanted an "egalitarian and free and fair" Singapore society.[10]
Education
Charles Yeo was a student at Bukit View Primary School and Victoria Secondary School. He then enrolled in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) for his pre-university education.[11] He graduated from the University of Warwick in 2014 with a degree in law.[12]
Reform Party - Involvement
Charles Yeo has been involved with the Reform Party since 2011. As of 2020, he is a Central Executive Committee member of the party.[13]
Politics
General Elections 2020 - Candidate (Ang Mo Kio GRC)
On 2 July 2020, Charles Yeo represented the Reform Party at the televised party political broadcast.[14] A day later, he was one of the two members from the Reform Party that was present for the Ang Mo Kio constituency political broadcast.[15] Three of the candidates were absent during the broadcast, one of whom was Soh Guan Soon who had the task to address the public in Mandarin. Charles Yeo had to step in and deliver a speech in Mandarin on behalf of his fellow candidate.[16] With 28.09 per cent of the votes, the Reform Party lost Ang Mo Kio GRC to the People's Action Party team that was led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.[17]
Responses to political broadcasts
On 11 July 2020, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wife, Ho Ching, published a Facebook post responding to the memes of Charles Yeo[18] that had been circulating since his speech on 3 July 2020. An excerpt from her post reads as such:
"I think we should not make fun of Charles Yeo for his attempt to deliver his team’s Chinese message... Yes, it is painful to see his struggle, but that is no reason to make fun of him or his courageous effort."[19]
In light of Charles Yeo's performance in the elections, Tan Min-Liang, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the homegrown brand, Razer, offered to sponsor him some gaming gear.[20] Charles Yeo declined the offer, explaining that he "used to be a huge consumer of razer gear" but stopped doing so after discovering that the company "has been very clearly linked to the establishment in Singapore and the PAP regime".[21]
Newsworthy incident
Imran Rahim sexual misconduct allegations
Charles Yeo first broke the allegations on the Singaporean lawyer, Imran Rahim on 21 July 2020.[22] He released several Instagram videos and posts alleging that he had evidence of Imran Rahim's misconduct within the debate and law communities.[23] Imran Rahim has since released a statement denying these allegations.[24] In a Facebook post dated 23 July 2020, Charles Yeo challenged Imran Rahim to serve him with a Writ of Defamation. An excerpt from his post reads as such:
"Listen up Imran Rahim, I am not afraid of your connections with Davinder Singh, Shanmugam, Ong Ye Kung or Masagos. You are a filthy race traitor whose actions show you to be a typical predatory pappie."[25]
According to TODAY, Imran Rahim is seeking legal advice from Providence Law Asia.[26]
References/ Citations
- ↑ "GE2020: The Reform Party". TODAY. June 24, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Chew Hui Min. "GE2020: PAP team led by PM Lee sees challenge from Reform Party in Ang Mo Kio GRC". Channel News Asia. June 30, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ "Charles Yeo". Facebook. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Ilyas Sholihin. "GE2020: RP's Charles Yeo declines Tan Min-Liang's offer of free Razer gear out of principle". Asia One. July 13, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Ilyas Sholihin. "Technical issues force Reform Party to unveil its GE candidates under World of Warcraft game stream". Asia One. June 16, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Yeo, Charles. "Been a while- noob here HAHAHAHA". Facebook. July 11, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Min-Liang Tan. Facebook. July 12, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/minliangtan/posts/3231816046876155
- ↑ "Our Candidates". Reform Party. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ "GE2020: The Reform Party". TODAY. June 24, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ "Our Candidates". Reform Party. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Ong, Tanya. "Reform Party's Charles Yeo reveals he got A2 for Chinese, answers random questions on Instagram". Mothership. July 14, 2020. Accessed on 14 July 20202.
- ↑ "GE2020: The Reform Party". TODAY. June 24, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ "Our Candidates". Reform Party. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Phua, Rachel. "GE2020: ‘Substantial’ government spending needed to combat COVID-19 economic fallout, says Reform Party". Channel News Asia. July 2, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Low Lin Fhoong. "Singapore GE2020: Reform Party will carry on the fight like JBJ did, says Kenneth Jeyaretnam". The Straits Times. July 9, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Ying Shan. "Charles Yeo Attempts Chinese Again In Zaobao Interview, Talks About Becoming A Meme". MustShare News. July 7, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Lim, Lydia. "GE2020 official results: PAP wins Ang Mo Kio GRC with 72% against Reform Party". The Straits Times. July 11, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Cheung, Rainier. "GE2020: Memes and jokes abound after RP's Charles Yeo's constituency broadcast". Asia One. July 4, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Ho Ching. "Hello, folks,". Facebook. July 11, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Ilyas Sholihin. "GE2020: RP's Charles Yeo declines Tan Min-Liang's offer of free Razer gear out of principle". Asia One. July 13, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020.
- ↑ Min-Liang Tan. Facebook. July 12, 2020. Accessed on 13 July 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/minliangtan/posts/3231816046876155
- ↑ Yee, Johnathan. "Imran Rahim Denies Sexual Misconduct Claims, Says He Doesn’t Know Charles Yeo". MustShare News. July 23, 2020. Accessed on 24 July 2020.
- ↑ toxicnarrativesinsg. Instagram. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17860100960035723/
- ↑ imranrahim_. Instagram. July 23, 2020. Accessed on 24 July 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CC-6bttHSpN/
- ↑ Yeo, Charles. "Sick and tired of this oppressive system which enables pappies to do whatever they want". Facebook. July 23, 2020. Accessed on 24 July 2020.
- ↑ Ong, Justin. "Law firm investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against prominent young lawyer". Today. July 23, 2020. Accessed on 24 July 2020.