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Brad Bowyer (Singapore Politician)

Revision as of 12:26, 23 July 2020 by Dayana Rizal (talk | contribs) (→‎Early life & family)

Bradley Peter Bowyer (born 1967), commonly known as Brad Bowyer, is a Singaporean politician and a media consultant with decades of professional experience in the film, television and theatre industries.[1] Before joining the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Brad Bowyer was involved with the People's Voice (PV) political party, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and the People’s Action Party (PAP). As of 2020, he is active on his Facebook page where he posts written and video commentary on social and political issues in Singapore.

Brad Bowyer
Brad Bowyer PSP.jpg
Born
Bradley Peter Bowyer

1967
EducationBachelor of Arts
Alma materNorthumbria University

For a complete directory of the 192 candidates in Singapore's 2020 General Elections, click here.

Background

Brad Bowyer has been living in Singapore since the 1990s and received his Singapore citizenship in 2011.[2] Before joining politics, he was a media practitioner with experience in lighting, set design, costume design and stage management.[3] Brad Bowyer was also a leading voice actor for the full-length animation film, Sing to the Dawn (2008).[4] In his free time, he does miniature building and painting.[5] He has also participated in fitness challenges like marathons and the Commando Challenge.[6]

Early life & family

Brad Bowyer was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in the East End of London. He came to Singapore in 1985 when his father received a job posting to set up the computer centre at Singapore Polytechnic.[7] He briefly returned to the United Kingdom to pursue a career as a Royal Marines Commando but came back to Singapore in the early 1990s after injuring both his knees during his two-year training period. Since then, he settled in Singapore having met his wife as her dance partner.[8] As of 2020, the couple has a son.[9]

Education

Brad Bowyer was a student at Anglo-Chinese Junior College where he was a rugby player and also an elected member of the student council.[10][11] In 2020, he received his degree in mass communications with public relations from Northumbria University.[12]

Politics

Brad Bowyer volunteered with the PAP for about five years[13] before volunteering with the NSP. He subsequently joined Lim Tean’s PV but left in 2019. According to a report by Rice Media published in April 2019, he had been "frustrated at their lack of substantial planning".[14] Despite his lengthy grassroots involvement with Singapore’s political parties, he was only introduced as a political candidate in the 2020 General elections.

General Elections 2020 - Candidate (Nee Soon GRC)

 
Brad Bowyer with the PSP Nee Soon GRC team in 2020. Photo credit to Olivia Ho/ST PHOTO.

Brad Bowyer was introduced as a PSP candidate on 18 June 2020.[15] He was fielded as a candidate in Nee Soon GRC where his team faced a PAP team led by Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam. Brad Bowyer was present at the constituency political broadcast on 6 July 2020 where he is quoted to have said the following:

"We can have a Singapore where we can feel confident that we can make a living, where we can have a decent lifestyle at a fair price… That Singapore is not just a dream, but something that is achievable — achievable if we work together... Whether it is running your town council or arguing policy in Parliament, (PSP) will be a voice that will have your best interests at the centre of all that it does."[16]

The PSP team lost in Nee Soon GRC, garnering 38.10 per cent of the votes.[17]

Alleged "horse-trading" between PSP & RP

During a press conference on 1 July 2020, K Shanmugam called the PSP campaign in Nee Soon GRC "half-hearted",[18] following news reports that the PSP had offered Nee Soon GRC to the Reform Party in late June 2020.[19] Brad Bowyer denied these allegations and criticised the ruling party for trying to discredit PSP and Singapore's mainstream news sites, Channel News Asia and The Straits Times for its "one-sided" reporting. An excerpt from his Facebook post reads as such:

"... for those wondering we have been preparing for our Nee Soon Campaign since the electoral boundaries came out and have been on the ground for nearly a month already as far as possible under the CB guidelines... Shame nobody thought to ask us about that."[20]

K Shanmugam replied to Brad Bowyer on Facebook, saying that his response was "dishonest".[21] As the person responsible for dialogue between the opposition parties, PSP's assistant secretary-general, Leong Mun Wai released a statement confirming that there was "no horse-trading agreement or negotiation between RP and ourselves with regards to Nee Soon or any other constituencies".[22][23]

Newsworthy incident

POFMA correction direction (2019)

For a full breakdown of the false allegations, click here.

In November 2019, Brad Bowyer was the first individual asked to correct his online post under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).[24] He was instructed to add a correction note on his post in which he had criticised the Singapore government's financial decisions and implied that Temasek Holdings and GIC are under government control.[25]

References/ Citations

  1. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Get to Know PSP's Candidates: Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 30, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Up Close and Personal with PSP's Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 26, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Brad Bowyer". LinkedIn. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Up Close and Personal with PSP's Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 26, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Get to Know PSP's Candidates: Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 30, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  6. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Up Close and Personal with PSP's Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 26, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Up Close and Personal with PSP's Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 26, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Ibid.
  9. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Get to Know PSP's Candidates: Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 30, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Brad Bowyer". LinkedIn. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  11. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Up Close and Personal with PSP's Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 26, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Brad Bowyer". LinkedIn. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  13. ↑ Progress Singapore Party. "Up Close and Personal with PSP's Brad Bowyer". YouTube. June 26, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  14. ↑ Yeoh, Grace. "Brad Bowyer Wants to Help. But Can an Ang Moh Politician Succeed in Singapore?". Rice Media. April 6, 2019. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  15. ↑ Kok Yufeng. "PSP unveils first slate of 6 candidates, including 5 new faces". The Straits Times. June 19, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Ong, Justin. "GE2020 constituency broadcasts: What Nee Soon GRC candidates have to say". TODAY. July 6, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  17. ↑ Ho, Olivia and Lee Yulin. "GE2020 official results: Shanmugam's PAP team retains Nee Soon GRC with 61.9 per cent of the vote". The Straits Times. July 11, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  18. ↑ Ho, Olivia. "Singapore GE2020: PSP 'half-hearted' about contesting Nee Soon GRC, says Shanmugam". The Straits Times. July 1, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  19. ↑ "Singapore GE2020: Reform Party to give way to PSP in battle for West Coast GRC". The Straits Times. June 25, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  20. ↑ Brad Bowyer. "A general election is time for a balanced presentation of ideas to the electorate to decided upon...". Facebook. July 1, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  21. ↑ K Shanmugam Sc. "[Mr Bowyer: please be honest]". Facebook. July 2, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  22. ↑ Ho, Olivia. "Singapore GE2020: Nee Soon GRC was never up for 'horse-trading', says PSP to Shanmugam". The Straits Times. July 2, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  23. ↑ Leong Mun Wai 梁文辉. "PSP is always committed to Nee Soon". Facebook. July 2, 2020. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  24. ↑ Ang, Prisca. "PSP member in first Pofma case considering appeal". The Straits Times. November 29, 2019. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
  25. ↑ Tham Yuen C. and Clement Yong. "Fake news law invoked for the first time over Facebook post". Facebook. November 25, 2019. Accessed on 23 July 2020.
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