The Young Reformers Unveil New Leadership and Logo

Published: 8th April 2011

 

The Reform Party takes great pleasure in unveiling the new leadership of its Youth Wing, The Young Reformers.

Mr. Gerald Yong and Mr. Lim Zi Rui have taken up appointments as co-heads of The Young Reformers with Ms Vignes Ramachandran taking up the position of deputy head. Please see the attached bios.

The Reform Party Youth Wing spreads the message of political awareness amongst the young, and encourages them in their role as nation building citizens. It calls upon passionate youth who are eager to serve their fellow citizens of Singapore to build a better and fairer future for all.
As a new Party with a pioneering message, Reform Party has always appealed to the youth of Singapore, A large percentage of its members already being under the age of 35. The Young Reformers builds on that appeal and is a vital component of The Reform Party as it will identify and nurture the next generation of leaders.

“The Party is delighted with the young people who have stood up to take on these roles,” said Secretary General Kenneth Jeyaretnam. “Every Party should have an active Youth Wing”, he said. “With this new generation of leaders we can finally work towards that. They are all ideal leaders. They are patriots, have heart and passion and truly want to create a better future for all. Between them they bring an impressive background in student organization, sports, community work, the arts and life experience. They are well known within the Party, where they have been the back bone of our outreach work and at the forefront of events and activities for some time now.”

When asked about his plans for The Young Reformers, Gerald (Ged) Yong said, “Young Reformers will improve democracy through active citizenry and help shape the country’s future by ensuring that policies remain relevant to all levels of society” “Being a Young Reformer is also a fun and rewarding experience”, he added.

Lim Zi Rui added, “We will bring support, energy and potential new candidates to election campaigns.” He talked about his recent interview with NTU’s campus newspaper and the plans he has to attract more students to the Youth Wing as volunteers and supporters. He pointed out that the re-vamped Young Reformers have already unveiled their proposal for a new logo and are producing a weekly pop quiz on Facebook. They also recently held a forum specifically aimed at those SMU students who were disappointed by the cancellation of the planned SMU debate

Ms Vignes asked everyone to keep a look out on the dedicated Young Reformers Facebook page and on the official RP website for forthcoming plans and activities. She appealed for more young women to join, for the richness of the opportunities offered. “We are excited about the opportunities opening up. Youth can join as members, for example to shape the new media team, or just as volunteers to support the election campaign.”

Biographies

Gerald Yong (Yong Jie Le, 杨杰乐), 25, is married and a father of one. He is a final year undergraduate with The London School of Economics and Political Science, studying for a Bachelor of Science in Banking & Finance. He is currently employed full-time as a Financial Planning Executive, at a leading firm of insurers in Singapore.

Gerald is a recipient of SAF Best Soldier Award and graduated from NS with an Outstanding grade for the Certificate of Service.

Gerald was schooled at Catholic Junior College, and was an active student leader during his time there. He organised the college’s first inter-school level competition island wide and was also an active participant in Community Service work.

Gerald is fluent in English, Mandarin and the Hokkien dialect. He also knows the West Coast ground very well due to his schooling and part of his working career was spent in the Clementi/West Coast area.

He is a strong believer in fundamentals and moral values as one of the few key factors in helping shape the country’s future, starting from the new generation.

He believes in the partnership of youths and experienced seniors in policy-making, as this will ensure the policies stay relevant to all levels of society, and also encourages active citizenry, and better democracy in Singapore.

Gerald has been an active member of the outreach team responding well to the people he meets. Through his schooling and life experience he has personally witnessed many people across differing strata of society having to endure unnecessary suffering, which he feels should not have occurred and can be prevented with intelligent policies. Lack of jobs, university places, high medical costs, public transport costs are some of many issues he is concerned about.

 

Lim Zi Rui, 24, is a final year undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University. Prior to college he studied at Dunearn Secondary, where he excelled in athletics. He was also the Captain for his CCAs and House.

Zi Rui is an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces and received the honour as the Best Physical Trainee for his training in OCS. He was part of the volunteer EXCO for various mega sporting events in Singapore during his undergraduate years. He was also involved in various CCAs and was the President of NTU Runners’ Club.

Zi Rui comes from a humble background and is a believer of learning from others and mentoring. He wants to do what he can to help improve life of Singaporeans and instil a sense of pride in being Singaporean. He is very confident that youth of Singapore will step forward to do their part to help fellow citizens and make our life better.

 

Vigneswari d/o V Ramachandran, 29, is a graduate with a Bachelor of Science Management degree with honours from the University of London, the London School of Economics (2005). She also did diploma studies in Retail and Travel Management (2002) and Montessori Teaching (2009). She is currently working on a Diploma in Early Childhood and Care Education, DECCE, at the SEEDs Institute.

She has previous working experience in leading organisations in both the commercial sector and charity organisations including MAERSK, SINDA and Maybank HQ. Currently she is teaching at a private Kindergarten.

Vignes loves meeting people and exploring new opportunities. She is also passionate about the arts scene and is an experienced performer. Previous performances include the Arts Festival in Singapore, events organized by People’s Association such as Sound Waves at the Esplanade, the Asean Summit 2007 held at Swiss Hotel with the SPO, the Singapore Pop Orchestra, Chingay and concerts via People’s Association for the SIOC-Singapore Indian Orchestra and Choir.

Through Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) she has joined competitions for solo and group open category competitions held by the NAC National Arts Council in 2004 and 2006.

“Being Singaporean and living here in Singapore, is a great opportunity for me to experience multi racial art forms,” she said.

More information

More information on the Young Reformers.