Surrounded by reporters looking for interviews and supporters looking for photo opportunities, a tired-looking Nicole Seah trudged up to the NSP office without eating anything.
Ms Seah, part of the five-member NSP team in Marine Parade General Representation Constituency (GRC), may have just lost her very first election to the People's Action Party (PAP) team led by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong but she vowed to go on.
"I'm not tired, I'm raring to go. To me this is just the beginning. I never saw the 2011 election as an end in itself … I was always thinking about what's going to happen five years down the road.
"I'm not disappointed, I think it was a very strong show that we put up," said the 24-year-old, whose popularity has made her one of the higher-profile candidates in this General Election.
She said that she planned to head to MacPherson today to meet a woman struggling to pay her child's tuition fees. At a rally on Thursday night, Ms Seah cried when she talked about the plight of the woman whom she had met during a walkabout. Ms Seah told reporters that she is trying to get someone to give the woman's child's tuition "on a pro-bono basis".
"I'm not sure if I qualify as (a role model) but at the very least I've given young Singaporeans that space to talk … to think about how to formulate their own opinions … standpoints and the way they are going to contribute to the political discourse in our society," said the advertising executive.
Ms Seah said she is optimistic about the changes that are taking place in Singapore's political landscape.
"Things are going to get more interesting, you are going to see more young Singaporeans step up, a lot more qualified and credible candidates … to contribute to a more vibrant and diverse political landscape … and this speaks of how we are maturing as a society," she said.
"(The campaigning experience) was definitely worth it. It was easily one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had and …
"It was a very difficult decision at the beginning to want to put myself out there, especially knowing how Opposition candidates have it tougher … But I wouldn't change a single thing.
"We can't wait to move forward and do more for the constituency," said Ms Seah.
Ms Seah later issued a letter, "addressed to my friends, my fellow Singaporeans", in which she congratulated Mr Low Thia Khiang and his Workers' Party for "having made political history in Singapore". She also paid tribute to Foreign Minister George Yeo, calling him a "soldier, scholar, statesman" and "a perfect gentleman".
As for Mr Chiam See Tong, Ms Seah said Singaporeans owe the veteran Opposition politician a "debt of gratitude" and added: "We will carry on the work you began. "
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