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Mdm Halimah Yacob, Adviser to Jurong GRC GROs (Bukit Batok East) – a lawyer by training
– balances a busy life as a politician and labour leader. She reveals that her own humble
beginnings have taught her the lessons she has needed to pursue her life’s work.
As a labour leader, female role
model, and chair of the Manpower
GPC, how do you manage your time?
Like everyone else, I have only 24-hours in a day, so
I try to make the best use of my time. It is of course
easy to say that we need to plan our time but the
biggest challenge is how to do it. I try to implement
what Stephen Covey says and “put first things
first”. Sometimes, we focus too much on small,
inconsequential things that seem to be urgent but
are actually of little importance to our work or to our
life. I find that time can be quite addictive. The more
you have, the more you tend to waste it but the less
that you have you tend to spend it more wisely.
10 BRIDGE  |  Mar - Apr 2010
Perhaps my own life experience had taught
me a great deal about multi-tasking and juggling
different roles. I am a Governing Body member
of the International Labour Organistion, which is
based in Geneva, and one of their priority areas is
to eliminate child labour around the world. I was
also a child labourer. When I was only in primary
school, I used to get up at 5am in the morning
to follow my mother to the market, help her set
up the makan stall that belonged to a relative,
and then go to school. My entire weekends and
school holidays would be spent at the makan stall
helping my mother serve customers and clear the
tables. I learned about independence and how to
solve my own problems from a very young age as
my mother was too busy working to feed all of us
or talk to me. My father died when I was 8 years
old. On the streets, you learn very quickly how to
survive otherwise you would be eaten up pretty
quickly too.
I must also add that I had great support from
my family who provide a very strong and loving
network for me to perform my different multiple
roles today. Our families are seldom seen, but
we cannot forget the sacrifices and adjustments
that they too had to make so that we can make
our contributions.
Inilah saatnya
Puan Halimah Yacob, Ahli Parlimen Jurong GRC dan
juga Penasihat Jurong GRC GRO – Bekas peguam –
mengimbangi kehidupannya sebagai ahli politik dan
pemimpin kesatuan sekerja. Beliau mendedahkan
sejarah kehidupannya telah mengajar beliau
supaya berusaha mengejar cita-citanya..
Sebagai pemimpin kesatuan
sekerja, Model contoh wanita,
dan Pengerusi para pekerja
di GPC, bagaimana anda
membahagikan masa?
Seperti orang lain, saya berusaha untuk
membahagikan masa secara bjjak. Sebagaimana
Stephen Covey pernah berkata “Yang utama patut
didahulukan” Bila kita terlalu banyak masa kita
akan membazir, tetapi jika kita mempunya sedikit
masa kita akan cuba membahagikannya dengan
bijak. Mungkin juga sejarah hidup saya masa
kecil mengajar saya membuat berbagai tugasan
dan peranan dalam satu masa. Saya adalah ahli
Badan Berkuasa dalam Organisasi Antarabangsa
di Geneva, tugasan utamanya ialah membenteras
buruh kanak-kanak seluruh dunia di mana dahulu
saya adalah mangsa yang terlibat. Semasa di
sekolah rendah saya bangun pukul lima pagi
menolong ibu saya di gerai, kemudian barulah ke
What’s the greatest lesson
that you’ve learnt outside your
political life?
My greatest lessons came from two women who
had great influence in my life. After my father’s
funeral, my aunty, who was my father’s older sister,
gathered all of us around her and told us that
now that my father was gone we had to take care
of each other and even if we had only 5 cents
we must share that among us. The other strong
woman was my mother who when asked after my
father’s death how we were going to survive only
had this to say: that so long as she had a pair of
hands and a pair of legs to work, we would live.
When it comes to ‘me time’,
what do you do? What are
your comfort foods and
favourite treats? 
This is the hardest part as we often tend to give
the lowest priority to time for ourselves. One area
which I had been neglecting in the past but which I
have now started to do regularly is exercise. I now
cycle on a stationary bike for about 45-minutes at
least four times a week and I have found that really
refreshing. My favourite food is nasi lemak which I
try not to eat more than once a month.
sekolah. Di hujung minggu dan cuti sekolah saya
membantu ibu di kedai makan. Saya berdikari
sejak kecil lagi kerana ibu saya terlalu sibuk
menguruskan kedai makan. Bapa saya meninggal
dunia semasa saya berumur 8 tahun lagi.
Hari ini, saya mendapat sokongan dan dokongan
yang kuat dari keluarga bagi membantu saya
menjalankan tugas dengan lebih baik.
Apakah pengajaran terbaik
yang anda perolehi selain dari
kehidupan ahli politik?
Pengajaran terbesar yang saya perolehi ialah dari
dua orang wanita, pertama makcik saya, yang
memberitahu kami bahawa kami perlu bersatu
dan menjaga antara satu sama lain, yang kedua
ialah ibu saya, yang gigih membantu kami selepas
kematian bapa saya.
Apa yang anda lakukan apabila
sampai masanya untuk diri
sendiri? Apakah makanan
kegemaran dan masa terluang?
Sebenarnya ini adalah yang paling sukar kerana
kita perlu memberi perhatian kepada yang lebih
memerlukan. Saya sebenarnya baru sahaja
memulakan senaman harian iaitu berbasikal
selama 45 minit dan ianya sangat menyihatkan.
Makanan kegemaran saya ialah nasi lemak tetapi
saya hanya cuba makan sekali dalam sebulan.