NUS used to be one of the main recruiting grounds of PAP; Tony Tan, Yeo Ning Hong and Tay Eng Soon were all NUS lecturers before going into politics and quickly rising to be cabinet ministers; subsequently selections tended to follow a less lofty path, but had strength in numbers - just to name a few I can remember off the top of my head: Augustine Tan, John Chen, Tan Boon Wan, Chin Teck Yung, Ong Chit Chung, S Vasoo... (Thio Li Ann and Ivan Png were nominated members of parliament, not PAP members who have to be elected)

Only one NUS lecturer ran for parliament on an opposition party ticket: Chee Soon Juan. During his election campaign, however, he frequently expressed fear that NUS would dismiss him for his involvement in opposition politics, and in fact he tried to taperecord his Department Head S Vasoo, who happened to be a PAP MP, saying just this but was caught by Vasoo so the entrapment failed. Soon afterwards Chee did lose his job, the ground for dismissal being misuse of research fund to send his wife's thesis to Georgia for examination. In any case, this occurred 20 years ago and no one is sure if, assuming there was a precedent, it still applies.

With the impressive performance of the Workers' Party in the 2011 election, it is likely to attract more aspiring parliamentarians to joint its tickets; the prospect is no longer futile nor risky; one is no longer seen as a malcontented loser, but, if not exactly heroic, at least refreshing. Further, since PAP has not been creating as opportunities for parliamentary minded NUS lecturers, anyone aspiring to do it might well feel opposition parties are their only choice.

Looking toward 2016, I wonder whether WP will start scouting for interested academics in the interrum and how receptive the local NUS might be.Like other singaporeans, NUS local staff face competition from foreign talent, perhaps even more so. Whether this constitutes a motive towards political activism is another interesting issue.