By Elysa Chen

YOU have seen them in Parliament, at grassroots events and at opening ceremonies.

Now, get ready to see the other side of your Members of Parliament.

Meet your rock star MPs, and others who were making catcalls and whistling when fellow MP Indranee Rajah, took to the stage to practise her duet during rehearsals.

And there were the ones who brought the house down with their crazy antics and mischievous grins.

The live band, led by Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, consists of five other MPs: Mr Michael Palmer and Ms Jessica Tan on the vocals, Mr Liang Eng Hwa who plays the drums, Mr Zainudin Nordin who plays the guitar and Mr Zaqy Mohamad on the keyboard.

They had their first performance on Friday night at the University Cultural Hall during a concert, Sing Sing Sing, which was organised to raise funds for the Singapore Street Festival.

Playful mood

The Singapore Street Festival is an event to promote creative and artistic activities among local youths.

The New Paper on Sunday spoke to the band during rehearsals just before the performance, and caught the MPs in a playful mood.

They danced on stage, pushed each other around, belted out their songs with gusto and cheekily made 'peace' signs with their fingers while standing behind fellow performers.

Referred to by his bandmates as 'the chief', Mr Teo said: 'We're hipper than Obama. I've done some research, and we are the first band to be formed by politicians.'

Watching their chemistry and performance, one might think that they have been jamming together for a long time.

But all the band members were quick to confess that they only had their first jamming session in a studio near Simei which lasted into the wee hours of Friday morning.

Mr Teo had been floating the idea to start a band for the last couple of months, but it was necessity that finally brought the six of them together.

He said: 'We have heard of promising musicians among the MPs, and we've been having the intention to form a band.

'It was just right that this event was being held. What's more, it's for a good cause.'

Most of them had heard the song they were going to sing, Built to Last by American pop band Melee, for the first time only on Thursday night.

Ms Tan chose it after hearing it on the radio.

Terrible

When asked if their band was built to last, Ms Tan said: 'Our friendship is built to last, but the band is terrible.'

To much laughter, Mr Palmer quipped: 'The fact that we can still stay together after hearing each other sing probably shows that (we're built to last)!'

And yes, they do intend to keep it going.

Another MP at Friday's performance was Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, who played the classic favourite Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin (The Moon Represents My Heart, in Mandarin) on the guzheng.

Explaining his choice of instrument, he said: 'I have always been intrigued by Chinese culture and the guzheng after watching Chinese gong fu series on TV.

'When I play the guzheng, I can imagine myself in a period drama with the lake, the bamboo and the pavillion!'

Dr Maliki had fallen so much in love with the instrument and the 'melodious music' that he bought a $1,000 guzheng to play at home.

However, as Friday was his first solo performance, Dr Maliki was very nervous, especially since the song he was playing was a very well-known song.

'If I miss just one note, everyone will know.

'But hopefully, the people will 'yuan liang' (forgive in Mandarin) my 'yue liang' (moon in Mandarin)!' he added with a chuckle.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Nov 2, 2008.