PAP has done a tremendous job for Singapore. It turned Singapore from 'almost nothing" with few natural resources into an outstanding city-state boosting high capita GNP and worldclass environments. It was in Warren Buffet's phrase, a model in investment, focusing on long term investment in building the so-called "Lion' infrastructure, not simply on short term goals. As a result, the country grows in prosperity year after year, and becomes the envy of all other countries..
The outstanding record results in the political dominance of PAP since 1965 till now - 46 years, perhaps things may change in the future?
The majority of citizens here have all the basic necessities - home, material riches like tv, fridge, telephone, etc. It is so strange yet in the 60s and 70s, there are many homes without tv, fridge, telephone, and now we have the latest stuff as though they are common.
Before GE 2011, PAP announces all kinds of massive estate upgrading like parks, shopping malls etc. There was the unprecedented Grow and Share monies given out. Despite all these, GE 2011 suddenly turned out to be an incredible rude shock to PAP.
It is not just the loss of Aljunied GRC and Hougang. Votes in East Coast, Marine Parade, Toa Payoh-Bishan accounted and hovered around 55%++. Even Holland-Bukit Timah GRC saw 40% votes casted for the opposition. What is interesting, with the exception of WP in Aljunied, most opposition figures simply just turned up to be candidates and with 9 days of rallies, this rag-tag team managed to garner an impressive results against the almighty PAP machinery and organisation. Even a 24-year girl, who cited her school leadership experience as evidence of her political management ability and with only one-year working experience, can help to bring down the votes of the popular GCT. Mind you, most pundits would have said that it is difficult case to go against GCT. After all, GCT has regularly gathered more than 70% of votes, and Marine Parade GRC has benefited tremendously from his presence as MP in terms of upgrading and many amenities.
If the opposition has been more prepared, and the names are most recognisable, one cannot imagine how much PAP would have lost further. Perhaps. Anyway, this is all hindsight, always easier than foresight. In this election, it is not a vote for opposition but it is more a vote against PAP? People are getting fed up. If there are credible opposition figures, many would not hesitate to vote for them. On the whole, many Singaporeans would have agreed that there is currently no other government alternative to PAP?- I would think so.
Many views have been cited why PAP lost. I would like to pen some thoughts, and would like to hear your contributions. Critically, what are the most important that cause the loss in votes and this sudden "drop" in credibility of PAP and its brand.
Perception is reality <period>. All perceptions are created and transferred via the media. I am just curious what are these perceptions especially the dominant ones that cause the drastic loss of votes? PAP and all other political parties would be questioning these as well. He who can master the art of appearing credible, wins the race.
This is why PAP, if unable to score your vote on the economic agrument, will play up on the issue of credibility of the opposition figures. It has to make the other side look not credible or "incredibly inept or bad', and it will win. Which is why I always said CSJ is naive to the core. On the other hand, LTK is a lot smarter and recognises this fact. LTK tries to give little ground for the other side to paint a bad picture, and this strategy is to allow it to have the breathing space to create a more viable organisation to take on PAP. He uses a softer approach and as PAP sees him as such, and realises it is good to have token opposition MPs, they leave LTK alone. It is a good strategy and foresight of LTK - crouching tiger hidden dragon. The win of Aljunied GRC is to be credited to this strategy. LTK's message reverberated throughout the Eastern side of Singapore, and his message of "Towards First Class Parliament" help, in my view, to win votes for the other opposition parties, and WP branding helps a lot. To all other opposition parties, I really can identify with the messages and campaigns of WP more.
What is wrong with PAP ? - in terms of perceptions, the critical ones ...
1. It has been grown too big, arrogant and powerful and there is NO check and balance on it in parliament. Evidence are as follows: the non-transparency in Ministers' high salaries and the removal of parliamentary debate on it. A key incident cited was the Foreign Worker dormitory in Serangoon Gardens, and residents' petitions was brushed aside with no recourse. This is symptomatic of not just Serangoon Gardens but it appears to be the modus operandi of PAP. It cannot be persuaded that once it has made his policy, it will stand its ground irregardless. The use of the courts, constant gerrymandering and creation of GRC prevents the rise of opposition in Singapore, DEPRIVING Singaporeans a chance to vote for credible opposition members. Singaporeans simply want more credible opposition members and it has never given this chance.
2. PAP government has made "honest" mistakes despite being paid million-dollar salaries for its ministers and civil servants, in other words, it has "enriched" itself and not being able to justify its legitimacy. In its constant claims, PAP has said that the million-dollar salaries are worth every cent, raising the expectations of Singaporeans to a very high level. It is also in the process of digging its own graves when people could point out simple flaws. The escape of Mas Selamat, distance-based fares introduced in 2010 which turned out to have "flaws" in calculation resulting in some cases, higher charges, high HDB prices for first-time buyers are some examples. In particular, MBT attempts to use a 30-year loan to justify the price of HDB was dumb - 30 years! You spent your whole life working to have a roof and you cannot withdraw them and it is stuck in a piece of real estate.
3. Singaporeans have little say on policies and issues that affect them - it is demeaning to be treated like a peasant. One issue is chiefly CPF and its withdrawal age keeps rising to 65 years, and the minimum withdrawal amount is to be ultimately raised to $150000. Now who like to be told what to do with one's own money? The imposition of Medisave on Singaporeans, which is a smart bureacratic solution, but its usage is subjected to rules and regulations decided by the Government, not Singaporeans. "Hey it is my own money!' - why is the government wanting to have a say in it? After all, it has been million-dollar salaries to figure out solutions... are these the solutions which is to simply create a law to use YOUR OWN MONEY to solve the problem.
4. The inability to keep important costs down - Housing, rising food costs, transportation costs yet at the same time, the rise in salaries have NOT kept pace. Hence, people start to look at who to be blame - the foreigners. In reality, it is PAP who has NOT done its homework to cater to this successful economic policy to integrate these new citizens and PRs, and cater to their housing etc. PAP needs to rethink its greedy policy of wanting to control the price of land, and yet wanting to have a market mechanism. It has similarly done the same to car prices - the control of both demand and supply and trusting its well paid ministers and civil servants to run this mechanism. Humans do make mistakes. Ngiam Tong Dow has previously pointed out this simple concern about this sudden influx of immigrants, and the lack of preparedness by PAP but it was not dealt with, until perhaps now. I personally am quite surprised how this current slate of PAP ministers fail to anticipate this problem at all.
5. Healthcare to be made "affordable" but the government is increasingly wanting to pass the costs back to the people. Singaporeans want healthcare to be affordable to all its people however it strikes a chord when they realise people could be allowed to die in Singapore if they have no money. Hence a worldclass healthcare system does not deserve itself such a claim if it allows such cases to exist - this hit directly that the PAP government only thinks of dollars and sense, and does not have empathy for the common folks.
There could be more I just miss out.. I am thinking. ??
The success of any political campaign is the ability to create perceptions and pin them on the other party. PAP government has been dominant in the mass media, and each political party, if they have understood, to pinpoint on the focus and consistency in their messages, can win the game. Over here, only WP did well in this consistency and centrality despite having an "abstract" message aka "Toward first class parliament". PAP media strategy was a disaster as it failed to address the perceptions I highlighted above, and it was based old and "tired" ones like "you can trust us to lead you and not opposition.". The other political parties, ..frankly, I see no centrality and intense focus in their messaging, and in fact, some of these leaders don't even have a sense of the essentials in political marketing and how to use the media- it is this mastery which makes a difference to your success. Having said it, I reckon the political parties will learn their lessons and the next GE, will showcase such sophistication.
Ok, I do welcome your thoughts and comments, see whether there are these so-called 'perceptions" which will be shaped as all sides now fight to control what you perceive. He who can do it, will win. PAP knows that it cannot rely on its monopoly when there is an upcoming social media. The social media will gain more influence far more than one realise. Things cannot be hidden and transparency will be the hallmark of the day. All of PAP historical baggage of mistakes and "cover-ups" are now highlighted openly. As an observer here, I think the old Sammyboy forum, played that dominant role from late nineties after the birth of internet around 1996 onwards, and how it has influenced the new generation of Singaporeans of the "bad" side of PAP, perhaps will never be highlighted in history books, yet it is something I would wonder. This current forum is really no match to its past with the awesome gathering of ideas and people.
Do pen your thoughts and comments here.
The outstanding record results in the political dominance of PAP since 1965 till now - 46 years, perhaps things may change in the future?
The majority of citizens here have all the basic necessities - home, material riches like tv, fridge, telephone, etc. It is so strange yet in the 60s and 70s, there are many homes without tv, fridge, telephone, and now we have the latest stuff as though they are common.
Before GE 2011, PAP announces all kinds of massive estate upgrading like parks, shopping malls etc. There was the unprecedented Grow and Share monies given out. Despite all these, GE 2011 suddenly turned out to be an incredible rude shock to PAP.
It is not just the loss of Aljunied GRC and Hougang. Votes in East Coast, Marine Parade, Toa Payoh-Bishan accounted and hovered around 55%++. Even Holland-Bukit Timah GRC saw 40% votes casted for the opposition. What is interesting, with the exception of WP in Aljunied, most opposition figures simply just turned up to be candidates and with 9 days of rallies, this rag-tag team managed to garner an impressive results against the almighty PAP machinery and organisation. Even a 24-year girl, who cited her school leadership experience as evidence of her political management ability and with only one-year working experience, can help to bring down the votes of the popular GCT. Mind you, most pundits would have said that it is difficult case to go against GCT. After all, GCT has regularly gathered more than 70% of votes, and Marine Parade GRC has benefited tremendously from his presence as MP in terms of upgrading and many amenities.
If the opposition has been more prepared, and the names are most recognisable, one cannot imagine how much PAP would have lost further. Perhaps. Anyway, this is all hindsight, always easier than foresight. In this election, it is not a vote for opposition but it is more a vote against PAP? People are getting fed up. If there are credible opposition figures, many would not hesitate to vote for them. On the whole, many Singaporeans would have agreed that there is currently no other government alternative to PAP?- I would think so.
Many views have been cited why PAP lost. I would like to pen some thoughts, and would like to hear your contributions. Critically, what are the most important that cause the loss in votes and this sudden "drop" in credibility of PAP and its brand.
Perception is reality <period>. All perceptions are created and transferred via the media. I am just curious what are these perceptions especially the dominant ones that cause the drastic loss of votes? PAP and all other political parties would be questioning these as well. He who can master the art of appearing credible, wins the race.
This is why PAP, if unable to score your vote on the economic agrument, will play up on the issue of credibility of the opposition figures. It has to make the other side look not credible or "incredibly inept or bad', and it will win. Which is why I always said CSJ is naive to the core. On the other hand, LTK is a lot smarter and recognises this fact. LTK tries to give little ground for the other side to paint a bad picture, and this strategy is to allow it to have the breathing space to create a more viable organisation to take on PAP. He uses a softer approach and as PAP sees him as such, and realises it is good to have token opposition MPs, they leave LTK alone. It is a good strategy and foresight of LTK - crouching tiger hidden dragon. The win of Aljunied GRC is to be credited to this strategy. LTK's message reverberated throughout the Eastern side of Singapore, and his message of "Towards First Class Parliament" help, in my view, to win votes for the other opposition parties, and WP branding helps a lot. To all other opposition parties, I really can identify with the messages and campaigns of WP more.
What is wrong with PAP ? - in terms of perceptions, the critical ones ...
1. It has been grown too big, arrogant and powerful and there is NO check and balance on it in parliament. Evidence are as follows: the non-transparency in Ministers' high salaries and the removal of parliamentary debate on it. A key incident cited was the Foreign Worker dormitory in Serangoon Gardens, and residents' petitions was brushed aside with no recourse. This is symptomatic of not just Serangoon Gardens but it appears to be the modus operandi of PAP. It cannot be persuaded that once it has made his policy, it will stand its ground irregardless. The use of the courts, constant gerrymandering and creation of GRC prevents the rise of opposition in Singapore, DEPRIVING Singaporeans a chance to vote for credible opposition members. Singaporeans simply want more credible opposition members and it has never given this chance.
2. PAP government has made "honest" mistakes despite being paid million-dollar salaries for its ministers and civil servants, in other words, it has "enriched" itself and not being able to justify its legitimacy. In its constant claims, PAP has said that the million-dollar salaries are worth every cent, raising the expectations of Singaporeans to a very high level. It is also in the process of digging its own graves when people could point out simple flaws. The escape of Mas Selamat, distance-based fares introduced in 2010 which turned out to have "flaws" in calculation resulting in some cases, higher charges, high HDB prices for first-time buyers are some examples. In particular, MBT attempts to use a 30-year loan to justify the price of HDB was dumb - 30 years! You spent your whole life working to have a roof and you cannot withdraw them and it is stuck in a piece of real estate.
3. Singaporeans have little say on policies and issues that affect them - it is demeaning to be treated like a peasant. One issue is chiefly CPF and its withdrawal age keeps rising to 65 years, and the minimum withdrawal amount is to be ultimately raised to $150000. Now who like to be told what to do with one's own money? The imposition of Medisave on Singaporeans, which is a smart bureacratic solution, but its usage is subjected to rules and regulations decided by the Government, not Singaporeans. "Hey it is my own money!' - why is the government wanting to have a say in it? After all, it has been million-dollar salaries to figure out solutions... are these the solutions which is to simply create a law to use YOUR OWN MONEY to solve the problem.
4. The inability to keep important costs down - Housing, rising food costs, transportation costs yet at the same time, the rise in salaries have NOT kept pace. Hence, people start to look at who to be blame - the foreigners. In reality, it is PAP who has NOT done its homework to cater to this successful economic policy to integrate these new citizens and PRs, and cater to their housing etc. PAP needs to rethink its greedy policy of wanting to control the price of land, and yet wanting to have a market mechanism. It has similarly done the same to car prices - the control of both demand and supply and trusting its well paid ministers and civil servants to run this mechanism. Humans do make mistakes. Ngiam Tong Dow has previously pointed out this simple concern about this sudden influx of immigrants, and the lack of preparedness by PAP but it was not dealt with, until perhaps now. I personally am quite surprised how this current slate of PAP ministers fail to anticipate this problem at all.
5. Healthcare to be made "affordable" but the government is increasingly wanting to pass the costs back to the people. Singaporeans want healthcare to be affordable to all its people however it strikes a chord when they realise people could be allowed to die in Singapore if they have no money. Hence a worldclass healthcare system does not deserve itself such a claim if it allows such cases to exist - this hit directly that the PAP government only thinks of dollars and sense, and does not have empathy for the common folks.
There could be more I just miss out.. I am thinking. ??
The success of any political campaign is the ability to create perceptions and pin them on the other party. PAP government has been dominant in the mass media, and each political party, if they have understood, to pinpoint on the focus and consistency in their messages, can win the game. Over here, only WP did well in this consistency and centrality despite having an "abstract" message aka "Toward first class parliament". PAP media strategy was a disaster as it failed to address the perceptions I highlighted above, and it was based old and "tired" ones like "you can trust us to lead you and not opposition.". The other political parties, ..frankly, I see no centrality and intense focus in their messaging, and in fact, some of these leaders don't even have a sense of the essentials in political marketing and how to use the media- it is this mastery which makes a difference to your success. Having said it, I reckon the political parties will learn their lessons and the next GE, will showcase such sophistication.
Ok, I do welcome your thoughts and comments, see whether there are these so-called 'perceptions" which will be shaped as all sides now fight to control what you perceive. He who can do it, will win. PAP knows that it cannot rely on its monopoly when there is an upcoming social media. The social media will gain more influence far more than one realise. Things cannot be hidden and transparency will be the hallmark of the day. All of PAP historical baggage of mistakes and "cover-ups" are now highlighted openly. As an observer here, I think the old Sammyboy forum, played that dominant role from late nineties after the birth of internet around 1996 onwards, and how it has influenced the new generation of Singaporeans of the "bad" side of PAP, perhaps will never be highlighted in history books, yet it is something I would wonder. This current forum is really no match to its past with the awesome gathering of ideas and people.
Do pen your thoughts and comments here.
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