I am sure after a night's rest, we all woke to the reality that a PAP man is now in the Istana. Here are couple of points;
1) Tan Jee Say has to carry the can on this and not the voters. As a man who went into politics, he should have known the consequence of vote splitting. If the plan was to raise his profile, I think it backfired terribly. He will remember this day for all the wrong reasons.
2) I don't blame the voters as they have other important thing in life to follow than the politics of the day. They cannot be expected to read between the lines. Especially so when the state press is prevalent. There was also continued hunger on the ground for checks and balances and desperation set in.
3) The Social Media had a lot to play. The state controlled press is a captive and it was left to the social media to articulate the position of the voiceless and champion those who reached out the most. In this respect, they rightly or wrongly pushed TJS as their choice. The high falutin thinkers typically tend to write profound prose and to gain credibility tend also to sit on the fence. It did not help the man on the ground.
4) The construct of the PE is very different from that of GE. The PAP in its wisdom intentionally made it non-partisan and required candidates to leave their parties. It also threw a spanner in the works. It gave the impression that any form of political party input was taboo. As a result the role of party elders was undermined and any opportunity to mediate and negotiate between like minded contenders was lost. We could have avoided 3 cornered fights at every elections except for the usual mavericks and it did serve its purpose.
5) The role played by Nicole Seah, Jeannette Aruldoss and other similar identities did have an impact. They were known, they were respected and they had admirers. They should have known better. If they had sought out the opinion of the opposition elders, they would have received a reading of the ground and a background of TCB. It obviously did not occur.
6) The role of NSP. This must be a surprise to some when I add this but I think party discipline and party coordination is key when you taken on the PAP. Of all the parties, NSP broke into different camps and assumed it was non-partisan. They played into the hands of the PAP. They did not understand that their supporters take their cue from those in the party. NSP itself help split the votes.
7) Let me highlight one party that showed tremendous restraint and certainly not in line with their past. SDP and Chee was exemplary in the current hustings. They provided support, logistics, manpower but they did not flash their brand of politics. It is not a brand that works for PE and they must have read it right.
Lastly, we all stuffed up. From Alex Au, Lucky Tan to you, me and the dog named boo all stuffed mightly. We played to the tune of PAP. Instead of forming a loose alliance and seeing the bigger picture, we talked about inconsequential matters such as females representation in the working sector, 377A, Marxist Conspiracy, Investment track record, voice of the people, people's council etc. The reality is that the President has no say in an of this. It is largely a ceremonial office with some checks and balances.
In the main Tan Jee Say should have withdrawn when he knew that it may lead to votes being split. He should have done a Chiam in this instance. It would have been easier for the voters who after all is the common man in the street.
1) Tan Jee Say has to carry the can on this and not the voters. As a man who went into politics, he should have known the consequence of vote splitting. If the plan was to raise his profile, I think it backfired terribly. He will remember this day for all the wrong reasons.
2) I don't blame the voters as they have other important thing in life to follow than the politics of the day. They cannot be expected to read between the lines. Especially so when the state press is prevalent. There was also continued hunger on the ground for checks and balances and desperation set in.
3) The Social Media had a lot to play. The state controlled press is a captive and it was left to the social media to articulate the position of the voiceless and champion those who reached out the most. In this respect, they rightly or wrongly pushed TJS as their choice. The high falutin thinkers typically tend to write profound prose and to gain credibility tend also to sit on the fence. It did not help the man on the ground.
4) The construct of the PE is very different from that of GE. The PAP in its wisdom intentionally made it non-partisan and required candidates to leave their parties. It also threw a spanner in the works. It gave the impression that any form of political party input was taboo. As a result the role of party elders was undermined and any opportunity to mediate and negotiate between like minded contenders was lost. We could have avoided 3 cornered fights at every elections except for the usual mavericks and it did serve its purpose.
5) The role played by Nicole Seah, Jeannette Aruldoss and other similar identities did have an impact. They were known, they were respected and they had admirers. They should have known better. If they had sought out the opinion of the opposition elders, they would have received a reading of the ground and a background of TCB. It obviously did not occur.
6) The role of NSP. This must be a surprise to some when I add this but I think party discipline and party coordination is key when you taken on the PAP. Of all the parties, NSP broke into different camps and assumed it was non-partisan. They played into the hands of the PAP. They did not understand that their supporters take their cue from those in the party. NSP itself help split the votes.
7) Let me highlight one party that showed tremendous restraint and certainly not in line with their past. SDP and Chee was exemplary in the current hustings. They provided support, logistics, manpower but they did not flash their brand of politics. It is not a brand that works for PE and they must have read it right.
Lastly, we all stuffed up. From Alex Au, Lucky Tan to you, me and the dog named boo all stuffed mightly. We played to the tune of PAP. Instead of forming a loose alliance and seeing the bigger picture, we talked about inconsequential matters such as females representation in the working sector, 377A, Marxist Conspiracy, Investment track record, voice of the people, people's council etc. The reality is that the President has no say in an of this. It is largely a ceremonial office with some checks and balances.
In the main Tan Jee Say should have withdrawn when he knew that it may lead to votes being split. He should have done a Chiam in this instance. It would have been easier for the voters who after all is the common man in the street.
