Five Reasons Why It Is Difficult To Dislodge The PAP From Power

makapaaa · Apr 21, 2010

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>31976.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Five Reasons Why It Is Difficult To Dislodge The PAP From Power (Part 1)

April 20th, 2010 |

Author: Our Correspondent

By Gilbert Goh
I have read from many online blogs that the government may lose its grip on power with some even predicting it’s downfall during the next election.
Many also forecasted that the foreigner influx will be a serious enough issue to push many voters who are sitting on the fences all along to vote for the opposition. I beg to differ here.
Bread and butter issues have all along figure hugely on how the pragmatic Singaporean voters will vote. Voters will vote for the government if it can provide enough work for the whole population and the people feel well taken care of. Many have even exchanged some of their basic citizens’ right for the assurance of a comfortable living lifestyle. And why not?
Many older married Singaporeans – the traditional voting base of the PAP – have pragmatically reasoned that having a good job and a decent roof over one’s head is definitely better than getting all the democratic goodies that younger educated Singaporeans are craving for right now.
It is foreseeable that the post-65s voters will split down the line on who they will vote for during an election. The average older Singaporeans and stay-at-home housewives will likely vote for the PAP.
However, the current anti-foreigner sentiments have indeed weigh adversely against the ruling party. No one though will dare to predict that this will cause a vote swing large enough to allow the opposition to win any seats in the next elections let alone topple the ruling party from power.
Many Singaporeans, especially those in the vulnerable age group of between 40 – 60, have found themselves displaced by cheaper younger foreigners. From blue collared service staff in eateries to IT executives of multi national corporations, many Singaporeans have found themselves been made jobless by foreigners. Though globalization is always there and our country has welcomed foreigners all along, this is the first time that the invasion has been so massive and destructive. Incoming foreigner migrants have also caused public housing prices to shoot through the roof angering many Singaporeans in the process.
Employers will be merciless here and will not hesitate to fire our local workers if they can find cheaper better foreign alternatives. Professionals, managers, engineers and technicians (PMETS) now found that they have to compete with cheaper foreigners for jobs that normally belonged to the local workforce. If the opposition parties could shrewdly exploit this major grievance, the advantage is theirs to seize.
It is true that the foreigner worker factor will figure hugely on how the ruling party will fare in the next elections. Of course, on the other hand, the huge plus point for the ruling party will be the extra votes that it can anticipate to reap from the foreign-citizens. New foreign-born citizens will not want to bite the hand that feeds them and moreover all they have now is just thanks-giving for the ruling party who have given them a new lease of life in a first-world country.
The statistics of the most recent general elections in 2006 were summarized as follows:
The 2006 Singapore parliamentary general election was held on 6 May 2006. 1.22 million out of the 2.16 million eligible Singaporeans voted for Members of Parliament and elected their next government.[1] The People’s Action Party (PAP), in its first election under Lee Hsien Loong, won 66.6% of the overall votes and gained 82 out of 84 seats. The PAP returned for a twelfth consecutive term in office under the Prime Minister.[2] The general election was held under the first-past-the-post system. The parliament was dissolved by President S R Nathan on 20 April, three weeks before the election. On Nomination Day, the PAP gained 37 seats in divisions which were uncontested by other parties.[3] The main election issues included employment, cost of living, housing, transport, education, the need for an effective opposition voice in parliament, and the quality of the candidates. (Source:wikipedia)
I have listed five reasons why the PAP will continue to hang on in power even though it seems to have mess up a abit these days.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

makapaaa · Apr 21, 2010

A Weak Opposition
Our opposition parties have now aggressively tried to recruit candidates for the next election. Some Singaporeans are also hoping that at least one GRC will fall to the opposition which is also unprecedented.
I believe that winning at least a GRC for the opposition is possible with the current sentiments right now. The Worker’s Party had the best show in a GRC constituency with the hotly-contested Aljunied GRC (145.141 voters) during the last election four years ago. For the record, the PAP won 74,843 votes (56.09%) whereas the Worker’s Party won 58,593 votes (43.91%) – not really a close call here.
The Prime Minister’s Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang GRC was also contested in 2006 and received a rude shock when the opposition Workers’ Party young team polled a comforting 33% votes despite its’ lack of political experience.
Moreover, the WP must be commended for winning a respectable 38% of the overall votes making it the next opposition party to watch in the next elections.
More importantly, the PAP’s winning margin for the 2006 GE was greatly reduced from the 2001 elections’ 75% to 66.6%. It showed that within five years, the PAP’s popularity vote has slipped a shocking 8.4% and revealed that voters can change course if given the right circumstances. The after effects of globilisation and rising cost of living were the main topics for debate during that period. People were also also generally unhappy that the ruling party monopolized in parliament – a familiar key topic during elections campaigning.
During the 2006 elections, PAP used a slew of budget goodies and threats of not upgrading future opposition wards to win over votes. The result went to show, through the reduced majority votes, that this strategy may not go down well with the general voting population.
So, can the opposition seizes the advantage now given the hot button issue in foreign workers?
Our opposition political parties could be the only one in the world that is incapable of forming a coalition government even if a freak result does occurs and the ruling party is being voted out through majority votes. Many voters simply just want them to win one or two more seats in addition to the two existing opposition members’ seats in Parliament. This is a sad phenomenon that needs to be changed.
Our opposition parties need to convince the voters that they can do a good job when they are being voted amass into parliament. They can’t be seen as second-rate opposition hoping to only win one or two seats in the elections. They have to think big and more importantly act that they can do it. So far, they have not being able to generate enough confidence in the voters to cause them to vote otherwise. Many voters, I believe, have voted for the PAP grudgingly as they could not see that there is a better alternative choice.
Too many seats were also left uncontested during past elections giving the feeling that the opposition is insipid and incapable. The elections are already lost when many voters do not have the chance to vote at all even though certain constituencies may be seen as sure-lose contest. By targetting certain selected constituencies for election contest and sending the ruling party into governance even before a vote is cast, the opposition is already admitting defeat before polling day. The ruling party needs to at least earn the right to form the next government even if it means sure defeat for many opposition candidates. The election experience will also do opposition candidates a world of good when they decide to stand for general elections in future.
Our opposition needs to pull up their socks and unite together so that they can be a strong viable force to be reckoned with. As of now, they are merely splinter political groups that try to scrap for a win or two in Parliament.
So, has our opposition political parties manage to create real confidence in the people’s heart to vote for them? I don’t think so.
Our opposition parties’ performance have remained sublime at best. With only Chiam See Tong and Low Thia Khiang winning the elections so far, unfortunately, Singaporeans could not really see what the opposition can do in parliament.
Of course, a controlled press is also not helping them very much in their cause. Our press has in fact done them much damage by publishing a lot of the opposition parties’ infighting and this has clouded their credibility in the eyes of the public. How this will affect their performance in the forthcoming elections remain unclear but it is certainly not helping them at all.
Our opposition parties clearly could not work together and in-fighting is still there. I do not want to elaborate more on this here. All the publicized baggage has hurt them in the credibility compartment. If they could not get their act together as a team what confidence can Singaporeans have when they are voted into Parliament?
Many Singaporeans tend to compare the ruling party’s scholarly-type squeaky clean candidates with those that the opposition parties paraded during elections. Abled well-educated Singaporeans need to stand up and join the opposition politics if they want to see changes in the country’s political climate.
However, we all know that being a scholar does not mean that you can connect with the ground well and able to help the common folks. It takes a lot of heart and walking the talk to be a people’s leader. I rather have a taxi driver MP who can speak out for the people than someone who is well educated but could not really understand the issues that affect the common people.
Singaporeans will want to feel that they have voted in the right candidates during an election even if they have hated the ruling party. They may prefer to spoil their votes if they feel that the opposition candidates are not up to the mark. Thus, the performance of a candidate during election campaigning is extremely crucial as if he can inspire confidence and speaks eloquently, he has every chance of winning his constituencies’ votes.
Of course, there will be voters who will vote for any opposition party candidate that stands for elections in his ward. They are the die-hard anti-PAP voters and I believe that this group represents at least a massive 35% of the population. The real challenge is how can he win over the remaining 16% of the voters to ensure that he will win the elections at his constituency?
Personally, I still feel that the opposition political parties need to tighten up and improve on its act. They need to find other innovative ways to let Singaporeans know what they have done and can do for Singapore. Many Singaporeans are clueless as to what the few opposition parties have being up to and what alternative strategies they can bring to the people. Many political parties now, fortunately, have harness the internet to publicise their activities and causes. This is a big step forward and hopefully Singaporeans will get to know more about the opposition parties from their websites and over time the voting public can feel confident enough to vote for the opposition.
The latest parliamentary representation is summarized as follows and provided a snapshot how much ground the opposition has to cover in order to narrow the gap:

makapaaa · Apr 21, 2010

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#f9f9f9 width=82>Leader
</TD><TD bgColor=#f9f9f9 width=75>

Lee Hsien Loong