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The recent general election has made clear that a new political culture is emerging in Singapore, said Professor Chan Heng Chee on Wednesday (July 15).
The veteran diplomat noted how on one hand, the political style of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) emphasises strong government, effectiveness, a legalistic culture and the delivery of a better life for the people - which some have called paternalistic.
On the other hand, many citizens want to see Singapore evolve into a full-fledged democracy. Observers have also expressed a desire for rules to be applied to all political participants fairly, and for gerrymandering to be restrained, she noted.
"Even as we yearn for democratic competition, competitive politics, we are asking for a kinder and gentler politics. We seem to be repulsed by the competitive, mean politics of some Western democracies," she said in a lecture livestreamed on Facebook.
Prof Chan, an Ambassador-at-Large with the Foreign Ministry, was delivering the last of three lectures as the Institute of Policy Studies' 7th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore. Wednesday's lecture was titled "Singapore in a Time of Flux: Optimism from the Jaws of Gloom".
Giving her take on the results of the election, which saw the PAP win 83 of 93 seats and 61.24 per cent of the popular vote, down from 69.9 per cent in the 2015 election, Prof Chan noted that young people aged 25 to 35 make up one of the biggest groups in the population.
The Workers' Party (WP), which won an unprecedented 10 of the 93 seats and a second GRC, clearly understood this, choosing youthful candidates and issues that resonated with Generation Z voters, she added.
"Clearly, this age group bought the opposition message of the need for diverse voices in Parliament and the need for checks and balances," said Prof Chan.
She also noted that while conventional wisdom says that people become more conservative as they get older, a Pew Research report suggests that American millennials and Generation Xers (those aged 35 to 49) are different from generations before them, including the baby boomers. They have a distinct and increasingly liberal outlook on many issues, she said.
"I expect our millennials will continue to support diverse voices and an opposition in Parliament as a good thing even as they age... The incumbent party will have to understand this group better to win back their vote," she added.
More at https://www.straitstimes.com/politi...er-and-gentler-politics-is-emerging-says-chan
The veteran diplomat noted how on one hand, the political style of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) emphasises strong government, effectiveness, a legalistic culture and the delivery of a better life for the people - which some have called paternalistic.
On the other hand, many citizens want to see Singapore evolve into a full-fledged democracy. Observers have also expressed a desire for rules to be applied to all political participants fairly, and for gerrymandering to be restrained, she noted.
"Even as we yearn for democratic competition, competitive politics, we are asking for a kinder and gentler politics. We seem to be repulsed by the competitive, mean politics of some Western democracies," she said in a lecture livestreamed on Facebook.
Prof Chan, an Ambassador-at-Large with the Foreign Ministry, was delivering the last of three lectures as the Institute of Policy Studies' 7th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore. Wednesday's lecture was titled "Singapore in a Time of Flux: Optimism from the Jaws of Gloom".
Giving her take on the results of the election, which saw the PAP win 83 of 93 seats and 61.24 per cent of the popular vote, down from 69.9 per cent in the 2015 election, Prof Chan noted that young people aged 25 to 35 make up one of the biggest groups in the population.
The Workers' Party (WP), which won an unprecedented 10 of the 93 seats and a second GRC, clearly understood this, choosing youthful candidates and issues that resonated with Generation Z voters, she added.
"Clearly, this age group bought the opposition message of the need for diverse voices in Parliament and the need for checks and balances," said Prof Chan.
She also noted that while conventional wisdom says that people become more conservative as they get older, a Pew Research report suggests that American millennials and Generation Xers (those aged 35 to 49) are different from generations before them, including the baby boomers. They have a distinct and increasingly liberal outlook on many issues, she said.
"I expect our millennials will continue to support diverse voices and an opposition in Parliament as a good thing even as they age... The incumbent party will have to understand this group better to win back their vote," she added.
More at https://www.straitstimes.com/politi...er-and-gentler-politics-is-emerging-says-chan
