- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
[h=2]Is she destined to make history in modern Singapore’s politics?[/h]
January 21st, 2013 | Author: Contributions
In the history of post-independent Singapore, there was never an opposition candidate won a 4-cornered fight election. (The last time it happened was pre-independence where David Marshall won in a 5-cornered fight by-election of Anson in 1961, with the blessing of PAP’s left-wing).
As at today, the prospect of Ah Lian setting that election record for modern Singapore’s politics is still realistic.
Yesterday, one group of friends met for dinner and talked about the Punggol East by-election. A man offered an interesting but somewhat ‘strange’ analysis; he raised a question on whether the whole series of events (started since last General Election) leading to the current by-election was indeed pre-arranged for Ah Lian, i.e. is it Heaven’s Will?
First battle, Ah Lian in strong spotlight
General Election 2011 was the first time Ah Lian put on her suit of armour. She was assigned to fight in the battlefield of Punggol East. Apart from being young and inexperienced, her opponents were seasoned warriors. It was the only constituency that had a 3-cornered fight and therefore it attracted plenty of attention. The local media was more than happy to provide coverage on SDA’s protest over WP fielding Ah Lian into Punggol East – a constituency which SDA perceived as its territory.
Unexpectedly, Ah Lian gained more than the fair share of publicity!
More importantly, Ah Lian scored well in that General Election. As if Heaven has a special reason for arranging such an outcome, Ah Lian scored well enough to gain positive publicity but not well enough to qualify for NCMP.
“Hougang Incident” – making Punggol East by-election possible
Within a year of General Election 2011, the Hougang’s Incident saw WP leadership setting a moral standard, which in turn gave rise to the need for a by-election in Hougang.
As in the past, the PM argued that he had the unfettered discretion on deciding when to call a by-election. However a woman, living on welfare aid, challenged the PM’s legal interpretation in court. It was believed that out of embarrassment, the PM called for a by-election in Hougang.
Punggol East by-election
In less than a year, an incident of similar nature to Hougang happened in Punggol East. The PAP had to live up to WP’s moral standard – the need for a by-election in Punggol East therefore arises. While the court had, rightly or wrongly, ruled that the PM had an unfettered discretion on deciding the timing of a by-election, the PM felt morally obliged to call for Punggol East by-election – due to the similar way both wards’ MP positions were vacated. And further, the ground could only get worse for the ruling party.
Lucky Ah Lian
Ah Lian is in public spotlight again, and with more fans than ever.
Unlike in the Hougang by-election, there was no rumour about internal fight against the party nominating Ah Lian to stand in this Punggol East by-election. She was the one who last fought in that ward, and she fought well – so she becomes the logical choice. Further, there was no legal complication in nominating her because she is not a NCMP and thus the risk of reducing WP’s representation in parliament does not arise.
The sacking of a senior member for not observing party discipline soon after the Hougang by-election might have been an effective warning to all party members on the need to support the candidate chosen by the party. Ah Lian marched into the battlefield with party’s strong firing support.
As if to soar Ah Lian’s popularity to an intoxicating height, Heaven has arranged for Ah Lian a 4-cornered fight this round. The whole nation is now looking at the battlefield; the nation is now looking at Ah Lian!
Everything seemed to fall in place for Ah Lian, so far!
We will soon find out whether it is God’s Will that Ah Lian should make history.
Whether history will be made by a simple and ordinary woman, one thing is already certain : Ah Lian has become a well known politician!
.
Celia Lim
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/01/21/is-she-destined-to-make-history-in-modern-singapore’s-politics/
In the history of post-independent Singapore, there was never an opposition candidate won a 4-cornered fight election. (The last time it happened was pre-independence where David Marshall won in a 5-cornered fight by-election of Anson in 1961, with the blessing of PAP’s left-wing).
As at today, the prospect of Ah Lian setting that election record for modern Singapore’s politics is still realistic.
Yesterday, one group of friends met for dinner and talked about the Punggol East by-election. A man offered an interesting but somewhat ‘strange’ analysis; he raised a question on whether the whole series of events (started since last General Election) leading to the current by-election was indeed pre-arranged for Ah Lian, i.e. is it Heaven’s Will?
First battle, Ah Lian in strong spotlight
General Election 2011 was the first time Ah Lian put on her suit of armour. She was assigned to fight in the battlefield of Punggol East. Apart from being young and inexperienced, her opponents were seasoned warriors. It was the only constituency that had a 3-cornered fight and therefore it attracted plenty of attention. The local media was more than happy to provide coverage on SDA’s protest over WP fielding Ah Lian into Punggol East – a constituency which SDA perceived as its territory.
Unexpectedly, Ah Lian gained more than the fair share of publicity!
More importantly, Ah Lian scored well in that General Election. As if Heaven has a special reason for arranging such an outcome, Ah Lian scored well enough to gain positive publicity but not well enough to qualify for NCMP.
“Hougang Incident” – making Punggol East by-election possible
Within a year of General Election 2011, the Hougang’s Incident saw WP leadership setting a moral standard, which in turn gave rise to the need for a by-election in Hougang.
As in the past, the PM argued that he had the unfettered discretion on deciding when to call a by-election. However a woman, living on welfare aid, challenged the PM’s legal interpretation in court. It was believed that out of embarrassment, the PM called for a by-election in Hougang.
Punggol East by-election
In less than a year, an incident of similar nature to Hougang happened in Punggol East. The PAP had to live up to WP’s moral standard – the need for a by-election in Punggol East therefore arises. While the court had, rightly or wrongly, ruled that the PM had an unfettered discretion on deciding the timing of a by-election, the PM felt morally obliged to call for Punggol East by-election – due to the similar way both wards’ MP positions were vacated. And further, the ground could only get worse for the ruling party.
Lucky Ah Lian
Ah Lian is in public spotlight again, and with more fans than ever.
Unlike in the Hougang by-election, there was no rumour about internal fight against the party nominating Ah Lian to stand in this Punggol East by-election. She was the one who last fought in that ward, and she fought well – so she becomes the logical choice. Further, there was no legal complication in nominating her because she is not a NCMP and thus the risk of reducing WP’s representation in parliament does not arise.
The sacking of a senior member for not observing party discipline soon after the Hougang by-election might have been an effective warning to all party members on the need to support the candidate chosen by the party. Ah Lian marched into the battlefield with party’s strong firing support.
As if to soar Ah Lian’s popularity to an intoxicating height, Heaven has arranged for Ah Lian a 4-cornered fight this round. The whole nation is now looking at the battlefield; the nation is now looking at Ah Lian!
Everything seemed to fall in place for Ah Lian, so far!
We will soon find out whether it is God’s Will that Ah Lian should make history.
Whether history will be made by a simple and ordinary woman, one thing is already certain : Ah Lian has become a well known politician!
.
Celia Lim
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/01/21/is-she-destined-to-make-history-in-modern-singapore’s-politics/
