NSP's Nicole Seah now 2nd most 'liked' politician
By Chua Hian Hou
SIX DAYS after starting her Facebook profile, National Solidarity Party (NSP) candidate Nicole Seah is now Singapore's second most popular politician online after Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
As of 11pm yesterday, the 24-year-old opposition candidate had amassed 20,000 fans against Mr Lee's 54,000 fans.
Earlier in the day, she overtook previous runner-up Foreign Minister George Yeo, who has 18,700 fans.
Only Miss Seah and Mr Yeo are, however, active on the social networking site used by one in two Singaporeans. Mr Lee's page is not actively maintained and has limited content.
Some other prominent politicians online include Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is known to post comments via the People's Action Party's Marine Parade Facebook account MParader.
Within the ruling party, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has 1,000 fans, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has 1,200 fans, and new face Tin Pei Ling has 2,750 fans.
On the opposition side, Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim has 2,250 fans, while the Singapore Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan has 1,200 fans.
Asked whether she thought online popularity translates into votes, Miss Seah replied: 'This is a watershed election for social media, and how this will translate into votes is anybody's guess. We need to integrate online platforms with offline outreach to make a strong impact.'
Miss Seah is part of the NSP team contesting against SM Goh's team in Marine Parade GRC.
Asked the same question, Mr Yeo was more definite.
Online popularity, he declared, does have a bearing on votes. 'The question is: How much?'
Fans - and how they fare
MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW: 54,000 fans (2 years)
NSP CANDIDATE NICOLE SEAH: 20,000 (6 days)
FOREIGN MINISTER GEORGE YEO: 18,700 (2 years)
PAP NEW FACE TIN PEI LING: 2,750
WORKERS' PARTY CHAIRMAN
SYLVIA LIM: 2,250
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER MAH BOW TAN: 1,200
SINGAPORE DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER CHEE SOON JUAN: 1,200
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TEO CHEE HEAN: 1,000
By Chua Hian Hou
SIX DAYS after starting her Facebook profile, National Solidarity Party (NSP) candidate Nicole Seah is now Singapore's second most popular politician online after Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
As of 11pm yesterday, the 24-year-old opposition candidate had amassed 20,000 fans against Mr Lee's 54,000 fans.
Earlier in the day, she overtook previous runner-up Foreign Minister George Yeo, who has 18,700 fans.
Only Miss Seah and Mr Yeo are, however, active on the social networking site used by one in two Singaporeans. Mr Lee's page is not actively maintained and has limited content.
Some other prominent politicians online include Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is known to post comments via the People's Action Party's Marine Parade Facebook account MParader.
Within the ruling party, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has 1,000 fans, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has 1,200 fans, and new face Tin Pei Ling has 2,750 fans.
On the opposition side, Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim has 2,250 fans, while the Singapore Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan has 1,200 fans.
Asked whether she thought online popularity translates into votes, Miss Seah replied: 'This is a watershed election for social media, and how this will translate into votes is anybody's guess. We need to integrate online platforms with offline outreach to make a strong impact.'
Miss Seah is part of the NSP team contesting against SM Goh's team in Marine Parade GRC.
Asked the same question, Mr Yeo was more definite.
Online popularity, he declared, does have a bearing on votes. 'The question is: How much?'
Fans - and how they fare
MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW: 54,000 fans (2 years)
NSP CANDIDATE NICOLE SEAH: 20,000 (6 days)
FOREIGN MINISTER GEORGE YEO: 18,700 (2 years)
PAP NEW FACE TIN PEI LING: 2,750
WORKERS' PARTY CHAIRMAN
SYLVIA LIM: 2,250
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER MAH BOW TAN: 1,200
SINGAPORE DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER CHEE SOON JUAN: 1,200
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TEO CHEE HEAN: 1,000