Some people are trying to sell the idea that it was the large crowds and the possibility of the Opposition forming the government that turned voters off.
Come on! Right from the start, the contest was nailed as one between PAP and WP only. Moreover, only East Coast and Fengshan were named as hot areas. Even Marine Parade was considered cold. (The weak Jalan Besar and Nee Soon teams were not expected to do well.)
Only WP and SDP were named as serious parties. All the other minor parties were named as opportunists. The minor parties' rallies were poorly attended. Even the attendance at SDP's rallies during the first hour were shockingly small. The exception was WP's rallies.
- The blemishing of WP candidates - Daniel Goh, Luke Koh and Gurmit Singh. Even Bernard Chen's occupation as a funeral worker was not let off.
- The highlighting of WP supporters jeering.
- The to-ing and fro-ing over the AHPETC.
- The reporting of Sylvia Lim's arrogance over the negotiations with NSP and her unpalatable comments over the heavenly taste of Fengshan.
- The lynching of candidates, especially NSP's over the smallest mistakes.
- The condemning of the crazy ideas of Paul Thambyah.
- The urging of voters not to vote Chee Soon Juan as he will be corrupted by power.
- The revealing of a joint DPP-SPP team that almost didn't make it.
- The portraying of Jeannette Aruldross as running her own show.
- The reporting of Ang Yong Guan's bitterness.
WP - a blemished leader of the Opposition - selling the idea of at least 20 WP candidates in parliament, the entrenching of itself in a 2-party system, the urging of voters not to vote other parties, its unstoppable track record (Aljunied, Hougang BE, Punggol East BE wins) made matters worse.
Everything created a deep distrust of the Opposition. So few voters wanted to bear the burden of a badly-run Opposition town council in exchange for some noise in parliament.
