http://iseeithinkiblog.wordpress.co...or-for-the-pap-to-do-last-minute-campaigning/
With elections looming around the corner, the ruling party is again making use of the power of its incumbency to change the rules of the game and shift the goal-posts in order to “engineer” another electoral result which will ensure their continued political hegemony.
In other modern democracies, the best result a political party can achieve is a simple majority to form the government without having to enter into a coalition with another party.
Under the unique Singapore political system, the PAP has set such high “standards” for itself that anything less than the status quo (winning 82 out of 84 seats) is considered a failure or in the words of MM Lee Kuan Yew, a “freak” result. (according to Dr Yaacob, this will be a “once in a fifty year” event)
Throughout the years, the PAP has cleverly manipulated the system to maximize its chances of winning in every elections, be it through rampant gerrymandering via the GRC system, serving a dose of pork-barrel politics to threaten the electorate or using the state media to discredit and demolish their opponents. Nothing is left to chance.
The latest announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that an additional “cooling-off” day will be introduced in the next election should not be dismissed as something trivial for it is a reflection of the behind-scene preparations which have been going on for the last few months.
The “cooling-off” day is supposed to give voters more time to “calmly” reflect on their decision and to prevent public disorder from breaking out.
All campaigning including mass rallies, door-to-door visits and display of party logos and symbols in public places will be banned on the “cooling-off” day which is extended to cyberspace as well, but there is one exception: the news reporting on the election in the state media and the traditional broadcasts of political parties will not be affected.
The PAP’s greatest fear lies in the electorate being swayed by charismatic speakers and articles in the new media which lies beyond their control. The additional day is actually an “insurance policy” for them to attempt to influence the outcome of the election in the last minute should things turn out not the way they wanted or expected.
During the 2006 elections, the opposition rallies are attended by tens of thousands of Singaporeans while the PAP rallies only managed to attract a paltry crowd. Even PM Lee’s son admitted that the opposition rallies are more exciting.
Though the new media did not play a major role then, blogger Alex Au of Yawning Bread still managed to embarrass the state media which censored photos of the huge turnout at opposition rallies by posting photos of the large crowd attending the Workers’ Party’s rallies on his blog.
Mr Brown’s “Bak Chor Mee” parody which poured sarcasm on the PAP’s constant harping on the Gomezgate issue was a hit among netizens and exposed the hypocrises of its leaders.
Despite their recent forays into the new media, the PAP has literally no conceivable presence in cyberspace which is dominated by blogs critical of the establishment or sympathetic towards the opposition cause.
The “cooling-off” day will help to counter the advantage enjoyed by the opposition in these two aspects and to tap on the inherent strengths of the PAP which will be given longer air time on TV and favorable coverage in the state media.
In other words, this means that only pro-government voices are allowed to heard in the public domain on the eve of polling day which will surely tilt the playing field in favor of the PAP.
For those who have already made up their minds long before the election, they do not require an extra day to make a “rational” decision.
The target group is voters with no political affiliations and have not decided who to cast their votes for. Due to the general apathy pervading the entire nation, a significant proportion of Singaporeans may fall into this “swing” group which have the potential to determine the final result in closely fought contests.
With Singapore voters becoming more politically astute and demanding coupled with the emergence of the new media as an alternative source of information to counter the official propaganda from the mainstream media, the odds of a “freak” result happening in the next election is not as remote as it seems.
While it is highly unlikely that the PAP will be booted out of government or even denied their customary two-thirds majority due to the ineptitude and weakness of the opposition, there is a good chance that they may lose a GRC which will deal a psychological blow to its aura of invincibility.
GRCs are considered as impregnable “fortresses” of the PAP which had never lost a single one since the scheme was first introduced in the 1988 general elections. Once a GRC falls into the opposition hands, the floodgate will open with more and more Singaporeans joining the ranks of the opposition to challenge the PAP as predicted by MM Lee himself the likely scenario in the post-LKY era.
The Malaysian opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) founded by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was considered a “goner” before the 2008 general elections. After it won an unprecedened 31 seats to become the largest opposition party in parliament, its membership shot up by more than 100 per cent in less than a year.
The stakes are getting higher and higher for the PAP. The loss of a GRC or a few more single wards in addition to the two opposition wards of Potong Pasir and Hougang will herald a new dawn in Singapore politics.
No amount of gerrymandering, propaganda or repression, let alone a ”cooling-off” day can deter a politically aware, educated and informed citizenry for supporting alternative parties to break the political monopoly enjoyed by the PAP continuously since the 1966 elections when the opposition Barisan Sosialist made a colossal blunder by boycotting it.
The real battle will not be fought during the campaigning period or on the eve of polling day, but on every single day after Singaporeans gave the PAP another “overwhelming” mandate in 2006.
From the ministers giving themselves a big pay rise, the relentless influx of foreigners, sky-rocketing prices of public housing, investment losses of Temasek and GIC, rising cost of living to a series of repressive laws introduced to curtail the civil liberties of Singaporeans, the PAP’s “track record” is for all to see. Can we afford to give them another blank cheque to do as they please for the next five years?
By the time the next election is held, the PAP would have been in power for more than 5 decades. The time is ripe for a “freak” election to occur.
With elections looming around the corner, the ruling party is again making use of the power of its incumbency to change the rules of the game and shift the goal-posts in order to “engineer” another electoral result which will ensure their continued political hegemony.
In other modern democracies, the best result a political party can achieve is a simple majority to form the government without having to enter into a coalition with another party.
Under the unique Singapore political system, the PAP has set such high “standards” for itself that anything less than the status quo (winning 82 out of 84 seats) is considered a failure or in the words of MM Lee Kuan Yew, a “freak” result. (according to Dr Yaacob, this will be a “once in a fifty year” event)
Throughout the years, the PAP has cleverly manipulated the system to maximize its chances of winning in every elections, be it through rampant gerrymandering via the GRC system, serving a dose of pork-barrel politics to threaten the electorate or using the state media to discredit and demolish their opponents. Nothing is left to chance.
The latest announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that an additional “cooling-off” day will be introduced in the next election should not be dismissed as something trivial for it is a reflection of the behind-scene preparations which have been going on for the last few months.
The “cooling-off” day is supposed to give voters more time to “calmly” reflect on their decision and to prevent public disorder from breaking out.
All campaigning including mass rallies, door-to-door visits and display of party logos and symbols in public places will be banned on the “cooling-off” day which is extended to cyberspace as well, but there is one exception: the news reporting on the election in the state media and the traditional broadcasts of political parties will not be affected.
The PAP’s greatest fear lies in the electorate being swayed by charismatic speakers and articles in the new media which lies beyond their control. The additional day is actually an “insurance policy” for them to attempt to influence the outcome of the election in the last minute should things turn out not the way they wanted or expected.
During the 2006 elections, the opposition rallies are attended by tens of thousands of Singaporeans while the PAP rallies only managed to attract a paltry crowd. Even PM Lee’s son admitted that the opposition rallies are more exciting.
Though the new media did not play a major role then, blogger Alex Au of Yawning Bread still managed to embarrass the state media which censored photos of the huge turnout at opposition rallies by posting photos of the large crowd attending the Workers’ Party’s rallies on his blog.
Mr Brown’s “Bak Chor Mee” parody which poured sarcasm on the PAP’s constant harping on the Gomezgate issue was a hit among netizens and exposed the hypocrises of its leaders.
Despite their recent forays into the new media, the PAP has literally no conceivable presence in cyberspace which is dominated by blogs critical of the establishment or sympathetic towards the opposition cause.
The “cooling-off” day will help to counter the advantage enjoyed by the opposition in these two aspects and to tap on the inherent strengths of the PAP which will be given longer air time on TV and favorable coverage in the state media.
In other words, this means that only pro-government voices are allowed to heard in the public domain on the eve of polling day which will surely tilt the playing field in favor of the PAP.
For those who have already made up their minds long before the election, they do not require an extra day to make a “rational” decision.
The target group is voters with no political affiliations and have not decided who to cast their votes for. Due to the general apathy pervading the entire nation, a significant proportion of Singaporeans may fall into this “swing” group which have the potential to determine the final result in closely fought contests.
With Singapore voters becoming more politically astute and demanding coupled with the emergence of the new media as an alternative source of information to counter the official propaganda from the mainstream media, the odds of a “freak” result happening in the next election is not as remote as it seems.
While it is highly unlikely that the PAP will be booted out of government or even denied their customary two-thirds majority due to the ineptitude and weakness of the opposition, there is a good chance that they may lose a GRC which will deal a psychological blow to its aura of invincibility.
GRCs are considered as impregnable “fortresses” of the PAP which had never lost a single one since the scheme was first introduced in the 1988 general elections. Once a GRC falls into the opposition hands, the floodgate will open with more and more Singaporeans joining the ranks of the opposition to challenge the PAP as predicted by MM Lee himself the likely scenario in the post-LKY era.
The Malaysian opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) founded by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was considered a “goner” before the 2008 general elections. After it won an unprecedened 31 seats to become the largest opposition party in parliament, its membership shot up by more than 100 per cent in less than a year.
The stakes are getting higher and higher for the PAP. The loss of a GRC or a few more single wards in addition to the two opposition wards of Potong Pasir and Hougang will herald a new dawn in Singapore politics.
No amount of gerrymandering, propaganda or repression, let alone a ”cooling-off” day can deter a politically aware, educated and informed citizenry for supporting alternative parties to break the political monopoly enjoyed by the PAP continuously since the 1966 elections when the opposition Barisan Sosialist made a colossal blunder by boycotting it.
The real battle will not be fought during the campaigning period or on the eve of polling day, but on every single day after Singaporeans gave the PAP another “overwhelming” mandate in 2006.
From the ministers giving themselves a big pay rise, the relentless influx of foreigners, sky-rocketing prices of public housing, investment losses of Temasek and GIC, rising cost of living to a series of repressive laws introduced to curtail the civil liberties of Singaporeans, the PAP’s “track record” is for all to see. Can we afford to give them another blank cheque to do as they please for the next five years?
By the time the next election is held, the PAP would have been in power for more than 5 decades. The time is ripe for a “freak” election to occur.
