Some of my thoughts and observations on this GE.
1) Althought the oppo won 6 seats, more than in prior decades, this election must be seen as a dissaster for the oppo. Anything short of winning 30 seats will not have been a good result. The PAP was ripe for the taking this election, and could have been really punished at the polls.
2) There will be more gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries in the near future. Expect Hougang to be broken up and revert into SMCs. The PAP originated the GRC system as a way to get even more of their Candidates into PArliament, knowing at the time the oppos did not have the manpower to match them in the GRC. Now, that has changed. The tactic has come back to bite them on the ass. Times have changed, people are really sick and tired, and quality people are prepared to run for the oppo parties now.
3) The oppos did a good job of springing good candidates at the last minute. No one heard of Nicole Seah, until the campagning started. This is good, as there is less time foreated the PAP to use their attack dogs like the ISD to intimidate and deter people like her from running.
4) The oppos should continue to keep a high profile on their favourites like Nicole Seah, Tay, etc. Keep their names in the public's memory and get ready for the next election. I am sure they will win, as long as they keep exposing the PAP's lack of heart and compassion, and the hard economic environment.
5) In retrospect, the oppos could have won a few more seats, in particular SMCs if they had redistributed their candidates a bit. For example, Chiam could have retained PP, if his wife did not run there. She could have swap places and gone to contest the GRC. Same for Charles Ong, he could have been easily defeated with a stronger oppo candidate at Joo Chiat. But, I do understand the oppos thinking, and I agree they haveto go for broke and put all their eggs in the best basket.
6) There was a lot of fear that new citizens or FTs would vote for the PAP and that was the reason why they were allowed into singapore. I have tried to telll people this is not true, as only ciitzens can vote, and altough many FTs were given citizenship in the last 5 years, their numbers (low 100,000s) cannot make any impact. This is born out by the fact that the PAP only garnered 60% of the popular vote, down from the 66% before.
7) Did the PAP really only lost 6% less popular vote? I don't think so, I think the number they lost is closer to 10-12%. Why? In the last election, many fewer seats were contested by the oppos. They oppos picked consituencies that gave them the best chance to win. We can safely say that if they had decided to contest in those PAP strongholds at that time, they might have only garnered 30% or less of the popular votes. I think at that the last election, if all the seats were contested, the PAP might have won 70-30. Now with almost all the seats contested, its 60-40, hence 10% loss.
8) Sinkies can prepare themselves for 5 more years of hardship. many people are thinking that this will wake up the PAP and they will be responsive to the people's need. Good luck, don't hold your breath. If I know the PAP, they are thinking business as usual, with additional emphasis on how to fix the oppo before the next election via intimidation, lawsuits, etc. That is how they intend to win back the 6 seats, not by making things better.
9) Even if the PAP were so inclined to listen to the people and carry out policies to make life better, these policies will take years to implement and carry out. The current problems of large numbers of FTs, crowded public transit, high price of accomodations, high cost of living, high healthcare costs, etc. did not happen overnight. They cannot be solved overnight either. To solve them would mean that the PAP has to do a complete 360 degrees on their prior policies, and repudiate all of them. This will not happen. Hence, expect more crowding, more FTs, more job loss, lower income, higher cost of living, etc.
10) I believe that the SDP should look at a legal action against the PAP in regards to the MArine PArade GRC and allegations of politicking during the last day.
1) Althought the oppo won 6 seats, more than in prior decades, this election must be seen as a dissaster for the oppo. Anything short of winning 30 seats will not have been a good result. The PAP was ripe for the taking this election, and could have been really punished at the polls.
2) There will be more gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries in the near future. Expect Hougang to be broken up and revert into SMCs. The PAP originated the GRC system as a way to get even more of their Candidates into PArliament, knowing at the time the oppos did not have the manpower to match them in the GRC. Now, that has changed. The tactic has come back to bite them on the ass. Times have changed, people are really sick and tired, and quality people are prepared to run for the oppo parties now.
3) The oppos did a good job of springing good candidates at the last minute. No one heard of Nicole Seah, until the campagning started. This is good, as there is less time foreated the PAP to use their attack dogs like the ISD to intimidate and deter people like her from running.
4) The oppos should continue to keep a high profile on their favourites like Nicole Seah, Tay, etc. Keep their names in the public's memory and get ready for the next election. I am sure they will win, as long as they keep exposing the PAP's lack of heart and compassion, and the hard economic environment.
5) In retrospect, the oppos could have won a few more seats, in particular SMCs if they had redistributed their candidates a bit. For example, Chiam could have retained PP, if his wife did not run there. She could have swap places and gone to contest the GRC. Same for Charles Ong, he could have been easily defeated with a stronger oppo candidate at Joo Chiat. But, I do understand the oppos thinking, and I agree they haveto go for broke and put all their eggs in the best basket.
6) There was a lot of fear that new citizens or FTs would vote for the PAP and that was the reason why they were allowed into singapore. I have tried to telll people this is not true, as only ciitzens can vote, and altough many FTs were given citizenship in the last 5 years, their numbers (low 100,000s) cannot make any impact. This is born out by the fact that the PAP only garnered 60% of the popular vote, down from the 66% before.
7) Did the PAP really only lost 6% less popular vote? I don't think so, I think the number they lost is closer to 10-12%. Why? In the last election, many fewer seats were contested by the oppos. They oppos picked consituencies that gave them the best chance to win. We can safely say that if they had decided to contest in those PAP strongholds at that time, they might have only garnered 30% or less of the popular votes. I think at that the last election, if all the seats were contested, the PAP might have won 70-30. Now with almost all the seats contested, its 60-40, hence 10% loss.
8) Sinkies can prepare themselves for 5 more years of hardship. many people are thinking that this will wake up the PAP and they will be responsive to the people's need. Good luck, don't hold your breath. If I know the PAP, they are thinking business as usual, with additional emphasis on how to fix the oppo before the next election via intimidation, lawsuits, etc. That is how they intend to win back the 6 seats, not by making things better.
9) Even if the PAP were so inclined to listen to the people and carry out policies to make life better, these policies will take years to implement and carry out. The current problems of large numbers of FTs, crowded public transit, high price of accomodations, high cost of living, high healthcare costs, etc. did not happen overnight. They cannot be solved overnight either. To solve them would mean that the PAP has to do a complete 360 degrees on their prior policies, and repudiate all of them. This will not happen. Hence, expect more crowding, more FTs, more job loss, lower income, higher cost of living, etc.
10) I believe that the SDP should look at a legal action against the PAP in regards to the MArine PArade GRC and allegations of politicking during the last day.
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