Well, the elections in Singapore are over. The opposition parties held on to their 2 seats, but gained no new ones. So the ruling PAP holds 82 out of the 84 seats in Parliament, with an aggregate 66% of the popular vote, a decline from the 75% that they garnered in the last election. Congratulations to the victors all around.
While I can't deny being disappointed that the opposition did not receive a stronger showing, I must admit that I'm not surprised either. It is hard to argue with two things that probably brought about this result: (1) the PAP's track record of success; (2) the materialistic and hardnosed pragmatism of your average Singaporean. Those two facts in combination, made it almost certain that the PAP would win most of the contested seats.
But those who clamor for change need not be disheartened or brokenhearted. The polling results show that the opposition gained a greater percentage of the vote
in every constituency that they challenged. In the Prime Minister's own constituency, which had never before been challenged, a fully 1/3 of the electorate
voted against the Prime Minister! In terms of asking for a mandate or vote of confidence from the people, that's hardly overwhelming. Especially given the lack of press freedom in Singapore and the Government's strong disapproval of political dissent.
There will be a lot of spin put upon the election in the days ahead, rationalization and justification of the results. Nonetheless, I think it is undeniable that this election was a landmark in many ways.
1) The use of the Internet to provide an alternative media source to the Singaporean public, despite the Government's stern warning that political expresion would not be tolerated. Yet many Singaporean bloggers decided to blog on anyway, some quite blatantly, others quite circumspectly. But there can be no denying that the Government failed to squelch Singaporean voices. I think it's a little silly to expect Singaporeans to steadfastly ignore the election while it's going on. I mean, if the entire Singaporean online community kept completely mum about the most important political event of the year, what sort of message would that imply about the importance of politics in Singapore? At this point, I don't know how the Government will react to the defiance of some members of the online community. Sadly, I expect them to actually arrest some people, and possibly fine them or even throw them into prison,
for caring about their country. The Singapore Government is not used to being disobeyed. Ultimately, however, I think this experience will force the Government to re-think its stance on blogging and the Internet. Hopefully it chooses to not be China.
2) The maturing of the political opposition. For a long time, the opposition in Singapore had a credibility problem; they did not field candidates who could inspire confidence in the people. Opposition political rallies really did use to be nothing more than just entertainment. But from listening and hearing to some of the online broadcasts of the rallies, the opposition has managed to capture the hearts of a larger percentage of the people, and even, to a limited extent, their minds as well. It was astounding to hear the crowds, thousands strong, chanting the parties' names, reciting the Singapore pledge, and genuinely
caring about the political future of Singapore. Beyond just populist sentimentality, however, the opposition has also managed to attract an increasing number of young, well-educated, English-speaking professionals, exactly the type of voter that has historically supported the PAP. What is more, it's these professionals that the PAP is relying on to drive the Singapore economy. It must be worrying to see an increasing proportion of them feel that the PAP is not enough.
3) The campaigning gaffes. In past elections, the opposition always seemed to commit more gaffes than the PAP, in terms of picking their words poorly, or employing less than productive tactics and campaign strategies. But this year, it truly felt like the shoe was on the other foot. After Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew denounced third world gutter politics, his party began a campaign of personal attacks against the opposition, outright character assassination. That certainly does not seem like the behavior of civilized first world politicians. The PAP then embarked on a hardcore campaign of pork barrel politics, waving multi-million dollar bribes under voters' noses, warning them that if they didn't vote for the PAP, they would be denied government money that would go to the constituencies that did support the PAP. This is, to varying degrees, a tactic employed by politicians all over the world. But the PAP is certainly one of the most blatant and in-your-face political parties when it comes to "vote-buying." The Prime Minister was caught in a speech talking about how, if the opposition increased its seats in Parliament, he would need to spend more time thinking about how to "fix the opposition" and "buy [voters'] votes." He probably didn't mean for it to come out that way, but they were certainly ill-chosen turns of phrase.
This election will hopefully be a wake-up call for the PAP. Ruling Singapore is not a right, and they cannot rest on their laurels forever, arrogant and assured that their historical success has earned them future security. Political capital was spent on this election, and the Government must go ahead now knowing that at least a full third of Singapore disapproves of their policies and how they are running the country. In established democracies like the U.K. or U.S., a 66% approval rate would be much coveted. In hegemonic Singapore, however, it should be nothing short of alarming.
I should make it clear that my support for the opposition has nothing to do with animosity toward the PAP. But I do think they need to change, and they need to be willing to let go of the past, and their arrogance, and remember to serve the people with humility, ruling not just from their heads, but also their hearts. At the end of the day, they lead
"we, the people of Singapore," not "Singapore, Inc."
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