Singapore Watch

What is your definition of the ‘Singapore Dream’?

Singapore in where?!, originally uploaded by Sunshine follows me

So we drove several hours to a remote part of Germany, to stay in a little self-catering apartment way up in the mountains.

As we approached our destination - a small village nestled into the mountainside - we passed a wooden signboard that appeared to point to…Singapore?! What the…?

To top it all off, a bus unloaded a crowd of tourists as I was checking in at the reception. And what do I hear amidst the din of French and German?

“You know har, dis is my fus time to Cher-many! Yah, reallieee!!”

I guess I’m never too far away from home.

(via sunlight follows me)

photo by cheesecak.
seen on sg_snapshots

So the results are out. The final outcome remains somewhat the same from before, but the process, the road travelled in the past few weeks - definitely a milestone in the history of Singapore politics.

I was at a pub when the election results were being announced. Yeah, in a pub. It’s weird on its own seeing everyone downing beer, while mostly rooting for the opposition. It didn’t matter what opposition party was running, or if it was even their constituency. Politics has suddenly become as entertaining as soccer. You could hear the sounds of groanings and that of cheers with each announcement.

Comparing how the media reports politics in Singapore and the US, I gotta say that the presentation of election results on our TV really pales in comparison to that of the US. I can still remember the recent US Presidential election. They had experts and commentors, lots of diagrams, charts, predictions, analysis, live updates of the votes being counted - the % from the votes that have been counted, and how many uncounted votes remaining. Way before they have even finished counting the votes of a state, most stations were already predicting who would win for that state, and quite accurately at that.

The impression I got, sitting in the pub, was that most didn’t even know what was the possible total votes for each constituency. Thus, when a big number was announced for a GRC like Aljunied, everyone still had their hopes that WP would win. Sad to say, it didn’t happen. When Low and Chiam retained their seats, the whole pub resounded with loud cheers. It’s almost like Singapore just scored a goal in the Malaysian Cup or something.

I didn’t get to vote this time round. Maybe I will get to vote some day. Someone asked me today, what percentage of parliment should consist of those not belonging to PAP. My answer was at least 30%. After all, from all the contested zones, it showed clearly that at least 30% of its residents rooted for whatever party that was running against PAP, if not more.

STARpic by Kenneth Wong

Was in KL over the weekend for work and I just happened to see this on the front page of today’s The Star. The fine print pointed to an article on page 26 entitled ‘Taking on the Mighty PAP’. I was actually surprised that 1) this would make the front page of a Malaysian newspaper and 2) 10,000 people showed up! So surprised that I took home a copy of the article and the front page, intending to scan it and show it to you all.

Here’s the thing - I don’t own a scanner. Thankfully, technology prevails, and The Star actually has an online copy of the article. Do visit the link as it contains pictures. But if it ever gets pulled offline with time, below is a reprint of the article.

For a local account, check out Yawning Bread’s picture essay.

Taking on the mighty PAP
Analysis by Joceline Tan

A section of the 10,000 crowd which attended a Workers Party rally in Singapore on Sunday. It was held at opposition politician Low Thia Kiang’s Hougang ward. It was the biggest election rally that locals had seen in decades. Hundreds of people also jammed onto staircases of nearby apartments to hear the speeches of party leaders. — STARpic by KENNETH WONG

SINGAPORE’S leading opposition politician Low Thia Kiang has the sort of face that rarely betrays any emotion.

But he must have felt wildly elated on Sunday night as he sat on stage before the biggest election rally that locals had seen in decades.

The Workers Party rally was held in the open field in Low’s Hougang ward, one of only two constituencies held by the opposition in Singapore’s 84-seat Parliament.

After days of rain, it was a beautiful night for an open-air rally.

The crowd swelled to some 10,000 even though the sound system was terrible, the field a bit mushy and the stage, from a distance, looked like a bright but tiny spaceship.

It was the sort of crowd that PAS in Malaysia used to command during its heydays in the 1990s.

“Even Andy Lau (one Hong Kong’s four heavenly kings of pop) cannot get this sort of crowd,” said a press photographer as he battled his way through the mass of bodies.

IN FULL SUPPORT: Workers Party supporters carrying placards at a rally held in the open field in Hougang on Sunday.
Singaporeans go to the polls on May 6 as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong seeks a clear mandate for his leadership.

Call it the infamous Singaporean kiasu-ness or whatever, but the PAP, despite its dominance, is trying to wrest back the two opposition seats – Hougang held by Low and Potong Pasir which is held by likeable lawyer Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong, now Senior Minister, is in charge of the takeover bid.

Goh had initially been rather confident of regaining the two seats but after four days of campaigning and the gigantic Hougang rally, it is quite clear that the PAP has a fighting chance only in Potong Pasir.

Low who took over the Worker’s Party leadership from the embattled J.B. Jeyaratnam in 2001 is admired because he is seen as fearless.

CROWD PULLER: Low gesturing while giving his speech on Sunday. Some 10,000 people attended the rally.
The opposition parties, especially the Workers Party, have put up the most impressive challenge in years against the PAP, denying the ruling party its usual nomination day victory.

There are no spoilers or loony candidates among them this time and even Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has somewhat grudgingly conceded that some of them are “fairly presentable.”

But crowd size does not necessarily translate into votes.

Many people are simply curious because the opposition does not get the sort of media space that the ruling party does.

The opposition is unlikely to make much headway in terms of seats although they hope to improve on the 35% share of the popular vote they won in 2001.

Singaporeans lament the lack of an opposition to the mighty PAP but few are willing to take the risk of living in an opposition constituency and being squeezed of amenities that are available in PAP-controlled areas.

Election rallies in Singapore are also quite different from what Malaysians are used to. The rallies begin at 7pm and wrap up promptly at 10pm, the time when most Malaysian ceramah are just starting to warm up.

Supporters like to garland the “star speakers” with orchids – the national bloom – and speakers go through the evening with their heads half-buried under numerous garlands, without removing them even while making their speeches.

Most speakers, from the greenhorns to seasoned Cabinet ministers, rely on written speeches and often come on stage clutching sheets of paper and notebooks.

Even Workers Party chairman Sylvia Lim, a sultry-looking 40-year-old with a rather mellifluous voice, spoke entirely from her notes after a casual start of, “Hi, everybody!”

And there are no silly jokes and few entertaining anecdotes.

The speeches are all pretty serious affairs, loaded with heavy issues – spiralling costs of health care, upgrading of HDP flats, jobs creation, staying competitive, India rising, China taking away our lunch.

Some of the more natural speakers have been Senior Minister Goh and the Prime Minister himself.

At one rally, Lee said he had learnt sign language from his Foreign Minister George Yeo, then he held up his right hand in a three finger gesture – thumb, index and pinkie standing up ala Randy, the judge of American Idol.

He told the applauding crowd: “It means we love you!”

(via The Star Online)

A cute and interesting play put forth by Catherine Lim in her speech at the NUSS forum, “The General Election - Does Singapore Have a Choice?”

PAP Dr Lim: ‘Singaporeans have a choice. Everyone knows that elections here are free, fair, open and they can stand even the most stringent test of any international watchdog body.’

Opposition Dr Lim: ‘We beg to disagree. True freedom cannot exist in a climate of fear. And as everyone knows, Singaporeans are still fearful of being penalised in one way or other if they are seen to be supporting the opposition.’

PAP Dr Lim: ‘Nonsense. Singaporeans are totally free to choose between an inexperienced and inept opposition and a ruling party with a long unbroken record of high competence.

‘In fact, it is a choice not just between bad and good, but between bad and best, and Singaporeans know it. How otherwise can you account for the successive resounding victories of the PAP over 40 years? All this goes to prove that Singaporeans know how to exercise their votes wisely.’

Opposition Dr Lim: ‘Rubbish. Words such as ‘free choice’ and ‘exercise wisely’ have no meaning in a context where the playing field is so grossly uneven…

‘So here you are manipulating electoral rules to give yourself massive advantages such as through the GRC system, dipping into your vast resources to come up with oodles of election goodies to spread around.

‘Now, against this huge, well-oiled machine and juggernaut of the PAP, what chance does the opposition have?’

PAP Dr Lim: ‘Now wait a minute. First and foremost, in a political game, every party plays hard to win big. Whoever heard of the ruling party giving concessions to the opposition.

‘Get real, and don’t complain about an uneven playing field because you had the last five years to do some levelling of the field, to set things right and to recruit competent men and women to come up with a strategy for a credible alternative government. If after all this time you haven’t come up to mark, don’t blame us.’

Anyone know where to get a transcript of the forum?

Excerpt from The New Paper, 28 April, Eugene Wee.