From: Observer
Subject: At a Glance - General Election 2011
Share of valid votes:
PAP: 60.14%
WP: 12.82%
NSP: 12.04%
SDP: 4.83%
RP: 4.28%
SPP: 3.11%
SDA: 2.78%
Comments:
If you look at the share of valid votes, the opposition parties, WP
did well (12.82%) and NSP also did well (12.04%) . The rest of the
opposition parties are in another group below 5%.
PAP won 81 seats but with a lower over percentage of 60.14%. So voters
have sent the right messages and want PAP to make the necessary
improvements.
The result speaks of a responsible and mature electorate, supporting
the incumbent party, reminding it of areas for improvements, and
welcoming good opposition candidates.
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Watershed Election:-
1. Most number of seats contested by the oppositions since independence.
2. Lowest percentage of votes won by the ruling party since independence.
3. First time an opposition party won the biased GRC, conceived by the PAP.
4. Most number of members from one opposition party elected into Parliament, since independence.
5. First time - 3 ministers of various ranked voted out of Parliament.
6. First time - a nominated Speaker of Parliament got voted out before taking office.
7. First time - a full-fledged Minister (of Foreign Affair) got booted out during a General Election.
8. The PAP won Potong Pasir seat by the narrowest margin since independence - 114 votes.
9. Chiam See Tong, the longest-serving opposition MP in parliament, got booted out after changing constituency for this GE.
The picture is now history of a Heartland Matyr.---------------------------------------------------
From: wiseguy
Ah Loong says he will now listen to the peasants...If he has
really repent, it may happen. His father may not be around in 5 years
time. Or, if the old man has still not kicked the bucket by then, he
should be advised to step down gracefully. Aljunied proved that more
and more people are no longer intimidated by that most eminent senior
citizen...
Oso, he needs to revamp his entire Cabinet. People like Wong Cant
Sing, Viviene ManaKiriKanan, Mabok Tan, $$$ Tuck Yew, Yakult Ibrahim,
Raymond Lampah, and Lim Swee Sway, must go. It's people who really
cared for the people who should be promoted to Cabinet posts.
Unfortunately, I could only think of one right now (which speaks
volumes about the absence of people skills in the PAP leadership) - Dr
Lily Neo for Minister of Community, Youth & Sports. For filling the
other Cabinet posts, Ah Loong needs to look at those younger
candidates who were introduced in 2001 and 2006 elections and have
since built themselves a good reputation for local grassroots work.
Ah Loong has 1 to 2 years to do the above. After that, what policies
he introduced, how these policies are going to be formulated and
implemented will determine the outcome of the 2016 elections.
Of course, having said that, Ah Loong can still choosed to go back
acting bizness as usual. Promising Opposition members, churned by this
election could be hounded into bankruptcy, And the old man may turn up
for the 2016 hustings on a wheelchair and a portable life support
support system in tow...
Oso, more gerrymandering may be on the way: Mountbatten and Joo Chiat
SMCs in the south may moved north to Sembawang GRC. Marine Parade &
East Coast GRCs may move west and merged with Jurong GRC. Looks like the next 5 years may get to be very interesting to see.
If Ah Loong turns out to be the proverbial leopard who cannot
change its spots, I oso dont mind lah....I want to see how far he can
stay on.
Lightning party's bad performance last night did not happen over a
course of 9 days, but over a period of 4-5 years starting from the
2006 elections. Barely months after that election, Ah Loong raised GST
to 7% and gave salary increases for himself and his kaki nang.
Then, in the name of creating thousands of toliet-cleaning jobs
serving foreigners, he opened the floodgates to them, and they in turn
sapu all the better jobs, health facilities, school places, and nice
homes even MRT standing space, at the expense of the locals.
His next big mistake was to write a cheque for 100 billion peanuts of
taxpayers' money, to Temashit, Govermin Investment Caput, & Town
Councils, to play tikam-tikam during the sub-prime crisis.
When people tried to show him the error of his ways, he dont want to
listen. Now having lost 2 Cabinet ministers, 1 future minister, 1
might-have-been Pariahment Speaker, & 1 for-show only MP, Ah Loong
says he has repented, he has seen the light, he will listen, he will
serve the people.
If Ah Loong's mea culpa turns out to be juz wayang, history will
repeat itself again in 2016. Of course, to avoid that, Ah Loong can
resort to gerrymandeering all the constituencies into 1 super-GRC or
give citizenships to 6 million more foreigners. We shall see.
---------------------------------------------------
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Have you seen the faces of the PAP MPs and ministers in their post-election interviews with the press? They looked shocked and were uncertain on what to say and how they should face the public. They were worried they would look arrogant, and that they could use the wrong words during the interview, that would be twisted by the twitter and facebook to mean they erred again. In short, they are rattled!
In past elections, the PAP made full use of the media to gag the oppositions. One can only hear the opposition speaks when one visit one of those rallies. And opposition candidates were painted by PAP as poor quality candidates, lacking in speaking skills and brains.
But in this GE the PAP realised that they could not gag the oppositions anymore with the advent of the social media sites and the growing ability to access information via mobile devices at lightning speed, and free video sites like Youtube. So they loosened the media grip, which they will now live to regret, though it is inevitable.
Suddenly, the politically apathetic Singapore public, were exposed to scores of speeches by opposition candidates, screaming and shouting their messages in such clarity and eloquence into their consciousness, never before allowed in the past, raising questions that they have been asking themselves in their sub-conscience.
The interest generated was immense, and opposition rallies saw such huge crowds, not just for the Workers Party but all the rest. And all of a sudden we have super heroes and heroines to worship. All of a sudden, long time opposition candidates like Sylvia Lim became a national messiah of some sort. Her past speeches which were curbed previously, but now available in Youtube, became a cult and a revelation.
In a short span of 9 days, Singaporeans were made to realize that Singapore actually do have very talented political figures, and all that lies about not enough people joining politics, and the need to pay high salary to get talent to join politics were thrown out of the window. It is just that these talented people are not following the wishes of the Lee family.
In that short span of time, a young girl called Nicole Seah burst into the scene and mesmerized the whole of Singapore like a Goddess from heaven. Her Facebook "likes" overtook that of the most popular man in Singapore, the legendary Lee Kuan Yew, causing the PAP to call up their members to boost up Mr Lee "likes" overnight to prevent the legend from falling off its altar.
The passive and fearful public was stunned into admiration by this 24-year-old, who dares to openly scold the Prime Minister and his cohorts for all their shortcomings.
And for once, the almighty men-in-white, looked very human indeed, with all their flaws exposed to the core. The way they behaved and responded after the elections, they look like wounded chickens that had lost their feathers as well.
The "May Revolution" has begun in Singapore, and these young talents we had will surely be a force to be reckon with in the next few elections. The Lee Dynasty is in danger of crumbling into oblivion if it does not reform itself quickly enough.
---------------------------------------------------
PAP returns to power with reduced mandate
May 8th, 2011 | Author: Your Correspondent
As expected, the PAP won the 2011 general election though with a reduced mandate.
Though the PAP swept 81 out of 87 seats, its share of the popular vote slipped to 60.14 percent from 66.6 percent at the last election in 2006, its worst result since independence.
It also lost a GRC, and along with it 3 ministers, for the first time since the system was introduced in 1988.
The Workers’ Party emerges as the strongest opposition party in Singapore, winning Aljunied GRC by a comfortable margin and increasing its percentage of votes in Hougang SMC.
The three NCMP seats are likely to go to Ms Lina Chiam (SPP), Mr Yee Jenn Jong (WP) and one candidate from WP’s losing team in East Coast GRC.
The biggest loser appears to be the Singapore People’s Party which lost all its contested seats, including Potong Pasir SMC and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
The Singapore Democratic Party saw its percentage of votes improve, but was unable to win Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with its ‘A’ team polling a respectable 39.9 percent of the votes.
In spite fielding the largest slate of candidates among opposition parties, the National Solidarity Party lost all of them including Tampines GRC which was helmed by the unpopular PAP Housing Minister Mah Bow Tan.
The other parties all performed dismally including the newly formed Reform Party which was plagued by bitter in-fighting a few weeks before the election.
Despite optimism among netizens that a political tsunami may arrived, the PAP continues to maintain a stranglehold on power, retaining its two-third majority which will enable it to pass any bills and laws as and when it wishes.
The results of the election show that parties do have an impact on voters’ choices. The Workers’ Party managed to win at least 40 percent of the votes in all the seats it contested even with weak teams as compared to the other opposition parties.
As predicted earlier, the impact of the new media is limited though it may rise in future elections. Though the PAP has won the election, it has clearly weakened and the loss of a GRC may pave the way for more changes to come in Singapore’s new political landscape.
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