The bulk of eligible voters used to be aged over 40 (it’s changing now) and the irrational fear of repercussions from voting Opposition has I believe worked in favour of PAP. There are also all sorts of urban legends floating around about people not getting their HDB applications approved allegedly due to their having voted Opposition.

I hope the WP recognises this social pattern and perhaps has a strategy in place to educate people on the voting process and voter confidentiality. It sounds rather minor and small, but it’s a mindset that is very hard to change cos it taps directly into people’s psychological fears that their bread and butter will be threatened by voting a certain way. And the group that has the most to lose but are now very largely represented is the MIDDLE CLASS. As long as people FEAR that something they have can be taken away, nothing can overcome that, not political ideals, not social grievances and certainly not their confidence in an opposition political party, no matter how persuasive you are.

I certainly do my best to educate people about how it works, why we have serial numbers on voting slips (one-man-one-vote, from British system) and what happens to the votes (locked and sealed in Supreme ct for 6 months before being burnt). Hope WP will also try to do this in some way.

“I would say that he is unwise to join the opposition because in sg, without the PAP in power, the country will falter.”

How can you say ‘will’ when you cannot prove it?
Are you saying something will happen when you Cannot prove it?

When PAP 1st took power, it had no experience.

Also, can you answer the following:
1. How much is the TOTAL absolute amount of losses incurred ?
2. How do you know? Based on what?
3. What is the construction cost of ANY HDB flat unit? You need to show the price and ‘generous subsidy’ changes
over the last 20 years.
4. Why WP has the highest turn out in rallies held in last 2 elections compared to other parties?
Why after the counting, the result is disappointing? If people do not support WP, why would they turn out in shocking numbers in rain and in mud?

As you can see, while i TRUST , these are questions that beg to be asked and I ask these from a Technical Perspective.

Are these questions enough for you to handle? If not i can give you some more.

I just received a reply from Shin Leong today. Please forget about what I’ve said earlier.

Anyway, congrats : )

Over the last decade, a minority of talents have started to see there is a need to have Check and Balance and a strong voice to represent the 33.3%. All bills can easily be passed if not guaranteed to pass given the almost non-existant opposition for the last 50 years.

Talents do exist, as i have said numerous times but its understandable people do not believe this.
Even talents as talented as LBW, WSK, WKS, LSS , THP, SHT etc etc etc …. exist.
They choose not to join Opposition for some reason.

So, its highly Applaudable that talents are now starting to attempt help the society by strengthening its Alternative Parties with objective to Form the Next Governemnt. The Shadow Government.

The past is not the present.
Change is the only constant.
Life is Finite.
The biggest strength can also be the archiles tendon.

So helpless….will fight to defend IT.

gemami – Thanks!

Let this be your goal and the goal of your party. The lives of many Singaporeans are now standing on the threshold of being ruined by the insolence and arrogance of the ruling PAP government. We are becoming a forgotten citizen in our own home.

Like someone else said in his comment, Opposition politics is no longer about checks and balances – it is about representing the need of Singaporeans. For such representation, the Opposition must begin to work towards winning, yes; defeating the mighty Goliath that is the PAP.

In order to do this, the Opposition must get itself in shape by not harping on the ‘symptoms of diseases’ but to find a cure for such diseases. You have your work cut out for you. That’s the easy part. Finding workable solutions which appeal to the masses, as well as for the larger good of the country, are the difficult parts.

People may talk about the poor track record of the Opposition but don’t be disheartened. The real track record of the Opposition is this: that they continue to serve the community and the country even though they have been literally torn to shreds. This is their track record – one that speaks volumes about their sincerity and commitment to Singapore; one that is not led by the sweet smell of bank notes and secured living.

Go therefore with our prayers and our best wishes – O true son of Singapore!

People join the Opposition because they must feel that the Incumbent is not doing the right or the best thing, and that they can do better. It should be merely a difference in opinion and ideology, nothing wise or unwise about it.

In Singapore, the track record of the Opposition at the polls is frankly so dismal that I cannot imagine any sane person joining the Opposition Parties with wealth accumulation, social advancement, self-aggrandizement or self-preservation in mind.

Candidates for the Incumbent might well be horses of a different colour altogether. As our PM has unabashedly admitted, love of king and country has little to do with it.

The sacrifices that PAP members make in time and effort and public exposure do not seem any greater than that made by Opposition members. Opposition members do not have large staffs of PA and aides and big budgets to work with. Opposition members hardly have equal airing of views in the MSM. Opposition members probably risk some ostracism in their social lives and possibly in their employment. PAP members do not have to apply to the Opposition for permits :).

Also, the two points you mentioned seem mutually exclusive. If the Opposition are, as you said, untried, one cannot be sure that they would not do better than the PAP, either. Conversely, if you assert as a fact that Singapore would falter in the hands of the Opposition, you have in effect already tried (and convicted) the Opposition.

I sent the WP an email with an idea for a small campaign and have not heard from your party since. Hope you guys are not getting too big for small people like me.

Are you so sure that the current batch of PAP leaders and the scholars they are going to recruit for the upcoming GE are “tested”? Past performance is no guarantee of future success. With the exception of MM Lee, none of them have been through a serious electoral battle, nor have they faced the crises of the 60s.

To vote in a virtually “all-white” Parliament again would be to place a high stake on a very shaky hand.

On the other hand, if you take the time to examine some of the opposition party candidates, there’s a lot more substance to them than just “human rights issues”. More substance, I would argue, than most of the PAP MPs.

I think this group cannot be reached.

Coincidentally, i think this group could be the retirees, lorry drivers, blue-collar workers or hawker stall millionaires who only can read chinese, malay or hindi.
Many blue collar citizens could be very unhappy with the policies.

From what I have read in new media, only friends and relatives of the family are co-opted into the higher echelons of the MIW.