Punggol East - What PAP Should Make of it ?

Punggol East just become the 3rd Opposition ward. The ruling party has now lost the last 2 elections (even if they are bi-elections). Both times, the PAP has chalked their failure to the bi-election phenomenon.

Personally, PAP's response to its latest loss is extremely disappointing. I would have expected the ruling party to take a long hard look at how it is that in a mere 21 months, the Workers' Party could have made up huge gains with voters' confidence to win; not narrowly but by an impressive margin 12% margin. In fact, I would even suggest that the PAP's press conference last night caused even more harm than good for the ruling party. DPM Teo projected a stoic front, incessantly citing that it was a bi-election and that it was always going to be a difficult campaign for the ruling party.

A difficult campaign, really ? I beg to differ....

1. The Opposition was seen to be less than united with a 4 corner fight. Granted that the other 2 opposition candidates were minnows but it most definitely did not put the opposition parties in a good light.
2. The Workers' Party was losing their new boy sheen. Mr Low continues to maintain that they are not offering an alternative government but serves to be checks and balance to the ruling party. Some may see this strategy as having a lesser ambition to lead Singapore but instead happy to be sitting at the table and relegated to second fiddle in the political landscape.
3. The government announced a slew of "citizen friendly" initiatives around bi-election period. Most expect that it would help soften the ground for the PAP party and its candidate

Instead, I like to recommend that PM Lee look closely as to why PAP suffered such a resounding loss this time round. Political analysts suggest that Punggol East is a new town, mostly with upwardly mobile young citizens with young famiies. These citizens are educated, do not pledge allegience blindly and without thought. Interestingly, it seems that these are the very citizens that are caught in the "Sandwiched Class". But with all the latest initiatives which was aimed at alleviating the challenges of these young Singaporeans, surely it should have been able to win them over ? So what went wrong ?

Personally, I think that PAP doesn't understand what it has lost for quite a while now - Trust of the people. The GE2011 election was a 1st clear indication where the popular vote dipped to 60.14%, a 6% drop even though they occupy 93.1% of Parliament. Citizens are getting cynical with a government that has been in power for so long that it feels that it no longer understands how to listen nor emphatize with its citizens. Take for example, the candidates in each party's corner - PAP decided to field a surgeon (another validation of PAP's elitist mentality) against WP's sales trainer. Most would agree that citizens can't related to specialist doctors (as oppose to GPs) better than they can relate to a sales trainer.

Ultimately, I continue to believe that PAP has lost the plot. Singapore cannot be govern by technocrats and elitists. Governance is a privilege that requires people who has a deep desire to serve and who understands the plight and challenges of its people. If PAP continues to portray its "Father Knows Best" arrogance and recruits only the elitists based not on the heart but the head, then we may well continue to witness the consequences of a broken covenant between a government and its people.