The prospect of the PAP winning all 87 seats in the next Parliament is very real
By Loh Kai Herng
Contributor
Singapore tops the rankings for economic growth. We beat the rest of the world in Science and Mathematics. We also have the best airports, seaports and public transportation networks in the world. But come May 8, we may very well set another First for our tiny island: being the first country in the world to voluntarily vote for authoritarian rule.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, there is a very real and chilling possibility that we might very well wake up on the morning of May 8 to find ourselves with no elected opposition MP in Parliament. In other words, 87 versus 0, a clean sweep for the PAP.
If so, we would probably be the first country in the history of the world to voluntarily vote for authoritarian rule. Authoritarian rule is defined as the absence of opposing views, and the submission to a situation where all political power is concentrated in the hands of a single party, or a single person.
If we vote for an 87-0 situation, we will be making history. We will join a long list of other distinguished authoritarian states with no opposition voices in legislature, including the Soviet Union, China and Vietnam. The difference is, the people in those countries did not vote for a one-party state. Their rulers forced it down on them, with no legitimate voting process. They used the might of the military to make their citizens accept their absolute rule and power. They killed democracy, and stripped away all choices from their people. Their people suffered, and they cried, but the leaders did not listen.
Singapore is different. We live in a political system where we get to vote. One person, one vote. We have a choice. But how are we going to use this choice? Are we going to say that we want to transit into 87-0 authoritarianism for the next five years?
If so, we will miss the voices of Chiam See Tong and Low Thia Khiang in Parliament House. We will miss their ‘No’ votes, and their well-intended arguments on policy. We will have even less participation in debates on national policy compared to before. We will have no influence on anything.
Instead we will have 87 PAP MPs filling up the entire legislative chamber. Our parliament will become a sea of white. The scoreline for legislative bills and proposals by the PAP will be 87-0 for the next five years. The echoes of our Men in White will reverberate around parliament, completely drowning out our feeble, tiny voices. There will be no one to say no.
Fortunately, this is only a hypothetical scenario. It might not turn out to be true. The results are very much up in the air. We have yet to cast our votes, and there are 6 more days to go before polling day.
We still have enough time to consider this scenario calmly, and ask ourselves if we want to have the distinction of being the first country in the world to voluntarily vote for authoritarian rule.
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The author is a 21-year old undergraduate student at Brown University, an Ivy League institution in the United States.
I personally think Nani is 12 years old. Her comments are so laughable I can’t help but laugh like crazy!! hahaha!
◎nani
夏虫不可语冰
What is so worrying about the PAP winning all 87 seats? Don’t we want a strong government that can implement policies that will benefit us? As far as opposition voices are concerned, we are guaranteed 9 NCMPs who will provide for a more robust debate. If Low TK refuses to take an NCMP seat, then he is to be blamed, not the PAP. He belongs to WP. PAP can’t influence his decision.
I am indeed worried that PAP gets a clean sweep this election. Without a viable alt voice in the government, the country is going to slip deeper into the dark ages.
I want to share an observation. Its about the “this is life” syndrome among Singaporeans, especially those above 50 years old. Take the example of those aunties working at fast food chains. To them, who they vote for doesn’t make a difference, life stays the same for them, they won’t have a second career and kids have grown up. They are not PAP supporters, but since PAP been around all these years, they just make an X beside the PAP sign at the voting booths. They don’t realise they make a difference. What a tragedy.
If you know of and come across such folks, take a bit of time to energise & awaken them. People power is just mere talk unless important people like these realise their votes can shape our nation.
Opposition parties – you also must engage these group of citizens.
You are really making empty claims here, basing your comments on assumptions and not facts. Where are your facts to back up your claims? Provide examples please? The people vote for PAP because they trust the PAP. The PAP has always won the popular mandate of the people. If the PAP falters, they will be voted out in no time at all. In the meantime, the opposition parties are trying to de-stabilise Singapore by advocating for a destructive two-party system. Do we want our Parliament to be like Taiwan with lots of in-fighting and even physical fighting taking place?
stfu troll
go back to your social studies textbooks
You can discuss this with Nani till the cow comes home, so do this after May 7. For now, those who think u need alternative rep in parliament just vote for them in. Do your part to inform, explain and encourage your fellow residents and Singaporeans to be fearless lion and vote for the change! Blessed Singapore!
I think that this clean sweep of 87-0 is not just possible, it is probable and perhaps even inevitable. There is no point “engaging” with the uncles and aunties anymore. Their mindsets cannot be changed. They are going to drag Singapore down. Those who read this website (and others such as TOC and TR) are already going to vote opposition no matter what. I think a significant majority of us would vote for a cockroach over even the best PAP candidate simply out of principle cos we can’t accept authoritarian rule. So there is no point warning us of the consequences. We already know them. I just feel like a sitting duck waiting for the ship to sink. The PAP will be returned with a resounding mandate, and that will be how democracy dies.
So we need to vote for the opposition just to make sure the PAP doesn’t win all the seats? That is effectively saying that if you are the best football team, you purposely lose a few games so that you don’t win all the matches? It is a poor argument. In any case, the PAP has already allocated for 9 NCMP seats, so we are guaranteed representation from the opposition parties. Now let’s see what policies they can implement for us in Parliament, I doubt it will be much.
To Harry
Luckily, my mom thinks the same way as I. If not, unlike you, I will tell mom to get PAP to pay for her when she is sick or hungry. In fact, I will even cut her allowance because she ,by voting for the PAP, is condemning her grandchildren’s future.
Unfortunately I am one of those 24,000 voters whom the area has just been carved out of the old boundary and now become part of AMK and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC just for this coming election. After waiting for so many years to get the chance to actually vote but now no longer an Aljunied voter, being push out from Cheng San then Aljunied and now AMK/Pasir Ris-Pongol. What is all this rezoning exercise? To safe guide the PAP majority and manipulation of the votes in favor of sure win dirty strategy. To those Aljunied voters who are now holding the birth right to vote, you are the envy of all Singaporean. Use your vote wisely!
Wow, the PAP internet brigade is really going into overdrive. Hey Nani, why are you on standby duty today? Isn’t it a public holiday? Or are your masters getting stressed?
The writer is deliberately being misleading. He has completely forgotten to address the NCMP system. Even if PAP wins all 87 seats, we are guaranteed 9 opposition members in Parliament who are not there for wayang. They belong to parties and are not independents. So we are still going to see people like Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim, Chiam See Tong in Parliament, unless they are foolish enough to reject NCMP positions. Also, he says that if PAP wins all 87 seats, we will be living under authoritarian rule. Let me ask him, in the last Parliament, PAP had 82 out of 84 seats which is not much difference from 87 out of 87 seats. Are we living under authoritarian rule? We still have the right to vote out the government if they falter. The internet is not censored. The press, according to Mr Low himself, is more balanced than before. The writer should not engage in fear-mongering and scare tactics to try and influence the outcome of votes. We are not living under authoritarian rule like North Korea or Myanmar and there is no reason why that would change if the PAP wins 87 seats.
“The internet is not censored. The press, according to Mr Low himself, is more balanced than before.”
Sorry, that was before. Since the election started, this claim is and will be invalid.
Please provide concrete evidence and facts to back up your claim. If even Low Thia Khiang can say that the press is more balanced, then who are you to question it, since he is someone with more vested interest than you?
And you question my claim that the internet is not censored. Do you mean to say that the internet is censored? Please provide evidence of your statement and back it up. You are sounding like a fool. Please tell me where or how the internet is censored? Give me examples please. Not just make sweeping statements.
To Nani:
Do you read the newspaper at all? Did you know The Newpaper Sunday which target youth readers had a 4 page write-up on PAP candidates including LKY and Tin PL? Did you watch a recent special TV program “Vote 2011″ when they featured Aljunied PAP George Yeo talking for almost 5 minutes & in the same program no interviews or whatsoever was done on Workers Party!? So do you think the press is fair?
Guys, pls do not reply to PAP trolls. Don’t even engage in a debate. It’s just a waste of time and bandwidth. That is SOP across all internet sites for this election, fyi.
People vote for PAP for 2 reasons:
1) Fear
2) Stupidity
Do you really think that the PAP actually has any real “supporters” who really believe in them and support their policies? If not, why do they need to get cheering squads for their rallies? Why do they need to ferry all the RC, PA, grassroots people there to make up numbers? Whereas the opposition rallies are always packed with real supporters?
The people who vote PAP are just afraid of what will happen if they do something that they’re not used to. That’s all. They don’t really love PAP or believe in PAP’s policies.
Absolutely incorrect. If people are fed up, they can easily vote for the opposition. But 66.6% of people voted for the PAP in 2006. That shows that the PAP has been doing a good job and Singaporeans can recognise that. Where is the fear? Voting is secret. Do you really think that people will be fired from their jobs or denied promotions because they vote for the opposition? Do you think you are living in North Korea?
People like Nani are proof that our education system needs an overhaul. Such lack of depth in his or her thinking, such naivety!
I am naive? I think you are the one who is naive. Please point out exactly which of my points you disagree with and provide examples to back up your arguments instead of resorting to low-level personal attacks and name-calling. Are you saying that the mandate of the people is not to be respected? Are we not a democracy? How can the wishes of the minority (like you) be imposed on the majority?
Nani, please explain why you think Singapore is a democracy. Having worked as a journalist here before, I can tell you that we did not have freedom of press. No one can say anything against the ruling party, or he/she will be sued to bankruptcy, exiled, or chucked into prison for 40 years. Yes, what a very democratic country we live in. People in Singapore have been living in fear for the last few decades! It’s about time we stopped putting up with this garbage. Like George Yeo, who just last week demonstrated his ignorance by saying that “this election is not about power”, perhaps you too, need a reality check.
The truth is that SO many people are fed up with life in Singapore. Elderly voters complain that things are expensive. They say that bus fare goes up, hawker prices go up, GST goes up, and they also say why so many foreigners in Singapore. But they do not realise that all of these are due to PAP policies. They fail to seek the causal link between their vote and their day-to-day life. Blame it on a complete lack of political awareness in Singapore. Thanks to years or even decades of brainwashing.
Well said. My mother is one of those annoying ones. She complains about things nearly every day. She says prices are too high and salaries are too low. She says the estate is not well maintained and too much traffic jam in Singapore. Then when I just subtly hinted to her that she should consider voting for the opposition (she is in Aljunied GRC) she just said that if not for PAP, Singapore would not be where it is now. And she said that we should not allow WP to advance its selfish agenda at the expense of Singapore. She just doesn’t get it. Unfortunately, these voters make up 40% or more of the electorate. So all PAP needs to do is to win 11% of the middle ground votes and they are through. PAP owes at least 2/3 of its votes to people who don’t really support their policies but vote them anyway out of ignorance/fear.
Nothing can be done. The PAP’s silent majority will speak for itself. Those voters will vote for PAP no matter what. Their thinking is completely closed and retarded. Ranging from fear (“If you vote opposition, you won’t get a HDB flat, won’t get promoted or even lose your job”) to living in the past (“If not for PAP, we won’t be where we are now”).