The Writing Was On The Wall...
Looking back upon the general elections that has just concluded, there is no doubt that social media had a large impact on what happened. The most obvious laggard in terms of Web 2.0 was the incumbent People's Action Party, that came across as a lumbering giant that tried to react to changes on the ground. The net and twitter was rife with political views and yet the ruling party did not jump on to the bandwagon till the very last minute.
For that, I am extremely surprised, since Obama won his presidency due to his online presence. In fact, most would agree that he would not even have made it as the democrat presidential nominee if it were not for his online campaign. So, it seems strange that the ruling party, with all their resources, did not use this platform for their advantage.
Blogosphere is also another arena that should have been taken more seriously, as well as the use of podcasts. Everyone in Singapore knows how effective blogs and podcasts have been in the past, especially when local web-celebrity Mr. Brown publicized Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's mistaken comment on "Mee Siam Mai Hum". Perhaps it was sheer complacency, thinking that it was the usual bit of complaining by Singaporeans, but with no serious thinking behind it. However, a careful look at the blogs and podcasts around reveal that there is actually a fair deal of analysis on the issues at hand. Gone is the spoilt child who just cries when it does not get what it wants, the child is starting to show reasoning and analysis. Credit should be given for the analyses, and the leaders have to acknowledge them.
Another factor that worked against the PAP was that the opposition has started to come up with real alternative policy statements rather than just broad sweeping emotional statements. Some have even dug up economic numbers to formulate policies to challenge the government's own policies. It is sad that instead of countering with numbers and facts, the ruling party's main response was without any numbers, but just warned about the danger of squandering the national reserves. There was never any indication of how much was involved and what the danger was. Instead, it was a retired politician, who is currently an economics professor, Professor Augustine Tan, who came up with some of the numbers. I am not sure about the ruling party's reason for not using numbers. The conspiracy-theorists would accuse them of trying to hide things from us, and assert that the government needs to be more transparent. Perhaps they thought that these numbers would only confuse the common man on the street, but I think they should start giving the common man much more credit for their ability to analyze numbers. Yes, there is still a significant part of the population that does not have much education (especially the older pre-65 generation), but there are also more university graduates than ever before, and also many with postgraduate qualifications. Do these graduates then not deserve to be able to run the numbers?
The resulting elections saw the lowering of popular vote for the PAP, falling some 6 percentage points, or a swing of more than 100000. The swing is equivalent to an entire population in a GRC, which is quite a major swing. Immediately after the results, the ruling party has promised to rebuild the people's trust. I think they have finally realized that the people are not economic robots that just think in dollars and cents, but are very much concerned by other factors. Unfortunately for them, the opposition has also proven that GRCs are vulnerable, even with two incumbent ministers helming the team. So, the next elections will probably see even more opposition candidates with greater credibility and ability coming to contest the elections.
All eyes will really be on Aljunied GRC over the next few years, since the Worker's Party will have to prove that they are worthy of the mandate given to them. Their success with give voters more confidence that the opposition can effectively manage the GRCs, and perhaps provide a stronger alternative voice in parliament.
Eyes will also be on the government, to see how effectively they work to regain the trust of the people, as well as how they will tackle the issues of rising foreigner numbers, the rising cost of living and the rising income gap. They are no longer bus drivers with their own agenda, but have to heed the feelings of the people if they want to maintain their dominance in the local political scene.
For that, I am extremely surprised, since Obama won his presidency due to his online presence. In fact, most would agree that he would not even have made it as the democrat presidential nominee if it were not for his online campaign. So, it seems strange that the ruling party, with all their resources, did not use this platform for their advantage.
Blogosphere is also another arena that should have been taken more seriously, as well as the use of podcasts. Everyone in Singapore knows how effective blogs and podcasts have been in the past, especially when local web-celebrity Mr. Brown publicized Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's mistaken comment on "Mee Siam Mai Hum". Perhaps it was sheer complacency, thinking that it was the usual bit of complaining by Singaporeans, but with no serious thinking behind it. However, a careful look at the blogs and podcasts around reveal that there is actually a fair deal of analysis on the issues at hand. Gone is the spoilt child who just cries when it does not get what it wants, the child is starting to show reasoning and analysis. Credit should be given for the analyses, and the leaders have to acknowledge them.
Another factor that worked against the PAP was that the opposition has started to come up with real alternative policy statements rather than just broad sweeping emotional statements. Some have even dug up economic numbers to formulate policies to challenge the government's own policies. It is sad that instead of countering with numbers and facts, the ruling party's main response was without any numbers, but just warned about the danger of squandering the national reserves. There was never any indication of how much was involved and what the danger was. Instead, it was a retired politician, who is currently an economics professor, Professor Augustine Tan, who came up with some of the numbers. I am not sure about the ruling party's reason for not using numbers. The conspiracy-theorists would accuse them of trying to hide things from us, and assert that the government needs to be more transparent. Perhaps they thought that these numbers would only confuse the common man on the street, but I think they should start giving the common man much more credit for their ability to analyze numbers. Yes, there is still a significant part of the population that does not have much education (especially the older pre-65 generation), but there are also more university graduates than ever before, and also many with postgraduate qualifications. Do these graduates then not deserve to be able to run the numbers?
The resulting elections saw the lowering of popular vote for the PAP, falling some 6 percentage points, or a swing of more than 100000. The swing is equivalent to an entire population in a GRC, which is quite a major swing. Immediately after the results, the ruling party has promised to rebuild the people's trust. I think they have finally realized that the people are not economic robots that just think in dollars and cents, but are very much concerned by other factors. Unfortunately for them, the opposition has also proven that GRCs are vulnerable, even with two incumbent ministers helming the team. So, the next elections will probably see even more opposition candidates with greater credibility and ability coming to contest the elections.
All eyes will really be on Aljunied GRC over the next few years, since the Worker's Party will have to prove that they are worthy of the mandate given to them. Their success with give voters more confidence that the opposition can effectively manage the GRCs, and perhaps provide a stronger alternative voice in parliament.
Eyes will also be on the government, to see how effectively they work to regain the trust of the people, as well as how they will tackle the issues of rising foreigner numbers, the rising cost of living and the rising income gap. They are no longer bus drivers with their own agenda, but have to heed the feelings of the people if they want to maintain their dominance in the local political scene.