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Why polls this year possible

singcitizen — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 02:07:03 +0000

Source: The Straits Times Forum Page A2, 21 Feb 2009
Article by: Aaron Low, Political Correspondent

The most compelling indicator of an early election is actually history.

In 2001, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong called an election just two months after the Sept 11 attacks in the United States.

Many had described the situation then as being exceptional.

A Look At The Election Results

singcitizen — Mon, 05 Nov 2001 01:50:03 +0000

The people have spoken! The People’s Action Party (PAP) has garnered 75.3 per cent of all valid votes cast. If the PAP is sitting for an examination subject, that score translates to an A1 grade for the subject – a distinction, no less.

Two opposition MPs – Mr CHIAM See Tong and Mr LOW Thia Khiang – have managed to hang on to their seats in Parliament, but by a smaller margin than before.

A third opposition candidate – Mr Steve CHIA of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) – will be offered a Non-Constituency MP seat in the new Parliament by virtue of his being the best-performing loser.

The candidate who attracted my attention was Associate Professor HO Peng Kee. Prof. HO was initially thought by the bookies to have a 50-50 chance of winning the seat for Nee Soon East, the constituency he had served as MP for more than ten years.

Why should Prof. HO have only that slim chance, I asked myself. I paid a visit to his constituency on Polling Day. I almost couldn’t recognise the place. It’s been years since I was there last and all the flats there which were built in the early 80s have received a complete makeover. I was jealous for a moment – yes, jealous of those who live there now. I have since moved to Hougang which is Workers’ Party territory and Hougang is now like Nee Soon East in the 80s.

Those chaps who gave Prof. HO a 50-50 chance of winning Nee Soon East must be crazy, I thought to myself. If I were privileged to be living there, I would not hesitate to vote for him. So, I told myself, that probability couldn’t be true. I said the poll result would prove the bookies wrong. And prove them wrong it did on Polling Day. Prof. HO went on to win 73.7 per cent of valid votes cast!

What I wish to say is this. People can bet what they want to bet on, but there’s no denying the truth – that a person who has put in so much time and effort, at the expense of his family and body (he’s got greying hair nowadays you know), into a constituency cannot go unnoticed by its residents but will receive his just rewards.

Make Your Vote Count!

singcitizen — Mon, 22 Oct 2001 01:44:21 +0000

The ‘N’ Level examinations ended last Friday. So have the End-of-Year examinations for most primary and secondary schools here. Already schoolchildren are taking a rest from school as many schools are having what is known locally as Marking Days during which students get to stay at home whilst their teachers do the marking of the examination answer sheets at school. Primary school students get about four days of rest while those in secondary schools take a one-day break.

The elections are also around the corner. Some had accurately predicted the Polling Day as 3rd Nov 2001. I want to let you in on their somewhat strange method of arriving at the date. You see, recently the Government introduced the 2nd Off-Budget aid Package to help Singaporeans tide over the economic crisis. The amount of the aid is S$11.3 billion. These chaps used the 11.3 to arrive at the 11.3.2001 (3rd Nov 2001) date for the election. And as it turned out, they were correct indeed in their assumption. Ha Ha Ha – isn’t that a strange coincidence, or is it not?

Nov 3 will be the first time I get to vote in the past 10 years. I will be exercising my right to partake in the process of electing a Member of Parliament for the Nee Soon East constituency which has been taken out of the Sembawang GRC to become a single ward in this General Election. After 10 years of walkovers, the incumbent, Associate Professor HO Peng Kee is expected to have a face-off with an opposition candidate for the parliamentary seat. He is sincere, approachable and self-driven. I believe he will continue to get the support of the voters in the constituency.

Since I attained the age of 21, I have always voted for the People’s Action Party, and I guess I will continue to do so for many more years to come. Why is that so? It is in my upbringing. I belong to that generation of baby boomers (born between 1947 and 1964) who have been influenced by their parents – pragmatic people who have seen the worst of poverty, war and unrest – into returning to power a party that has eradicated corruption, enabled the ordinary Singaporean to own his own home, introduced the CPF scheme to secure the future of its people, and last but not least, made Singapore a safe place – probably the safest place in South-East Asia – to live in.

I certainly can’t decide for you whom you should vote for. It’s up to you to decide the future of this Singapore. Remember, whichever way you or I vote will determine the kind of Singapore that our children will get to grow up in. Make your vote count.