Embarrassing defeat

Chee Soon Juan said it didn't feel like defeat to him in the Bulit Batok by-election. The SDP got 38.8% of the votes. Really? He was only trying to console himself. 

There were unique factors in favour of the opposition and then there was ample time (about 2 months) for the SDP to campaign and it held 4 rallies. I guess Chee was thinking he could get at least 48%. I would say the result is an embarrassing defeat for Chee.

In any election, there are always between 20% to 25% voters who will vote for the opposition. To these voters any opposition is better than the PAP. So, if the Reform Party were the only party to contest against the PAP in Bukit Batok, probably it would get about 30% of the votes. Likewise, if it were the Workers Party, I think it would be between 40% to 45%.

The SDP got 38.8% of the votes in BB. Now, how many voters regard the SDP as their first choice opposition? In other words, if there were other opposition candidates contesting, how many percentage would the SDP get? My guess is less than 20%.

It would have been interesting if both the WP and the SDP had contested in the BB by-election. Then we could compare the support these two top opposition parties get. Could the PAP still get over 60%? Would the SDP lose its deposit?

Vote for the PAP

Vote for Good Governance and a Strong Government ....

ISA, Death Penalty and 377A

The Singapore Government (SG) is wise in not doing away with the ISA when Malaysia did so.

Look at Malaysia now. Scrapping the ISA did not please its critics nor did it help the Barisan Nasional to get more votes. In fact BN lost some support from its Malay supporters. Now Malaysia is trying to introduce anti-terror laws similar to the ISA. Besides terrorism, what about other security threats? You never know. Will Malaysia need to enact more security laws later?

The SG is also wise in tweaking the Death Penalty law for drug traffickers to include conditions that will let traffickers escape execution.

Look at the case of two Australian drug traffickers who were sentenced to death in Indonesia and the huge pressure from Australia to spare them. If that happens in Singapore, I think the amended Death Penalty law may help the SG to find a solution.

I believe the SG will not repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, at least not within this decade.

Scrapping 377A will not please the groups calling for it to be scrapped. They will have more demands. And the Government will lose support for being weak.

Indonesia: Apology also has expiry date

You cannot trust Indonesia.

The Population White Paper

If we look at the comments and a 10,000-people protest about the Population White Paper (PWP) it looks as if most Singaporeans are against it. I don't believe that is the case. I think there are 4 groups. 

Group 1 support the PWP and the plans that come with it. People in this group do not feel they need to hold a support rally at Hong Lim Park. 

Group 2 are not against. They are willing to see how it works out and then have a review some years later. 

Group 3 do not support because they are not yet convinced of the need to have a bigger population. 

Group 4 are against. Many of these people do not support the Government so they will not change their mind whatever the Government does. I guess many are also anti-foreigners.

Has the PAP changed?

After the GE in 2011 the Government has been doing a lot to make improvements in housing, transport and community projects. Some PAP supporters may think the PAP is going too far to try to please voters who did not vote for it. I do not think so. 

I believe the Government does all these is that these things need to be done. The PAP knows that whatever more it does does not mean it will get more votes. People will say 'not enough, we want more'. And there will always be anti-PAP voters   

If the PAP tries to be popular and does things just to please people, then the PAP has lost its character. It will not be the same PAP founded by Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee, S. Rajaratnam and Lee Kuan Yew. I would rather have the original PAP than a PAP which has become soft. 

So I am glad that the Government presented its White Paper on population knowing that, in the next general election, it could lose more seats or even the right to govern Singapore. Some Singaporeans have taken our success and good governance for granted. They think any group of people can run the Country well. 

I believe the White Paper and the accompanying plans are for the improvement of the life of Singaporeans.

A fundamental human right

Some Americans believe in using violence to deal with violence. “Let armed guards protect children in schools”, “Arm teachers with guns”. Better still, let everyone carry a gun and everyone can shoot at one another at the first sign of trouble. 

The US spends enormous resources trying to prevent terrorist attacks on its soil yet it cannot protect its citizens from its own gun terrorists. 

The right to live in a safe environment is a basic human right. 

And India, another big democracy, cannot protect women from being raped. 

When Japanese troops invaded China, brutal rapes were committed on women by the Japanese soldiers. That was during the war. Isn't it appalling that such an atrocious crime is being committed so frequently in India in present time. 

Violent rapists should be whipped in public. 

Why is it so difficult to curb these? 

I believe the reason is that Americans see owning guns as their right because it has been allowed for so long; and the Indian authorities have been too lax on rape crimes and too lenient to rapists for too long.

Lessons for Singapore 

Singapore should consider very carefully when it wants provide welfare benefits or subsidies. Once given, it is very difficult to stop. Same too if we want to change or relax any law, for example the death penalty or the ISA or the right-to-strike laws. Once changed, it is very difficult to reverse.