Saturday, January 26, 2013

Hammer shifts the ground

Ground-shattering news! Worker's Party (WP) hammered People's Action Party (PAP). It won by a clear margin in a 4-way By-Election fight. This is despite the lighting announcement of various goodies by PAP just before the By-Election date.

IMHO, this is good news! Not so much because WP won, but because it means that the voters in Punggol East (and by extension Singapore) have learned to vote strategically. I suspect that under "normal" circumstances, the anti-PAP vote would probably be split between the 3 alternative parties. [Thank goodness, SDP pulled out after its attempt at wayang. See my online discussion with CK in the comments section of this blog post.] In fact, over lunch on Friday with some (ex-)Singaporeans in B.C., Canada, several were betting that PAP would win as a result of the 4-way fight. The fact that WP won by a clear margin means that the voters at Punggol East (and by extension Singapore) has developed/matured -- to look beyond short term "carrots" announced and to align their votes to their most important priority (i.e. send in more opposition MPs by voting for the most likely alternative candidate to win).

Perhaps, just perhaps, there is hope for Singapore yet? I am so looking forward to the General Election 2016. In the meantime, I think PAP will be forced to declare another round of "slaughtering sacred cows" and/or "National CONversation".

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On other news, The Online Citizen (TOC) trumps TODAYonline on timeliness of reporting "Punggol East by-election Polling Day as it unfolds" despite TOC being "crippled" to just a Facebook wall. TODAYonline's descriptive updates seem to hang after 10:25pm (Singapore time), with only the title changed to "Lee Li Lian wins Punggol East by-election". Why ah? Waiting for the editors to approve the "spin", is it?

[Sourced at 11:15pm Singapore time from

[Sourced at 11:24pm Singapore time from

p.s. Finally, I saw a descriptive update on TODAYonline at 11:42pm (Singapore time) or 7:42am (B.C., Canada time). 2 paragraphs at the top-of-page about WP candidate winning. The TODAYonline URL was changed from the
previous: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/punggol-east-election-polling-day-it-unfolds
to the updated: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/lee-li-lian-wins-punggol-east-election
"SINGAPORE - Workers' Party candidate Lee Li Lian has won the Punggol East by-election, taking 54.5 per cent of the valid votes cast, over PAP candidate Koh Poh Koon's 43.7 per cent. 
Returning Officer Yam Ah Mee announced that of 29,415 valid votes cast, Ms Lee had taken a total of 16,038 votes, over Dr Koh's 12,856 votes. SDA candidate Desmond Lim, with 168 votes, and RP chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam, with 353 votes, both forfeited their election deposit." -- quoted from TODAYonline.
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Lastly, is it my eyes or did the red lighting in the PAP's logo grow fatter over the decades? Let me see if I can find my 1970's PAP (Community Foundation) kindergarten report book.

[Update on 30-Jan-2013: Oops, I do not have my kindergarten report book with me. Maybe it's still with my parents or (more likely) maybe it has gone into the trash bin long ago.]

10 comments:

  1. Hi WD,

    I too am pleasantly surprised by the by-election results! Young Singaporeans stand to gain from the $2billion fertility package and Singapore moves a small step forward towards strengthening alternative voice... Its a WIN-WIN for Singapore!!!

    Oblivious

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Oblivious,

      Thank you for visiting and sharing your celebration! I am also very happy. I stayed up all night to catch the latest news!

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
    2. I visit your blog often and enjoy reading about your experience and life in Vancouver. Like you, I too moved to Canada more than 5 years ago and I've never looked back.

      Despite moving away, I still hope that Singapore will change its direction from being Singapore Inc to a more compassionate and less materialistic society.

      Delete
    3. > I still hope that Singapore will change its direction from being Singapore Inc to a more compassionate and less materialistic society.

      I hope so too! :-)

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Hi CK,

      Yes, your ground feel was spot-on. Maybe PAP should have hired you instead of their "not-political-organizations, but support-only-PAP-MP" RC/PA/etc folks who gave them corrupted data from the ground.

      Bet you're celebrating in Singapore with your "khakis". Enjoy!

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
  3. I too am ecstatic at the outcome of the Punggol East BE!! Got up early at 6am to check the results and started receiving whatsapp messages from friends and relatives in Singapore who kindly provided blow by blow accounts of the tense anticipation just before the result was confirmed.

    Spent part of the day looking at snapshots and video clips to partake vicariously in the celebrations of WP supporters. The following video is an example of the infectious jubilation that could be felt across cyberspace:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KDH_inNIMz8

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous at Saturday, January 26, 2013 6:33:00 PM,

      Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

      > partake vicariously in the celebrations

      Hahaha, so true! That's what we, online citizens away from Singapore do. It is so sad when we are denigrated as "quitters" or treated with disdain by some of our fellow Singapore citizens, just because we chose to leave to build a better life for ourselves.
      http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2010/08/facebook-exchange-what-it-means-to.html

      Well, as the saying goes, "living well is the best revenge". That said, I am happy that more Singapore citizens are awoken.

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
  4. Why you are still concern what happening in SG since you are already in Canada. I hope you would share what is happening at your country which you are staying at now. Guess this will be valuable and provide insight to those planning to join you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous at Wednesday, January 30, 2013 1:00:00 AM,

      Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

      > Why you are still concern what happening in SG since you are already in Canada.

      If you have not read my blog entry "Facebook exchange: What it means to leave Singapore", I suggest that you give it a go. It gives my perspective of why I am still so concerned with things happening in SG.
      http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2010/08/facebook-exchange-what-it-means-to.html

      If after reading the above entry, you still do not agree that I have a right to be interested in Singapore matters, then please move on, do not read my blog. I am not interested in anonymous readers seeking to impose their opinions on what I should or should not do/think. Everyone has his/her freedom of belief and freedom of choice. To each his/her own.

      > I hope you would share what is happening at your country which you are staying at now.

      Anyone interested in what's happening in Canada can easily Google for Canadian news. Here are a few URLs to start you off.
      http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/
      http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada
      http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

      > Guess this will be valuable and provide insight to those planning to join you.

      For anyone planning to immigrate to Canada, and would like to learn about life here, below are some URLs to start you off.
      Life:
      http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/live/
      Work:
      http://www.workingincanada.gc.ca/home-eng.do?lang=eng
      Housing:
      http://www.realtor.ca/
      Tax:
      http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/menu-eng.html
      Finances:
      http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/default.asp

      Here is my 2 cents to potential migrants: Please do your own homework, find out as much as you can about your intended destination country from a variety of sources (both official and unofficial). Don't just rely on hearsay OR a few persons' migration experience, and assume that your experience will be similar. Each immigrant has a unique experience.

      E.g. #1: I met an acquaintance's acquaintance's husband who relocated to Canada thanks to an international transfer by his company. He retained his directorial position, and the couple continues to enjoy their high-flying lifestyle.

      E.g. #2: I have met a couple of Singaporean professionals who cannot find equivalent jobs (per their previous career) in Canada. Given their values/priorities, they decided that immigrating to Canada was not the right option for them after all, at least not at that moment in their life. And thus, they left for greener pastures elsewhere.

      E.g. #3: A few PRCs I met insisted that most Canadians are a bunch of racists folks, whereas I have only encountered a few Canadian bigots -- a rarity compared to the number of ethnocentric PRCs that I've met.

      I hope the above serves to illustrate how different each immigrant's experience can be. If you're interested in my Canadian experience, you can check my blog search url below. Please remember to read my blog with a huge dose of salt with regards to the applicability to your personal immigration experience.
      http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/search/label/Canada

      Hope the above helps. Sorry if I sound curt, but I have encountered other anonymous folks trying to impose their "wisdom" upon me before. Personally, I find it laughable because if they know/meet me personally, they would probably not be so "garang" in dispensing their useless advice.

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete