Navigate: Campaigning Considerations | Election And Parliamentary Debates | Electoral Boundaries | New Candidates Enter The Fray | Opposition Parties | People’s Action Party | The “Social Media” Election | Youths And Political Education

Campaigning Considerations

Election Rallies: What Has Been Said? What Can Be Said? (May 3, 2011)
Election rallies are highlights in the campaigning period for every General Election; hence, this post aims to do three things: i) provide a brief summary on what has been said or mentioned during the multiple rallies (as of April 30, 2011); ii) graphically categorise the main points highlighted by the parties or candidates; and iii) generate a list of issues (or absence of) and observations from the various sessions. (Read More).

A “First World Parliament”: What’s In A Slogan? (May 2, 2011)
If Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong had taken more time to read the comments from his WP counterparts – and comprehend that their definition is not simplistically to have “a critical mass of Opposition in Parliament”, but to proactively act as checks and balances et cetera – perhaps he would not have unfairly dismissed the slogan as being “nonsense” and “absurd”. (Read More).

The General Elections: Are Ten (Minus One) Days Sufficient For Campaigning? (March 28, 2011)
Two to three weeks of campaigning would be viable, and would grant candidates a minimum of two weekends to walk the ground and connect with the constituents. It would also be a test for the parties and candidates to manage their manpower and resources, and intelligently increase their outreach productively and efficiently. (Read More).

Election And Parliamentary Debates

Time For A Comprehensive Election Debate? (March 7, 2011)
Accordingly, the debate would in the long run act as another form of check-and-balance; to ensure that the existing administration or the Opposition parties are not oblivious to various dissatisfactions or relevant sentiments. And the benefits of such debates are aplenty. (Read More).

Value-Adding Singapore Parliament Sittings And Sessions (January 11, 2011)
The current system of requiring politicians to submit written notices of their queries seems counter-intuitive, since the status quo encourages pedantic exchanges that could be duplicated in written formats; thereby rendering a majority of vis-à-vis parliamentary sittings unnecessary. (Read More).

Election Debates In Singapore: Beyond The Gloss (May 4, 2010)
Style and substance are not mutually exclusive notions: and in the rapidly evolving global political landscape, the “style” factor has proven to be extremely important, has illustrated by Tony Blair and Barack Obama. Charisma and poise have proven to be extremely beneficial for national policy-makers in the greater international community. (Read More).

Electoral Boundaries

Electoral Boundaries And Gerrymandering: Increasing Committee Transparency (February 28, 2011)
Imperatively, the Elections Boundaries Review Committee has the responsibility to be more transparent in its workings, and provide tangible explanations as to why the respective GRCs and SMCs have been cut up accordingly. The ideal situation, of course, would be for the electorate to be divided into individual SMCs, or for the number or size of GRCs to be reduced extensively. (Read More).

New Candidates Enter The Fray

A Second Chance For Miss Tin Pei Ling (May 11, 2011)
Continued squabbles and open expressions of firm opposition would only be disproportionately detrimental for the residents in the constituency; for they simply require a conduit to articulate their woes and correspondingly seek assistance. (Read More).

Evaluating Our Political Candidates: Time To Look Beyond Age (April 20, 2011)
Even though many of the recent PAP candidates have had months of experience in grassroots or community involvement; comparatively, their engagement and participation in activities pale miserably in comparison to on-the-ground volunteers or their Opposition counterparts. (Read More).

The General Elections: The Need For Proactive Outreaches By New Candidates (April 13, 2011)
Being informed about these information and propositions is of paramount importance for engaged Singaporeans. Voting along party lines may not be absolutely detrimental; but it does compromise the individuality of the election hopefuls, and might grant a free pass to weaker candidates who might be comparatively weaker in quality or administrative efficiency. (Read More).

The General Elections: Abilities And Perspectives Over Curriculum Vitae (April 6, 2011)
As future parliamentarians, politicians must be adept in micro and macro management; respectively, as they address bread-and-butter problems in their constituencies or wards, they must have the ability to air their views articulately, and provide constructive or substantial feedback on local challenges. (Read More).

The Tin Pei Ling Controversy: When Age Is Not The Concern (April 4, 2011)
Furthermore, the primary reason why many Singaporeans have highlighted her young age and relative inexperience is because Miss Tin has not convincingly proven – either through press communications or written commentaries – her competence as a political candidate. Rhetorical ability is of paramount importance; after all, one’s disposition and exposition in the public eye substantially reflects one’s maturity. (Read More).

Opposition Parties

In Retrospect Rhetorically: Why Aljunied Was Won (And Lost) (May 9, 2011)
Campaigning was then imperative to sway the swing voters. The following points will categorically expound upon what I personally thought influenced decisions; though I will venture to opine that although the national sentiment was decidedly against the PAP, strategic propositions on the part of the WP secured the eventual victory for the latter. (Read More).

The General Elections: The Opposition Dilemma (April 27, 2011)
Next, the presence – as well as the size and quantity – of GRCs have made it even more difficult for the Opposition to form credible teams to contest effectively in these areas. The argument for minority representation has been convincingly rebutted by Opposition politicians and political observers, with feasible alternatives for consideration; so insistence on GRCs continues to raise the barriers for competition. (Read More).

In Retrospect: Miss Sylvia Lim And The NCMP Scheme (April 18, 2011)
The incumbent government has constantly referred to the “change from within” maxim, purporting that groupthink is present and individuals have the liberty to air their concerns; but on-the-ground voters are concerned whether such stability and diversity can be constructively maintained in the long run. (Read More).

The General Elections: Emerging From Comfort Zones (March 14, 2011)
Opposition parties are not as disadvantaged as they have been put up to be, and would stand a decent chance in a fair fight if they keep a keen ear on the electorate and reach out consistently with conviction. Shedding the comforts of conservatism might be daunting; but we would never know if we staunchly refuse to step out of our comfort zones. (Read More).

Opposition Parties And Candidates Enter The Fray (November 24, 2010)
Ultimately, Opposition candidates should be judged by the same yardsticks and standards like any other PAP politician. Voters should be cognisant that while most are genuinely desirous of moving the country forward, their actions and deeds will speak for themselves. More importantly, what they present substantively – in terms of manifestoes and proposals – should be crucial guidelines to help one decide at the voting booth. (Read More).

The General Elections: Change From Within And Without (November 15, 2010)
What I look for in a MP – regardless of his political affiliation – is someone who does a fine balancing act of the aforementioned: maintaining a perceptive ear on the ground, while remaining sensitive to bigger issues and campaigning for their constituents’ rights on a much larger scale. (Read More).

People’s Action Party

The Candidate Selection Process: What If The PAP Is Wrong (April 29, 2011)
Under such circumstances, when too much reliance and faith is placed upon the shoulders of the ruling administration, are there reliable safeguards to ensure that mechanisms remain functional? Are there sufficient checks and balances outside the PAP framework to ensure functionality beyond the status quo? (Read More).

The General Elections: Comprehensive Manifestoes As Fodder For Constructive Debate (April 25, 2011)
Evidently, the manifesto is not simply a “book of promises” per se; its perspectives – if valid and workable – would potentially provide productive avenues for discourse. It can also prevent individual comments from being taken grossly out of context. (Read More).

Are Politicians Out Of Touch: Singaporeans Will Decide (April 22, 2011)
Through online commentaries and print articles, lacklustre responses to issues such as the pertinent public transportation squeeze, the relentless rise in housing prices and the cost of living, as well as the presented helplessness in the face of the successive flash floods have got Singaporeans wondering whether complacency and inertia has set in. (Read More).

The “Social Media” Election

The Internet And Social Media: What Minister George Yeo Has Overlooked (April 11, 2011)
Penning online articles and commentaries can provide additional channels for dialogue and discussions; and such discourse will cement their quality as present or future parliamentarians. Such methodologies for substantial communication are certainly more constructive than the banal or superficial “having a glass of coffee” or “at community event” updates. (Read More).

The General Elections: Social Media Not A Bed Of Roses (March 21, 2011)
Correspondingly, if political parties choose to bombard their target audience excessively with every single social medium available – therefore adopting an “as many as possible strategy” – the methodologies can appear insincere, and would be comparatively less substantial. (Read More).

Political Limitations Of Social Networking Sites (November 3, 2010)
Ultimately, it is about striking equilibrium between usage and moderation: while FaceBook and Twitter can be effective mediums in certain areas of publicity and general discourse, they are hardly credible reflection of “support”, and neither would they replace the actual graft and hard work involved in vis-à-vis interactions to solve problems faced by constituents on a daily basis. (Read More).

Youths And Political Education

The General Elections: Why And How The Young Values Good Governance (November 1, 2010)
If an organisation – including a political party – has had a relatively easy ride for an extended period of time, complacency and contentment with the status quo would naturally set in, and its members would often see no need to challenge something that has been working for considerable years. (Read More).

The Public Service, The Government, The Opposition: A Young Singaporean’s Perspective (October 6, 2010)
Nonetheless, the rapidly globalising world means that: i) political policies for socio-economic reform need to be more dynamic and wholesome, and blind adherence to tried-and-tested methods would not necessarily yield the greatest net result; and ii) the people would no longer willingly rest on their laurels: for the empowerment they are imbued with has galvanised them to have the desire to be seen and heard. (Read More).

Are We Ready For Politics In Schools? Yes We Are (April 13, 2010)
Political education would not only rid individuals of their apathy and lethargy, but also root students with a greater sense of belonging. The advent of the Internet has made the flow of information inevitable: so why not give it a more tangible form in institutions. (Read More).

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