Political analyst Bridget Welsh said the Hougang by-election results were no surprise and said that the People’s Action Party had miscalculated in its campaign.
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore after Workers’ Party (WP) retained its Hougang stronghold with 62.09 per cent of votes on Saturday, she said, "Some of its leaders did not come off well. Attacks reflect poorly on the attacker ultimately.”
Welsh was referring to the campaign hustings, in which DPM Teo Chee Hean repeatedly questioned the credentials of WP candidatePng Eng Huat.
“The reasons are two-fold. The PAP tactics are outdated,” said the professor at the Singapore Management University.
“The reality is that personal attacks are not what people are interested in. Rather they want solutions for the problems they face in their daily life, from the MRT to jobs.”
She added, “The PAP just is missing the point in how it engages politically, as it is not adapting to the new reality of different needs and new expectations of a more empowered electorate.”
On the PAP’s future, Welsh felt that the party should rethink its approach and engage voters more through genuine and respectful dialogue.
For the WP, this election highlights the need to address the candidate selection process and improve transparency, Welsh said. ![](http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/74Zi6MP9.dKEEW_z2cpvkw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/249/2012/05/26/630yahoo-wpfans2-jpg_172443.jpg ""The old tactics of trying to divide the opposition are not yielding the same results in the face of deep seated resentment among voters. This election showcases that something just is not right for the PAP," Welsh added.")
"The old tactics of trying to divide the opposition are not yielding the same results in the face of deep seated …
Png garnered 13,447 votes or 62.09 per cent of the total to become the single member constituency’s Member of Parliament-elect, succeeding Yaw Shin Leong, who was expelled from the WP in February after reports of alleged marital indiscretions.
Png’s rival, PAP candidate Desmond Choo, got 8,210 votes or 37.91 per cent of the total votes, a better showing than the 35.2 per cent share he garnered against Yaw in the May general election last year.
Another political observer, law professor Thio Li-ann, said that it will be tough for the PAP to wrestle away the Hougang seat even in the long run.
The single-member constituency has been a WP stronghold since 1991and she said Hougang voters are not easily swayed, either by promises of upgrading nor personal attacks on opposition candidates.
“For the WP, to have lost Hougang would have been morale-deflating; the win in Hougang allows them to steadily build up their ranks pursuant to their larger goal of being a constructive opposition, one which may grow quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of effectiveness as a check on government,” Thio added.
On the share of votes, political analyst Derek da Cunha said it should tell everyone how “remarkably difficult it is to move the vote in whatever direction.”
“In my opinion, this by-election result will have no bearing on the next general election," he said.
"A lot of people expect the next election to be held in 2016. But I think it will probably be held in 2015 – a year more favourable to the PAP – when Singapore celebrates its 50th National Day and when you can expect the government to roll out a raft of populist measures with considerable electoral appeal,” said da Cunha.
“To that extent, the next general election could be very challenging for the opposition. But WP would still likely be able to make further inroads at the next GE, in areas adjacent to its Hougang and Aljunied strongholds. However, I cannot say the same for the other opposition parties,” he added.
PAP must rethink its approach: analyst
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PAP must rethink its approach: analyst
By Fann Sim | Yahoo! Newsroom – 11 hours ago-
Political watchers are not surprised by the Hougang by-election results, which showed Workers’ Party candidate Png Eng Huat winning handily in the opposition party’s stronghold. (Yahoo! photo)
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If Teo Chee Hean is an opposition member of WP doing it to PAP it will be a different ball game. He will be sued. hahahahahahahah !
WP is magnaminous not to file for any law suit .
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pap must let hougang have the upgrading first. then talk about winning them back. not the other way round.
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Teo Hean Chee is mistaken
WP doesn't like to use the word "sue" to intimidate people,
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aiya, all the PAPigs are useless, only exist to suck all of us dry. every month laughing themselves to the bank with the highest salary in their pockets.
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Even they change also no use....The results will still drop and nobody will appreciate it...
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In fact, PaPigs no need to change anything. They just feel free to continue to do as they like, there are more Sickaporeans than Singaporeans to vote them in to continue to give them the mandate.
It is the Sickaporeans who desperately need to change their mindset and be courageous to go forth to change their mind to vote the alternate parties to sack the useless Papigs. We don't need, in fact no nation need a govt who bring in foreigners to affect employment for the locals.
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I will sue you
i will sue you
i will sue you
sue me lah!
sue me lah!
sue me lah
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Originally posted by winsomeea:
In fact, PaPigs no need to change anything. They just feel free to continue to do as they like, there are more Sickaporeans than Singaporeans to vote them in to continue to give them the mandate.
It is the Sickaporeans who desperately need to change their mindset and be courageous to go forth to change their mind to vote the alternate parties to sack the useless Papigs. We don't need, in fact no nation need a govt who bring in foreigners to affect employment for the locals.
Only you saying it to yourself and stop insulting the people who voted PAP by calling weird names. In fact if opposition have anything more attractive than PAP, Old Lee says, you can take over the government..
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These western political analysts are talking rubbish. I know LTK kept proclaiming PEH as man of integrity and honesty - if these are not their concern why LTK needed to say that. In US or any of the western countries, I also never hear integrity of the candidate as irrelevant. If integrity is relevent how to show he/she is or is not????? As long as one can back up whatever he said it is perfectly honourable - gauranteed by any of the western constitutions.
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PAP is just treat us as sucker. Having vote for Opposition. I hope our fellow singaporean will let singapore becoming the 1st world parliaments. 2 political Struggle. DUn let PAP have the Mandate so easily.
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Pigs are pigs, they like to wallow in filth.
Soon enough their clean pinkish white skin will be soiled with dirt.
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Originally posted by SBS9252G:
Only you saying it to yourself and stop insulting the people who voted PAP by calling weird names. In fact if opposition have anything more attractive than PAP, Old Lee says, you can take over the government..
Wow, so ba dao! You have your freedom to express what you want and you have issue with my freedom in posting, crap! Hypocrite!
What is your problem mannn?????????????????????????????
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Originally posted by Itedino:
PAP is just treat us as sucker. Having vote for Opposition. I hope our fellow singaporean will let singapore becoming the 1st world parliaments. 2 political Struggle. DUn let PAP have the Mandate so easily.
You think those sickaporeans change their mindset easily to stop giving the Papigs mandate. One hand vote Papigs, the other hand curse and complain about them, these are sickaporeans lol.
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Originally posted by No_10_Tomas:
I will sue you
i will sue you
i will sue you
sue me lah!
sue me lah!
sue me lah
i add one more....
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At 62.1% of valid votes cast, Png Eng Huat (Workers’ Party) convincingly defeated Desmond Choo of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in the by-election 26 May 2012. Png’s vote-share was only a shade lower than the 64.8% that Yaw Shin Leong won in the general election of 2011 and hardly different from Low Thia Khiang’s 62.7% in the 2006 general election.
I’ll admit this: Png’s victory was better than I expected.
Yaw Shin Leong had benefitted hugely in May 2011 when party leader Low Thia Khiang anointed him as his heir for the single-member constituency of Hougang. Low had been the member of parliament for Hougang for twenty years since 1991, but in 2011 he decided he would lead the Workers’ Party team in neighbouring Aljunied group representation constituency (they won).
Hougang voters had evidently grown to like Low a lot, and their high regard for him was a huge advantage for Yaw last year.
However, in February this year, allegations of an extra-marital affair by Yaw and his clumsy, non-communicative way of handling the rumours led to his sacking from the party. The big question therefore was whether Hougang voters would become a lot more sceptical about the transferability of their esteem for Low to anyone else after the Yaw incident.
Now we know: Hougang voters still trust Low and the Workers’ Party and although Png is relatively new to them, they’re extending that trust to him too.
The election campaign was dominated by efforts at character assassination, led by Teo Chee Hean (PAP), the deputy prime minister. The media took the cue and played up Teo’s shrill allegations. Going by the way Desmond Choo kept his distance from these attacks, I reckon the candidate himself wanted no part of it, preferring to be a low-key nice guy to Hougang residents. Facebook chatter had it that Choo was dismayed by the strategy adopted by his own party’s bigwigs. I don’t know if that is true, but if it was, it must have been highly frustrating for him, because the mainstream media has been so pavlovian-trained to give big headlines to anything uttered by PAP leaders that invariably the daily headlines reflected what Teo wanted, rather than what Choo thought was wise.
In that sense, it was a reprise of the debacle in Aljunied in 2011. That was when George Yeo, one of the PAP candidates there, had to plead with other PAP leaders to tone down their heavy-fisted attacks. But to no avail. Lee Kuan Yew’s commandment to Singaporeans to vote PAP or else repent for five years was given full play by the mainstream media, but it so cheesed off voters, he could well have been single-handedly responsible for an extra 5 percentage points going to the opposition.
In the end, Teo’s character assassination strategy was either ignored by Hougang voters or perhaps served to fortify their determination to vote for Png Eng Huat.
The Straits Times asked me if the Poh Lee Guan affair had any effect. Firstly, I knew nothing about that because I was in Cambodia when it happened and was unable to read the news online. But I am told that this Workers’ Party old-timer had collected a set of nomination forms for himself without informing party headquarters. Apparently much hay was made of it (by the mainstream media and the PAP?) alleging disunity and chaos within the Workers’ Party.
It should be obvious now that Hougang voters refused to be distracted by it.
As I told the Straits Times: The result shows that the Singaporean voter is a mature one; he knows very well what he wants. He is not a little child that is easily distracted by side issues, petty allegations and empty noise.
And the lesson for the PAP? Learn to respect the voter.The voter is clearly looking for a change in style and substantive changes in policy. This rang loud and clear in last year’s general election. However, the fact that the PAP engaged in exactly the same discredited tactics in this by-election probably told voters that the party has not absorbed the lesson. If it cannot even change style, what hope of changing policies? It doesn’t augur well.
Yawning Bread extends his heartiest congratulations to Png Eng Huat and the Workers’ Party.
http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/workers-party-routs-pap-again/
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what scare me is this
PAP has the next 3 4 years to throw Singapore into political and economic blackhole by their mismanagement
what if they realise the game is up and leave things in a mess for the next government to take up?
the British didnt leave a mess for LKY to be fair
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I like the poster. Maybe should only consider candidate with the "Huat" inside the name. Singaporean like "Huat Ah"..Don't you. Next time we will see many "Huat"...
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From here you should see that 2 party system will be a failure for spore too just like the advanced countries. Parliamentarians, after kneeling down for votes from the electorates, immediately plot to show their respective parties' power at the neglect of the electorates' interests. Consequently, the satisfaction for govt support will drop to 50% and below. Please lah, the govt support shows the satisfaction of the electorates and strangely we have oppo wanting us to think that 2 party system means 1st parliament! What a joke? I hope more voters will wake up to the ploy of the wp/oppo(dare to say no etc) and now the pap praising the HG voters(yo sing ren) only during elections or potential elections and then thrash out their own interests while in office to create deficit and deficit to pass to the future generations, with no responsibility whatsoever because it is a joint govt system. Singapore is even more doomed!
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Originally posted by Gohhock:
From here you should see that 2 party system will be a failure for spore too just like the advanced countries. Parliamentarians, after kneeling down for votes from the electorates, immediately plot to show their respective parties' power at the neglect of the electorates' interests. Consequently, the satisfaction for govt support will drop to 50% and below. Please lah, the govt support shows the satisfaction of the electorates and strangely we have oppo wanting us to think that 2 party system means 1st parliament! What a joke? I hope more voters will wake up to the ploy of the wp/oppo(dare to say no etc) and now the pap praising the HG voters(yo sing ren) only during elections or potential elections and then thrash out their own interests while in office to create deficit and deficit to pass to the future generations, with no responsibility whatsoever because it is a joint govt system. Singapore is even more doomed!
And a single party like China and North Korea would work?
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Originally posted by βÎτά:
And a single party like China and North Korea would work?
and many years of PAP education didnt teach him about paragraphing
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Imagine Hougang with all the lift upgraded and all the walkway covered and market built.
What carrot can attract them for the next election ?
Garden ? CC upgrade ?? Stadium expansion ??? more free nasi lemak ????
The analyst should provide solution and no comments.
The present talent follow SOP dilligently as they are all from the services.
Can the analyst generate a new SOP for them ?
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Times are bad.
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By the way, how come 1400 did not vote ah?
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1,400 is close to 5%.
Probably those singled out by Elections Department as non-eligible.
