Daily Lessons from Life 13 April 2011 - PM Lee on incentive to vote for PAP

"PM Lee on incentive to vote for PAP - my paper Wed, Apr 13, 2011

WHILE everyone in Singapore benefits from national programmes on housing, transport and education, priority has to go to those who have supported the Government, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on a television forum last night.

“When you have to make a choice on who goes first and who goes second, then I think that one has to pay attention to who supported the Government more, and who didn’t,” he said.

He added that if one asks residents in opposition constituencies which party they want for their Government, they would go for the People’s Action Party (PAP). Yet, they would continue to vote for their opposition Members of Parliament at the General Election.

Mr Lee said: “They are depending on somebody else to vote for the PAP, so they can have the luxury to vote for Mr Chiam (See Tong) or Mr Low (Thia Khiang). If everybody in Singapore does that, we’re in trouble.

“So, there has to be an incentive to vote for the Government. And going first or second, well, that’s just that little bit of difference.” "

Since the GE is round the corner, I would comment a bit more about uniquely Singapore political system.

Singapore has a unique political system. It is not the wholesale, potentially, messy system in the USA, the 3-major parties system in the UK, and the in-between.

Singapore current political leaders' worst fear, and that of many of its people, is: paralysis due to deadlock in parliament. So, having a majority, absolutel majority is preferred, is key to our world reknown efficiency.

Lessons for me are:

1. there is a failing that in a small nation like ours, we cannot 'educate' and 'allevate' our people from 'narrow interests'. Since if people are enlightened, that include politicians of different shades and sizes and allegiance, they will act in the 'balanced' interest of the nation when implementing national policies and strategies. I guessed it is too much to ask;

2. if that is the case, then PM Lee's exhortation and patient explanation will probably falls on deaf ears for some of the voters he is counting on to sway to vote for his ruling party. So, we can expect people to vote for the opposition in some contituencies;

3. is there a possible backslash now that it is an open secret that opposition wards do not get priority on national programs that uses the taxpayers' money? unlikely as Singaporeans, by and large, are economic beings. Dollar and cents mean a lot. At the same time, the puzzle of why the only 2 opposition MPs had been returned to their seats in Parliament over the last few contested GEs showed that there are some who simply want an opposition voice in the parliament to provide whatever little 'check and balance' by a 3rd party instead of soley relying on the ruling party's own 'check and balance' system.

Singapore has not tasted a true multi-parties parliament for a while now. I wonder if it is healthy to have a few more opposition MPs in the next parliament so that we know they will make governing better or worst. A 4-5 year experiment that Singapore can afford to take?