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COMMENT: Two questions about the Bukit Batok by-election

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SDP chief Chee Soon Juan at the party’s by-election rally on Friday (29 April). (Photo: Yahoo Newsroom)

Narrow it down and the Bukit Batok by-election is really about two questions that have implications not just for voters there but for all Singaporeans.

Is Singapore a forgiving society? Is race a factor in its elections?

Chee Soon Juan’s past political deeds still seem to be weighing down on him, if his team’s performance in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC is any indication.

Despite trying to show that he is a changed man, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leader and his team could eke out only a 33.4 per cent vote share in the electoral fight for the constituency last September.

Of course, his electoral performance has to be seen in the light of a national swing in favour of the ruling party. It showed that voters will use the ballot box to reward a party if it corrects itself quickly.

Chee carries heavy political baggage, mainly because of his confrontational style politics in the past.

In the last few years, he has tried very hard to shed that image. His speeches have been even-tempered, his initiatives more focused on tackling issues that resonate with the plight of many Singaporeans. Human rights and democracy are hardly mentioned in his new political narrative.

The entry of respected doctor Paul Ananth Tambyah in the 2015 elections as an SDP candidate must say something about Chee’s attempt to bury his past.

In fact, Tambyah’s move did not come out of the blue. He was already a highlight in the SDP’s rallies in the election before that. He said he joined Chee because the SDP was the party that was closest to his political ideals.

My political weather man, a fruit seller, must have spoken for many when he said: “Chee cannot lah. Many are not ready to give him a chance.”

“Are you ready?” I asked him. “I don’t know lah,” he replied.

The fruit man was spot on with his predictions of the 2011 and 2015 election results. “In trouble”, he said of PAP’s fortunes in 2011 and “sure win” he said of the ruling party in 2015.

Chee’s standing today

Where does this leave Chee in this by-election? With a population generally still suspicious of his politics and a People’s Action Party (PAP) machinery so powerful and in control of its message, the task is a herculean one.

Even if there are people who have vague memories of the old Chee, there are politicians such as Goh Chok Tong to remind them of the events that happened many years ago.

The Bukit Batok by-election is the best opportunity for Chee to show that he is changing. In rally speeches and house-to-house visits, PAP man Murali Pillai and his backers will stress test the Opposition candidate to see if the old Chee springs up.

Will the former Anglo-Chinese School boy fall for the bait or soar above it to fight the battle on his new terms?

Let me return to the point about a forgiving/unforgiving nation. If Chee can show clearly what he can do for the residents and why his presence on the ground is good for them, then he has a fighting chance.

If he takes this approach, and if it gives him a 40 per cent or more share of the votes, then it will show that Singapore is on the path to becoming a more tolerant and mature society; one that gives people a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Since 2005, records of former convicts are quashed. Isn’t it time to forgive the political past of people like Chee?

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The PAP’s by-election candidate Murali Pillai. (Photo: Yahoo Newsroom)

What about Murali?

Murali’s entry into this by-election must reflect a growing confidence that the establishment is prepared to try out a minority race candidate in a single seat.

And that, too, in a constituency that is heartland to the core with a Chinese majority and HDB flats aplenty.

If he wins, and if he wins big, then it will be time for the PM to declare that the country is ready for a non-Chinese PM.

P N Balji is a veteran Singaporean journalist who is the former chief editor of TODAY newspaper, and a media consultant. The views expressed are his own.

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