Take Heart SDP, and Take Heed PAP

With the dust having settled on the Bukit Batok By-Election, IQ contributor Howard Lee gives his take on how the result should serve as food for thought for both contesting parties.

There was perhaps a great deal of hope that Dr Chee Soon Juan would win the Bukit Batok by-election. But behind every sliver of hope, there was also a bit of doubt.

That doubt was realised last Saturday, 7 May. In spite of a well-run and finely co-ordinated election campaign – peppered with many heartfelt moments on social media – the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) lost to the People’s Action Party (PAP).

But what else should we have expected? The single-member constituency (SMC) of Bukit Batok was the PAP’s to lose – with the odds stacked firmly against Dr Chee and the SDP. Even before Nomination Day, PAP candidate Murali Pillai had swooped in to offer an upgrading carrot. This was followed by a volley of attacks on Chee himself, led by many ruling party heavyweights – including the Prime Minister.

Bukit Batok voters were left with the unenviable task of choosing between a PAP underdog who would bring in the goodies, and an opposition heavyweight who was likely to face insurmountable obstacles in implementing any plan he can dream up. In local politics, pragmatism always weighs heavy.

But SDP and its supporters should take heart, for there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. While the result might be an anti-climax to the famed “by-election effect”, there is quite a lot to cheer about.

For one, we should assess the results in comparison to what Sadasivam Veriyah, the previous SDP candidate in Bukit Batok, achieved (26.4%) and what Dr Chee himself achieved, while leading a team in Holland-Bukit Timah (33.38%). Looking even further back, Dr Chee’s personal election record in either a general election or by-election, GRC or SMC, has never exceeded 35%. The result on Saturday, by comparison, is a commendable improvement over all this.

Clearly, an SDP led by Dr Chee has made substantial headway into the minds of the electorate. Despite the salvo of attacks on Dr Chee, his perceived checkered past, upgrading promises by the PAP, and the endless stream of support from PAP bigwigs – including the extremely popular Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam – something clicked among the voters of Bukit Batok.

Was it regret about the massive swing to the PAP in GE2015? It is rather likely, and all the more poignant, given that this is a PAP stronghold resting on the safe shoulders of Tharman.

We should also take heart that a lot more was said about national issues in this by-election. Chee’s determination to ignore the assault on his character and turn media attention to his party’s policy proposals led to a refreshed awareness of the SDP’s town council and healthcare plans and more significantly, the proposal for retrenchment insurance.

DPM Tharman was the ruling party heavyweight behind Mr Murali’s campaign. (Photo: TODAYonline)

Policy issues were covered to such a great extent that the PAP in an attempt to debunk them, had to trot out “Tharminator”, the only person in the ruling party’s current fold who had taken on the SDP directly on its alternative policies.

By all counts, this by-election was a very good public relations project for SDP, which the party capitalised on with gusto. While “character” still took centre stage, more lines were certainly given to national policies – an aspect that the SDP has undeniably worked very hard on.

Defeat is always hard to stomach, no matter how good the results might be. But the SDP will surely live to fight another day.

For the PAP, this may not be the time to celebrate. While there might be some self-consolation that Mr Murali lost on the race-card, the fact remains that the PAP has pulled out every trick to multi-racialise him, including the use of election posters and the affectionate “Ah Mu”.

Indeed, the swing in support for the SDP is a sign that much more attention needs to be paid on two fronts.

The first would be a serious reconsideration of national policies that includes the SDP’s ideas. And if you do copy, admit it and give credit where it is due. If there is one thing that the electorate has shown disdain for, it would be duplicity.

The second is to put an end to gutter politics. Character attacks on candidates have no place in our political life; the focus should be on the contest of ideas.

There is no honour in winning by side-stabbing your opponents, or side-stepping the issues. The voters of Bukit Batok have made that clear, and we ought to thank them for taking our political discourse up another notch.

Top photo: Dr Chee Soon Juan and the SDP team waving to supporters in Bukit Batok, AsiaOne

An edited version of this article first appeared on The Independent.sg.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author’s and do not reflect the opinions or views of Inconvenient Questions or its editorial team.

About the Author:
Howard Lee is a communications professional with more than 10 years’ experience in government agencies. He was commentaries editor for The Online Citizen and media liaison for the FreeMyInternet movement. He currently writes freelance and is active with civil society championing media freedom. He also teaches at Kaplan Singapore and plans to return to his alma mater, Murdoch University, to further his studies in media communications.