Malaysia-bashing at Singapore election rallies lost on young voters, say analysts

When a former Singapore minister recently stirred a mini diplomatic controversy by claiming the island-state's superiority over China and neighbouring Malaysia, few even raised an eyebrow. At an election rally last Thursday, Lim Swee Say, a candidate for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), was espousing the virtues of being Singaporean by proclaiming how fortunate he was not to have ended up as a Chinese citizen had his parents not left China, or Malaysian, had Singapore not separated from Malaya in 1965. “So I am thinking, if we didn’t separate in 1965, today you and I would be Malaysians, ‘heng’ (lucky) ah,” he said. Lim later issued an apology, but few on the island-state were surprised, much less shocked, at his statement. Lim was certainly not the only government election candidate to draw comparisons – and the inference of superiority – between Singapore and Malaysia, even though he was likely the least subtle. “You have a divorced couple who talk about each other. This is normal. It cannot be avoided since you were married once,” said political analyst Dr James Chin, who is also director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania. “The comparison (by Singapore) is always done in the economic arena, strength of the ringgit versus the Singapore dollar, growth rates and so on,” he said. Dr Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of Singapore's Yusof Ishak Institute, said the tendency to compare Singapore's fortunes with Malaysia originated from the need to build a strong sense of national pride and identity. “There are several ways to work on nation-building, in trying to build a sense of pride and uniqueness in the Singaporean person,” said Ooi. “One way is to be positive; emphasising Singaporeans’ hardwork, success and so on. “The other way is by comparing, by saying we’re better than our neighbours. Unfortunately, even though they may not always be so explicit, many Singapore politicians still practise that kind of propaganda,” he told The Malaysian Insider. While Lim's comments, which came during an election rally, were uncharacteristically candid, other PAP heavyweights have been equally comfortable in attempting to draw distinctions between the region’s richest country, and its economically inferior neighbour. Last week, K. Shanmugan, Singapore's foreign affairs and law minister, subtly drew attention to the ringgit’s dismal performance against the strengthening Singapore dollar, in an otherwise non-related discussion about the state of Singapore’s low-wage earners. During an online election debate hosted by sociopolitical site Inconvenient Questions, Shanmugan discussed the success of the Workfare scheme, introduced in 2007, as a programme where the government tops up the wages of low-income earners. “Workfare goes up to S$1,900 today. In Malaysia, a starting lawyer gets RM2,500. (So) Workfare covers up to RM5,700 in Malaysia,” he told panellists. The subtle, and sometimes not so, inferences that Singapore’s leaders make about the country’s prosperity and safety had in the past worked to convince its people of the effectiveness of their government. But analysts believe the younger crop of voters are no longer swayed by the same sentiments. "Nowadays, I think this sort of comparisons, if any, don't quite resonate because people tend to focus on domestic issues," said political observer Dr Oh Ei Sun from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Ooi said the younger voters were more concerned with issues affecting their future, such as foreign immigration policies and a "fear that foreigners will come in and take what they believe is theirs". “This kind of programming works better with the first and maybe second generation of Singaporeans. The young people are less concerned with a strong Singaporean identity than they are with issues that affect their quality of life,” he said. “The problem is, some government politicians believe their own propaganda so much, that they keep repeating the same old arguments. "If they don't adequately address the domestic issues that the voters are concerned with, they will surely stand to lose out." A total of 2.46 million voters will cast their ballots Friday, where for the first time in Singapore's history, all 89 seats will be contested. While it is almost a given that the party will continue to win the majority of seats in Friday's election, analysts believe PAP will face fierce competition in several key seats. – September 9, 2015.