I wonder, what is a strong mandate for the PAP?
PM Lee said this yesterday about the opposition: “What contribution will they make in Parliament, adding “contrast” to the discussion, if they get elected as MPs? What will happen to Singapore, if they form the government?”
I think the part about forming the government is quite fanciful because no slogan of the opposition parties runs on that theme, not even close.
Surely the newcomer PSP’s “You Deserve Better” cannot be construed as a parliamentary replacement. Neither can the veteran WP’s “Make Your Vote Count” be seen as a majority takeover. Not by a long shot.
In fact, PSP’s backmasking message comes mostly from the totemic LHY’s video call to deny PAP her supermajority. But without him joining the electoral fray, most will see him as venting, out of pent up sibling rivalry sentiments, rather than being a serious political rival.
In any event, the opposition parties are much more realistic than that. They know the hold of PAP over the silent majority is quite ironclad, and the well-to-do, the toe-the-line, and the don’t-rock-the-boat will have already made up their mind before ballot Friday.
So the contribution that the opposition parties, at least a selected credible handful, can make is not about ”contrasting” (whatever that means). The reason for their existence in Parliament (whether seen as contributing or not) is much more human than utopian political theories would make it out to be.
Stripped of all its fanfare, it is simply about the distrust of human leadership. This distrust is deep-rooted. This distrust is directed against a parliament of one party rule.
You see, history has taught us that no system run by us (human beings) is foolproof. No civilization, however great, lasts forever; not even for a durable season.
Decay always starts from the head down to the body. Complacency runs in our veins. And absolute power corrupts absolutely, or at least, creates opportunities for corruption that are hard to resist even for the best of leadership. That is why we distrust a government of one and only one, without any checks and balances from outside.
It is true that for now, if a freak election result happens, and WP and PSP were to form a coalition government to run Singapore, you can expect that the struggle to take over the steering wheel would be herculean; but of course, not impossible.
But the silent majority are too nestled in our cozy comfort zone to want to ever risk that. And that freak election result will not happen mostly because of the unproven quality of most of the opposition parties and the stellar track record of the incumbent.
The reality is, it is difficult to compete with PAP and their slate of high-flying candidates who will always have the experience in real time with a good lead time as compared to those whose experience is largely in the “classroom of rallies and online broadcasts”, save for WP who has nearly a decade of experience running a GRC and PSP led by someone from the inside.
So, it is highly curious for PM Lee to even assert or hint to the possibility of the opposition forming the government (unless it is an intended play on hyperbole for effect). Because, if anything, it is much more likely at this time when we are still in the eye of the Covid-19 storm that a freak election result may just go to the other extreme, that is, the supermajority gaining an even more supermajority, if not the foreboding 100%.
I believe that result, albeit freakish, would disappoint even the silent majority. Imagine a Parliament of unadulterated whites, no opposing voices, no contrast, no stain; just a sea of whites. Alas, it would be so bright, so uniform, so uneventful, the business of the state would be too unbearably dull to watch.
In the end, both sides are pitching it for the safest psychological persuasion or anchorage. Both are dabbling in hyperbole for effect. Both strive to instil some uncertain and fear to finesse the silent majority.
For PAP, they know they have got this. They are pushing for a strong mandate, and strive to repeat the 2001 GE victory of more than 75%, possibly scoring an 80%. They are taking nothing for granted especially when this will be the swan song for the last of the Lees in Parliament.
In essence, this is an election to endorse all that PM Lee had done and stood for, and also to endorse the confidence and trust reposed on the 4G leaders of what they are going to do in the future for Singapore.
And for the opposition parties, it is indeed about making your vote count. The distrust element has always been on their side. And PAP may have the first-mover and the long-stayer advantage, but the opposition have the human-fallibility x-factor on their side. For what is the symbol and meaning of democracy, when the people’s voice in Parliament is being “whitewashed” by one political party making all the decisions?
Well, PAP can ensure (and they have always done so) that there will still be robust and impartial debate even without opposition parties, and without the perilous folly of groupthink, but it is just not the same thing in the anxious mind of the electoral. Why put all your electoral eggs in one white basket right?
And when PM Lee said, “at this critical moment, Singapore needs a capable government with the full support of a united people, more than ever”, this unity of the silent majority still covertly craves after some credible diversity in Parliament as a psychological consolation, very much like a security blanket for us to sleep more soundly at night.
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