The perpetual failures of Opposition Parties in Singapore

Tan Cheng Bock’s announcement to enter Opposition Politics has created all sort of “whirlwinds” in Singapore politics. Right at the back of the “excitement” that surrounds the victory of Pakatan Harapan over the Barisan Nasional next door over in Malaysia – gave Opposition politicians and their supporters much to be excited and hopeful.

However, I have tremendous suspicion and doubt over the aim of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), the new party formed by Tan Cheng Bock (TCB).

MOTIVATION?

He is reported to want to “mentor future parliamentarian”, “to work with other Opposition parties for the good of Singapore”, “build a compassionate and truly democratic Singapore where good values and people matter” and “to defend freedom of choice and free speech without”….

Tan Cheng Bock, Photo by Today

But to be honest, “mentor future parliamentarian” is nonsensical, since the “future parlimentarians” need to get elected first before they can get mentored – which is the core problem for Opposition politicians – getting elected; “to work with other Oppositions” is hypocritical, since he can just join them and still do the same; “build a compassionate and truly democratic Singapore…” is ridiculous – since Singapore IS a compassionate and already democratic country; and “defend freedom of choice and free speech” is basically what every Opposition is already trying to do.

So technically, TCB brought nothing new to the table, with the exception that he is a high profile former PAP (People’s Action Party) MP and he is bringing along a few former PAP members.

Truth to be told, it feels more like “revenge” for being “blocked” from running for the Presidency, after a close call in his first attempt in 2011.

Tan Cheng Bock (center), when he was a candidate for the PAP, Photo from WakeUpSG

TCB had been PAP member for so many decades, he had been a parliamentarian for 20 years. He had plenty of opportunity to serve the resident and make a tangible difference to Singapore – and I’m sure he did that during his time. So I would highly recommend people think deeply about what could his motivation be, for starting yet another Opposition Party.

OPPOSITION DISRUPTION

The appearance of TCB and its PSP had stolen all the thunder and limelights from people like Lim Tean (People’s Voice Party) and Chee Soon Quan (Singapore Democratic Party) – throwing everyone’s plans up in the air into a massive mess.

Lim Tean happened to also form a new political party, People’s Voice party – in a bid to revamp his “political career” and “branding” – is absolutely overshadowed by TCB’s entry into Opposition politics. Chee Soon Quan’s Singapore Democratic Party early “marketing campaign” also get tucked into the background.

Chee Soon Quan, Photo by Straits Times

As a result of the massive spotlight that is shining on TCB, the clueless opposition party politicians tried awkwardly to share that very spotlight, so “not to miss out” – without realising that they are also effectively rivals and they do not have the same vision for Singapore

Theindependent

In one sense, Dr. Tan Cheng Bock seems to be the darling of the opposition-the figure around whom others flock around. This seemed quite obvious during Chinese New Year when the former PAP MP held an open house at his home, and several prominent opposition figures did not just attend but made sure their presence was seen and posted about on social media.

OPPOSITION CONTRADICTION

Of course, as an observer of Singapore opposition politics, it is nothing weird about the cluelessness of the Oppositions. However, I can’t overlook the weirdness of TCB’s “politicking” by engaging all the “failures” and “nobodies” in opposition politics. Perhaps TCB, is trying to create a “Singapore Pakatan”, inspired by the Opposition success in Malaysia.

However in Singapore, Opposition Alliances are meaningless (hint: Singapore Democratic Alliance), as this is not a kinetic war. Its not like the number of troops a war time alliance brings – but in Singapore politics, its more of a point of credibility. However, their quality is nowhere near in relative terms to their contemporary in Malaysia.

Singapore Democratic Alliance, Photo by Straits Times

Mostly likely, TCB set up a party because he can’t identify with any of the current opposition parties – since they aren’t of the same stock and direction; and of course, he can’t be the “leader” if he join another party – then they are supposed to be rivals and not allies. Not to mention gaining pointless allies, these engagements would actually pull down his own credibility, for mixing himself with “bad company”.

DEATH BY ASSOCIATIONS

TCB is expected to automatically win his seat in the next General Elections, without him even needing to campaign much. That’s how popular he is prior to him joining Opposition politics.

Nicole Seah, Photo by Today

But associating with the wrong people can be disastrous, like what Nicole Seah (formerly National Solidarity Party, now Worker’s Party) learnt, after she suffered by associating herself with Tan Jee Say during the Singapore Presidential Election in 2011. This is something understood very well by Worker’s Party under Low Thia Kiang – which refused to form any alliance with any other Opposition Parties – maintaining a clear identity away from the rest of the pack.

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Yet, the most notable of those trying to get into the TCB’s limelight, would be Pritam Singh (Worker’s Party’s new Secretary-General). His presence marks a divergence from Worker’s Party stand of “rather stand alone”, shown in the story of Punggol East By-Election. (This is also be a sign that Worker’s Party are feeling insecure after losing massive amount of credibility after the Aljunied Town Council saga – read more about it here: https://mothership.sg/ahtc-trial/)

NO ONE IS CONFIDENT

The appearance of TCB’s PSP throws a huge spanner into the election hopes of the Worker’s Party. Worker’s Party “Unique Selling Point” is that they are the only “vote-able” and credible opposition party to vote for (the only other in my opinion is Singapore People’s Party – but they struggles to win their own seats though). But with the appearance of TCB and his PSP, voters found an “alternative” over the “disappointing” Worker’s Party.

(Left to right) Paul Tambyah, Tan Cheng Bock, Chee Soon Quan, Pritam Singh, Photo from Paul Tambyah’s Facebook page

However, Worker’s Party and Pritam Singh aren’t the only ones feeling vulnerable, the fact that Tan Cheng Bock, given his massive popularity, still chose to meet with Opposition politicians, is a clear sign that he himself is feeling insecure. But hard to blame him, since he is taking a gargantuan risk to dive back into politics, and opposition politics no less.

Tan Cheng Bock, given his massive popularity, still chose to meet with Opposition politicians, is a clear sign that he himself is feeling insecure.

VOTING FOR OPPOSITIONS

Opposition parties are not judge by the yardstick as those used on the ruling party. Voting for Opposition represents a conflicting choice for the constituents.

Worker’s Party Rally, Photo from TechInAsia

Firstly, its a risky proposition, as political stability is a foundation for the success of Singapore. It is actually pretty difficult to get the moderate voters (the swing votes) to be convinced enough to vote against the ruling party.

2ndly, the Opposition had to be really really good and trustworthy, before these moderate voters are willing to tick them on their ballot. Thus, the Opposition party’s reputation as well as the candidate’s sincerity is extremely key to whether they would go against the odds and win a seat in the PAP dominated parliament.

PUNGGOL EAST BY-ELECTION

A good example of how the Singapore electorate actually votes can be clearly seen in the 4 way fight in the Punggol East By-Election in 2013. In a rare instance of “Opposition disunity”, the By-Election became a free for all, where the candidate of the incumbent PAP, faced off with against the leader of Reform Party and the leader of the Singapore Democratic Alliance. Worker’s Party, in their “confidence”, fielded a relative “unknown”, Lee Li Lian.

Normally, such a 4 corner fights will always work in the ruling party’s favour, as the Opposition votes would usually get split up between the various Opposition candidates, giving the PAP candidate a shoo-in.

Photo from The Blue Sweater

However, the result was like a fairytale, the Worker’s Party’s unknown, beating the PAP candidate with 54.5% of the votes. Not just that, she utterly “trashed” the “Opposition political heavyweights” in 2 different Opposition Leaders. The result clearly shows how important the reputation/brand of the Opposition Party is.

ROLE OF THE OPPOSITION

The actual role of Opposition Parties is to be the voice of the people and to ensure that the ruling party and the Government get informed on things that they might have missed out. And this is what is expected of them by the people of Singapore.

This is because of the reality that the Oppositions are never going to be voted-in in sufficient numbers to actually make a difference in the Parliament in the foreseeable future. Legislation and motions will get passed by the ruling party unobstructed. In fact, it is unlikely to be even enough Oppositions in the near future to even block a constitutional change.

The Singapore Parliament, Photo by Straits Times

On top of that, Opposition MPs are not expected to make policies – as that job is done by the civil servants in respective ministries, led and approved by the Cabinet Ministers. Policies is likely to be made without Ministers actually doing the hard work of researching and writing them – but merely reading them, suggesting amendments, discussing with the rest of the Cabinet and making the final decisions.

The electorates aren’t expecting the Oppositions to craft policies, or to even reform the country or the political system. Singaporeans simply want Oppositions to keep the PAP on their toes – so that the PAP know where the boundaries are.

CONCLUSION

But seeing how the platforms the Oppositions are running on thus far, I can only conclude that the Oppositions still remain clueless as to where they fit  into the ongoing Singapore story.

Cover Photo by AFP