Bukit Batok Single-Member Constituency (SMC) By-Elections 2016 Results (7 May 2016)
A total of 24,192 votes were cast, which made up 94.03 per cent of the voter pool.
- Murali Pillai (PAP) - 61.2%
- Chee Soon Juan (SDP) - 38.8%
And SDP supporters are now boasting online that despite the loss, it was Chee Soon Juan's best ever election result.
Yeah.. but bear in mind - that may be CHEE's own
PERSONAL best result.
But are we forgetting that Linda Chiam had
49.64% of the votes in GE 2011 for Potong Pasir SMC?
And how about the 2012 By-Election for Hougang East? Png Eng Huat (WP) managed to retain the seat for WP with a
62.08% share of the votes against PAP.
Or how about how PAP lost Punggol East SMC to Lee Li Lian (WP) in the 2013 By-Election?
(
WP - 54.5%, PAP - 43.7%, RF - 1.2%, SDA - 0.6%)
So when we compare Chee's results with other By-Election results - his peformance of
38.8% actually doesn't sound so hot now huh.
Lina Chiam (Lina Loh), who is better known in Singapore as the wife of Chiam See Tong, filled in the SPP slot in Potong Pasir SMC and contested against the People's Action Party's Sitoh Yih Pin for the Potong Pasir Member of Parliament (MP) position.
Lina Chiam campaigned hard to win the vote of Potong Pasir residents. It was the closest fight of the 2011 election with Lina Chiam losing only by mere 114 votes getting 49.64% of the votes.
However, by virtue of being the best loser in an election whereby less than 9 non-ruling party MPs were elected, she qualified to make it to the 12th Parliament of Singapore as an NCMP. Lina Chiam took up the NCMP appointment on 12 May 2011.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Loh
The Bukit Batok By-Election had all of the favourable conditions possible for an opposition party to win.
(1) By-Election Effect favors the Opposition
There is no fear to "changing the govt". PAP remains the ruling party regardless of the outcome. So voters actually can elect an Opposition candidate without much reservations.
(2) Fade-out of the SG50 Celebrations and LKY's passing
The often-used excuse by the opposition for their heavy losses in GE 2015. Now almost 1 year later. Is it realistic to say that these are still a factor?
(3) Unfettered Use of Social Media and the Internet
SDP supporters and Chee often complain that the main-steam media does not cover him enough. Or that the reports are biased against him.
But is that fair? How is the media biased? Were there any false assertions about Chee printed? If so, why doesn't Chee sue them for defamation?
Besides, take a look at SDP's online presence. Has he been prevented from making himself hear online?
(4) "Not a Fresh" face to voters
Chee is not some unknown face to Singaporeans. In some quarters, Chee has an almost rock-star like status. In GE 2015, SDP/ Chee's rallies pulled in one of the largest crowds. And most importantly, Chee spoke at these rallies without any hinderance or restrictions.
On the other hand, PAP's Murali is relatively less well-known, and he had to spend time and effort to get voters familiar with him.
Yet, even with all these inherent advantages - Chee lost.
And what is Chee Soon Juan's main explanation for the loss?
From the Mothership report:
Chee took aim at Shin Min Daily News for “asking the same
questions about 20 years ago about ex NCMP Lina Chiam” because “I give
these interviews on good faith that you’ll come up with a fair report.”
Chee added, “What is the motivation of wanting to dredge up things up 20 years ago?” In other words, a “fair report” here means not digging into somebody’s past.
In his Chinese remarks, Chee upped the ante by blaming the media for creating an unfair field for the SDP to fight in.
“If the media didn’t use such methods to attack us, I
think we would have a very good chance…If it is a fair and democratic
society, we would have a very good chance in entering parliament.” (Translated from Chinese)
Chee claimed, “The problem is that we have to fight not only our
opposition, but also the media. I find this very disappointing.”
Read
the full Mothership report on Chee's reactions to the election loss here.
Notice that Chee Soon Juan
DID NOT DENY or dispute what was reported about his past in the media.
Chee was simply very unhappy that the media brought it up and reminded the people of what had happened before. Chee blames the mass media for his election loss.
In other words - Chee is in effect saying
"If only the media didn't bring up all these about my past, I could have won."
Is there anything wrong about judging a person based on his past actions?
This is a fact of life.
Whether you are applying for a job or a scholarship. Whether you are considering to enter into a business partnership. Or perhaps you are looking for a lifelong companion.
Don't you try to get to know the person and their history so that you can make an evaluation about the person's character?
So what can we infer from Chee Soon Juan blaming the mass media for his election loss?
Chee Soon Juan doesn't believe that he was rejected by voters because:
- of his questionable past, and therefore his questionable lack of integrity.
- the majority of people saw through the many lies that he spews forth.
- the "entire govt machinery" and "mass media" is against him. (And yet WP managed to win 6 seats in GE 2015.)
- there are no free and fair elections in Singapore (And yet somehow, Chiam See Tong, the founder of SDP, could participate and win in Elections; become the longest serving Opposition MP (1984-2011) and led SDP to hold 3 seats in Parliament after GE 1991).
In the end, the Election results speak for themselves.
Even under the most favourable of election conditions for an opposition party to win, Chee had failed to convince voters.
Singaporeans have clearly rejected Chee Soon Juan and his brand of "politics" and "democracy".
And don't forget, Chee has been turned down by voters not once, not twice but
FIVE times since 1992 - right after he chased Chiam See Tong out from SDP.
If SDP wants to remain relevant in Singapore politics, then its members must think hard about who should be their leader.
References:
Straits Times: Chee Soon Juan responds to Chan Chun Sing; says he's proud of 'different path' he chose
See more more dubious shit things that Chee Soon Juan and SDP doesn't want voters to know
