Update: Parliament rejects motion to fine-tune electoral system. “PM Lee said Singapore must never blindly follow others.” – Channel NewsAsia. NMP Siew Kum Hong, who helped with the poll, mentioned the poll results in Parliament today.
Watch the video of Mr Siew’s speech here – TOC TV.
The following is a media release by The Online Citizen to the local media.
Singapore, 27 August 2008 – Internet portal The Online Citizen (www.theonlinecitizen.com) today published the results of a street poll on the question of whether a by-election should be held in the Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC), with 60.1% of all respondents who had an opinion saying that one should be held.
Dr. Ong Chit Chung, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong GRC, passed away on 14 July 2008. Since then, the Government has stated that the law does not require it to hold a by-election, and it does not intend to do so. Instead, the remaining four MPs for Jurong GRC will take turns to cover for the duties of the late Dr. Ong.
Two Nominated Members of Parliament, Professor Thio Li-Ann and Dr. Loo Choon Yong, have filed a motion for Parliament to debate the question of when a by-election should be held. This debate is expected to take place over 26 and 27 August 2008.
The Online Citizen decided to conduct the street poll, to ascertain what Singaporeans actually thought. A team of volunteers conducted the poll on 23 August 2008, in different parts of Jurong GRC. The findings of the poll are enclosed.
A total of 478 Singapore citizens were polled, of whom 312 (65.3%) were residents of Jurong GRC and 166 (34.7%) were not. 122 respondents (25.5%) did not know whether a by-election should be held. Of the remainder, 214 (44.8% of all respondents, or 60.1% of those with an opinion) stated that a by-election should be held in Jurong GRC, while 142 (29.7% of all respondents, or 39.9% of those with an opinion) disagreed.
Of the 312 residents of Jurong GRC polled, 85 (27.2%) did not know whether a by-election should be held. 129 residents (41.3% of all residents, or 56.8% of those with an opinion) thought that a by-election should be held in Jurong GRC, and 98 (31.4% of all residents, or 43.2% of those with an opinion) did not think so.
Of the further 166 persons polled who were not residents of Jurong GRC, 37 (22.3%) did not know whether a by-election should be held. 85 non-residents (51.2% of all non-residents, or 65.9% of those with an opinion) felt that a by-election should be held in Jurong GRC, and 44 (26.5% of all non-residents, or 34.1% of those with an opinion) did not think so.
“We decided to do the poll because no one was doing it – getting the opinion of the people most involved or affected by the way their constituency is run, the people of Jurong GRC,” said Andrew Loh, Deputy Editor of The Online Citizen. “Although it was a simple poll of 2 questions, it gives a reasonable feel of what the people of Jurong GRC think about the issue of having a by-election there, in the wake of the passing of one of its MPs, Dr Ong Chit Chung. 478 Singaporeans is a decent number to poll, considering our very limited resources.”
The Online Citizen hopes to work on more projects of such nature, to directly convey the true opinions of Singaporeans on the ground.
About theonlinecitizen.com
The Online Citizen is a blogsite run by volunteer Singaporeans sharing their views and experiences on current affairs and issues of concern.
FINDINGS OF STREET POLL CONDUCTED BY THE ONLINE CITIZEN ON 23 AUGUST 2008
SHOULD THERE BE A BY-ELECTION IN JURONG GRC?
Executive summary
On Saturday 23 August 2008, theonlinecitizen.com (TOC) conducted a street poll to find out Singaporeans’ views on whether there should be a by-election in Jurong GRC, in light of the passing away of Member of Parliament Dr. Ong Chit Chung.
The key findings of the poll are as follows:
§ <!–[endif]–>A total of 478 Singapore citizens were polled, of whom 312 (65.3%) were residents of Jurong GRC and 166 (34.7%) were not. 122 respondents (25.5%) did not know whether a by-election should be held. Of the remainder, 214 (44.8% of all respondents, or 60.1% of those with an opinion) stated that a by-election should be held in Jurong GRC, while 142 (29.7% of all respondents, or 39.9% of those with an opinion) disagreed.
§ <!–[endif]–>Of the 312 residents of Jurong GRC polled, 85 (27.2%) did not know whether a by-election should be held. 129 residents (41.3% of all residents, or 56.8% of those with an opinion) thought that a by-election should be held in Jurong GRC, and 98 (31.4% of all residents, or 43.2% of those with an opinion) did not think so.
§ <!–[endif]–>Of the further 166 persons polled who were not residents of Jurong GRC, 37 (22.3%) did not know whether a by-election should be held. 85 non-residents (51.2% of all non-residents, or 65.9% of those with an opinion) felt that a by-election should be held in Jurong GRC, and 44 (26.5% of all non-residents, or 34.1% of those with an opinion) did not think so.
Methodology
A team of volunteers hit different parts of Jurong GRC to ask Singapore citizens two questions:
1. Are you a resident of Jurong GRC?
2. Dr. Ong Chit Chung passed away recently. Do you think that there should be a by-election in Jurong GRC?
Only answers from respondents who identified themselves as Singapore citizens were recorded. No answers were recorded from those who identified themselves as not being Singapore citizens. Respondents were not asked to verify their citizenship.
The poll was strictly anonymous, and no personal particulars were recorded. There was no systematic sampling of respondents, and selection of respondents was entirely random.
There was no attempt made to ensure, and TOC does not represent, that the sample of respondents used by the poll was statistically valid and/or representative of Singaporeans or any other group. To the extent that there was any choice in the location of the polling, it was only to maximize pedestrian traffic for pollsters to approach.
Detailed results
The following tables set out the detailed results and findings of the street poll:
TABLE A
Breakdown of respondents
|
|
Total |
%age |
|
Singapore citizens |
478 |
100.0% |
|
Residents of Jurong GRC |
312 |
65.3% |
|
Non-residents of Jurong GRC |
166 |
34.7% |
TABLE B
Residents and non-residents of Jurong GRC combined
|
|
Total |
%age |
|
Responses to question: “Do you think that there should be a by-election in Jurong GRC?” |
478 |
100.0% |
|
Yes |
214 |
44.8% |
|
No |
142 |
29.7% |
|
Don’t know |
122 |
25.5% |
|
Only considering “Yes” and “No” responses |
||
|
Total “Yes” and “No” responses |
356 |
100.0% |
|
Yes |
214 |
60.1% |
|
No |
142 |
39.9% |
TABLE C
Residents of Jurong GRC only
|
|
Total |
%age |
|
Responses to question: “Do you think that there should be a by-election in Jurong GRC?” |
312 |
100.0% |
|
Yes |
129 |
41.3% |
|
No |
98 |
31.4% |
|
Don’t know |
85 |
27.2% |
|
Only considering “Yes” and “No” responses |
||
|
Total “Yes” and “No” responses |
227 |
100.0% |
|
Yes |
129 |
56.8% |
|
No |
98 |
43.2% |
TABLE D
Non-residents of Jurong GRC only
|
|
Total |
%age |
|
Responses to question: “Do you think that there should be a by-election in Jurong GRC?” |
166 |
100.0% |
|
Yes |
85 |
51.2% |
|
No |
44 |
26.5% |
|
Don’t know |
37 |
22.3% |
|
Only considering “Yes” and “No” responses |
||
|
Total “Yes” and “No” responses |
129 |
100.0% |
|
Yes |
85 |
65.9% |
|
No |
44 |
34.1% |
