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%

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Officers caught two riding e-scooters on footpaths on first day of full ban enforcement

On the first day of 2020, two errant e-scooter riders were caught…

港高庭判《禁蒙面法》违宪

上月4日,香港特首林郑月娥宣布引用《紧急情况规例条例》通过《禁止蒙面规例》 ;任何人身处受规管的公众集会或公众游行,或非法集结(包括暴动)或未经批准的集结时,使用可能隐藏身份的蒙面物品,即属犯罪。 不过,香港高等法院在今日(18日)却裁定,港府上述紧急法在“危害公安”的情况下使用,属违反《基本法》,而《禁蒙面法》对基本权利限制超乎合理需要,亦属违宪。 据了解有24名泛民议员和前议员梁国雄(“长毛”)向法庭提出司法复核,他们指《紧急法》绕过香港立法会,赋予特首不受约束的立法权力,有违《基本法》。 针对《禁蒙面法》,他们质疑为何涵盖和平集会,且此法反而会激起更多抗议示威,遏制成效有限。 港府代表则说,《紧急法》没有与《基本法》条文相抵触,并称港府设“禁蒙面法”,为的是“拯救年轻人及香港市民”。 不过,在本周三法庭将聆审诉辩双方陈词,以商讨补救裁决所引发的情况。 港府颁《禁蒙面法》冲突仍持续 在上月4日,林郑月娥指示威者在使用暴力时几乎以蒙面形式进行,目的是为了隐藏身份、逃避行责。 他相信反蒙面发有效阻止激进分子违法,并有助于警方执法。 然而此举反而引来香港民间更激烈反弹,10月初香港多区仍有大型示威活动。仍有港民蒙面上街。  

PVP Chief Lim Tean: MOE is "turning a blind eye" to the dangers of children being infected in school

On 26 March, the founding leader of People’s Voice (PV), Lim Tean,…

Fifth COVID-19 death: 86-year-old Singaporean woman with no recent travel history to affected regions

The fifth person to die of COVID-19 in Singapore is an 86-year-old…