Opinion
It is the PAP who put the whole country at risk by calling GE in the first place, not jubilant opposition party supporters
Co-chair of Singapore’s multi-ministry taskforce on the coronavirus, Lawrence Wong has apparently said that the raucous crowds that gathered at multiple locations across Singapore on Election Night may potentially have consequences for the number of COVID-19 infections in the country.
In itself, this may seem an innocuous statement but in context, it is extremely likely to be a not so veiled attack at the Workers’ Party (WP).
On election night, many WP supporters had gathered to await results eagerly in a hard fought election which saw the People’s Action Party (PAP) receive many benefits that alternative parties did not.
For example, the PAP got 4.5 minutes in the live debates while the other parties got 1.5 each. The PAP also had the advantage of being in charge of being able to decide on a date for the general election.
Before we forget, there has also been widespread criticism at the PAP’s apparent gerrymandering over electoral boundaries. And, what about the controversial Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) which was apparently liberally used during the campaign period with over 30 POFMA directives issued to alternative parties and online alternative news sites – None issued to the PAP.
Then, there’s also the apparent bullying of WP member of parliament, Raeesah Khan where two police reports were filed against her for being an alleged racist against the Chinese majority when any ounce of common sense will see that she is just calling for equality.
Contrast this with Heng Swee Keat who had publicly declared (without empirical data) that older Singaporeans were not ready for a non- Chinese prime minister. While a police report was also filed against him, the police dismissed such report within 48 hours while Khan’s remain hanging over her head as she begins her maiden political career.
I can go on but you get my drift. The PAP won what would be considered a wonderful victory by any yardstick and have been given a very comfortable mandate. Yet, it would seem that they are displeased because the WP managed to win Sengkang Group Representative Constituency (GRC). Sengkang GRC is a new GRC created by the Electoral Department (ELD) which is arguably not independent. Why can’t the PAP just be gracious about this given that they still won comfortably? Why is Wong behaving like a child throwing his toys out of the pram?
Wong went on to say:
“From the pictures I’ve seen, all of them were wearing masks. They may not have kept to the rule of five. And if we can find out who they are, and we have a means to, we might be able to identify and take them to task. If you look at the numbers, there are quite a number of them, but if you look at the contact that they had, I’m not sure that they were in close contact for a very long time.”
Given that the jubilant supporters were mostly opposition supporters, is Wong threatening consequences for opposition supporters?
Given that it is the PAP who called for the unnecessary general election in a time of pandemic in the first place, it is unbelievably shocking that Wong is implying that action needs to be taken against those who took part in supporting alternative parties?
Most shocking of all, Wong accused such jubilant individuals as having put the whole country at risk! Excuse me! Who called for the general election in the first place? How can he turn around and blame citizens when it is the PAP who put the country at risk in the first place by calling the general election despite many exhortations from opposition camps to postpone the general elections?
Why tackle the consequences when you could have addressed the underlying issue by not calling the general election in the first place? Wong has been criticised for his government’s handling of the COVID-19 virus. Being called reactionary instead of proactive. There may be parallels here.
Is he opportunistically blaming the public or is he truly unable to see the fallacy of calling for a general election in the first place? Neither scenario is reassuring.
But despite this seemingly vindictive behaviour, Singaporeans have unanimously returned the PAP to power. So, the next time, Singaporeans can have their say will be circa 2025. In the intervening five years, let’s see what’s in store.
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