Straits Times: S'poreans willing to give opposition a go: Low
ELECTION 06
WP chief says party did well despite many first-timers
BY KEN KWEK
THE election results show that Singaporeans are willing to give the opposition a chance and have provided the Workers' Party with an incentive to continue engaging the public - especially the young, party chief Low Thia Khiang said yesterday.
Assessing the results a day after being re-elected to a fourth term in Hougang, he said the 'greatest breakthrough' for his party was in putting up a credible team of young candidates, and getting the support of young Singaporeans.
This was critical to helping in the development of the opposition as a whole, reversing its decline in the past few years, he said.
'If the opposition did not have some credible new faces, there would be no real competition. And younger voters would have found it difficult to connect with the opposition. This would affect our future prospects,' Mr Low told reporters over a lunch of Teochew food after a three-hour tour of 'thank you' tour of Hougang.
He hoped that the younger members of the WP team who contested the election would serve as an encouragement to other young professionals to join the ranks of the opposition.
Having learnt 'how to fight an election, how to manoeuvre and manage on the ground', they would be able to pass on these skills to newcomers in the future, he added.
He said the WP did well compared to the 2001 election despite most candidates being first-timers. Its share of the vote at this election stood at 38.4 per cent.
"There's a level of trust in the WP though the candidates are new."
He highlighted the performance of the WP's Ang Mo Kio team which contested against the team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and rookie candidate Lian Chin Way who stood in Nee Soon Central against PAP veteran Ong Ah Heng.
"The Ang Mo Kio team was a very young team, and yet, against the Prime Minister, they secured 33 per cent of the vote, which is remarkable to me. So yes, people have sent a signal."
Mr Low had cast the election as a referendum on the future of the opposition and had asked voters to signal that they wanted opposition politics to stay.
At the end of a separate procession in Aljunied, party chairman Sylvia Lim said similarly that the WP achieved a respectable and meaningful overall percentage.
This would enable the party to attract more credible candidates in the future.
"There is visible support for the WP, and of course, I think people would like to join organisations where they see some potential."
The future of politics and how young Singaporeans viewed politics was a theme for both the WP and the PAP in the election.
Mr Low observed that many young Singaporeans had attended WP rallies.
Their concerns about policies which affected their livelihoods might have contributed to the rise in votes for the opposition.
"If you look at the percentage, especially in Ang Mo Kio GRC, I believe the ground was not as sweet as the PAP thought.
"I think the younger generation do worry about their future. Some of them who voted for the PAP in 2001 have their own families now and they realise some policies are affecting their quality of life."
He also said the Government should do more to encourage young Singaporeans and cited the Internet as being a place which contained "sharp" and "creative" ideas from young Singaporeans. The Government should not over-regulate the use of the Internet for political reasons, he said.
"You want to stop them from doing that because of political reasons, because it can be a political threat? Come on. We believe in Singapore being a globalised city, so please don't do that."
As Mr Low made his way through the constituency on the back of a lorry yesterday, residents cheered and drivers tooted their horns.
A gentlemanly fight
'I think the Prime Minister has been gentlemanly in this contest, when he engaged the Ang Mo Kio team. This is the right spirit and the right direction for Singapore.
'We should move towards a more mature democracy in which the rules of engagement are more civilised, rather than look at each other as enemies.
'Whether you are from the opposition or the ruling party, there must be some common platform and goal for everyone to reach, for the good of the nation, for the betterment of society, for a better life. The WP is prepared to meet the PAP on those platforms.'
- WP CHIEF LOW THIA KHIANG, responding to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who said the WP put up a slate of credible candidates and thanked the party for giving voters a choice in Ang Mo Kio GRC
