The SDP team that could not have lost

The GE is over, the results are cast in stone. Should have let it to rest and move on. I just want to make a last comment on the SDP’s Holland Bukit Timah team that I wrote earlier that could have taken down the PAP team. Not only that they did not, they fared worst than the team in 2011 and that made the result so much more disturbing. Technically, the SDP team had all corners covered, a medical professional in Professor Paul Tambyah that was a head above Vivian, a woman candidate in Chong Wai Fung to match Sim Ann, a most feared opposition candidate in Chee Soon Juan and a Malay candidate in Sidek Mallek.

The SDP team was carefully crafted to counter the PAP team. With Vivian and his political bloops, he would not be able to stand up against Tambyah, at the very best they would both split the votes evenly. Sim Ann had an edge for being the known factor but many voters were turned off by her antics during the rallies. She too could not gain much advantage over the SDP candidate for the female votes. And Sidek Mallek would have made a clean sweep of the Malay votes as none in the PAP team could be picking them up. Chee Soon Juan’s return would be well placed to increase the anti PAP votes. The SDP could not fall lower than the 30% hard core opposition supporters. How could the team get only 33% of the votes, 6% lesser than the 2011 team?  It just did not make sense. There was no weakness in the team unlike in 2011.

With a hard core of 30% as base, just the Malay votes would take it to near 40%. All Chee Soon Juan and Tambyah needed to do was to bring 5% each and they would be neck to neck with the PAP and likely to win.

The 33% meant that practically all the Malay votes went to the PAP. It also meant that Chee Soon Juan and Tambyah could not convince the voters to give them any vote and actually lost more votes to the PAP team.

I have discussed the reasons for a 10% swing votes, 4% due to new citizens and 6% due to the goodies handed out and changes in some govt policies. The 10% swing would mean the PAP team adding on 5% to the 61% in the last GE and the SDP losing 5% from its 39%, ending with 34%, still one 1% more than the final 33%.

If the demographic distribution of Malay voters was even, there should be a 10% Malay votes in the GRC to square off the 10% swing, and the result should be more or less the same as the last GE.

The final result was just too incredible and unbelievable. This must be the biggest mystery of this GE. It was like a strange event in the Bermuda Triangle that defied all logic and reasons. How could a SDP team that was technically superior or at worst equal to the PAP team lost so badly?

Call it a miraculous win for the PAP team. The other mystery must be the near loss of the WP team in Aljunied GRC. The voters could not switch camp just like that, and without a big crisis. The AHPETC was no crisis but a red herring. The voters of Aljunied were not so daft not to see it to affect their voting decision.

Yes, the truth is stranger than fiction.

University rankings good but not the key objectives

Hsien Loong said this at the Nanyang Technology Institute’s reunion dinner, ‘The key performance indicators (KPIs) of universities in the Republic should not be about how high their rankings are, but how well they serve Singapore.’ This is like what is so good about high rankings if they did not serve the interest of Singapore and its people? And what are these interests, jobs, skill sets, building a Singaporean core in all fields and industries.

What if high rankings lead to a hollowing of the quality pool of Singaporean academics and university students? What is the point to providing so many good paying employments to foreigners at the expense of Singaporeans, of providing good university places to foreigners instead of to our children? A good comparison is the ranking of our media by foreigners. Never mind if we are ranked 146, a few notches from the bottom, if the media are serving national interests, the good of people and country.

He then reiterated the importance of university KPIs as: "Rather, the KPI should be how well the universities serve Singapore. Whether they are academically and intellectually rigorous and vibrant, yet develop an authentic Singaporean character. Whether they give Singaporeans a good education, not just academically but holistically, building skill sets relevant to the economy so that people can get good jobs and fulfil their aspirations….’

It is sad that the Prime Minister had to say this to remind our supposedly very intelligent academics in the academia not to waste money on superficial rankings, on providing good jobs to foreigners and hollowing our academic talent and resources. Isn’t this a crime against the people? Using public funds to feed foreigners and replacing our own academics in the universities? Get your priorities right!

Would Tharman stand up and say ‘Cheap, we have no local talents in the universities and we need 30 years to get it right again like not Singaporean bankers and finance talents?’ Shit, I shouldn’t use the word ‘local’. It should be ‘Singaporeans’ and not meant to include PRs. We need to grow our own timber if we are going to survive as a people who called ourselves Singaporeans and this island home. If not, yes, we would be just a hotel for foreigners and we become the prostitutes servicing them and saying thank you to them for patronising us, and we pay them for it.

Is this not what Hsien Loong meant when he said, and I quote: “(While) at the same time, imbuing in students and alumni a sense of loyalty and belonging to Singapore, a sense of purpose in their lives, so that people are rooted here - with networks, friends and family - and want to give back to Singapore." You don’t expect foreigners to sink roots here and be one of us, to give back to Singapore when they are here for the good time and waiting to make their pile to return home. A few foreigners would be good, but we can’t expect too many to stay, and it is also no good if we have to depend on foreign talents to stay. This is an easy way out to increase our talent pool but would discourage the growing of our own talents. And what is there then for our own people if this is the case?

Don’t give me that globalisation and borderless shit. Treason is the word for these naive terminologies. The quitters and nomads like to use them to rubbish the citizen’s right in their own countries. If not careful, and still blindly going down the road of bringing in more foreigners, one day the daft Sinkies would be like the refugees marching to Europe, people without a place called home, kicked out from their countries they once called home.

GE2015 – Triumph versus Despair 塞翁失马，焉知非福

The PAP and its supporters had cause for celebration with the shocking victory in the GE 2015 results. On the other side of the fence there was shock, despair and hopelessness. Not even the most optimistic supporter or analyst of the PAP camp could envisage the kind of success and margin of wins. 10% swing, many winning more than 70% of the votes, closing in to the 80%, taking one SMC back, not losing new GRC and almost taking back Aljunied, were too good to be true.

Contrary, it was a debilitating blow to the opposition camp and those expecting a further weakening of the PAP’s grip onto power and the impending loss of at least one more GRC to the opposition. The shock wave was too shocking for anyone to bear. There was an unusual quietness on the morning of 12 Sep. You could see it on the faces of many citizens. They were lifeless, something really horrible had happened the night before and no one was in the mood to talk about it.

The contrasting mood could not be missed by anyone. The GE and its results were furthest from anyone’s lips. They were in no mood for anything and talking about the GE was the last thing in their minds. All the hopes and expectations of a rubbing for the PAP camp and the resurgence of new faces from the opposition camp in parliament went up in smoke.

What should the PAP read of this unusual reception of its stunning landslide victory?  They have won 70% of the popular votes is the truth. No one can deny that. But why the gloom and doom among the electorate? No doubt the PAP would be gloating, the best result ever happened and it was the sign of a better future for the people and country. SG100 would be good, can only be good, with the majority of the people putting the cross of approval on the PAP’s box.

To many, the GE was a non event, did it happen, was there a GE? Life goes on as if nothing had happened. This must be the strangest thing to happen after the routing of the opposition camp. The absence of people on the streets in celebration and the joy of a hard fought victory were not there.

What is happening? The people in despair, the losers, must be in the minority, 30% or lesser. Why is the mood of despair and despondency so infectious, spreading across the population even into the victor’s camp?

I am still trying to figure out this phenomenon of a victory without the spirit of joy and jubilation. All those who were talking to me excitedly before the GE were wearing  a face of stony silence, still in a state of shock I supposed. Maybe I am just paranoid, seeing things that no one is seeing. Can anyone explain this? Is it real or am I imagining, that everyone is celebrating except me, and jumping in joy,  I am the odd man out? Must be another uniquely Singapore thing.

Shinzo Abe’s mischievous intent

The Japanese govt is on the verge of passing the new security Bills to allow Japan to go to war. Abe and his supporters’ reasoning, China is getting stronger and more aggressive, it is thus necessary to rescind the pacifist Constitution so that Japan can now go to war with China. Is this reasoning real, valid, logical and sound?

The pacifist Constitution does not prevent Japan from building its so called ‘Defence Force’ to the current size that is second only to China but an even match in terms of technology and weaponry. The pacifist Constitution does not prevent Japan from defending itself against any attack by China or any country. The right and ability to defend Japan against a foreign invasion are never compromised under the pacifist Constitution.  In addition, Japan is protected by the American nuclear umbrella and defence treaty that should China or any country attempts to attack Japan, the Americans would be obliged to come in to defend Japan. China or any country is no match to the Americans and would be naïve to conduct such a grave act. Japan’s national security is never threatened under the pacifist Constitution. The Americans have all the reasons to want to stop China from attacking Japan in their own interest.

What is changed with the new security Bills is that Japan can now go to war anywhere in the pretext of defending an ally. In other words, Japan wants the right to go to war again, to conduct wars like it did in the past, not the quoted threat from China. The new security Bills will put Japan on the same war path as Imperial Japan, to be another aggressive country that would resort to war as another form of diplomacy.

The pacifist Constitution forbids Japan to send it soldiers to fight outside Japa when it is none of Japan’s busines. This is the intent and the motive of Abe’s new security Bills, that Japan will be like the Americans, free to go to war with any country under whatever excuses and pretexts. The blood of a warlike and aggressive people is showing itself in Abe and his supporters.  Japan wants to go to war, wants to conduct and engage in wars of aggression.

Are Singaporeans still migrants?

Are Singaporeans still considered as migrants? The next question, do they still think they don’t deserve to be owners of this island and willingly giving it away to foreigners? If Singaporeans today still think that they are migrants and do not own this country, they are a shame to their forefathers for giving them this island only to be taken away from them without resistance.

Are Singaporeans that daft to give their countries away just because they were told they were descendants of migrants and foreigners who are more talented than them should own this island, because Singaporeans are daft?

Why are foreigners given pink ICs so freely and given the right to take over their island home? Do the Singaporeans have a say in this? Do the Singaporeans think they should have a say to say No? Do Singaporeans think it is so easy to own a piece of island they can call home? Think how many Europeans died killing millions of Red Indians to call North America and Canada their homes? Think how the Australians and New Zealanders got to own their countries and called the new land home, I mean the European Australians and New Zealanders?

Think how difficult it was for the colonized countries in Africa and Asia and other parts of the world to take back their countries and fought for Independence? Look at how difficult it is for China to hang on to their claims to little pieces of rocks in the South China as their territories? Look at how the other Asean countries are trying to counter claim for these islands?

Are we giving our island home away to foreigners willingly, with our consent, or with ignorance? Do Singaporeans only regret when they are chased out of this island before they wake up to their stupidity? The signs are all there, foreigners coming to replace them in good jobs, to beat them, to fight for places in schools for their children, to gang up to discriminate against Singaporeans. And Singaporeans are so lame, not doing anything. Some foreigners even openly claimed to want to take over the island and chase Singaporeans out of the island.

Do Singaporeans understand what the meaning of country and home, your own country, your own home? Would Singaporeans have to fight for their independence from foreigners again? Would they stand a chance or would it be too late when that day comes? 

Singaporeans today take it for granted that this will be their home and their country. They take it so lightly even with half the populations making up of foreigners. Have they ever thought what would it be like when they become an absolute minority and with foreigners seizing power and taking control of their country and their lives?

No, it would not happen? It happened several times in the past. Not to happen again? Singaporeans better wake up, stand up and stop any govt from giving their country away to foreigners without a fight. The mindsets of the foreigners are not as naïve as the silly Singaporeans. The way they are protecting their own kind to exclude Singaporeans in jobs in a sign of worse to come. They are not as generous, magnanimous as the daft Singaporeans who stupidly think the foreigners would think and behave just like them, share their country, homes, jobs and wives. The foreigners would take everything and kick the Singaporeans out of the equation.

What do you think?

Tharman – Theoretically will never become the PM

In my pre GE article I put up a scenario that if the opposition could win 30 seats, there is this remote possibility of Tharman making a move to unseat Hsien Loong to become the first Indian PM of Singapore. That scenario is based on the assumptions that Tharman has an ambition to be a PM, that he would not be a PM as long as Hsien Loong is around and in the pecking order there is Chee Hean above him. In order for him to become a PM, he has to engineer a split in the PAP at its weakest moment, that is when its popularity is at its ebb when the opposition could win 30 seats. When that happened, Tharman would have a bigger bargaining power if he could win 20 or so PAP MPs to his side. He could then ask Hsien Loong to step down or he would take the break away group to form a coalition govt with the 30 opposition MPs.

With the landslide victory, the situation is totally changed. Hsien Loong has received the best endorsement he ever had, with a 70% popular vote and wining another seat from the WP. Also, the winning margins were huge and WP nearly lost Aljunied. With this convincing win, Hsien Loong’s position is strongly entrenched. No one can ever think of removing him. A split within the PAP is now even more remote.

Hsien Loong would be very comfortable sitting through this term for the next 5 year. By then Tharman would also be in his mid 60s, would be considered too old to be a PM and a younger PM would be in line should Hsien Loong decided to vacate the premiership. He could go one for another term.

Under the present scenario, there is no way for Tharman to be the first Indian PM of Singapore short of a miracle. Maybe that is the destiny of Tharman. Sorry Tharman, tan ku ku.

Malaysia red shirt protest rally

Yesterday Malaysia celebrated Malaysia Day in a different manner. A group of Malays donning on red shirts and calling themselves the Himpunan Rakyat Bersatu took to the streets to assert Malay dominance in Malaysia. They wanted the minority races to know that they are guests to the country, there are only allowed to live in Malaysia under the grace and generosity of the Malays. Malaysia belongs to the Malays.

The protest rally came about in response to an earlier rally a month ago called Bersih 4 calling for a clean govt after the 1MDB incident. Though that protest was attended by all the races, including Mahathir Mohammed and Muhyiddin, and the issue was corruption, it has been interpreted or turned into a racial issue. It becomes a Chinese and Indian insult to the Malays and Islam and Malay dominance in Malaysia.

The protest march in the centre of Kuala Lumpur was intended to move through the Chinese majority districts and Bukit Bintang where past racial riots were at its worst. It was a show of force to intimidate the Chinese and other minority races not to trifle or insult the Malays. How the Bersih 4 protest against corruption can become an insult and challenge to Malay rights, dominance and Islam is only a matter of politicking. And the protest was very real, tension very high, fear was everywhere. The threats of another racial riots and bloodbath were clear and imminent. Credits should go to the police to keep the protestors under control and not to break into another killing field. Businesses in the district were at a stand still, all shops closed.

The Sultan of Johore has taken a very strong stand against promoters of hatred and instability. He warned anyone trying to do it in Johore that he would deal with the agitator personally.  ‘Anyone who creates disharmony and spreads hatred here by promoting racism, will have to deal with me personally.  Take this as a warning. This is not the stone age, do not be ungrateful – the Malays, Chinese and Indians all played their part. Johor Darul Ta’zim is home to the Malays, Chinese and Indians; they are Bangsa Johor.’

Looking from across the Causeway, Singaporeans must be very grateful that we don’t have to face such threats and tension every now and then. The non Malay Malaysians must take this incident very seriously as to how far they could go. Race and religion are highly sensitive issues that can be hijacked and turned into an inflammable political issue. All Singaporeans must also not to take the good inter racial relations for granted. New citizens must also take note of the effort the govt and Singaporeans have put in to keep racial and religious harmony as a top priority agenda in this city state. The govt also must take note that keeping 4 major ethnic communities living peacefully is not an easy task. To add into this mixed pot with more diverse ethnic groups from all over the world would risk creating more troubles down the road.

Singapore is good as it is. Tempering with the concoction that has stabilized over the years by adding more inflammable mixes into it would ensure a very unstable future. Don’t be stupid to think that race and religion are so easy to handle and manage. They are age old ingredients for wars among people, ageless.

The new political profiles of Singaporeans

With the experience and hindsight of this GE I would like to re classify the Singaporeans into 6 categories. The Seniors, the Young, the New Citizens, Thinking adults, the Fun Loving and the Ideal Singaporeans.

The Seniors, this group is quite easy to please. Look at their vulnerabilities and you can actually understand the kind of stimuli they would react to. Not much thinking required. They are old, unemployed and without an income, what can you expect them to do when they have little or no savings? They have returned to Maslow’s first level of needs, to survive, food and shelter. Yes, throw them the meat or crumbs and they would chase for it. The Pioneer Generation Package is the perfect gift and motivating factor to this group of Singaporeans. Throw in Medishield Life and a quarterly stipend from Silver Support Scheme for life and you have them sewn up in the bag.

The Young is not too difficult to please either. Tell them a good story and a good ending and throw them a big party and promise them a great future, a futuristic Singapore where they can indulge in Star Wars contraptions and romance. They love a good adventure of modern gadgetry and living in space or underground. These are the generations of Sci fi and wi fi and a good lie. The SG50 party was enough to win them over. They would be looking for the good life in the future.

The New Citizens. This group is easy to please too. Coming from little villages of poorly managed and disorganized and dysfunctional societies, and countries when nothing works, when living is to rough it out with nature and garbage, this island is paradise to them, where they can make their dreams come true and be clean, everything is clean and orderly in this island. Our streets are cleaner than their homes. Our shopping malls and MRT stations are more comfortable than the best homes in their villages. They will die to come here. Being here is already a great incentive and reason to die for. Oh, there is also the super rich in this group too, running away from high taxation, why not, and can throw their weights and punches around too.

The fourth group is thinks a bit and always doubting when snake oil salesmen went on their rounds saying every will be fine, especially in the long run. This group consists of the cynics, those that would not take things at face value, not easily persuaded or conned, but always doubtful and never satisfied with the status quo. This group would always be the minority and odd man out, and could simply be ignored. They are too small and inconsequential. Often their stories of a bad endings were ignored. Many would eventually flee the island. Oops, I mean migrated, not as quitters I hope. They are the pain in the arse type, very hard to please.

The Fun Loving. This group can be seen during the GE hustings, attending rallies after rallies, for fun. They just enjoyed the speeches and theatres as entertainment. They are harmless and without depth. These are superficial people that have nothing better to do than to attend political rallies to amuse themselves. They are the ‘chiat par’ and nothing to do type, like the socialites in the aristocracy but belonging to the middle class, not the elite class.

And there is a final group, the Ideal Singaporeans. This group, not sure how big, can think and understand what they want. They want a govt made up of politicians that are honest, men and women of impeccable integrity, no ‘how seow’ type of politicians, serious talks, and very intelligent, and would not indulge in mud slinging or underhand tactics. These are people who understand logic and good reasons and will vote for good people and good govt. Not every citizen is thinking and intelligent like this group though all thinks they could think and reason like this group of Ideal Singaporeans.

So, which group do you belong to?

How relevant is international experience?

‘Mr Chan said companies which set up headquarters in Singapore look for people who know the regional market in Southeast Asia and can connect with the international market as well.

"They need teams of people who have the global and regional perspective. They don't care whether it's a Singaporean or non-Singaporean, that's the blunt truth, they only care about whether their team has the global perspective," noted Mr Chan, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).’

The above is quoted from an ST article dated 27 Jul 15.

I think this is a practical advice, go for your overseas exposure to earn that spur to compete with foreigners in Singapore. Without the international exposure, you don’t stand a chance against the 3^rd World villagers that came here to work and claimed Singapore as an international experience. To these villagers, Singapore  is big city and they can go around flashing their working experience here. Does working in Singapore for Singaporeans mean anything? Or does an American or British who had worked in New York or London meant so much difference from Singaporeans working in Singapore? Would someone from Mumbai, Manila or Shanghai coming to Singapore be more advantageous because they already got experience in their home countries but no experience here?

What if a Singaporean is working in a local firm or MNC whose business is local, in Singapore, like a ‘chai tow kuey’ company or kopitiam? What about local banks/businesses when the operation is all local with local clients? Do they need international experience like working in London and New York? Must a Singaporean seeking a job in a local bank whose business is here needs to compete with a foreigner, like a New Yorker or Londoner, and lost out because they had worked in the two big cities and coming to work in a local bank here, whose business is here? Would he also lose out to someone from Mumbai, Manila or Shanghai? Is local knowledge and experience more important for working here?

I am just asking questions about this very important criterion called international experience as a badge of honour and a rite of passage. A MNC operating here, doing business here, would it be more advantages for the organisation to employ Singaporeans with local knowledge? What is the relevance of working experience in New York and London, when the businesses and customers are Singapore and Singaporeans? What is the advantage if he comes from Mumbai, Manila or Shanghai?

Actually I dunno the answer. I only hear people said got international experience must be good.  Do we need our politicians to work in London and New York or for that matter in Jakarta or Medan to make him a better politician? At one time everyone said must have a MBA then good. Does an organisation need to hire an MBA to run his ‘chai tow kuey’ or kopitiam store?

Please enlighten me? If international experience is that important, we better recruit our politicians from New York and London.

By the way, when all the talents are coming here to make their fortunes, why are we telling our PMEs to go overseas to make their rupees and rupiahs? And why are we issuing so many employment agency licenses to foreigners to bring in foreigners to work here and putting our Singaporeans at their mercy? Our country, jobs in our country, Singaporeans need to beg foreigners running recruiting agencies for job placements and allowing foreigners to tell the Singaporeans that they preferred to bring in foreigners, because foreigners best and Singaporeans no skill sets?

The Mathematician won – recomputation

My earlier two articles, ‘The Mathematician won’ and ‘What could the results be’, were based on the assumption that there were 300,000 new citizens. The official figure was 110,000 ie 2.46m less 2.35m eligible voters. Given the low birth rate, death and emigration, the net growth from the local population is near to zero, thus the 110,000 increase is likely to come from new citizens. My earlier assumption of 300,000 was thus wrong and the figure to use is 110,000 or about 1/3. The variable positions or findings thus would have to be adjusted accordingly. I also assumed that overseas Singaporeans were not allowed to vote thus raising the query whether the 2.46m eligible voters included or excluded them. I have found out that overseas Singaporeans did vote and thus were included in the 2.46m eligible voters. According to the media only 3,415 voted out of 4,868 eligible overseas Singaporeans. The number of overseas Singaporeans is 212,000.

Let me put the figures together again to clear up the confusion. When the assumptions were wrong, the result, though logical will be wrong. The conclusion would thus be different proportionally. Similarly, conclusions were based on the given data and how reliable the data would affect the end results.

Official facts

2.46m eligible voters and 93.56% cast their votes. Total voted was 2.304m.

PAP received 69.9% of the votes cast or 1.610m (Reported was 1.576m)

Opposition would receive 30.1% or 691,000 votes.

The 110,000 additional voters/new citizens were an equivalent of 4.5% of 2.46m

Applying this 4.5% change into the 60:40 equation, if 4.5% went to the 60 side, the impact would be 64.5/104.5 to 40/104.5 or 62% to 38%, ie a 2% shift on each side or a net 4% shift. If the 4.5% was added on the 40% side the new position would be 57.5% to 42.5%.

As my two articles were based on a single factor analysis, to get a 10% swing, the other factors must come into play. The 110,000 new citizen factor contributed to a 4% swing and the other factors, PGP, subsidies, stipends, Medishield Life etc would add the balance 6% to make the 10% swing in my previous articles.

A blogger raised the issue of an unaccounted 240,000 votes using the loss of 120,000 votes by the opposition and the gain of 360,000 votes by the PAP from 2011 to 2015.  This can be explained by the 2.304m votes cast. If the share of votes were to be 60:40, PAP should get 1.382m and oppo would get 922k votes. The actual votes of PAP were 1.576 and oppo 680k. The difference was what oppo should get ie 922k less 680k or 242K.  Oppo thus lost 100k plus the percentage increase in eligible votes. That would make up the missing 240k for the 360,000 gained by PAP. The numbers are not exact due to some mulitiplication margins.

In summary, only 4% shift was due to new citizens based on the statistics available and 6% due to other factors. The PAP’s winning percentage should go down by 4% while the oppo’s percentage should go up by 4% point when the new citizen factor was in play.  I hope this would help to make the picture clearer.

PS. We are taking the official data on population at face value in this discussion, as the truth. There is also a cumulative effect of new citizens that will continue to think like new citizens for some years to come. There will be exceptions when new citizens will think like the true blue Singaporeans and could emphatise with us and knowing that we share the same fate and destiny.

NUS and NTU better than Yale and Cornell Universities

According to the latest Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, NUS and NTU ranked above Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins and King’s College of London. NUS is not only the top university in Asia but ranked 12^th in the world.  NTU is ranked 13^th.  What a great achievement! Beida, Xinhua, Tokyo, Waseda, Hongkong, move aside. We have the best universities in the whole world. There is no need to go to the US or UK to get quality education. No need to waste money going to lowly ranked universities in Australia and the rest of the world.  That is, if you believe the ranking equates to quality of universities and quality of its output, ie students.

The criteria for the rankings are academic and employer reputations, student to faculty ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio and also research excellence. How would these criteria affect or benefit the students? Academic and employer reputations, presumably the graduates are highly sough after by employers. Is that so? We only know that our junks did not have the right skill sets and are often rejected by employers that preferred to hire from the 3^rd World unranked universities. Fake degrees and degree mills also better, or can do.

Student to faculty ratio, presumably a smaller ratio would mean closer and personal attention on the students and can be translated to better grades. Enrol Ah Meng and check if better student to faculty ratio would make Ah Meng smarter. Citations per faculty and research excellence would mean better academics and thus benefit the students and their quality. Use the Ah Meng to confirm if this is also true. International faculty ratio and international student ratio, both imply that with more foreign faces, the universities are better. So just pump in more 3^rd world lecturers and students also can. How would these improve the quality of the graduates, more international friends, can relate and socialize with foreigners better, easier to integrate with them? EQ is important, what about grades?

What the rankings said is that we are world best. When we were not world best, we need to borrow international names, pay them, bring the whole faculties here, to say we have world best universities. Now we can do the reverse, the universities of the world would want to have joint campuses with us, bring our whole faculties to their countries and pay them good rupiahs, rupees and renminbis. Maybe can get Japanese Yen also.  There will be many joint campuses in other countries with the NUS/NTU brand and our lecturers would be in demand. We can send all our foreign lecturers to these countries and hire more foreign lecturers to replace them. What about Singaporean lecturers? What is that?

My recommendation, there is no need to send our students to the universities. The employers would still not hire them. Maybe in 30 years time. So a better recommendation would be to send them to the unranked universities in the 3^rd World. That is where the employers find all their good employees. Not in our world class top universities.

Why so funny? Paying for such good reputation but no market value, no demand. If the high rankings would lead to a situation where the employers are queuing up to snatch all the graduates from our top universities then it would make sense. To be real, to be able to get employed, it is better to go to universities in the 3^rd World and sign up with employment agencies from the 3^rd World given a licence to operate here. They are the game changer. They will get the applicants the right jobs, not the piece of paper from our top universities. They still cannot produce the right graduates with the right skill sets for the job market.

Maybe the Quacquarelli Symonds System may want to add a new criteria, the universities must produce graduates with the right skill sets for the job market. If their graduates are not wanted by the employers, did not have the right skill sets, give them a big F.

What do you think? Are we wasting public money for the wrong things, for a superficial branding without substance?

PS. Watch MIT, Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, we are going to over take you. We will bring in more foreign faculty staff and foreign students to improve our rankings further. And watch out students, the fees will increase with the improvement in quality, I mean rankings.

What does the result of GE2015 say?

I wrote an article before the GE with these paragraphs below and asked several questions. I have now added the answers to the questions I posed now that the Singaporeans have given a bigger mandate to the PAP. The Singaporeans have voted and spoken, these are what they want going forward.

‘Singaporeans must take a step back and think very seriously about this GE. It is a life or death situation for Singaporeans. This is the time to determine the future you want for yourself and your children. It is no joking matter and not something that can be left to fate or to fools. If Singaporeans think that we have a good govt in charge and the direction the govt is taking the people forward is the right path, vote for the govt.

If there is doubt, if you are not happy with what you are seeing, not happy with the direction you are moving, it is time to reclaim your country. You cannot afford to wait anymore. Going forward can be the end of the good life for many Singaporeans.’

 
Can we continue to pay the ministers and the elite in the millions? YES

Can we afford to keep adding foreigners at such a rate to this little piece of rock? Are you happy with 5.5m, 6.9m or 10m people in this island? YES, YES

Do you want to pay outrageous money for a small little flat for 99 years as your prize possession in life? YES

Do you want to be a minority in your own country? YES

Do you want to have a say about the future of your country, to shape your country or to allow a few individuals to do as they pleased? NO

Do you want to save for a life time only for your savings to be locked up or to be forced to pay for insurance that you cannot say no to?  YES

Do you want the country’s reserves or surpluses to make your life better or to make the life better for foreigners?  To make life better for foreigners

Do you want to let the govt decide what you can read, see and say? YES

Do you want the govt to plan your life, your savings, from cradle to grave? YES

Do you want a one party govt? YES

I am sure the govt has heard the Singaporeans loud and clear and will go forward to do what it thinks best. No need to be deaf frogs anymore. The Singaporeans have given the govt a blank cheque to do what it thinks best for the Singaporeans or at least 70% of the Singaporeans said so. The future of Singaporeans is safe and sound and they can look forward to celebrate SG100 under the PAP.

Or we have just witnessed the insanity of a people at its peak?

PMET situation top priority to Swee Say

Swee Say is looking at the PMET problems quite seriously. Credit must go to him for as much as I know, no minister had dug hard enough on this matter. Swee Say is looking at different angles, concentration of foreigners by location ie enclaves, company, industry and department. If he is serious, hope this is not just election talk, things will be moving for the good of Singaporean PMETs. Don’t ask me how the situation can get to this sorry state of affair.

The strange thing that he said is that there is a ‘need to speed up the transfer of knowledge and expertise from foreign PMEs to Singaporeans so that local workers will be able to drive the economy in the future’.  I can believe that in some top level jobs in some industries there will be a need for such transfer to knowledge and expertise. But at mid level, what is there to transfer or how much to transfer when most of these foreigners are new or fresh graduates, new to the jobs. In many cases they are here to learn on the job and Singaporeans are the ones doing the transfer.

There is a false assumption that the transfer is always from foreigners. Is that true? How many of the foreigners really have the expertise and knowledge that Singaporeans from world best universities did not have? And doesn’t anyone know that many of the foreigners came from 3^rd World villages, with fake degrees or from degree mills, you mean Singaporeans are so daft that need them to transfer their knowledge and skills to them?

Let me see, what kind of skill sets that these half baked foreigners have to transfer? Cheating, how to get fake degrees, how to gang together to cheat Singaporeans, or how to beat up Singaporeans for fun?

Sorry for the digression. Let’s hope Swee Say will do a good job and report some of his achievements in the media, where are the concentration or enclaves of foreigners, which industries, companies and departments where there is no Singaporean core. He needs to know these first before he can set up to clean them up. Hope the main media would report on them, the before or now and then, to let the people know that something real has been done. The results will tell if Swee Say and his MOM are real in what they said they are doing. Sekali like the Jobs Bank, no data leh, cannot tell leh. Or like some minister said, it is not good for the people to know. Then how?

The GE is over, and the Singaporeans have given the PAP a bigger mandate to look after their interest. Would the PAP forget this and turn against the Singaporeans and continue with its pro foreigner policies and leave the Singaporeans in the lurch? The PAP has another 5 years to prove that it is pro Singaporeans. Or it may take the big mandate as Singaporeans telling the PAP to do what it thinks best, like before, with more zeal?

GE2015 – What could the results be?

The landslide victory of the PAP with many GRCs and SMCs chalking more than 70% of popular votes is too good to believe. The overall popular vote rose from 60% to 70%, a plus of 10% over the last GE. Many opposition parties and analysts were trying to make sense of the big swing. How could it be possible and what were the main causes of the swing, albeit the swing could not be due to a single factor and many other factors must have come together to reach this ending.

Let me do a review based on a single factor that was very prominent in this election, the new citizens. A total of 280,000 or close to 300,000 new citizens were eligible to vote rising from 2.1m in 2011 to 2.4m in 2015. This works out to be an increase of 15% of voters coming from the new citizens. A 15% increase in voter strength is very significant. If all the new citizens were to vote for one party, it simply means the party’s vote share would go up by 15%. Any party that won the election by 15% or less, in the case of the PAP and assuming that they are the main beneficiary of the new citizen votes, is actually hovering around a 50% share of the popular votes if the new citizens were not in the equation. Any PAP team that had less than a 15% winning margin would actually lose and go to the opposition.

The following are the PAP teams and single members that won less than 15%. 

1. Marine Parade GRC 64%
2. Sengkang West 62%
3. East Coast GRC 60.7%
4. Fengshan 57.5%
5. Punggol East 51.8%

These 13 seats could theoretically go to the opposition if the new citizens were not in play. No way would Li Lee Lian lose her seat in Punggol East.

The following GRCs and SMCs would be close calls.

1. Marsiling Yew Tee GRC 68.7%
2. Bukit Panjang 68.4%
3. Jalan Besar GRC 67.7%
4. Holland Bukit Timah 66.6%
5. Potong Pasir 66.4%

As for the margins of Aljunied GRC (50.95%) and Hougang (57.7%), the winning margins could have been much higher if the 15% new citizen votes did not add up on the side of the PAP. PAP’s vote in Aljunied could fall by another 15% to 34% and Hougang to 27%.

Technically, all the 70 plus percent votes of PAP should be less 15% to bring them down to more humanly acceptable level, in the 60s. So would the popular votes, going down to 55% instead of the 70%. Given the downtrend and the negative sentiments, this is about right and was the expectation of most analysts and the most fear situation in the PAP camp. But all the above extrapolation were not meant to be with the new citizen coming in at full force.

PAP should know that this is the real situation and must take stock at their growing unpopularity and growing dissent among the true blue Singaporeans. The deception is temporary. If there was indeed a ground swell, there would be roaring from the HDB flats whenever a result was announced, like during a football match. There would be spontaneous celebrations and people running wild with excitement and congratulating themselves for supporting the PAP to such an unbelievable win. The HDB flats were silent, the streets were silent. Did these say anything about the win? Remember the wins in Hougang and Punggol East and the spontaneous celebrations with people in the streets in a joyous and celebratory mood? There was none in this PAP landslide win other than among the supporters in the stadiums.

How much of the above analysis is pure speculation and how much is the truth, only the PAP inner core members know, the strategists and planners behind the PAP success story in this GE.

PS. The above analyst is based on the assumption that there was an additional 300,000 new citizens/voters in this GE. Another blogger has pointed out that the number of electorate increased from 2.35m to 2.46m or an increase of 110,000. Which is the true number?

Let’s try to figure out which is which since we do not have the official data.

There were 200,000 Singaporeans outside Singapore and not allowed to vote this time. This is about 8% of the electorate. The turnout for this GE was about 94%.  This implies that the 200,000 Singaporeans would have been taken out from the eligible voters or else the turnout would be less than 92% or near to 18% as the turnout of 2011 was 90%.

The eligible voters this time should be 2.35m less 200k or 2.15m instead. Thus there was still an increase of 2.46m less 2.15m or 310,000 voters. How this number came about, I dunno.  My analysis is accurate only if there were 300,000 new citizen/voters. If the number varies somewhat, the findings would be proportional to the changes using the same parameter. 

Would anyone be able to provide the real numbers?

PS2. My assumption that overseas Singaporeans were not allowed to vote is wrong and I will be putting up another article to revise my data and findings.

Opposition Parties should not be disheartened

The mood in the opposition camp is a scene of despair. What happened, why the big loss? How could it be, all the indicators were in favour of a big swing and the PAP was up for a good rubbing. The result was so shocking that many would have resigned to the fate and think of giving up. It is just too big a defeat that said it is all over.

Many started to reflect on all the goodies thrown at the voters and blaming the voters for turning against the opposition parties, the people fighting so hard for their freedom and independence. What could a few pieces of meat thrown at them compared to the lockup of their CPF savings, the unending payment for Medishield Life, high cost of living, PMETs losing their jobs to foreigners, being a minority, an alien in their own country and many more serious issues? The people may be called daft but they are not that daft.

The trend of falling popularity of the PAP was a confirmed down trend since the last GE. And this was proven by the Presidential Election and the two by elections. The people were turning against the PAP. They could not change their views in 9 days and with a few goodies they knew would not last. Though credit must be given to the PAP for coming with more pro Singaporean policies, for tackling the PMET and foreigner problems, cost of living problems, it is still to early to see the results and whether the policy change is real and will continue after the GE. The people cannot be so daft to throw all precautions away and voted blindly for the PAP.

The PAP did not win the election because they have won the hearts and minds of the people. At best the position was a status quo and the falling trend arrested. The key factor is the 300,000 new voters consisting of new citizens. This is the main factor that led to the swing. See my post ‘2015 – The Mathematician won’.

Going forward, the main question is what the PAP would do to win the voters to its side. Would they think that this win allows them to continue with their crazy anti Singaporean policies? Or would they take stock, thank the mathematician for the reprieve of another 5 terms to get things right? Or would they think that they have the right formula to win more elections by simply adding more new citizens into the pool?

The anger and distrust of the PAP are still there and these cannot go away unless the PAP changes its pro foreigner policies to pro Singaporean policies. The opposition parties must not fall into despair and chase after the ghost. There is no ghost. The Seventh Month is over. The number game cannot continue without the heart in the right place and looking after the Singaporean and their interests. No political party can continue to rule the people without looking after the good of the citizens.

It is not the end of the game, not the end of the opposition. The PAP has been given another chance. They know how they won this election, not because the people were turning around to support them. They could delude themselves to think that they have won over the people. They know jolly well that the truth is still out there.

GE2015 – The Mathematician won

A mathematician is more powerful than a magician. David Copperfield could create illusions but these are temporary effects of deception, not permanent. The number game of the mathematicians is real if they are playing with real numbers. This GE is won by the mathematicians doing just that.

There were some numbers being thrown around on the impact of new citizens. I received a figure of 280,000 new citizens. If I can recall correctly, it was reported that the number of voters increased from 2.1m to 2.4m, this is close enough to the 280,000 new citizens plus some locals. The percentage increased of new citizens in the electorate is thus 15% approximate.

To simplify the computation for the GE where there is a 10% swing towards the PAP or a 10% loss from the opposition camp, let me use the 60:40 formula to show how the results finally added up. In a constituency of 100,000 voters, assuming the percentage of votes was 60% and 40% in 2011, if the voters still voted for the respective parties, the result would now be 65% and 35%, that is if all the new citizens voted on the side of the 60%. It the new citizens voted for the 40%, the result would be 52% and 48%.

From the above, if the PAP got 60% in the last election, it should be getting 65% and a 40% vote for the opposition then would become 35%. On the reverse, if the WP got 60% then, its votes would now be 52% and the PAP should be 48%. Aljunied fits like a glove.

If I used a 20% increase of new citizens instead of 15%, the numbers would be 67%/33% and 50%/50% respectively. By applying this 15% increase of new citizen votes to every constituency, other that a few results with bigger swings due to factors like PGP, subsidies, etc, it is almost as perfect as you can get. The mathematician got it all worked out. A 15% increase in new citizens will win this election.

The voting pattern of the voters did not change much.  They did not turn against the opposition parties. They voted almost like the last GE but the result is totally different from the additional votes due to the new citizens. See how important the number of new citizens played in this GE?

Yes, the Mathematician won.

PS. Please don’t blame the Singaporeans for chasing after meats thrown at them. They did not. Using the same 60:40 formula, the 30% hard core pro opposition percentage would fall to 26% with a 15% increase in new citizens. And no, the theory that the voters voted for the PAP for fear of kicking them out is rubbish. The voters still supported their respective parties. It is the new citizen factor that changed the result of this GE. And you can expect more new citizens to be added to keep them voting for the PAP in future election.

The big question, how to stop the inflow of new citizens at such huge numbers not to change the pattern and result of future GEs.

PAP routs the opposition

In a watershed election of a different kind, the PAP was expected to lose more grounds to the opposition and at least a few more GRCs, with the tabled turned. No the table was not turned, the table was flipped over. PAP scored a landslide victory that borders an event in the twilight zone. In an unexplanable way, not only that no additional GRC was lost to the opposition, the PAP had a clean sweep of all the SMCs. And to make it more heady, the wining margins were in the high 70s, like 79%, 78%, &77% and so on. The opposition ended with 30% or less popular votes. The overall popular votes for the PAP rose from 60% to 70%. Can you believe that? David Copperfield would not be able to do that for sure. With parliamentary seats increased from 87 to 89, PAP has won 83 seats leaving the opposition with 6, one GRC in Aljunied and one SMC in Hougang.

The above is a summary of the ground shift in favour of the PAP. Some in the anti opposition camp find the result hard to believe, too good to be true. But that is the result at the end of the GE. The jubilation must have seen people flooding the streets last night to celebrate this great victory, this joyous occasion for a better future for the Singaporeans. I went to bed early when the writing was on the wall and did not stay to watch the happy mood of people on the streets. It should be. I could still remember the scene and the celebration when Hougang fell. The people were delirious and truly happy with that victory. And with this massive win by the PAP, the joy of a triumphant victory must be shared by the supporters and voters that gave the PAP this overwhelming win. If the result is for the opposition, this is what could be expected with the supporters running wild in high spirits, beating the gongs and popping champagne.

The turn of event took everyone by surprise. The team of analysts in CNA in a live broadcast was shocked. You could see their expression and body language. They came mentally prepared to talk about a seismic shift towards the opposition but were  rattled by the results.

Look at the events prior to the GE. All the signs were showing the other way. The turnouts at the rallies, the people, strangers and friends and their anti PAP views, the string of bad policies, of course the PGP, the MedishieldLife, the new citizens and some big moves by the PAP could tilt the balance, the anger expressed in social media and in every kopitiams, what had happened that could produce such a shocking result?

The PAP did not only win over the 40% of the swing votes. They even ate into the 30% hardcore anti PAP voters’ share. With above 70% to 79%, it means the hardcore anti PAP voters is now less than 30% in some constituencies will some falling to as low as 20%. The big picture, every 10 citizens, 7 voted for the PAP.  And in 3 GRCs the PAP did not even bother to hold any rallies for fear that no one would turn up. This is why many find it hard to believe, a black swan event.

I threw all the data into my computer for an answer. I left it on to crank non stop for one whole night. This morning my computer room was filled with smoke with the computer screaming, ‘Help, I can’t find the answer, Turn me off’. Even the computer had problem trying to figure out the change. It is pointless to list out all the but’s and the why’s. Maybe over the next few days I will get into the mood to talk about it more. In the meantime, the daft Singaporeans have voted. Oops, oannot call them daft. How can daft people vote so consistently and confidently for a one party to rule them with a blank cheque, to do as it likes, to continue with policies that they were strongly against? The voters must be smart and knew what they were doing. They cannot be daft, unless it is a classic case of The Singapore Syndrome.

One PAP supporter called Raymond had this to say, ‘You LOSERS never stood a chance! :) :) :) I'm elated and it's gonna be a beautiful day tomorrow. :) :)’ Did he know something that the losers did not?  I also agree with him that the winners should have the last laugh. And he did have a good laugh at the losers, ‘I just came by to say... 

HAHHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHHHAA.... :) :) :)

GE2015 – PAP looking for a landslide victory

At 10.30 pm, with several of the sample GRC results in, and all the SMC results, PAP is looking for a near clean sweep in this GE. A tsunami is building up but not what many in the social media are expecting. PAP is going to win big, a stunning win that nobody was expecting or at least in the opposition camp. From the samples, many were showing PAP winning by more than 70%, some in the high 70s, unbelieveable but that is the situation as it is now. With the TV commentators saying that such results have a maximum error of 4%, a near clean sweep is awaiting the PAP and with a huge margin.

Many people expecting a dramatic result with the PAP losing several GRCs are simply stunned. I too. What is happening? With so many unpopular and flawed policies, with so much anger on the ground, the result is showing exactly the opposite. Another miracle is happening, with the PAP winning a GE with a result that no one believed could happen in a democratic system. This kind of winning margin can only happen in a totalitarian state or a totally rigged election in the 3^rd World countries. PAP is going to prove the whole world wrong, that in a democratic system, a popular party can win with more than 70% of the popular vote. You must believe it.

The result will show that the PAP of today is even more popular than the PAP of LKY with the people fully behind it. It means that the people agree with most of the policies of the PAP and PAP can look forward to remain in power till SG100.

Many people must still be scratching their heads. It is a nightmare to those looking for a big upset against the PAP. No, it is going to be sweet victory to the PAP. Chew on it, dream on it, but this is the preliminary result so far and likely to be by the time the result is finalized.

Can one call this a freak election or a miracle election? By morning tomorrow the sandstorm would have settled and the people, especially those expecting a change in favour of the opposition would have to resign to their fate. The PAP is the party in power and with a stronger mandate and would be doing what they are doing with the approval of a bigger majority of the people.

I am still shock and puzzled. Will look at the picture again tomorrow. 

PS. The bookies are going to lose their pants.

Polling Day

I was an agent this morning to observe the voting processes in a polling station. Got a first hand look at how a polling station was running and the polling station officers going about their duties. I must congratulate the Elections Dept for a job well done. The officers were all very well trained and know what they were supposed to do and conducted themselves very professionally.

I arrived before 7.30am and everything had already been set up and ready to go. By 7.45am they started to seal the ballot boxes, made of cardboards with two open slots for dropping the poll cards. The boxes were checked and carefully sealed with the seals of the Elections Dept. The civil servants from various ministries did all the necessaries and by 8 am sharp it was open for business, and everything went on smoothly in the spacious canteen of a primary school. Nothing could possibly go wrong with so many officers and voters streaming in.

There were already some early birds waiting outside the polling station way before 7.30am. They could not get in before 8am. I walked through the gate only to be stopped by the school’s security guards. I told them I was a polling agent but they were like deaf, pre conditioned to tell everyone to wait outside. I had to tell them I need to be in to watch the sealing of the ballot boxes and only then did they understand who I was, a polling agent.

I went in, met the officers in charge, showed them my authorization letter as a polling agent and was issued with a pass to hang on my chest. After a short briefing and queries on the do’s and don’ts, I was shown where I would be sitting to watch the whole process of voters casting their votes.

As I said, everything was as flawless as it could be and with the helpful officers all waiting to assist, it was smooth flowing. I have never seen so many seniors on wheelchairs in a single morning. They kept coming in, pushed in by the polling station officers. I was asked to witness a wheelchair bound voter that refused to mark the card and the Asst Returning Officer, after confirmation with the polling agents present, and asking the voter a few times to make sure that was her intention, finally dropped the blank vote into the box. There were several seniors that should not be there but were there, wheeled into the station by their family members. Their mind was far from lucid and could hardly know what they were doing. The family members with them just went through the motion and dropped blank votes into the box.

I was told that after the end of the election a polling agent from each candidate/party would follow the coach with the sealed boxes to the counting stations. This process would rule out or greatly minimize whatever mischiefs that were speculating in the rumour mills. With all parties represented by their trusted polling agents, the journey from the polling stations to the counting stations should be safe in the company and under the watchful eyes of so many officers in the coach. It would be unduly difficult for hanky panky affairs in their presence even if a polling agent turned out to be a mole. Not really easy to do mischief inside the coach on its way to the counting stations, very remote.

The whole voting process is as transparent as it could be and conducted in the best possible ways under the watchful eyes of many officers including those from the candidates’ parties. Any room for error or monkey business could then be left in the counting stations How the votes are counted, how spoilt votes are declared void etc etc there seem to be some room for discretions and human errors, intentional or other wise. The impression I have is that most of the problems are likely to occur during counting and after counting, recounting. And that is where all the fighting would occur to make a few votes more or less counts. The counting agents could play a vital role when the real hustle begins inside the counting stations.

In the next few hours, the fortune of Singapore will change, could change dramatically, or going down the same path under the PAP. The fate of Singaporeans are in the process of being cooked now.

SG2015 – New kids on the block

The 9 days of hustings in this GE have thrown up a few new faces that would likely to create waves when the results are known on Saturday morning and the next decades to come. Two of the greatest finds happened to be from the SDP in Chee Soon Juan and Paul Tambyah.  Chee Soon Juan, the come back kid, has endeared himself with the crowd that turned up at the SDP rally. And the crowd size kept growing till the final night of the rally at Clementi Avenue 6. The muddy field did not stop them from coming and the reception was befitting of a politician thrown into the wilderness and coming back in glory. The crowd simply loved him, for his oratory, for his sincerity despite efforts to demonise him, to share the pains he had to go through with his wife and children. For several nights, the crowd stayed back for him to autograph his books, waiting for hours, waiting patiently in long winding queues. The force is with him, with the people standing with him. No more is Chee Soon Juan the feared, and the leper he was made out to be. They see in him a potential PM in waiting. The signs are all favourable for this man like the stars in alignment.

Standing closely on his side is Paul Tambyah, a man that could easily be another minister in the PAP cabinet. Tambyah spoke about the sufferings of the common man in an area that he knew best, healthcare. He spoke in a calm and professor like manner unlike some behaving like hooligans and gangsters. The crowd listened to him intently and appreciated what this man was all about, a very good man needed to speak in Parliament for the people. They trusted and liked him. They see another good man speaking out for the people, with all honesty and integrity, very real, no bunkum.

The WP also has a few pleasant surprises in Daniel Goh and Leon Perera. Both were of the same generic DNA that the PAP sort after. They were eloquent and sincere men that have stepped forward on their own to join the opposition camp, not waiting to be invited for tea. And there is Cambridge graduate He Ting Ru, another young lady in the likes of Nicole Seah. These three candidates could be the shining stars of the WP if given more time, exposure and coverage by the media for what they deserved. They provide depth to the leadership in the WP and augur well for the party. It was unfortunate that not much coverage was given to them, but that cannot deny them for showing their potential that could only grow and blossom in the near future.

Another very strong candidate is Lim Tean from the NSP. This is a man that exudes leadership, well articulate and has a commanding voice to go along. People like to listen to him. How could the PAP miss him when he is in the right industry that the PAP often seen digging into, a lawyer? PAP’s lost is the opposition’s gain. This man would go far if he is in a stronger party. This round NSP is troubled by a lot of resignations and negative news that put a question mark on the credibility of the party and its future well being. In the WP or SDP camp, Lim Tean would be a force to contend with and likely to waltz into Parliament.

The SingFirst has its two kingpins in Tan Jee Say and Ang Yong Guan, two second time veterans that are quite well respected.

In the PAP camp, there were a few promising newcomers in Ng Chee Meng, Mervin Yong, and Chee Hong Tat. It was a pity that their presence was not felt, more likely because the party is too big and there are still too many ministers calling the shot with a few ahead of them trying hard to impress. They were given too little exposure to be on the spotlight. Their speeches were not of the same stuff as the opposition camp that could arouse the emotions of the crowd. Could they do better if they were speaking from the other side of the camp? They were touted as ministerial material in the same group as Chan Chun Sing, Tan Chuan Jin and Lawrence Wong. Maybe they were simply out shone by the veterans in the PAP that are still dominating the stage.  Maybe they were given too little to show how good they are or could be. None of them really stood out on their own as exceptional and worth listening to, to draw the crowd, to mesmerize the crowd like the great leaders they are expected to be.

Other than the veterans that could still hold the attention of the crowd, the top crowd pullers among the new kids that really made a difference must be Chee Soon Juan and Paul Tambyah. Many are hoping and wanting them to be in Parliament. Would that be the case? Whatever, they have made their presence felt in the last 9 days of election rallies on stage.