WP “BRANDING” CONTRIBUTED TO STRONG SHOWING
Political analyst and former nominated MP Eugene Tan pointed to three factors that contributed to WP’s relatively strong showing at Tampines GRC: “The party branding, a relatively strong slate and a controversy stirred voters.”
The associate professor of law at Singapore Management University said that Tampines GRC was a “battleground constituency” given the racial make-up of the constituents there, as well as the face-off between Mr Masagos and Mr Faisal as “they had previously clashed in parliament over Malay-Muslim community issues”.
During PAP’s press conference after the election results were announced, Mr Wong, who is also the party’s secretary-general, acknowledged the occurrence of “negative politics” in terms of calls to vote along racial or religious lines during the campaigning period.
“I had to call it out in the middle of the campaign, because this was such an important matter.
“The situation did improve after that, but there were still views, comments online and some of them were quite vicious. And they would continue to circulate, although less than before the press conference I held,” he said.
Asked about his assessment of the support that PAP received from the Malay-Muslim community against this backdrop, Mr Wong said: “At this stage, we haven’t done deep dives or detailed analysis on which groups, which segments, voted or didn’t vote for us, and what were the considerations.
“Did it have an impact on the election outcomes? Perhaps, some. How much? I don’t know, because we’ll have to do a more detailed analysis after today.”
Mr Masagos, speaking in Malay, said at the press conference that he would take a new approach moving forward, to reach out to the Malay-Muslim community in order to better understand their concerns and ensure that the issues they raise would be addressed.
“But I also urge the community, after the end of this General Election, let us unite and build our community together, because there’s so much that we can achieve together.”
On the other opposition parties’ performance in Tampines GRC, Assoc Prof Tan from SMU told CNA that it shows how voters are discerning and will not split their votes if they intend to vote for the opposition.
“It also indicates that some opposition parties are increasingly irrelevant in the political landscape with both PPP and NSP losing their deposits,” he added.
On the NCMP seat to be given to one of WP’s Tampines GRC team members, independent political observer Felix Tan commented that it would likely go to Mr Thng, pointing to his performance during a televised roundtable discussion and his ability to put across his party’s policies to the audience.
“But of course, the policies come from the party itself, not just from him, but I think he’s able to consolidate and collate the thoughts more coherently and … able to present them to the voters, to Singaporeans as well,” Dr Felix Tan said during a Polling Day special programme broadcast on CNA.
“And I think he would perform pretty well in parliament as an NCMP.”
Over at PAP’s Tampines GRC team, former Chief of Army David Neo was earlier pointed out by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as a candidate with the potential to hold political office.
Asked on the CNA programme about whether this would have mattered to voters, Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst with policy and business consultancy Solaris Strategies Singapore, said that although “the prime minister can send such a message”, what contributes to the voters’ decision is the candidate’s own performance on the ground.
