It is often quoted that a young person who is not a liberal (or progressive) has no heart. And an older person who is not a conservative, has no head (brains).
The Singapore version of this, if one exists is that a young voter who is not pro-opposition (or anti-PAP) has no heart. And an old voter who is not pro-PAP has no head.
I'm just declaring that I am an older voter, and so fall within the "older voter" category, and is very much pro-establishment. (So you young punks can "Git off my lawn!")
Which is interesting because it you look at the PAP, they are constantly renewing their leadership, and making way for fresh blood and young hearts to lead.
Whereas, I am quite sure if J. B.. Jeyaretnam were still alive, he would still be running.
My view of the opposition is that most of them are parties of personalities - Chee Soon Juan, Goh Meng Seng, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, etc.
There are few opposition that have renewed and refresh their leadership. Workers Party is the only one that comes to mind. (There are probably others, but I do not follow the opposition's many rounds of musical chairs.)
My point is, there must be some irony in old men (like me) following the PAP with young leaders, and young men (and women), following old charismatic men (usually men) in opposition parties.
A bit on the history of the Workers' Party off the top of my head. WP was started by the former Chief Minister of Singapore, David Marshall (IIRC). Marshall was succeeded by J.B. Jeyaretnam, who was in turn succeeded by Low Thia Khiang (some would say usurped by), and who has handed over the Party's leadership to Pritam Singh.
WP is the most successful opposition party in Singapore, with a continuous presence in parliament since 1981, when J.B.J. took Anson in a by-election. Since then, the WP has gone on to take a GRC (Aljunied) in 2011 in addition to an SMC (Hougang). By 2020, the WP held 2 GRCs (Aljunied and Sengkang), and one SMC (Hougang).
There is some expectation that as Singapore matures as a democracy, that the opposition, specifically WP, would make further in-roads (i.e. take more GRCs and SMCs). Thus the WP abandonment of Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, resulting in a walk-over for the PAP, was a disappointment... some would say, a betrayal even. But those are... sensationalists.
To be sure, I am personally doubtful of Pritam Singh's integrity, but that's my opinion and nobody else's business.
So, in summary, I am leery of the opposition's intent and ability, and doubt very much that they would be able to lead the country. The best opposition, WP, has gained ground, but have not proven capable of running the country. Nor, it would seem, are they intending to challenge the PAP for the mandate to run the country. They seem content to stand back and cast stones. As "loyal opposition", of course.
The PAP has more than 60 years of track record. Even if you assume that until 1990, that capability was the personal achievement of Lee Kuan Yew, the leadership of the PAP was handed over to the next generation of leaders.
And even if you believe that Lee Kuan Yew was still pulling strings behind the scenes, he passed away in 2015. Unless you believe he is pulling strings from the afterlife.
So the PAP has been "flying solo" (as in without the guiding hand of Lee Kuan Yew) since 2015 (if you do not believe 1990).
And Singapore is facing a different future and challenges. As pointed out by PM Lawrence Wong at the S Rajaratnam Lecture, the rule-based global order is over. This clear-minded view of the new world, is Singapore's greatest asset, and the PAP's greatest strength for Singapore.
So with Lawrence Wong leading, Singapore will face the challenges of the new world order with pragmatic and realistic vigour based on years of experience, and clear headed vision.
What can the Opposition bring to the table?
Well, here is Chee Soon Juan making his case that the PAP is "profligate in spending" and caused inflation for Singapore. Blaming inflation on global events is just PAP lying!
Generally, opposition parties hope to position themselves as "loyal opposition to speak up fearlessly" against the PAP and govt policies that may cause difficulties for Singaporeans.
Therein lies the problem with the opposition. Either they are mendacious... "idealist" with no perception of reality, or they ALL just want to be political critics with an MP's allowance. (ALL Singaporeans are critics of the govt... but we DON'T ALL get an MP's allowance!)
Look at the chart right at the top - PAP is out to represent all of Singapore, and to put enough MPs to form the govt.
NONE of the opposition intends to form the govt, or to be an alternative to the PAP. The best opposition, WP, only has 26 candidates. Even if ALL of them win, that's 5 GRCs and 3 SMCs. NOT ENOUGH to even deny the PAP a Super-majority.
To be fair, the WP are making progress, and progress takes time. But part of the WP progress is due to their non-confrontational stance of not being anti-PAP simply to be anti-PAP. And this accords them the role of "loyal opposition".
You know who is the epitome of "Loyal Opposition"? David Marshall. Eventually, he was appointed Ambassador (1978 - 1993), and as ambassador, he always defended Singapore's interest, despite his differences with Lee Kuan Yew. When the PAP govt did well, he was effusive in his praise and recognition of their achievements.
So that's my standard of "Loyal Opposition".
So... Does this General Election matter? You can take the general view that it matters, ideologically, principally, and theoretically.
For me, the practical argument is, you get some entertainment from opposition rallies. For 9 days, anyway.
But if the point is to elect the next government of Singapore... no opposition is vying for the job! So there is NO choice here. The only choice you have is whether you want more Critics of the PAP, and that these critics are doing such a good job, that they should be paid an MP's allowance. Watch that clip of Chee Soon Juan and decide - does that performance deserve an MP's allowance?
The Best Case Scenario for the opposition is that they collectively win more than 49 seats, resulting in the PAP not being able to muster a majority in Parliament to form the govt. But that means that the opposition would need to form a coalition govt.
I have in the past speculated on the possibilities of a coalition government for Singapore. I was in my "theoretical" phase of my life. I've aged out of it, but if you'd like to consider my musing from 11 years ago...
The point is, a coalition govt is a weak govt.
And personally, at this point in history (and it will all become history one day), with Trump in the White House going "tariff, tariff, tariff", Xi Jinping looking to secure his legacy (by perhaps reuniting Taiwan), and Putin still making his mistakes in Ukraine, the last thing we need is a weak govt who doesn't know what its doing or what it should do or even how to do it.
But... I'm old. And not getting any younger. And the world belongs to the young.
I'll just go gently into the good night.
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