Pritam Singh is only contesting 26 seats – not enough to form the government. He asks for a good mandate to elect all 26 WP candidates. He is feeling confident and ambitious. No big deal if the PAP loses another 4 GRCs this round, he says.
He is a good politician. But the PSP and the SDP are fighting for another 24 seats. A total of 50 seats are being contested by the strongest opposition parties. Enough to form the government if the opposition gets the strong mandate Pritam Singh is asking for.
It only took the Malaysian opposition 10 years to go from 1/3 to forming the government. If all goes well for Pritam Singh and the opposition, PM Pritam Singh and DPM Jamus Lim will be leading us in 2035. In 10 years’ time.
Pritam Singh says the PAP will still form the government after 3 May. The question is – can we trust Pritam Singh and the WP to remain a “loyal” opposition after winning big this GE? Or will he start to run down a weakened PAP government more aggressively?
Blocking things that are good for this country, but not popular. So that he and his WP can be popular. Weakening the government further, so he and the WP can win more and more seats in the coming GEs. Then, WP will form the government.
This wouldn’t be out of character for Pritam Singh. He’s known for his political expediency. In dealing with Leon Perera and Nicole Seah, with Raeesah Khan, with his youth cadres. Now, with Marine Parade voters. And he has shown his willingness to put his party’s interests first by targeting specific segments of the population this GE, at the cost of a more divided Singapore.
Pritam Singh says Singapore will always have a world-class civil service to support any government – PAP or not. But civil servants serve the political leadership of the day. If the politics of the day are in a mess, civil servants will be spending a lot more time cleaning up this mess, instead of actually solving problems.
Other countries, including our neighbours, are watching Singapore closely. They will be more cautious in dealing with the PAP government if they are unsure if the politics and government will change. They will be looking for weaknesses to see how they can take advantage and exploit.
Vote for the party that you think will do a better job at running this country. If you think that it is not the PAP, that’s fine.
But don’t be hoodwinked by Pritam Singh’s claim that he does not want to run the government and will always, always remain a “loyal” opposition. Because once the PAP government is gone, it is gone. There is no turning back.
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