SINGAPORE: The desire of Singaporeans for greater diversity and more checks and balance is “here to stay” and general elections will get tougher, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at the People’s Action Party’s conference on Sunday (Nov 8).
Noting that the opposition’s call for more alternative voices “resonated on the ground”, Mr Heng, who is the party’s First Assistant Secretary General, said: “Opposition parties will seek to deny us a two-thirds majority in Parliament, and thereafter to displace us and form the government. The right to lead must be earned. We must continue to govern well and win the trust of our people.”
This comes after the PAP secured a 61.2 per cent share of the vote in the 2020 election. In 2015, the PAP garnered 69.9 per cent of the vote, more than eight percentage points higher.
[h=3]READ: GE2020: PAP has a ‘clear mandate’, but popular vote share ‘not as high’ as hoped: PM Lee[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: GE2020: PAP to do more to win back support from middle-aged voters feeling economic pain, says Lawrence Wong[/h]Mr Heng said “we must be alert to what is at stake”.
“Sharper contestation can easily spiral into unstable and divided politics,” he said, noting that political opportunists in other countries have sought political gains in the “extreme end of issues” and appealed to special interests.
“They focus on energising their base, often at the expense of other segments of society. Instead of being honest about the difficult trade-offs, they advocate unsustainable, easy ways out.”
While such polarisation has not taken root, Singapore is “not immune” to such trends.
Singapore’s openness can “quite easily be hijacked”, especially during an economic recession, said Mr Heng. For instance, complementing the small local workforce with foreigners can be used to exploit local workers’ anxieties during downturns and easily stir up “anti-foreigner sentiments”.
Race, religion and inequality are other fault lines. These differences can be “easily amplified” and used to “breed unhappiness or insecurity” among different groups of Singaporeans, he said.
“The PAP must therefore do what we can to resist such pressures. We must take an inclusive approach to serve all Singaporeans, and not pit one group against another. If our unity is lost, Singapore will stumble.”
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ENGAGING SINGAPOREANS
Many Singaporeans want to have a stronger voice and greater involvement in nation building, said Mr Heng, which the PAP must “harness”.
So far, the Government has launched Our Singapore Conversation, the Singapore Together movement and the Emerging Stronger Conversations.
[h=3]READ: New task force on economic resilience to help Singapore bounce back from COVID-19 crisis
READ: Singapore Together movement has seen ‘good’ progress: Indranee, Desmond Lee[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementDeep engagement with people under Our Singapore Conversation has helped the Government to better understand their needs, concerns, fear and aspirations, and this has translated into “significant policy changes”.
The PAP must “fully embrace this spirit”, said Mr Heng, adding that every party activist can make a difference.
The party must reach out to all Singaporeans, including those with different views, “as long as they have the interests of Singapore and Singaporeans at heart”.
And where differences arise, the PAP must engage them in an “inclusive and constructive” manner, he said.
“Working closely and sincerely with fellow Singaporeans is how we will hold the ground and sustain trust in the PAP. So while we have a good mandate, we must remain humble and work together to win the support of our people.”
“Strong” ground engagement remains fundamental and has been a strength of the PAP, said Mr Heng.
“Singaporeans must not see the PAP as just a capable government, but also as people they can relate to, whom they can trust.”
Meet-the-People sessions and house visits are “important” ways to “show care and concern for our people across ages, races and estates”, he added, and given the current pandemic and recession, activists must look out for affected residents and offer their support.
But there is a need to find new ideas and new ways to work together, he said.
For instance, the East Coast Conversations engages residents to work together on new initiatives, while other divisions have conducted discussions on issues like jobs, caring for residents and sustainability.
“I encourage all of us to find new ways to engage our people – to deepen understanding of our challenges as a country, as a nation and the actions that we can take together,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PAP needs a stronger online outreach, Mr Heng said, noting that some voters have responded to how opposition parties portrayed themselves online.
“The impact of social media will only increase with time, as the world becomes more digital,” he said.
“As experiences elsewhere and in Singapore show, bad news and negative spin travel faster and further. Solid facts and figures are seen as stodgy. Substance is essential, but we must strive to master the new medium. We must have a stronger presence online.
“It will take experimentation and imagination to adapt our content and messaging in new ways. It will also take time. We have been improving, but we must do more and faster.”
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