PAP’s Aljunied GRC gambit for 2016

– May 18, 2011Posted in: Elections 2011, Main Stories, Politics, Society
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Faisal Wali

A PAP Rally during General Election 2011

A PAP Rally during General Election 2011

Now that the dust has now settled and euphoria has died down after General Elections 2011, it is time for the nation and various political parties to reflect. There will be recriminations and finger pointing aplenty where results didn’t turn out as expected. Conversely, there are celebrations, albeit in a subdued form for sweet victories as reward for hard work and good strategies. However, it is also apparent that this period signals the beginning of hard work in sowing seeds for the future.

Some parties have hit the ground running again with an eye on the next elections in 2016. The Singapore People’s Party (SPP) has unveiled a five-year master plan in preparations for 2016. The plan involves the use of social media to host Q & A sessions. In addition, initiatives to engage business owners and shopkeepers who did not benefit or are disadvantaged by our current system is also in the party’s pipeline for the future.

Elsewhere, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has called on volunteers and supporters to continue and help play a part in its “Road to 2016”endeavour at a Thank You dinner at Fort Canning Centre. The party intends to step up its ground work in constituencies it intends to contest and this includes Tanjong Pagar GRC, the only one that remained uncontested during the elections.

Other parties are exploring strategic and operational options that will give them an advantage come 2016. The National Solidarity Party, SDP and SPP are currently in talks aimed at boosting inter-party cooperation.

Eyes will be on Aljunied GRC, the first GRC to be captured by the opposition party. The winning candidates from Worker’s Party are keen to hit the ground running. It came as good news to party supporters that the new MP-elects will be able to take over the Aljunied town council offices, banishing fears of difficulties ‘deliberately posed’ by the authorities to derail the opposition’s cause.

The Worker’s Party is keen to start work in Aljunied. It has a point to prove in serving the interests of Aljunied residents. How it performs in 2016 will depend on its performance while in office from day one.

Spotlight will also be on the PAP’s plans for Aljunied. Mr George Yeo, former Foreign Minister, has retired from politics. Miss Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in the Prime Minister Office and holder of Second Minister portfolios for Transport and Finance, has also indicated she will not be contesting the next elections.

It is interesting to speculate on the PAP’s possible line-up for Aljunied GRC come 2016. 2011 is unprecedented as it is the first time that a GRC fell to the opposition. 2016 will also be unprecedented in the sense that it will be the first time the PAP tries to wrest a GRC back from the opposition.

Traditionally, the PAP has always helmed the GRCs with heavyweight minister candidates. However, results in Aljunied went the Worker’s Party way, resulting in the loss of two ministers and one senior minister of state in Mr Zainal Abidin bin Mohammad Rasheed.

It must also be noted that the PAP does not send a heavyweight minister candidate to contest at a ward held by the opposition. So far, it is the new PAP candidates who stand at such wards. This has always been the case for Hougang and Potong Pasir previously.

Who the PAP will field in Aljunied GRC for the next election is as good as everyone’s guess. On one hand, a GRC team is helmed by a heavyweight minister, but on the other, the PAP has the practice of sending new candidates to contest an opposition held ward.

Should PAP field a cabinet minister, it is considered a gamble going by results of this election. There is no guarantee of victory. Much will depend on the popularity of the cabinet minister and his performance in office, but that itself is no guarantee. Even a highly popular George Yeo lost. In addition, the quality of the PAP team matters, and this is dependent on their ability to recruit good candidates.

Another variable is the support for Worker’s Party depending on its performance in Aljunied. If the Worker’s Party is able to maintain and build on its Aljunied support, wresting the GRC back from it even with a cabinet minister candidate thrown in will not be easy.

Thus, punters and observers alike are keenly eyeing the developments at Aljunied. Now that two of PAP’s former cabinet minister candidates have indicated they will not be contesting, it will be interesting to see who contests. Will PAP take a gamble and field a cabinet minister to head its team or look to a team of new faces to wrest the GRC back from Worker’s Party?

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Photo courtesy of BernardOh, Flickr Commons.