Tide could have gone the other way if Govt had not done things right: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — While the overwhelming mandate that the People's Action Party (PAP) received in this election was a verdict from the electorate that the ruling party had done well in the last four and a half years, it also showed that the "ultimate power" lies with the voters, said Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam today (Sept 12).

The tide could have easily gone the other way if the party had not done a good job, and the same goes for the Opposition parties, he said. The Opposition can experience a surge in one election, but they can also be hit by a decline in popularity if issues plaguing them were not addressed.

Describing the Workers' Party's (WP) performance in Aljunied GRC and its loss of Punggol-East Single Member Constituency as "a significant reversal", Mr Shanmugam pointed out that the "vote slide across the board" in all the constituencies WP contested - with them hitting 30-odd per cent in each ward compared to the 40-odd per cent they achieved in 2011 - showed that Singaporeans can readily withdraw support if one is not up to mark.

The public is very discerning and cannot be hoodwinked, Mr Shanmugam said, referring to the woes plaguing Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol-East Town Council accounts, which have hit centre stage in the hustings. "You can't leave a lot of questions unanswered on the table, and go on to the rallies and say 'I have answered all the questions'. You try that, they punish you," he said. 

Pointing out that the issue of town council monies could have played a part in the WP's performance this time round, he said: "People won't know the details...they wont know the balance sheets, but they know something is wrong. Not just something is wrong, they also know there is a constant evasion." 

"And you can't take people for granted, not the PAP, not the Opposition."

Mr Shamugam said in the 2011 General Election, people had thought that it was an uphill task to "roll back the tide of Opposition support". But the results showed that the tide can be rolled back, and in a "very substantive way", said Mr Shanmugam, who is the anchor minister for the PAP's Nee Soon Group Representative Constituency (GRC) team. The five-member team garnered 66.83 per cent of votes against a WP team, and the party as a whole, took 69.86 per cent of the vote share, improving by nearly 10 percentage points. 

Mr Shanmugam stressed the vote swing in favour of the PAP does not  mean things remain "status quo". 

"You have to work hard to deliver, you have to work hard to be absolutely closely in touch, get the policies right...and continue to maintain your integrity and honesty, because our electorate is savvy, (and) sophisticated. You do wrong things, you will get punished," he noted.

Calling the barrier to entry into politics in Singapore "low", Mr Shanmugam said it the party must work extra hard because in Singapore's system, "the Government can get voted out at any time when it doesn't perform". 

Mr Shanmugam also credited Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's "personal popularity" and charisma as one of the reasons why things swung in their favour. Mr Lee's speeches were communicated well and brought across messages that is not usually easy to bring across, he said. 

"It's not just an emotional point - one here, one there, hit out - which is easy to do, but to put it across to the population and bring it across as to what is necessary," he said.