Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Boring By-Election is (Finally) Here

While M Ravi and his woman puppet or proxy waiting for court to give expert legal advice on when a by-election for Hougang SMC is to be held according to the constitution, the government went ahead earlier to announce a by-election on 26 May. What would lawyer M Ravi and cleaner Vellama say proudly while eating prata supper to celebrate? They were the ones who pressured the PAP to call for a by-election! Yawn. Yeah, right, you win. Like a boss.

Is it a two-corner fight in the Teochew kampung? PAP Desmond Choo from PAP vs whoever WP wants to send into the ring? SDP and NSP have chickened out of this round. SDP said already they would not play but NSP wanted to hint earlier that they might. SPP and SDA might join in still, but they are the weakest. SPP could have stood a good chance as the 3rd party if not for the recent resignations of its stronger members. Hougang is seen as WP territory and nobody from another opposition party dares to go in and get a bad reputation from Singaporeans. However, in the name of democracy, why should WP hog, and PAP try to hog Hougang? Maybe the residents there want to choose someone else? From the PE, we voters can already get the sense that politics is more real and more representative if as many candidates as possible put their bets on the table.

Who else dares to go in if the other parties dare not? The independents might be the ones as they don't need to kowtow to a party secretary-general. However, who could it be. Tan Kian Lian was BBQed in the last PE and learnt his lesson. Andrew Kuan has been a no show for some time. Tan Cheng Bock also seemed quiet since August last year after his disappointing defeat. Only Tan Jee Say might be deluded enough to try it as he was so egoistically optimistic about his chances in 2011 and then became shocked over his defeat. He already set up shop in high rental Dhoby Ghaut - where he got his money from and why he must open up his political office in an elitist central area instead of a heartland is a mystery.

So one unknown is whether independents want to jump inside the pool. The other unknown is how big PAP's defeat would be.  Of course WP would win as this is a WP heartland being contested. Desmond Choo might be good, can speak better Teochew and prepare the best oh-ni to win over the Hougang uncles and aunties, but he would never be good enough for Hougang because he is White, and Hougang since 1991 likes light Blue. In May 2011, horny WP YSL gathered 64.8% and PAP snatched only 35.2%. If PAP gets more than 35.2% this time, it is a WP victory, but also symbolically, a PAP victory.


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