‘New Malaysia’ makes Singapore look outdated
Taken from Nikkei Asian Review Over two months after Mahathir Mohamad’s election in Malaysia, the political reverberations for Singapore show no signs of fading. The new Malaysian prime minister’s reviews of the key water-supply deal with Singapore and of the planned costly high-speed rail link from Kuala Lumpur to the city-state are only visible signs...
The WelshGE2015 Poll: Post-Election Insights on Voting in Singapore
In the past few weeks, two important publications have come out. Terence Lee and Kevin YL Tan have published Change in Voting: Singapore’s 2015 General Election and the special journal of Singapore’s GE in the Round Table edited by James Chin. These publications, featuring younger scholars and diverse views, will contribute to scholarly debate surrounding...
It’s the crowd that counts in Singapore’s vote
Taken from New Mandala Some 2.46 million Singaporeans – all citizens above 21 – will have the chance to vote this Friday. This is not only the most competitive elections in terms of all seats contested in decades, it is also a fierce competitive contest. Every vote will count – even the spoilt ones. The study...
Hungry ghosts and Singapore’s elections
Taken from New Mandala It is political season in Singapore, with the hustings now passing the halfway point in a competitive election. The campaign – a short nine days – is the extension of ongoing politicking since the 2011 elections in which the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) won the most seats, but was perceived...
Missing Lee: Regional politics loses its sharpness with LKY’s passing
Published on Mar 27, 2015 in The Edge Review From Lee Kuan Yew’s expulsion from Malaysia in 1965 to his development of Singapore as a global model, his style and governance went well beyond the city-state. LKY was an Asian statesman who worked to stamp his brand and control over foreign relations as much as...
Lessons from PAP’s defeat in Punggol East
When the votes were counted in this seat of 31,600 voters, the incumbent PAP had experienced an embarrassing loss – the opposition Workers’ Party took the seat decisively with a 10.8 percent margin, winning 54.5 percent of the electorate. This was a whopping 13 percent increase in its share of support from the 2011 general...
Breaking from the Past? The 2012 Hougang By-Elections
Taken from Berita, Autumn 2012 In May 2012, one year after the watershed eleventh general elections, Singapore held its first by-election in nineteen years in the single-member constituency of Hougang. The contest was in the opposition heartland held by the Worker’s Party (WP) since 1991. The catalyst was the unprecedented February 15th expulsion of Yaw...
Looking within: dominant party de-alignment in Malaysia and Singapore
From East Asia Forum Singapore and Malaysia have long been touted as success stories. There is much to acknowledge — rising incomes, steady economic growth, improvements in infrastructure, stability and cordial ethnic relations immediately come to mind. These changes have been accompanied by the dominance of one party politically: the People’s Action Party (PAP) in...
In the shadow of strongmen
From New Mandela of ANU. In the last few years, both Malaysia and Singapore have been undergoing political liberalisation, evident from the increasing parliamentary representation of the opposition and more open political discussion. Yet, with this opening, the challenges the two neighbours face in liberalising are becoming clearer. One of the main obstacles involves dealing...