Singapore— On June 15, Goh Meng Seng (People’s Power Party) shared his thoughts on a popular issue for the coming elections: 3-cornered fights. “It is going to be a devastating GE for opposition where we may just find ourselves looking at massive 3 Corner Fights, from the East to the West, North to South,” said Goh.
He highlighted his disappointment in the failure of the “Grand Coalition” of opposition parties, citing “arrogance” as the main reasons for why the idea of this coalition “have (sic) taken a bad turn to the worst (sic)”.
The People’s Action Party (PAP) may not be as “strong, steady or competent as it used to be”, according to Goh. However, PAP’s role in being the key player in developing the nation has definitely shaped it to be hard to beat in the coming election. Goh remarked: “It is still the most formidable opponent for all opposition parties added together”.
He lamented: “Any party which thinks that they alone could take down such a gigantic machinery, must have their heads checked”.
Goh points to electoral results from the past to exemplify how formidable the PAP is. Even though a common narrative or discourse is often popularised during the time of the GEs – such as the PAP suffering a huge loss in seats, it never actually happens.
He states that “Even at its worst performance, they [PAP] lost only 6 seats, out of almost 90 seats!”
While the PAP indeed had suffered some losses in terms of the numbers of seats won in the elections, Goh warns that this should not be romanticised by both opposition supporters and opposition parties. He stated that even if an opposition party had gained victory in a GRC, it “is just a victory of thin margin”.
With the coronavirus crisis, Goh argued that it may have showcased some mismanagement and faults in PAP’s 4G leadership. Even so, he believes that this does not necessarily translate into increased votes for the opposition. With the pandemic, many jobs and livelihoods have been adversely affected and there may be greater fear that a change in leadership may exacerbate these issues. Goh described this is an example of “an ironic Stockholm Syndrome in a massive way entrapping Singaporeans’ minds”.
Goh’s post ultimately showcases what he views as the importance of opposition unity in the coming election. In his words: “And if anyone would believe all those echo chambers of opposition supporters how good the ground is for any opposition party, so much so that they would be embolden to go into 3 corner fights thinking they could win anything, I guess it is really naive and ignorant of how gigantic PAP machinery is!”
Some netizens have shown their agreement with Goh’s views on opposition unity. Some have argued that without a coalition, there is simply no strong alternative government to the PAP and that small opposition parties would simply be wiped out.
/TISG