Now that GE2015 has settled down, we have seen many theories on why the result swing to back to PAP. Was it SG50? Was it the passing of our founding father? Let's do a breakdown on the types of voters.
We have three main categories that we can branch out from
1) PAP supporters
This group of supporters will support anything that comes out from PAP
mouth. Be it daft, hard pills to swallow or poor stock. They will gladly
acknowledge whatever PAP says is the doctrine that everyone must
follow. Even if policies don't make sense or there is an alternative,
they will support PAP wholeheartedly.
2) Opposition supporters
This group of supporters claimed they will support anyone or anything other than PAP. As long as it is not PAP they will support. They even go as far as voting for a monkey if not PAP. They can be seen like majority in cyberspace, especially in social media due to their loud roar. However in reality they are the minorities that doesn't matter much when it comes to election.
3) Swing voters
This group swings side wherever the wind is
blowing. During GE2011 this group of supporters sway to the opposition
causing PAP worse performance since our independence. However they once
again sway to back to PAP in 2015 and cause the biggest win for PAP.
PAP supporters
1) Civil servants.
These groups of supporters are normally loyal to PAP because of their rice bowl. They vote PAP out of not just loyalty but also fear of losing their jobs. There are some of them who are opposition supporters however they belongs to the minority. Most of them time they will tell you how good PAP is and how their intended policy can help out the citizens. They truly believed their work can benefit the masses. However try to say anything bad about the system, they will come out with their guns blazing on how Singaporeans like to complain.
2) The Elites
The elites, well belongs to the elites. They have truly benefited from the PAP way of running the country. Heck most of PAP ministers and MP are elites themselves. They send their children to top schools in Singapore like RI and then to oversea top universities. Mundane issues like having to squeeze in crowded MRT does not concerns them. Bus breakdown is far away from them. Even foreign worker dorms are built far away from their homes. Singapore GDP benefits them and so they are the stronghold of PAP supporters.
3) The pioneer generations
Well we shouldn't be surprise that many pioneer generations are hardcore PAP supporters. These old folks have got everything they wanted from PAP. In a system where their life make the biggest changes from a third world country to first world. They have everything to thank for due to the early PAP works with LKY at helm. This is why it is very important for PAP to keep on talking about track records. These group of folks remember the track records very well. With this group, PAP has never fail to win more than 80seats since 1965.
4) The anything also PAP group (AAP)
This group of supporters normally are women in their 20-30s. They are normally not interested in politics or even read any news at all. They are more concern about their own looks and well being. However when it comes to voting they will always vote for PAP. They will tell you PAP is good without giving any explanation. After pressing them for more answers their reply usually will be, without PAP there will not be HDB and no nice clothes for them to wear. They are not interested to hear about policy and shut themselves up if you dare to convince them to vote for oppositions.
5) Business owners and employees dealings with government bodies.
This group will never vote against PAP because of their business dealings with government. There were even talks on the street that if one of their employee ever dare to side with opposition they will be sacked.
6) New citizens
When a PR converts to be Singaporean they get voting rights immediately. Automatically they will be PAP supporter, this is because they support the PAP policy by converting and has been gaining the benefits of being PR. They have no complains but all gratitude to the party that has allowed them to settle in Singapore. These are sizable numbers as PAP continues to convert 10,000-20,000 of them every year.
Opposition supporters
1) The anything but PAP group (ABP)
Many of the hardcore opposition supporters comes from this group. They are truly fed up with our current government and hopes to changes the system. Even if the opposition puts in a monkey to contest against PAP they will gladly vote for the monkey. However many of them become disillusion and opt to migrate oversea in search of the system they believe in.
2) The prosecuted
No surprise here why they are the opposition supporters, as they are screwed by PAP themselves. Or a result of the PAP's system screwing them. Namely a few younger generation like Amos, Hui Hui, Roy who are actively protesting against PAP system. Also there are the older generations who supported the old PAP until LKY convicting Lim as a "communist". Yes these older generation still exist but they are fast dying off due to old age.
3) The "enlighten"
These people don't believe in a one party system. They have gone overseas and studied how various countries run their parliament. They liken our system to China and N.Korea where freedom of speech is almost close to zero. They want to change our system to have better voices. This is the group that PAP has been targeting for been dangerous and close to bringing our country down. Fortunately for PAP but unfortunate for opposition there are so little of them that they don't amount to much during voting.
Swing voters
1) Taxi drivers
Many will think this group are opposition supporters due to the multiple complains from the taxi driver during their trip from A to B. However in reality these are the swing voters. Many of these uncles complains about the government but when it comes to voting, they may be swayed by the carrots dangled by PAP. It's no wonder the biggest taxi operator is gov linked. As long as government keeps increasing the taxi rates and make these group of people happy, they can catch in more votes.
2) Keyboard warriors
Keyboard warriors reside in cyberspace and complain from anything to everything under the sun. They can link about any problems to PAP. However when it comes to the actual voting, they are swayed by the factors played out in their dwellings. Common quotes are as follows
"My ward is contested by lousy Reform party leh, if Worker party come here I sure vote for them".
"I scare of my HDB prices drop if I vote for opposition leh"
"I scare no more upgrades if I vote for oppositions"
If only opposition candidate has the power to say "vote us and you will have new hawker center". These people are the true swingers, if opposition candidates address them on their level, they might swing them over.
3) Vote wisely people
This is by far the largest group of swing voters. These people are intellects and does mostly white collar jobs. They will go to opposition rallies, read all the news about both candidates they wanted to vote for. And they will vote wisely normally this is in favor of PAP candidate as often PAP presents a more credible candidate for them to choose. PAP always has the upper hand in getting new and better candidates, it is no wonder "vote wisely people" will always be convinced who to vote for. During GE2011, opposition sudden influx of credible people made some of these voters swing.
4) Middle class aka sandwiched class
This group of people have no loyalty to anyone. Although not poor they have problems on their own, namely like upgrading their cars, their condos. Many will vote according to their own desire and if the party they vote benefits them. PAP did very well to woo this group in GE2015 as they have allow these group of people to own HDB flats and implementing policies that address the needs of middle class.
5) The poor
Yes, the poor are swing voters. Mainly they get their help from the government. Also because of MSM promoting PAP, there is no way for them to understand there is a better system for them from alternative sources. Many poor seek help from their MP and some have indeed gotten help from PAP but if they don't get any help, they may swing their votes the other way.
So there you have it. This is the list I have compiled up. I'm sure there are many more, let's keep an open discussion here.
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