Oppositionists:
Be smart
The more critics spread fears about ballot secrecy, the more it benefits the PAP and it's not true, anyway. So wise up! By Seah Chiang Nee
May 20, 2006

One thing I find incomprehensible was the self-destructive ability of opposition supporters who insisted that the ballot provided no secrecy.

I can't think of a more stupid act.

On one hand, these people were rooting for the opposition to win, but on the other, they were trying their best to frighten people into voting for the PAP.

And all this just to hit out at the government! If that was really the intention, this had probably succeeded in giving the PAP fans a hilarious time.

If the Pappies had employed a Western-type polling agency to run its campaign, one of its top items for action would probably be "to spread fear" against voting for the opposition.

And the alleged lack of ballot secrecy, a decades-old fear, - either spoken openly or even hinted - was a natural.

For many years, critics had played on fears that the ballot paper number would allow the ruling party to go through the votes and wrack vengeance on opposition voters.

In almost every election, this element of the voting paper numbering had surfaced and resurfaced mainly (can you believe it?) from opposition supporters.

Since the days of the Barisan Sosialis, various opposition politicians had repeatedly raised it (the number is to prevent duplication!) until they realised the fear worked against them - and it abruptly stopped.

In Election 2006, when the opposition was mounting a strong challenge to reduce the PAP's dominance, this idiosyncrasy had started again.

The impact could be found in some of the 'invalid' or 'missing' votes. I think it is time these opposition supporters wise up and refrain from shooting themselves in the foot.

There are many ill-informed citizens who jump at their own shadows.

The opposition politicians realised this. SDA candidate Steve Chia promptly dismissed any talk that the government would know who voters had voted for.

Fears that the vote is not secret actually benefit the PAP and yet to its credit the government had been working hard to disperse them as unfounded, even providing details of the safe procedures.

The fear factor is a bad, bad trend for the opposition, for democracy and for Singapore. Let it R.I.P!
By Seah Chiang Nee