Yes, let the fear about ballot secrecy rest in peace!
littlespeck.com
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!