June 10th, 2011 | 
Author: Online Press
Malaysia’s opinion research firm Merdeka Center carried out
telephone interviews among 611 Singaporeans between 27 April and 5
May in the run-up to Singapore’s general election which shows an
increasingly polarized electorate. (read more here)
While the older generation of voters and the middle class are
largely supportive of the ruling PAP, the percentage dropped
significantly among younger voters and the higher income
groups.
A significant minority of Singaporeans who earn more than $5,000
monthly and those between the ages of 21 and 29 did not have
confident in the PAP’s renewal process compared to the rest of the
population:
The same group of Singaporeans also felt strongly that Singapore
should have a stronger opposition in parliament. More than 70
percent of young Singaporeans between the ages of 21 and 40
Singaporeans think so as compared to less than 60 percent for the
older generation of Singaporeans:
Not surprisingly, the percentage of Singaporeans who perceived
the opposition as being credible declined from the younger to older
age groups. 44 percent of Singaporeans between the ages of 21 and
29 trust the opposition as compared to only 25 percent for those
above the age of 40.
The statistics appeared to commensurate with the sources of
information from which Singaporeans obtained news about the
election from.
Despite the high internet penetration rate of Singapore, only 25
percent of the population obtained their news from the internet as
compared to over 70 percent for both the newspapers and TV
channels.
In general, Singaporeans who are exposed to the internet are
more likely to trust and support the opposition. 55 percent of
Singaporeans between the ages of 21 and 29 obtained their primary
and secondary sources of news from the internet.
Conclusion
1. The Singapore electorate is becoming increasingly polarized
along the lines of generation and class with younger and richer
Singaporeans switching their support away from the PAP to the
opposition.
2. The internet plays a key role in influencing the choice of
younger voters, but has limited reach among the older generation of
Singaporeans.
Future trend:
1. Going by current trend, the PAP is likely to suffer a gradual
decline in support among Singaporeans as younger Singaporeans enter
the voting pool to replace the older generation.
2. The new media’s influence will continue to grow with more
alternative news portals like ‘The Satay Club’ making their mark in
the socio-political blogosphere as established sites like the
‘Temasek Review’ builds on its existing readership.
3. Social media will tilt the playing field further in favor of
the opposition which has Facebook pages with the highest number of
‘likes’.
4. Younger and richer Singaporeans who want a more robust
opposition in parliament to check on the PAP are unlikely to
support the PAP and their views will rub off on future generation
of voters.
5. The PAP should expect its percentage of votes to slide
further in the next general election with the loss of more seats to
the opposition as its support base becomes diluted by an increasing
number of young Singaporeans who are inclined to support the
opposition.
Taken from:
http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/06/10/analysis-of-merdeka-centers-public-opinion-poll-on-singapore-ge-2011/
