PAP, opposition parties wooing the hearts of young
voters
By Imelda Saad | Posted: 10
November 2010 1814 hrs
SINGAPORE: About one-third of the more
than 2.3 million people on Singapore's register of electors are
under the age of 35 and some one hundred thousand of them are first
time voters.
This will make up about 5 per cent of the total electorate for the
next General Election due by February 2012.
Observers said they are a group difficult to please, with very
diverse needs and aspirations. This is especially so for a group
well-connected to the online world and is thus more exposed to
global influences.
Zaqy Mohamad, the Vice-Chairman of Young PAP and an MP for Hong Kah
GRC feels that younger voters will have an increasing influence in
elections and how Singapore develops.
"I think increasingly, you find that they will have greater say in
terms of what they wish and what they aspire for Singapore
especially when more and more of them start coming online and
becoming eligible at 21," he said.
Political parties have acknowledged that votes from young voters
will make a difference.
A post 2006 election survey by the Institute of Policy Studies
showed that about half of those under 35 are categorised as
swing-voters - those who can be persuaded by either the opposition
or ruling party. About a third, are "pluralists" - those who
clamour for more voices in Parliament.
21-year-old first time voter, Soh Yi Da, is looking forward to the
upcoming elections and wants to see a "contest of ideas" between
the different parties.
"We want to see contest of ideas. We want to see more platforms
where political parties are able to engage one another...I think
majority of young people are all fence sitters I think we will wait
until the last moment before making the decision.
"We want to hear the views from all the parties so whichever party
that is credible, that have the best ideas show us through the
contest of ideas that's able to win the peoples hearts and minds,
who are truly sincere and passionate, who are genuine in their
interaction will definitely still emerge as the victor."
This is something newer political parties on the scene, like the
Reform Party (RP), are banking on.
"We've got the Reform Party page on Facebook, we got our Voting RP
blog, we've got the candidates personal pages and recently we've
set up the GRC or constituency pages that we intend to contest as a
means to allow residents to post directly about issues and for us
to inform people living in those areas about our outreach
programme," said Reform Party Secretary-General Kenneth
Jeyaratnam.
He added that about 40 per cent of Reform Party members are under
the age of 30.
The more established opposition parties, like the Workers' Party
for example, are also wooing the young.
While the Workers' Party would not reveal the membership numbers
for its Youth Wing, they said that "growth was promising"
especially after the last elections.
Koh Choong Yong, President of the Workers' Party Youth Wing, said:
"We have set up a Youth Wing since 2005 and from then till now,
these 5 years we have a lot of outreach with young people and we
also understand that some young people are interested in policy
matters, some young people are interested in social kind of
interaction. So the youth wing has embarked in two different kinds
of activities."
Mr Koh said outreach events include dialogues, forums and social
activities.
Observers said the challenge would be how parties pitch their
message to different groups.
Eugene Tan, Assistant Professor with the School of Law at Singapore
Management University, said that it was crucial for political
parties to not just focus on young voters.
"So for any party campaigning they can't just focus on the young
voters so the challenge is to calibrate the message that fits each
vote bank but at the same time ensuring that there are no inherent
contradictions and that it fits into the larger party
message.
"It's a diverse group so certainly there will be some young voters
who are concerned with material aspirations, housing prices, car
prices, but I think there will also be young voters who will be
concerned with what I call post material aspirations so things like
freedom of speech, quality of life in Singapore, do we want the
society to be a rat race, what is it that makes up the national
identity.
"It is that diverse groups with very different hopes, aspirations,
expectations and fears as well. So it is a very challenging group,
compared to the other vote banks like women and retirees," he
said.
Mr Zaqy said that it all boils down to how candidates communicate
with the electorate to win their hearts and minds.
"I think many of our young are also better educated, better exposed
and I think over time they are also able to judge for themselves
one's track record, one's credibility as well as what they wish to
see implemented and executed.
"I think at the end of the day, what we need to do as candidates is
to convince them on the approach and why this is the best approach
forward and of course there are certain pitfalls there are always
certain implications but it's about communication and explaining
and being sincere on what you promised."
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has also described the next election
as a watershed event for young Singaporeans - even those not old
enough to vote. That is because Singapore's fourth prime minister
and a core team of younger ministers is expected to emerge at the
next general election.
-CNA/ac
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1092612/1/.html
