A prognosis of the coming general election

The so-called ciruit breaker measures have not contained but instead increased the intensity of the coronavirus to the dismay of the PAP government. But this does not deter the drollish PM Lee Hsien Loong to contemplate a general election in the midst of this crisis and it is possible that the window for the GE could be in June this year.So Singaporeans may be in for some excitement when they have also to brave the coronavirus when they go to vote.

It may tickle the imagination to try to visualise the kind of scenario which could emerge in the GE. To begin with I think the opposition is a disparate group which may not be able to sink their differences to form an alliance strong enough not only to dent but to demolish the armour of the invincible PAP. The devil in the wood-pile may be the Workers' Party which is obsessed with self-aggrandisement to join the alliance. This may mean that they will participate in a three-cornered contest to the detriment of the alliance. The most decisive problem of the alliance may be the lack of a charismatic leader who could command the unity of the alliance. There is no longer a leader like the late legendary Lim Chin Siong to lead the opposition. He was so charamistic  that he could command the absolute support of the Chinese masses with ease and could have been a prime minister of Singapore if not for the intervention of Special Branch.

So the next best thing for the alliance is to form a brain-trust unit to promote the unity of the opposition to face the PAP. This may be an unenviable task which requires the self sacrifice of each opposition member but with unselfish resolution there is no reason why this cannot be accomplished. This will be a golden opportunity for the opposition to show their prowess.

The political situation is in favour of the PAP. There are the seventy percent of the electorate who vote for the PAP for their selfish end of preserving their livelihood. Singaporeans can never emulate their Malaysian counterparts in their revolutionary fervour because they just do not have the fighting spirit to cause a change. So depending on what damage the Workers' Party will inflict on the opposition unity will decide the degree of victory the PAP will garner at the GE. Singaporeans will willy-nilly face five more years of PAP patriarchal rule.