The take by the Bukit Timah Prata Gang on Bukit Batok BE

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

As most political parties called for an emergency session to discuss Bukit Batok By Elections and to consider their position, it was only right that the Bukit Timah Prata gang convened an emergency session last night at the usual haunt to assess the events as they unfolded and the nuances of this by elections. The purists ordered plain prata with fish curry and the rest ordered egg prata. With important items on the agenda done, it was time to delve into the topics of interest.

Bukit Batok Constituency:
The demographics was interesting as the so called experts in the gang highlighted a number of things. One trivia is if you can call it that stood out and not sure if it is true. Apparently close to 7% of residents fall under the cleaners vocation. It caught many by surprise. If true, it does show the slide of this country. In the main, all demographics point to PAP territory. Historically the western part of the country was known MCP territory and the Govt in the 60s and 70s had recruited and deployed ISD and PA officers to act as "case officers" and the first point of contact for most needs. As they left villages to take to the new HDB estates, the network and contacts were kept alive. Dixie Tan, ex MP and known humanitarian made a comment about this when she turned up for her first CCC meeting. It may also explain why Opposition parties traditionally don't bother with the West and focus their time and resources in other parts of Singapore.

The other interesting thing about Bukit Batok is that it includes Bukit Gombak where Chee and SDP ran the town council after the 1991 victory. Dr Seet Ai Mei royally fucked up and Ling won only to lose it by massive margin of 30%. So an interesting piece of SDP link to this area.

Murali:
No one seems to have any clue about this guy which surprised me except from what appeared in the press. Some felt that he was a Malaysian with a Singapore PR and became a citizen after his NS. They were actually surprised he was nominated. The gang was however divided on the motive for nominating him. It was not lost on the lot that he was nominated after the PAP knew who they were taking on and thus the last minute decision on Sunday. Most agreed that if Leon Perera or Paul Thambyah were the candidate, it would have been a Chinese candidate that PAP would have nominated. This was based on the straight comparison of credentials, potential and the lack of past political baggage. They felt that mindset of voters would have led them to decide on this basis as by-elections did not contribute towards electing a govt.

Chee:
One pundit felt that Chee had 2 internal targets to clear - (1) 24.6% set by his fellow SDP party member Sadasivam Periyah in 2015 at Bukit Batok and the (2) 33.4% that he and he and his GRC team achieved in 2015 in Holland Bukit Timah GRC. The reason behind this is the barometer that it offers to assess the possibility that Chee has become a liability to his own party. The first target is obvious and many felt that he should be able to do better than 24.6%. The second is not so obvious but based on the notion that Paul Thambyah carried the votes rather than Chee. In this regard no one was able to predict the outcome. But if he fails in this, the general consensus was that he should call it a day.

PAP:
Much time was spent on PAP's trajectory in politics and their use of tactics. Some felt that the PAP was more open to the idea that 100% of parliaments was alright and very unlike old man's need to fully dominate. This was not based on the desire to promote democracy but to show the world that they are democratic. They all agreed that WP will continue be their main target and all agreed that in Aljunied in 2015, the GRC format screwed the PAP's chances. They could have recovered 2 out of the 5 seats. Putting a fresh faced minority candidate in an SMC may be the start of a plan to dismantle the whole concept of GRC.

It was also not lost on anyone that the PAP had copied or more like plagiarised WP's GE 2011 manifesto for 2015. If you recall in 2011, Sylvia Lim crucified Ng Eng Hen when he challenged their manifesto. What a u-turn.

Bukit Batok Outcome:
Consensus was PAP victory and the key deciding factor was quite interesting - one had political baggage and the other was a total unknown so no baggage to talk about. Some felt that Chee would have a fighting chance against Victor Lye who like Dr Anal Koh did not come out right in the public eye.


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