As a young man in Singapore, this by-election was a vindication more than anything else. I was happy that voters were again able to give the PAP a clear sign that the ground was very unhappy, and change was badly needed.
It is the first time I remember a PAP single-seat ward snatched away by the WP, by a margin so extensive our DPM could not hide his dark mask of disappointment from the media, as pictured. Such was the magnitude of the loss, a recount was not necessary.
Even in the historic GRC win of Aljunied in 2011, it was down to the wire. And that was due in a large part to the presence of former Minister George Yeo, who was generally a well-liked Minister in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was not an uncommon sentiment that many were sad to see him go, although they savoured the slaughter of a sacred cow. The mountain that was a opposition GRC victory was no longer insurmountable.
This time, there was no mercy afforded to the PAP. Entering the by-election as the incumbent and favourite, it was handed a rout, through and through. In fact, a post-mortem of the election results revealed that the PAP candidate had lost in every single one of the polling stations. Simply put, the PAP had not polled a majority in any part of Punggol East. This was surely unprecedented, a clear cut rejection of the PAP.
Much has been said about how Dr Koh was a new face, and about how voters were unfamiliar with him. Some of the defeat may have hinged on how Dr Koh, as a top surgeon, was cut from a different cloth from much of the electorate. Voters felt unable to relate to him, and he was unproven and untested. If there was one thing he was lacking, it was warmth, a common foible in elitist types.
And this was where Ms Lee Li Lian stood out. As a young woman with a ready smile, she had spades of warmth where Dr Koh did not. Some of the victory also hinged on how Ms Lee, as a young married woman and soon to be mother, was closer to the profile of the electorate in Punggol East. As a person with a less than stellar educational record and a career as a sales trainer, she had both the heartlander credentials and the people touch borne out of a career as a salesperson. She also had the advantage of having walked the ground much longer than Dr Koh, a last minute candidate parachuted in from their party's elite ranks.
But more than anything else, voters were using this election to send a message. It is a message that most of my generation are already familiar with, the oft-repeated refrain that costs of living are simply too high, and voters are no longer willing to put up with it. With flats going for record prices and COE hitting the $100k mark in the open category, it has become almost impossible for the average man in the street to own a car and a flat without going into serious debt.
And the costs have other trickle down effects. Singles are struggling to raise enough money for marriage, putting it off till later. And even those who are married are struggling to raise children in this environment, where most choose to have just one child so they can maximise the limited resources at their disposal.
In such an environment, ministerial salaries are a convenient flashpoint. The average Singaporean would not begrudge their ministers a high salary simply for the sake of it. The real issue is that the average Singaporean no longer feels that his needs are being taken care of, and seeing their ministers are unaffected and slow to respond to the pertinent issues at hand, starts to wonder whether their salaries are justified.
Add that to the persistent problems with a stagnant economy and unemployment, a large influx of foreigners suddenly in our midst, and the gradual breakdown of our once much vaunted public transport system, it is clear that something here has reached breaking point.
It does not help either that this is the time where public servants are increasingly finding themselves being dragged through the media for less than savoury reasons, which is a stain on the much valued credibility of the ruling party.
Now, the PAP can no longer go to the polls and expect the electoral mandate to be simply handed back to them. With a record card that is far less than stellar, and lacking the moral high ground to back its recruitment and selection process as well as popular backing for its policies, the party is indeed in a crisis.
With the PAP being viewed as increasingly out of touch with the electorate, the voters have spoken. The party now begins the slow process of bridging that gap.