People’s Action Party (PAP) is a political party. It is one party. It is a strong party. It has governed Singapore since its independence which is nearly fifty years ago. PAP did not start as a strong party. They had to fight to gain power which was not easy. They then had to fight to retain power which can be said was even more difficult. Yet for PAP, since they gained power, they have completely dominated Singapore politics. At one stage, they were the only party in Parliament. Even today, they are by far the dominant party in Parliament. In the meantime, over the period when PAP is in power, the PAP-opponents have made little headway. So, what is PAP’s secret of success? Can PAP-opponents learn from PAP?
PAP is a big party. It has many members. It is even a bigger party if one includes all its supporters. Despite being a big party, it operates with one voice. An example is the recent incident at Hong Lim Park where two events clashed because they were held at the same time. After the incident, the PAP members and its supporters condemned the protesters in unison. Irrespective what they said was valid or invalid, their voices supported each other. For a neutral member of the public , the message from PAP was loud and clear.
Meanwhile, many PAP-opponents also made their views known, and some of these views were actually good and valid. But instead of supporting these views, some PAP-opponents made comments and remarks which effectively undermine these good views. For a neutral member of the public , the message from PAP-opponents was diffused and unclear. So, how to support the PAP-opponents?
If the PAP-opponents are serious about making political headway in the next GE, the least they can do is learn from PAP to support each other and speak with one voice.
TW