I had a kinda oddball conversation with someone online recently regarding political communications and its outreach in Singapore. I mean, even the most casual of observers would notice the palpable tension in Singapore these days with the government. Just for a quick recap (and background info in case you were hiding under a rock), the litany of woes run the gamut from bread & butter issues (foreigners, floods, overcrowding in public transport, rising costs of living against lower wages) to special interests (mandatory death penalty, gay rights, soaring HDB prices).
Singaporeans by and large are unhappy and dissatisfied to the point whereby more and more are shedding the facade of politeness or even institutional fear when addressing "those in charge". This could also be attributed to the increased uptake since the last elections by Singaporeans when it comes to social networking and mobile net access. In the past when blogging or posting one's frustrations was done best from behind a PC or laptop, these days anything and everything could be posted on the fly with a 3G enabled camera phone. Point, snap and tweet.
What's also notable this time round for the upcoming elections; the number of PAP administrative flops being served up as very juicy political fodder for the opposition. Again thanks to the high penetration of Singaporeans on the internet, political farces such as the Mas Selamat break-out, Orchard Road floods, general apathy & distaste towards the YOG and many more would be dredged up in all their pixelated glory for delicious sound bites repeatedly. As they say, you can't delete anything on the internet and many PAP stalwarts would find themselves tasting shoe leather with their infamous quotes replayed over and over again.
Even the PAP's previous trump card of having the state media faithfully devoting columns and columns of fawning print to their candidates WILL backfire this time round if they execute the same old communications plan of denying or worse, censoring opposition parties fair play and coverage in the press. Again, the populace is more net savvy this time round and what's more, hungry for alternative news and information. Whereas the opposition parties were relatively new to exploiting the digital platforms during the last election, they have improved vastly this time round, having laid digital footprints and groundwork years before the PAP even started noticing how far behind they are lagging. And oh trust me lagging far behind they are, especially if the recent farce of a PAP facebook page is anything to go by.
And the comical thing about the PAP institutional mind is how much they shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to managing communications. Their corporate communications philosophy is best summed up in three words: Knee Jerk Reactions. The powers that are have an institutional habit of presuming the people to be simple digits or automatons, best managed with a regulation or law. But when faced with people willing to think out of the box (a certain toilet-prison break comes to mind), challenge the status quo with research and facts, economic factors or even Mother Nature herself, all we hear are lame sounding excuses like "we were caught off-guard" and faulting current technology and science for not being up to the task! (I have to include the Japanese answer to that for posterity though) I am pretty sure nobody will blink in surprise when the PAP unveils their updated "gag order" in a desperate attempt to
Another telling difference for this upcoming elections would be the fact that PM Lee has had an entire first term to show what he was able to deliver for Singaporeans and so far the response from the ground is far from happy. Contrary to the often touted "66.6" number, the PAP only got 35.32% of the electoral mandate, thanks to its 'kelong'-rigged electoral boundaries leading to the Uniquely Singapore syndrome of walkovers in the polls. The Singaporean transferred deference (or preference?) to the son of the still-revered LKY might be wearing off, especially with the widely perceived lack of touch that the PM has with our people leading to murmurs that the previous administration under Goh Chok Tong may be viewed as the "good ol' days" now. The on-ground sentiment is now largely wary at the thought of "5 more years under PAP".
And so far the online efforts by SDP, SPP and RP are paying off, based on my personal perception and interaction with those politically active and inclined. Credit also has to go largely towards independent and alternative news sites like The Online Citizen and Temasek Review (formerly the WayangParty.com lol!), along with numerous blogs and forums for creating digital spaces where the airing of previously taboo or unthinkable subjects, issues or even grouses are now posted, read avidly and commented to death upon. These sites also play a crucial role in being regular soapboxes or podiums for political opposition voices to talk about their policies or reactions to crucial current affairs. (I have to admit at being a little curious though non too surprised at WP's lethargy in exploiting the same arenas or forums, given their lackluster engagement as compared to their more vocal counterparts. As a friend pointed out, it does however lend a sardonic credence to my PAP-lite theory)
But the fallacy of the Internet is that it is still at the end of the day, a fetch medium. Short of a possessing a very large media budget (which is silly given the largely free nature of the Internet!), no less amount of effort should be put into canvassing and spreading the word-of-mouth regarding a political party's ideologies and what they stand for ONLINE than say, the amount of resources poured into a walkabout. If anything, I would say the effort allocated should be even higher. After all it is so much easier to maintain constant visibility online vis-a-vis popping up in person to say hi in a wet market and homes every now and then. Efforts must be made to create and studiously maintain a wide digital network of Singaporeans on various demographic levels, especially in the face of how ineffectual the incumbent government is on this front.
And I cannot stress this enough because while it is easy to assume that most if not all Singaporeans are getting their news online now, THAT IS STILL NOT SO. Media research shows that the majority of the heartlanders, the aunties and uncles, yours and my parents are still very much traditional and conservative in getting their news feeds. Which means they are still being fed the same old government propaganda; the same old diet of PAP excuses, doomsday scenarios and threats of how terrible things would be if they aren't in-charge. it is not that they are not online; they are just unaccustomed to thinking or even considering that alternative truths or versions can be had online, contrary to the milk-sopped diet courtesy of the 133rd.
Judging by the tremendous turnout for opposition rallies during the GE2006, it is obvious that Singaporeans by and large are hungry and willing to listen to alternative voices (though whether they get to vote or not is a different matter). Translate that to the ease of reaching out and pulling in these interested audiences online and the oppositions' work is cut out for them. Provided they pick up the pace and act now to put such a huge lead behind them that the PAP has no hope of catching up.
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