My poor attempt at talking politics after physics exams
And so election fever has finally hit Singapore, and as usual, we are never concerned about which party will be elected. We are only concerned about the percentage of the popular vote obtained by PAP, and whether or not Potong Pasir and Hougang comes back under PAP, or would they miss upgrading for another time.
Elections period, life goes on in my area, Bukit Timah. As expected, the PAP got a walkover for the area as part of the Holland-Bt Timah GRC. To say that Bukit Timah is a stronghold is pretty much an understatement. In summary, Bt Timah is as stable as a mountain (pun intended)
Out of kaypoh-ness curiosity, I took a look at the Elections Dept website for a look at the results of the past elections in Bt Timah, and it was pretty interesting
| Year & Type | Winning Party (%) |
|---|
| 1955 Legislative Assembly | PAP (52.45%) |
| 1959 Legislative Assembly | PAP (58.31%) |
| 1963 Legislative Assembly | Barisan Sosialis (52.39%) |
| 1966 Legislative By-Election | PAP (Walkover) |
| 1968 Parliamentary Election | PAP (Walkover) |
| 1972 Parliamentary Election | PAP (66.78%) |
| 1976 Parliamentary Election | PAP (Walkover) |
| 1980 Parliamentary Election | PAP (Walkover) |
| 1984 Parliamentary Election | PAP (Walkover) |
| 1988 Parliamentary Election | PAP (Walkover) |
| 1991 Parliamentary Election | PAP (72.64%) |
| 1997 Parliamentary Election | PAP (Walkover as a GRC) |
| 2001 Parliamentary Election | PAP (77.37%) |
You can just see how dominant PAP is in Bt Timah, only lost once in 1963, marking the 2nd time that Bt Timah fell out of the govt’s hands.
Off wikipedia…
The Battle of Bukit Timah was a momentous battle fought during World War II on 11 February 1942 in Singapore between the Allied forces and the Japanese forces. The battle was one of the bloodiest during the Japanese conquest, with staggering casualties suffered on both the defending locals who fought with the Allied forces, and the invading Japanese forces.
Bukit Timah was a strategic location where the British have stockpiled ammunition and armoured and transportation vehicles. The hill also faces a body of important resource - a reservoir.
To say that Bt Timah ppl (Timahans? haha!) are politically apathetic may be too blanketing of a word in this case.. I say that the economic status of the residents and the physical infrastructure of the area leaves the Opposition with hardly any fodder to fight with. Even for PAP, it’s mainly the process of maintaining the current pace of development, and not really going all out to try something new.
This place is a bloody rich men area lah.. the main cluster of flats here are the 19 blocks in toh yi drive. Those blocks are not that old, probably about 17 years, and i’ve stayed here for 15. This is the so-called ghetto of Bt Timah, the poor men area. And mind you, my neighbours are not that poor, I see dunno how many plasma tv boxes being dumped @ the refuse collection point, many big cars, including a Z4 and a Fairlady. We are just poor, as compared to the condo/landed property people.
So there is not much point in campaigning for covered walkways and lifts that stop at every level. Not to say that there isn’t a need for them, it’s just that we can still live w/o them. And no point building covered walkways into the private estates. ppl would be driving most of the time…
Come to think of it, there are many post-65ers here, ppl who are more receptive to new ideas from a credible Opposition. Let’s hope the absorption into a GRC is only a one-off affair to protect the area from fallign into the Opposition’s hands since the incumbent MP Dr Wang Kai Yuen is stepping down after 22 years.
“Next election must come here hor, let me exercise my right of universal suffrage as a citizen”
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