The General Elections 2020 is done and dusted and this has seen a whole new shift in the ideals and aspirations of Singaporeans, especially the younger people who are residing in Sengkang GRC.
The Workers’ Party now holds Hougang SMC, Aljunied GRC and Sengkang GRC. We also now see Jamus Lim and Raeesah Khan enter parliament and they did so not without scandals.
The World Reports on Singapore General Election Results
News outlets all over the world has been keeping watch on Singapore’s General Elections. These are the headlines from major news agencies:
- CNBC: Singapore’s ruling party PAP cedes ground to opposition in pandemic election
- Bloomberg: Singapore’s Lee Retains Power But Party Has Weakest Showing Ever
- The Economist: Singapore’s ruling party wins easily—but its vote falls sharply
- SCMP: Singapore election: 5 key takeaways as voters deny ruling PAP a ‘blank cheque’
- Reuters: Singapore ruling party, stung by poll setback, faces succession questions
- BBC: Singapore ruling PAP party wins elections, but support falls
These headlines can be taken as objective and close to reality since Singapore’s PAP does indeed have it’s 2nd lowest showing – 61.24%.
Guess What’s The Headline on The Straits Times?
“Election results a clear mandate for PAP” is probably a very huge stretch away from responsible reporting. It is a true statement. However, it nothing except stating the obvious. Singapore’s mainstream media has consistently been speculated to be a mouthpiece for the ruling party and this has been confirmed by Steven Chia, Senior Editor of the CNA.
Do we do propaganda? We do. Singapore is very unique in that respect.
Steven Chia, Senior Editor CNA
Is Singapore’s media reliable for information?
It’s a straightforward no. However, many Singaporeans who are well educated still believe the information when the rest of the world takes it with a pinch of salt.
The reporting of the General Election results does cast doubt over the reporting carried out by Singapore mainstream media with regards to the economy, COVID-19 and also social issues.
Singaporeans will have to ask some key questions about the happenings in Singapore:
- Is COVID-19 really well managed? Singapore has yet to have a week of zero cases.
- Is the government doing a good job of “transforming” the economy? A good look at everyone’s office processes will tell.
- Is productivity increasing with WorkFare, SkillsFuture and Productivity Solution Grant? It doesn’t seem to be so.
What can you do?
We think that you can do the following:
- Take Singapore mainstream media with a pinch of salt.
- Read widely or you will have no idea what is really happening.
- Corroborate news by reading the same topic from different news outlets.