SINGAPORE POLITICAL PARTIES INTENSIFY CAMPAIGNS BEFORE COOLING PERIOD ON FRIDAY

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

SINGAPORE, May 4 (Bernama) -- Political parties, be it the ruling People's
Action Party (PAP) or those from the opposition, are intensifying campaigns, in
their quest to win the hearts and minds of Singaporean voters.

For this upcoming 14th General Election (GE), there will be a 'cooling-off
day' which falls on Friday, a day before the actual polling on May 7.

Under the law, political parties can no longer carry out their campaign
during the cooling-off period.

Therefore, during the next two days, every candidate, including those from
PAP led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Workers Party (WP), National
Solidarity Party (NSP), Singapore People's Party (SPP), Singapore Democratic
Alliance (SDA) and Reform Party (RP) are working extremely hard to counter each
other's viewpoints.

The GE, this time around, is expected to be very exciting as for the first
time in history, PAP is set to face greater challenges from the opposition.

According to the General Elections Department, one electoral division was
uncontested when nominations for the 27 constituencies closed on Nomination Day
on April 27, where Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was re-elected to Parliament
uncontested.

This GE will see straight fights in Group Representation Constituencies
(GRC) or (Parliamentary seat), except for Tanjong Pagar GRC, which PAP won
uncontested.

It is also interesting to note that Singapore's opposition parties have
attracted qualified candidates for the coming GE, some of whose credentials were
similar to those of the ruling party's candidates.

Lee, who became prime minister in 2004, will again lead PAP into battle for
the second time, the first being in 2006. He noted that stronger opposition
would crystallise the issues and what was at stake in the polls.

Therefore, it was good for PAP to be contested strongly, he said.

In 2006, PAP, the ruling party since 1959, won 66.6 per cent of the votes
and 82 out of 84 parliamentary seats.

According to political observers, this is due partly to the island state’s
huge economic success.

They said the city-state was one of the world’s most prosperous countries,
despite a lack of natural resources.

Under the current administration, Singapore has a highly developed and
successful free-market economy.

It enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices,
and a per capita GDP of US$57,200, a figure higher than that of most developed
countries.

For the corporate community, according to a note by Nomura Equity Research,
it said from the stock market’s perspective, "the market is expecting the ruling
PAP to maintain its dominance in Parliament."

According to an observer, Malaysian Investors's Association president Dr P.
H. Lim, Singapore has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical
technology production and will continue efforts to establish itself as Southeast
Asia's financial and high-tech hub.

"As a Malaysian and investor, I would like to see our neighbour peaceful,
rich and effluent as the Singapore’s economy and its social structures are very
much intertwined with that of Malaysia.

"It is now up to the voters to think carefully who they vote for," he said.

Lim agreed with the Singapore prime minister's call on the young voters "to
think about what each party could offer, which one could serve the best and
whose plans would ensure a brighter future."