2011 General Election: Difference between revisions

In the first pre-election forum of this nature in Singapore since the 1988 General Election, [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/Channel_NewsAsia Channel NewsAsia] invited the main parties to record an hour-long programme.  The programme, in English entitled, “A political forum on Singapore’s future” brought together the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and four opposition parties to discuss long and short-term challenges for the country. <ref>{{cite web | title=MediaCorp presents a political forum on Singapore's future | website=Mediacorp website | url=http://www.mediacorp.sg/en/media/EDC110330-0000661/MediaCorp%20presents%20a%20political%20forum | accessdate=3 April 2011 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406044926/http://www.mediacorp.sg/en/media/EDC110330-0000661/MediaCorp%20presents%20a%20political%20forum | archivedate=6 April 2011 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> The forum included:

This incident was cited in an article published in [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Economist The Economist] criticising the ruling party's election strategy<ref name="economist">{{cite news|title=Low expectations|url=http://www.economist.com/node/18681827?story_id=18681827&fsrc=rss|accessdate=12 May 2011|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=12 May 2011}}</ref> [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_New_Paper The New Paper] released a story next day, with the headline: Is Singapore ready for a GAY MP?"<ref>{{cite news|last=Sim Bryna|first=Melvin Singh|title=Is Singapore ready for a GAY MP?|url=http://www.tnp.sg/content/spore-ready-gay-mp|accessdate=26 April 2011|newspaper=[[The New Paper]]|date=16 May 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428141427/http://www.tnp.sg/content/spore-ready-gay-mp|archivedate=28 April 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>  [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kenneth_Jeyaretnam Kenneth Jeyaretnam] of the [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/Reform_Party_(Singapore) Reform Party] called Balakrishnan's campaign a "low attack." <ref name="accusation" />

The election saw a heavier use of social and online media compared to [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/2006_Singapore_general_election 2006 Singapore general election], especially to evade [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/Censorship_in_Singapore censorship in Singapore]. It is widely perceived by the populace that the major state-run newspapers and broadcasters "align[ed] itself with the party's ideals and decisions" and that the electoral system was tilted against the Opposition.<ref name="economist2">{{cite news|title=Low expectations|url=http://www.economist.com/node/18681827?story_id=18681827&fsrc=rss|accessdate=12 May 2011|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=12 May 2011}}</ref> It had been difficult to create alternative media until the rise of sites such as [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Online_Citizen The Online Citizen] and such internet tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs, which saw increased significance in the 2006 elections but became especially prominent in the 2011 elections. <ref name="CNNGoFang">{{cite news|last=Fang|first=Charlene|title=Why this Singapore General Election is important|url=http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/life/tell-me-about-it/charlene-fang-why-singapore-general-election-important-447421|accessdate=7 August 2011|newspaper=CNNGo|date=7 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809195526/http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/life/tell-me-about-it/charlene-fang-why-singapore-general-election-important-447421|archive-date=9 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/The_Economist The Economist], the PAP's aggressive modernisation of Singapore created "one of the world's most wired societies," leading to new media that "transformed" the electoral scene in Singapore. Characterising the state-run mainstream press as "docile", the Economist also argued that this also forced significantly more news coverage of the Opposition than in previous elections, since the mainstream media feared their readership deserting them.<ref name="economist2" /> One blogger from [https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/CNN CNN] wrote, "Thanks to social media, it doesn’t matter that the country’s largely state-run media leans towards reporting the actions of the PAP, no one’s reading anyway.".<ref name="CNNGoFang" /> The Economist however was more cynical in its analysis of the election: "in Singapore, winning 7% of parliamentary seats is tantamount to an opposition triumph".<ref name="economist2" />