Final Four

So it all comes down to this. You can almost hear the last refrains of Europe's mega hit 'The Final Countdown' resonating at Punggol East, just before the results are named for the champion of another huge by-election. It's a four-cornered fight this time, with the PAP's Koh Poh Koon and WP's Lee Li Lian the two main favourites, and SDA's Desmond Lim and RP's Kenneth Jeyaratnam both outsiders.

Much as I support the PAP, I got a feeling WP is gonna win. The ground is not yet sweet enough for the PAP to make a comeback after the last General Election and WP's Hougang by-election win. Koh Poh Koon looks like a boring guy, and a tad too serious. Lee Li Lian, on the other hand, looks fresh-faced and bubbly. Her simple yet effective refrain of "I will serve you whole-heartedly" also seems likely to resonate with the Punggol East faithful.

I'm quite worried that Desmond Lim will again lose his S$16,000 deposit; that will make him S$32,000 poorer after his previous election fiasco. For Kenneth Jeyaratnam, I think he has a chance of not losing his deposit, but other than that, is unlikely to make much of an impact. Some analysts are saying that the four-cornered fight will split the opposition votes, making it difficult for WP to win, but I don't think it's gonna make much difference this time around; meaning it won't split enough to deny a WP victory.

If the well-known and popular Michael Palmer could only win 54.5% of the previous election, it's quite certain that the unknown and less-charismatic Koh Poh Koon would win less. And if Lee Li Lian could win 41% the last time around, WP's (and her) stock has certainly risen since that time and she should definitely win more than that. So maybe it's not rocket science that WP will triumph this time.

 

And if WP does win, it will send quantum shocks through the PAP machinery; they'll know that danger alerts are for real this time. They are presently, I think, doing a fine job of righting the wrongs from the last GE.