What if Tin Pei Ling and Chen Show Mao swapped places?

[satan_gal]

I kinda agree with this little article in ST today

What if Tin Pei Ling and Chen Show Mao swapped places?
*Singapore*|*Updated today at 06:10 AM
By Ng Tze Yong

I'VE spent a good part of the past two weeks keeping a finger on the pulse of the online community in the buildup to the General Election.

Two personalities - Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Chen Show Mao - have dominated online discussions, so much so that the antagonism towards one seems to be fuelling admiration for the other.

But I thought we'd do something different here for a change. Neither lambast or praise, but have a little fun with a thought experiment.

I was thinking: What if we made them swap places?

What if, in an alternate universe, Mr Chen showed up in PAP white and Ms Tin in WP blue? Would their political fortunes differ?

For a start, I can imagine Mr Chen in a crisp white shirt, lightning bolt perched above the left breast pocket. He'll look quite radiant.

But it would also be all too easy to anticipate the brickbats thrown his way.

The man studied at Oxford, Harvard and Stanford, spent decades abroad as a top lawyer and - wait, this is the best part - even speaks like a Chinese foreign worker!

Temasek Review would have a field day. Few would consider it a big deal he served his NS or now wants to move back to Singapore.

The same reversal of fortunes awaits Ms Tin, I would think.

With the help of a little marketing, she could conceivably come across to opposition supporters as a breath of fresh air - enthusiastic, spontaneous and focused. A young lady with guts and kawaii looks to match.

That remark about taking her parents to Universal Studios? Some would find it endearing. Try and imagine a straight-laced PAP MP saying that!

We can easily extend this thought experiment to others.

For example, what would sharp-tongued netizens have to say about the ailing Chiam See Tong, if he wore white-on-white?

And the accolades that would rain down on Brigadier-General Tan Chuan-Jin, if he had traded green for blue, not white?

The plausibility of these scenarios is not the point here. Remember, this is a thought experiment.

What it goes to show is that all credentials being equal, the support that a candidate gets can be overly dependent on the party he or she stands for. It paints a picture of what it's like to support a political party like a football club, with loyalty and passion getting in the way.

Certainly, a thought experiment like this can be a simplistic way of looking at things.

Firstly, the party which a candidate chooses to stand for does matter a whole lot, especially in a government dominated by one party.

Secondly, elections aren't always about individual candidates but the bigger picture, such as a party's policies and the balance of power.

Still, it's just as important to realise that voting along party lines is the first step on the road to partisan politics, when critical thinking gets traded for blind loyalty, bickering and gridlock.

For if and when the day comes that the opposition captures a substantial share of seats in Parliament, partisan voting will no longer simply be a way of rooting for the underdog.

It will become an impediment to a functioning democracy.

[BubbleBubble]

Propaganda.

Maybe they are spies for each camp ?

[Dave57]

Originally Posted by satan_gal

Two personalities - Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Chen Show Mao - have dominated online discussions, so much so that the antagonism towards one seems to be fuelling admiration for the other.
.....

The man studied at Oxford, Harvard and Stanford, spent decades abroad as a top lawyer and - wait, this is the best part - even speaks like a Chinese foreign worker!
....

For example, what would sharp-tongued netizens have to say about the ailing Chiam See Tong, if he wore white-on-white?
...

For if and when the day comes that the opposition captures a substantial share of seats in Parliament, partisan voting will no longer simply be a way of rooting for the underdog.
...

very biased article...

- Chen Show Mao deserved all the support based on his own merit, his achievements. nothing to do with antagonism to that xiao mei mei.

- Opposition no good, speaks with AT accent, old and ailing... white on white, best...

- If and when the day comes.... sounds like its not coming?

blatant 3 leg-ing under the guise of a "thought experiment"...

Originally Posted by satan_gal

I kinda agree with this little article in ST today

Quote from PM Lee

"Do you believe everything you read in the Straits Times?"

[globalcookie]

If they swap places, guess how e PAP will speak of Tin Tin? Lion's Den!

[FireSpitter]

Originally Posted by globalcookie

If they swap places, guess how e PAP will speak of Tin Tin? Lion's Den!

Agreed. Past elections have shown us that they rip the opposition apart and discredit them before the elections even begin when they spot something worth mentioning about. This action iself made me lost respect for our ruling party.

[satan_gal]

Originally Posted by LoNgFei

Quote from PM Lee

"Do you believe everything you read in the Straits Times?"

Nope, never.

But I agree it would end up with people trashing everyone in pap,and showing support for opp.

[BubbleBubble]

Only if they can read between the lines.

[Rabbit]

so end of the day it is not wat PAP has claimed, to vote according to merit of the candidate.

we just wan our voice to be heard in the parliament. PAP are distracting us by focusing on constituency when we should focus on Singapore as a state/country/city (or watever u call it these days) on the whole.

now they are distracting us by focusing on the candidates.

I mean u can train a parrot to say "lets move on" when they let a terrorist escape.