World Scientific Publishing Company Breakthrough 2.0: Singaporeans Push For Parliamentary Democracy

Product Description Some six decades of socialisation by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has ingrained in a majority of Singaporeans the instinct that it is not unusual to give up certain personal liberties for the greater good as long as the PAP State ensures the material well-being of Singaporeans. The general election of 2020 (GE2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic, put this social compact between the people and the State to the test. Significant job losses, wage cuts, and an erosion of personal wealth — due to measures to counter the pandemic — cut substantially into the PAP popular vote nationally, and resulted in an unprecedented 10 candidates from the opposition Workers' Party (WP) being elected to Parliament. GE2020 confirmed the trend from GE2011, when the WP first made a breakthrough, that Singaporeans will only accept a party in moderate opposition to the PAP. This narrative differs markedly from conventional wisdom. Breakthrough 2.0 explores the aforementioned phenomena. The book analyses critically the issues surrounding parliamentary elections in Singapore. It also focuses on issues not explored by many other observers, namely voter psychology; election processes; and, party branding. A comparative analysis of election practices and processes in other jurisdictions is also employed to determine where parallels can or cannot be drawn with the situation in Singapore. The author has had direct access to personalities across the political parties. Consequently, he utilises primary sources, supported by evidence, in sketching out backstories to events which exposes certain myths that were prevailing in social media in the months running up to GE2020. About the Author Derek da Cunha, a Singapore national, is an independent scholar. He is the author of Breakthrough: Roadmap for Singapore's Political Future (2012); Singapore Places its Bets: Casinos, Foreign Talent and Remaking a City-state (2010); and, The Price of Victory: The 1997 Singapore General Election and Beyond (1997). He is also the editor of Debating Singapore: Reflective Essays (1994, reprinted 1996); and, Singapore in the New Millennium: Challenges Facing the City-State (2002).Between February 1990 and March 2006 he was on the full-time research staff of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, in Singapore. He left ISEAS with the rank of Senior Fellow. At ISEAS he held multiple responsibilities simultaneously. He was editor, between June 1992 and December 2003, of the journal Contemporary Southeast Asia; editor, between March 1990 and September 1997, of the four-page monthly pullout, Trends, published variously in The Sunday Times (Singapore), The Straits Times, and The Business Times. And, between August 1991 and February 2005, he was Coordinator of ISEAS' Regional Strategic and Political Studies Programme.He has M.Phil. and PhD degrees in the field of International Relations from Cambridge University, and the Australian National University respectively. He was awarded an ISEAS PhD scholarship in 1986.