21-04-2011, 07:03 AM
Am I eager to vote for the first time in my life? You bet I am! (And I am 35 gosh!) 
Apr 16, 2011
Feeling the pulse of the post-75 generation
Here comes the generation of voters born after 1975 - better-educated, more media-savvy, more exposed to the world. What are the factors that will influence their voting decisions? What issues concern them? How do they relate to the PAP and the opposition parties? The Straits Times commissioned a survey to gauge their political consciousness. Here's the report.
By Rachel Chang
ENGINEER Mohamad Fadzil, 31, wants to have another child.
His first, with his teacher wife, is turning three this year. But the rising cost of living has put a brake on their plans to expand their family.
'Basic necessities for babies are not that cheap,' he says.
A few months ago, the family, who lives in a five-room flat in Punggol, tried to cut down on water and electricity usage.
However, the rising electricity tariff triggered by the high price of oil worldwide delivered a bill that amounted to about the same.
He wishes the Government's handouts in the Budget could have been based on household income rather than on housing type, as he says his family received less than friends who earn more but live in three- or four-room flats.
After the cost of living, the issue which troubles him is the security of his job.
He notes that his aviation employer now hires a workforce that is 75 per cent foreign.
'If they continue to bring in so many foreigners,' he says, 'the younger generation will have difficulty finding work.'
Mr Fadzil's concerns are mirrored among the 402 young Singaporeans, aged 21 to 34, polled by The Straits Times in a recent survey.
They represent the post-1975 generation or Generation Y, many of whom will be voting for the first time in the coming polls.
As the survey charts (see graphics) show, bread-and-butter issues predominate.
Some 45.5 per cent of respondents say that cost of living is of the most concern to them, 23.9 per cent say jobs, 6.7 per cent, housing, and 5.7 per cent, education.
When asked to pick the issue of second most concern, cost of living still reigns supreme with 25.4 per cent, followed by 17.2 per cent for jobs, and 13 per cent, housing.
To another question on which factor would influence their vote the most, cost of living is once again No. 1 for 41.3 per cent of the respondents.
Next comes the quality and personality of candidates, with 13.2 per cent, and the party's track record, with 10.2 per cent.
The influx of immigrants and foreigners is fourth, with 5.7 per cent.
That cost of living is the foremost concern among the people in the age group is corroborated by a separate survey of over 1,000 young Singaporeans commissioned by The New Paper last month.
Close to 90 per cent of the respondents said it would be a very important or important factor influencing their vote.
Although the post-75 generation is often thought to hunger for political liberalisation, less than 1 per cent of the respondents in The Straits Times survey marked 'need for stronger opposition' and 'freedom of expression' as issues of most concern to them.
Commenting on the finding, National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser says that one does not preclude the other.
He argues that it is unsurprising that when allowed to pick only one issue of topmost concern from a list, respondents go with the cost of living.
'It is a pretty salient issue at this point in time, and something which we encounter every day at the petrol kiosk, the supermarket, the hawker centre,' he says.
'Perhaps, if the respondents were asked to rate each issue one at a time, we may find that desire for opposition would receive at least a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5.'
It is not difficult to find young Singaporeans whose belief in intangible notions of fair play and alternative viewpoints plays second fiddle to immediate material concerns.
Mr Prem Vasudevan, 23, a lifelong Potong Pasir resident, says that he has decided to vote for the ruling party in the coming polls, his first election.
His desire for an estate facelift - lift upgrading, more community facilities and a cleaner environment - has outweighed his belief in the necessity for opposition in Parliament.
In the survey, when asked which factor would influence their vote the most, 5.5 per cent of the respondents opt for 'upgrading'.
Only 0.75 per cent go for 'desire for an opposition presence'.
'It is not fair that we do not get upgrading because Potong Pasir voted for the opposition,' says Mr Vasudevan, who is a psychology student at the SMa Institute of Higher Learning.
'I have a lot of respect for Mr Chiam,' he adds, referring to opposition veteran Chiam See Tong of the Singapore People's Party (SPP), who has helmed Potong Pasir since 1984.
'But at times, I feel, why my estate? I feel so unlucky. It is time some other estate takes on the responsibility of sending the opposition to Parliament.'
Idealism versus indifference
WHEN 26-year-old Lester Lim was an undergraduate at NUS, he went to the United States in 2008 on a six-month exchange programme at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The stint coincided with the historic election in which Mr Barack Obama became the country's first African-American president.
Although it was a foregone conclusion that the state's electoral votes would go to the Democratic Party (Mr Obama was the state's senator), Mr Lim remembers vividly the seriousness with which young Americans took their ballots.
His roommate, an Italian-American, locked himself in his room on Election Day because he wanted time to think over who he was going to vote for, and why.
Mr Lim recalls his incredulity then: 'I was knocking on the door, saying, are you sure you are going to spend the whole day thinking about this? The answer: 'Yes. It's my civic responsibility.''
'The civic awareness that young Americans have, I don't think Singaporeans realise it yet,' reflects Mr Lim, now working in the financial industry.
His US experience prompted him to start an online newspaper, the Kent Ridge Common, on his return to NUS.
Featuring commentaries on socio- political issues from undergraduates, the site achieved a high of 40,000 hits a month. It is now run by a new team of undergraduates, after he graduated last year.
But Mr Lim does not need to look far for examples of youthful apathy here. His girlfriend, 25-year-old Tan Ying Ling, is perfectly happy with the status quo.
'I think the standard of living in Singapore is pretty decent,' she says, explaining her lack of interest in abstract political notions like 'civic responsibility'.
Post-75 voters like Mr Lim, idealistic and involved, are in the minority; the survey findings expose a group of people for whom politics is mostly an afterthought.
Although seven in 10 say they are keen to vote in the coming elections, only three in 10 would be disappointed if there was a walkover in their constituency.
Despite being better educated and more media-savvy, four in 10 do not know who their MP is, and seven in 10 say they would 'definitely not' enter politics.
Asked which party or politician most strikes a chord with them, the majority or 64.4 per cent say 'none'.
'Apathy and indifference continues to be a marked feature of most Singaporeans, especially the younger generation,' says political watcher Derek da Cunha, noting the mismatch between those who say they would be keen to vote but yet not feel disappointed if there was a walkover in their constituencies.
'Most people are simply not interested in politics in general and very few would lift a finger to help the political process,' he says.
'If they are desirous of change, they would expect others to do the hard work to effect that change.'
This view is reflected in another finding: When asked how often they keep track of local political issues and events, 11.2 per cent say 'never', 31.6 per cent, 'seldom', 42 per cent, 'occasionally'. Only 15.2 per cent say 'often'.
National serviceman Chua Puay Kiat, 21, is typical of those who show no interest in local politics.
The former Institute of Technical Education mechatronics student lives in Radin Mas, a new single-seat constituency. Recently, he met and shook hands with opposition politician Alec Tok, formerly of the Reform Party, at a coffee shop.
But when asked about the highly anticipated contest in the ward, he replies: 'The PAP always wins, all my life, and I am fine with that.'
He is grateful to Mr Sam Tan, the PAP MP looking after Radin Mas, for helping his family get financial assistance to buy a new computer from the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC).
Youth votes up for grabs
WHEN it comes to their attachment to political parties and politicians, ruling or otherwise, the majority of Generation Y respondents draw a blank.
Asked which party's politicians strike a chord with them, 31.6 per cent name PAP politicians, a handful cite opposition politicians Mr Chiam from the SPP, and Mr Low Thia Khiang from the Workers' Party, but 64.4 per cent say 'none'.
To observers, this finding is revealing - those who name PAP fall within the minority.
'Unlike their parents, the post-75 generation is not enamoured of the PAP's '3-to-1' narrative,' argues Singapore Management University assistant professor Eugene Tan.
'This 'Third World to First World within one generation' success story has little traction with young voters who feel that it is the Government's job to keep the good times coming,' he says, noting that an older set of survey respondents would have yielded a bigger percentage citing the PAP.
Even young voters who align themselves with the PAP, like shipping executive Mohamad Faeiz Ramley, 26, make it clear that the ruling party's past successes hold little water with young voters.
The Young PAP activist in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC says that 'every generation has its own battles to fight'.
'I think that every young Singaporean knows what the PAP has done in the past. But the party needs to show that it is the one for us now, to fight our battles, with a forward-looking perspective.'
The wartime metaphor is also invoked by Mr Lim Zi Rui, 26, who is co-head of the Reform Party's youth wing.
He interprets the finding that over 60 per cent of respondents cannot think of a party or politician which strikes a chord with them as bad news for his cause.
'After so many years, no opposition party is able to strike a chord with youngsters. There's still a big battle ahead for the opposition.'
But ironically, of the politicians who do strike a chord with the young respondents, names of the older generation spring to mind.
Of the 30 per cent who cite PAP politicians, a full third (10 per cent of all respondents) refer to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, 87.
Tied for second place, with 3.5 per cent each, are Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 59, and Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, 50, who is the youngest of the top five.
Then comes Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, 69, with 2 per cent, and opposition veteran Chiam See Tong, 76, with 1.5 per cent.
In the coming elections, widely expected to be held by June, post-75 voters will comprise more than one in four of the 2.4 million voters.
Fortunately for the younger generation of politicians, the hearts and minds of a majority of young voters are still up for grabs.
rchang@sph.com.sg
Apr 16, 2011
Feeling the pulse of the post-75 generation
Here comes the generation of voters born after 1975 - better-educated, more media-savvy, more exposed to the world. What are the factors that will influence their voting decisions? What issues concern them? How do they relate to the PAP and the opposition parties? The Straits Times commissioned a survey to gauge their political consciousness. Here's the report.
By Rachel Chang
ENGINEER Mohamad Fadzil, 31, wants to have another child.
His first, with his teacher wife, is turning three this year. But the rising cost of living has put a brake on their plans to expand their family.
'Basic necessities for babies are not that cheap,' he says.
A few months ago, the family, who lives in a five-room flat in Punggol, tried to cut down on water and electricity usage.
However, the rising electricity tariff triggered by the high price of oil worldwide delivered a bill that amounted to about the same.
He wishes the Government's handouts in the Budget could have been based on household income rather than on housing type, as he says his family received less than friends who earn more but live in three- or four-room flats.
After the cost of living, the issue which troubles him is the security of his job.
He notes that his aviation employer now hires a workforce that is 75 per cent foreign.
'If they continue to bring in so many foreigners,' he says, 'the younger generation will have difficulty finding work.'
Mr Fadzil's concerns are mirrored among the 402 young Singaporeans, aged 21 to 34, polled by The Straits Times in a recent survey.
They represent the post-1975 generation or Generation Y, many of whom will be voting for the first time in the coming polls.
As the survey charts (see graphics) show, bread-and-butter issues predominate.
Some 45.5 per cent of respondents say that cost of living is of the most concern to them, 23.9 per cent say jobs, 6.7 per cent, housing, and 5.7 per cent, education.
When asked to pick the issue of second most concern, cost of living still reigns supreme with 25.4 per cent, followed by 17.2 per cent for jobs, and 13 per cent, housing.
To another question on which factor would influence their vote the most, cost of living is once again No. 1 for 41.3 per cent of the respondents.
Next comes the quality and personality of candidates, with 13.2 per cent, and the party's track record, with 10.2 per cent.
The influx of immigrants and foreigners is fourth, with 5.7 per cent.
That cost of living is the foremost concern among the people in the age group is corroborated by a separate survey of over 1,000 young Singaporeans commissioned by The New Paper last month.
Close to 90 per cent of the respondents said it would be a very important or important factor influencing their vote.
Although the post-75 generation is often thought to hunger for political liberalisation, less than 1 per cent of the respondents in The Straits Times survey marked 'need for stronger opposition' and 'freedom of expression' as issues of most concern to them.
Commenting on the finding, National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser says that one does not preclude the other.
He argues that it is unsurprising that when allowed to pick only one issue of topmost concern from a list, respondents go with the cost of living.
'It is a pretty salient issue at this point in time, and something which we encounter every day at the petrol kiosk, the supermarket, the hawker centre,' he says.
'Perhaps, if the respondents were asked to rate each issue one at a time, we may find that desire for opposition would receive at least a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5.'
It is not difficult to find young Singaporeans whose belief in intangible notions of fair play and alternative viewpoints plays second fiddle to immediate material concerns.
Mr Prem Vasudevan, 23, a lifelong Potong Pasir resident, says that he has decided to vote for the ruling party in the coming polls, his first election.
His desire for an estate facelift - lift upgrading, more community facilities and a cleaner environment - has outweighed his belief in the necessity for opposition in Parliament.
In the survey, when asked which factor would influence their vote the most, 5.5 per cent of the respondents opt for 'upgrading'.
Only 0.75 per cent go for 'desire for an opposition presence'.
'It is not fair that we do not get upgrading because Potong Pasir voted for the opposition,' says Mr Vasudevan, who is a psychology student at the SMa Institute of Higher Learning.
'I have a lot of respect for Mr Chiam,' he adds, referring to opposition veteran Chiam See Tong of the Singapore People's Party (SPP), who has helmed Potong Pasir since 1984.
'But at times, I feel, why my estate? I feel so unlucky. It is time some other estate takes on the responsibility of sending the opposition to Parliament.'
Idealism versus indifference
WHEN 26-year-old Lester Lim was an undergraduate at NUS, he went to the United States in 2008 on a six-month exchange programme at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The stint coincided with the historic election in which Mr Barack Obama became the country's first African-American president.
Although it was a foregone conclusion that the state's electoral votes would go to the Democratic Party (Mr Obama was the state's senator), Mr Lim remembers vividly the seriousness with which young Americans took their ballots.
His roommate, an Italian-American, locked himself in his room on Election Day because he wanted time to think over who he was going to vote for, and why.
Mr Lim recalls his incredulity then: 'I was knocking on the door, saying, are you sure you are going to spend the whole day thinking about this? The answer: 'Yes. It's my civic responsibility.''
'The civic awareness that young Americans have, I don't think Singaporeans realise it yet,' reflects Mr Lim, now working in the financial industry.
His US experience prompted him to start an online newspaper, the Kent Ridge Common, on his return to NUS.
Featuring commentaries on socio- political issues from undergraduates, the site achieved a high of 40,000 hits a month. It is now run by a new team of undergraduates, after he graduated last year.
But Mr Lim does not need to look far for examples of youthful apathy here. His girlfriend, 25-year-old Tan Ying Ling, is perfectly happy with the status quo.
'I think the standard of living in Singapore is pretty decent,' she says, explaining her lack of interest in abstract political notions like 'civic responsibility'.
Post-75 voters like Mr Lim, idealistic and involved, are in the minority; the survey findings expose a group of people for whom politics is mostly an afterthought.
Although seven in 10 say they are keen to vote in the coming elections, only three in 10 would be disappointed if there was a walkover in their constituency.
Despite being better educated and more media-savvy, four in 10 do not know who their MP is, and seven in 10 say they would 'definitely not' enter politics.
Asked which party or politician most strikes a chord with them, the majority or 64.4 per cent say 'none'.
'Apathy and indifference continues to be a marked feature of most Singaporeans, especially the younger generation,' says political watcher Derek da Cunha, noting the mismatch between those who say they would be keen to vote but yet not feel disappointed if there was a walkover in their constituencies.
'Most people are simply not interested in politics in general and very few would lift a finger to help the political process,' he says.
'If they are desirous of change, they would expect others to do the hard work to effect that change.'
This view is reflected in another finding: When asked how often they keep track of local political issues and events, 11.2 per cent say 'never', 31.6 per cent, 'seldom', 42 per cent, 'occasionally'. Only 15.2 per cent say 'often'.
National serviceman Chua Puay Kiat, 21, is typical of those who show no interest in local politics.
The former Institute of Technical Education mechatronics student lives in Radin Mas, a new single-seat constituency. Recently, he met and shook hands with opposition politician Alec Tok, formerly of the Reform Party, at a coffee shop.
But when asked about the highly anticipated contest in the ward, he replies: 'The PAP always wins, all my life, and I am fine with that.'
He is grateful to Mr Sam Tan, the PAP MP looking after Radin Mas, for helping his family get financial assistance to buy a new computer from the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC).
Youth votes up for grabs
WHEN it comes to their attachment to political parties and politicians, ruling or otherwise, the majority of Generation Y respondents draw a blank.
Asked which party's politicians strike a chord with them, 31.6 per cent name PAP politicians, a handful cite opposition politicians Mr Chiam from the SPP, and Mr Low Thia Khiang from the Workers' Party, but 64.4 per cent say 'none'.
To observers, this finding is revealing - those who name PAP fall within the minority.
'Unlike their parents, the post-75 generation is not enamoured of the PAP's '3-to-1' narrative,' argues Singapore Management University assistant professor Eugene Tan.
'This 'Third World to First World within one generation' success story has little traction with young voters who feel that it is the Government's job to keep the good times coming,' he says, noting that an older set of survey respondents would have yielded a bigger percentage citing the PAP.
Even young voters who align themselves with the PAP, like shipping executive Mohamad Faeiz Ramley, 26, make it clear that the ruling party's past successes hold little water with young voters.
The Young PAP activist in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC says that 'every generation has its own battles to fight'.
'I think that every young Singaporean knows what the PAP has done in the past. But the party needs to show that it is the one for us now, to fight our battles, with a forward-looking perspective.'
The wartime metaphor is also invoked by Mr Lim Zi Rui, 26, who is co-head of the Reform Party's youth wing.
He interprets the finding that over 60 per cent of respondents cannot think of a party or politician which strikes a chord with them as bad news for his cause.
'After so many years, no opposition party is able to strike a chord with youngsters. There's still a big battle ahead for the opposition.'
But ironically, of the politicians who do strike a chord with the young respondents, names of the older generation spring to mind.
Of the 30 per cent who cite PAP politicians, a full third (10 per cent of all respondents) refer to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, 87.
Tied for second place, with 3.5 per cent each, are Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 59, and Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, 50, who is the youngest of the top five.
Then comes Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, 69, with 2 per cent, and opposition veteran Chiam See Tong, 76, with 1.5 per cent.
In the coming elections, widely expected to be held by June, post-75 voters will comprise more than one in four of the 2.4 million voters.
Fortunately for the younger generation of politicians, the hearts and minds of a majority of young voters are still up for grabs.
rchang@sph.com.sg