It is impossible to record everything that was said over 4 hours in just one article; I can only mention the highlights, and even then, I cannot vouch that what I have selected as highlights represent the most important points that the speakers intended.

Da Cunha analysed the performance and prospects of the various parties that contested in the recent general election.

The People's Action Party's performance, in his view, was "relatively lacklustre" while he noted that some observers described the 24 new PAP candidates as "run of the mill". One might conclude that "some of the best and brightest Singaporeans would rather either not join the PAP or simply stay out of politics altogether."

"During the nine-day election campaign itself, it was not clear at time whether senior members of the PAP were singing from the same hymn sheet", he said.

Overall, one trend that emerged was that the party could no longer assume that "the right or correct impressions are conveyed of itself".

The Singapore Democratic Party, he noted, laid the blame squarely on the media for what it has called a "vicious" campaign, and to what it called the "undemocratic" nature of the electoral process and system. The widespread perception of the SDP was that "of a party without a coherent electoral strategy and practising a brand of politics that emphasizes confrontation and opportunism."

He predicted that the SDP's political agenda would move towards civil disobedience, but "Singaporeans", he said, "might wonder what relevance this concept has for Singapore."

The Singapore Democratic Alliance's future appeared to be precarious, da Cunha felt. Although Chiam See Tong, the longest serving MP was widely admired and respected, "SDA needs to renew its ranks with fresh blood just to maintain its current slice of the popular vote."

The Workers' Party demonstrated how single personalities (Sylvia Lim) "playing a constructive role, whose message is then carried by a sympathetic media, can make a difference to a party's political fortunes."

To sustain momentum, however, it should engage in a "major membership drive as its first order of priority", for it requires a critical mass of several thousand members for a visible ground presence.

"The palpable enthusiasm shown -- at rallies in GE 2006 and in cyberspace" gives the party its best opportunity for the future.

Cunha recommended that the Workers' Party should have several 'A' teams and should contest in as many constituencies as it can. Focussing on one hotly contested Group Representation Constituency "has often meant that voters in other constituencies, who might be inclined to vote for he opposition, refrain from doing so because of the belief that their desire for a greater opposition parliamentary presence would be delivered via that one hotly contested GRC."

Naturally, he conceded, this was easier said than done. Even if, due to the uniformity of GRCs' voter profiles, no GRC falls, "a uniform drop of the PAP's popular vote to under 60% across several GRCs" would not be something the ruling party could ignore.

The party saw "a certain rationality and appeal to higher sensibilities" in voters in the recent election. Despite the PAP trying to campaign on local issues, Aljunied constituency voters were generally not turned on. In fact, voters eschewed local issues, remarking to the WP's candidates, "Where else can we hold the government to account on national policies?"

Thus, the Worker's Party make "no apologies for engaging the national agenda" during this election.

Other points that Lim made were that with more than half the voters able to vote this time, there was an increased dynamism in politics. As for the fear factor, in her view, moving forward, this would diminish.

Information Minister Lee Boon Yang's recent statement that further liberalisation of internet rules for elections can be expected, was a "significant victory", Lim said.

Their main lesson from this election was that for the voters, it was not the party, but the incumbent, the person serving them, that mattered most. He described Chiam See Tong as being very sensitive to his constituents needs.

"He's like a fish", Yeo said. "When other fish turn left, he follows them, when they turn right, he follows them too."

At the national level, "the present generation of voters want to know what the government can do for them." The old compact between government and the people was changing.

As for the Singapore Democratic Alliance, Yeo admitted that it had been slow in its renewal process, and they were now "looking into it". Possibly, by the next general election, the SDA would be "a single party, not a coalition".

In Chee's view, the PAP's dominance was "not a coincidence", but a carefully planned result from measures designed to thwart opposition parties. A pertinent question, she said, was this: "Are opposition parties really in control of what happens in the future?"

She criticised the severe political controls in place. How could Singaporeans feel they had a stake in the country "when we cannot even come together freely?"

Chee outlined the need for reforms, particularly, 

• Electoral reform – "it is important to challenge current practices; cannot continue to play within the limits"; 
• Media reform – she gave examples of how the SDP got the worst press; 
• Political and civil reform – "nowhere else will we find a citizenry as controlled and docile as ours."

Referring to the legal actions in progress, Chee told the audience, regardless of what happens to the party as a result, "it's just an entity". It's the people that must struggle for change, she added.

Among the many points she made were these:

• Bread and butter issue mattered much more than local politics; 
• All political parties had to pay attention to the ground; 
• People must feel that their lives have improved; 
• Credible candidates made a difference; 
• Ethnic minorities matter; 
• Credible messages and policy positions were needed.

She also mentioned the unique relationship between the PAP and the people and touched on the importance of living up to that trust.

At the same time, Rajah acknowledged that the PAP had to do something about the perception of arrogance, and "a perception of disconnect in some cases."

There was also the "David and Goliath thing", but "if we as a party are confident in ourselves, we can afford a lighter touch."

She reiterated that as a government, we "also need to see how to deal with the cyberspace community" promptly clarifying that by "deal", she meant "understand, hear, engage."

L-R: Derek da Cunha, Indranee Rajah, Gillian Koh (chair), Sylvia Lim, Vincent Yeo and Chee Siok Chin

Younger voters were not as loyal to the PAP as older voters, as there was a "lack of collective experience". Thus, they were "less willing to place the same kind of faith as their parents" in the ruling party.

He discussed a new Paper poll of 1000 voters, conducted post-election. According to this newspaper, 55% of post-1965 voters voted for the PAP while 45% voted opposition.

Chong said the younger voters had "more powerful ideological beliefs" on such matters as political ethics and social justice. Political fairness and political latitude were also of concern to many younger voters. Hence the ruling party would have to move from hardheaded legalistic approaches to a softer approach to woo younger voters.

This was obvious from the Gomez affair. "Many people felt it was handled in a hardball manner."

As of the opposition parties, they had a chance to tap into youthful idealism.

Tan began by going through a number of definitions. Notably, he pointed out that his definition of citizen journalism included

• Independent online publications with amateurs doing original reporting 
  
• When citizens contribute photos, video and news to mainstream outlets 
  
• When blogger adds personal commentary that relies on original research

But did not include mere commentary or opinion, "holding forth".

He felt that citizen journalism was appearing now since there was space unfilled by traditional media that was all pro-government. In addition, for this general election, there was a greater clarity as to the regulatory boundaries, even though the laws themselves had not changed.

Trawling through the internet, he found blogs or sites that captured raw information (video, transcripts), that gave research and secondary reporting; a few gave first hand reporting too. But none did any investigative reporting or whistleblowing.

Despite spikes in traffic to election news sites, Tan showed how traffic to entertainment-type sites, such as xiaxue.com and the "bak chor mee" podcast made by Mr Brown and Mr Miyagi, two well-known bloggers, were still greater than election news.

As for impact, Tan posed the questions: Does the elections activity on the internet "reach out to new people", or serve those already online? "Does it broaden political culture?"

L: Cherian George (chair), R: Tan Tarn How (speaking)

He pointed out that a study after the 2004 US election found that "internet activity did not really invite people who were not interested in the first place, to become more engaged."

In the Singapore case, his conclusions were that for this general election, it was still disappointing. Real, substantive issues were not much discussed, and there was a lack of engagement. Was that due to apathy or control, he wondered?

© Yawning Bread