24 Hour Cooling off period

Today, PM Lee implemented a 24 hour cooling off period to be held after the 9 days of Electoral Campaigning. It means that all media coverage, campaigning, commentary will cease for 24 hours, in order for people to reflect and think rationally about who they wish to vote in as their next government.

On the policy change itself, it's certainly advantageous to the PAP, a party which has always been promoting itself on the merits of rational thought and practical policies. The Opposition on the other hand, would be severely hampered by this cooling off period, as they have had the track record of relying mainly on emotional arguments and sentimental appeal.

In my opinion, this is open to abuse on both sides.


PAP's dirty tricks?
Mr Low Thia Kiang (Member for Hougang) has raised on TODAY (http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC091201-0000098/All-will-be-quiet-on-the-eve-,,) that the Government is likely to use the Mainstream Media to get around the 24 hour cooling off period, given the widespread belief that the PAP controls the newspapers and the airwaves through the SPH. There is of course, widespread support of this view amongst many Singaporeans.

But wait. Didnt Mr Low make this comment about Singapore's MSM on the MSM itself? Doesnt the fact that his view was published show that the MSM MIGHT be fair afterall? I think it's still too early to tell.

Furthermore, if the PAP resorted to such an underhanded trick, our more discerning Singaporeans would be able to detect it and they would vote against the PAP. It doesnt make strategic sense to enforce the allegations by the Opposition made less than 24 hours before.


Opposition/Online cooperation?
Cooperation on the Opposition front seems unlikely. The Online Citizen (www.theonlinecitizen.com) for the longest time, has declared itself an independant perspective, without prejudice for or against any Party. But a cursory glance across their articles and posts indicate otherwise. The vast majority of their posts are highly critical of the PAP and their policies.

What would the result of non-cooperation by the online forums? The PAP of course, has the ability to arrest and shoot all their editors and columnists. But such a drastic measure would almost guarantee an uprising against them, and if they're really as stupid as that, they really do deserve to be voted out the next day!

In my opinion, the Online sites have every ability to ignore these gag orders with impunity. And rightly so. The online community of political activists has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 5-10 years, and they can no longer be ignored or silenced.


Good or bad move?
This latest measure seems to indicate PM Lee's confidence in his policies standing on the right side of rationality. Seems that he's pretty damned convinced that Singaporeans would support his policies on the merit of rationality. But in the face of so much criticism of PAP policies in the past term, can this really be a given?

Furthermore, conservatives (probably including his father) have criticized his string of liberalisation as "giving away" power. If the GRC system worked to the PAP's advantage, why introduce more SMCs? No other country in the world gives away free seats in Parliament "because they want a bigger challenge". If you control the media, why would you encourage Opposition voices to get publicity?

From a purely strategic perspective, none of these measures seem to make sense. But maybe what some pundits say MIGHT be true. That the little Lee is not the same man as the old Lee. In other countries, people complain about a change of Party, but same system of administration. Could we be looking at the same Party, but a change of administration?

Or maybe little Lee is just a little craZEE. ;)