Publication: The Straits Times, p B14 Date: 28 April 2011 Headline: GE 201 1 ; PAP: 'A major upgrade'

PAP: 'A major upgrade' Operating system:

5 The People's Action Par- ty (PAP) was inaugurat -

: ed in 1954 at Victoria Me- 7 , morial Hall, with its - IM + members turning up in

short sleeves to show soli- darity with workers. Its founders includ- ed a group of overseas - educated young men - Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who was the party's first secretary -general and Singa- pore's first prime minister; Dr Toh Chin Chye, the party's first chairman; Mr S. Ra- jaratnam and a group of leftists. Its goal: to rid Singapore of British colonialism and build a more fair and equal society.

t G version: ~ t s electoral foray in 1955 at the first Legislative Assembly election was against the Singapore Labour Front and six other parties. Out of 25 seats, La- bour Front won 10 seats, and the PAP three.

After four years in opposition, the PAP swept to power in 1959, winning 43 out of 51 seats, in the first fully elected, post -colonial government. By 1966, it waved goodbye to any opposition in Par- liament, when the biggest opposition par - ty Barisan Sosialis boycotted Parliament in favour of street demonstrations and strikes. The PAP then dominated Parlia- ment, holding all seats from 1968 to 1980.

Since 1981, it has never lost its over- whelming majority position. It em- barked on systematic self-renewal, drawing first on the less educated with strong grassroots experience and workers who rose through rank and file, to technocrats and academ- ics in the 1970s, and civil servants and Singapore Armed Forces offi- cers in the 1980s ,and 1990s, to re- flect the evolving demographics.

3 6 version: The 1991 Gener - a1 Election, based on its manifes-

to The Next Lap, saw its second genera- tion of political leaders, such as Mr Goh Chok Tong, taking on a bigger role and pledging a more open, consultative style of leadership. Unfortunately, that year saw its popular vote dip to about 61 per cent, and an unprecedented four seats lost to the opposition, in Mr Goh's first general election as Prime Minister.

But the party worked hard to regain lost ground with its "local election strate- gy", promising Housing Board upgrading to constituencies which voted for it, and regained a respectable 65 per cent of votes in 1997.

In 2001, it raised the stakes by induct- ing the "Super Seven", seven rookie MPs with ministerial potential - Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Mr Raymond Lim, Dr Viv- ian Balakrishnan, Mr Cedric Foo and the late Dr Balaji Sadasivan - five of whom went on to become full ministers. The polls, held in the uncertain aftermath of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, yielded it a resounding 75 per cent of votes.

In 2006, in an effort to rejuvenate its ranks, more than half of its new candi- dates were from the "post-65 genera- tion". It picked up 66.6 per cent of votes.

Market response: of late, criti- cisms about the "more of the same" pre- dictability of its slate - typically consist - ing of labour unionists, civil servants and army officers - have got louder. Analysts say the PAP runs the "risk of inbreeding" by focusing on such a narrow pool of pub- lic sector talent,

A recent Straits Times survey on the young aged between 21 and 34, who will form over a quarter of the electorate this year, also shows that unlike their parents, they are less attached to the ruling party and have a more favourable impression of opposition parties.

Enhancements: since the last elec- tions, the PAP has leapt onto new media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach out to the young. Its

women's wing and youth wing have rolled out more activities from policy dia- logues to study trips, even organising activities at hip nightspots like Zouk.

Spreadsheet: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says half of the PAP'S new candidates for this General Election can be "more than backbenchers". At least five new candidates have been shortlisted as potential ministers: Major - General (NS) Chan Chun Sing, 42, who was unop- posed in Tanjong Pagar GRC; Briga- dier -General (NS) Tan Chuan- Jin, 42, who is running in Marine Parade GRC; labour movement assistant secretary-gen- era1 Ong Ye Kung, 41, in Aljunied GRC; former Monetary Authority of singapore managing director Heng Swee Keat, 49, in Tampines GRC; and former Energy Market Authority head Lawrence Wong, 38, in West Coast GRC.

What Users Say: The PAP has made fourth-generation (or 4G) leadership renewal the central plank of this election, in its bid to shake off its austere image and remain relevant to the young, say ana- lysts. Singapore Management University law lecturer Eugene Tan noted: "In a sense, it is a major upgrade in that the ac- cent on young Singaporeans aged 21 to 35 has taken on much greater prominence since the last GE in 2006."

The PAP has also tried to re-empha- sise and refresh its solidarity with the average Singaporean worker, as manifest - ed in its bumper crop of seven trade un- ionists as new PAP candidates, he added.

"However, many of them have spent more time at the NTUC headquarters and so may not have strong grassroots experi- ence like those of past generations.

"Overall, the party needs to maintain its broad-based appeal and to continually update its image," said Assistant Profes- sor Tan. "Being the dominant political party can present the party with a forbid- ding image. So it has to soften its no-non- sense image.''

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