TODAY: Did you get the numbers right?

Afterthoughts and comments by Netizens about the election

WITH the dust still settling from Saturday’s polls, check out the post-election quips from our bloggers.

On the still-brewing James Gomez saga, blogger “beconfused” (beconfused.com) wondered whether it would be the end of the Workers’ Party member’s career.

“If the PAP are aggressive enough, perhaps it may just be the end of politics for James Gomez. In Singapore, to survive in politics, you will need a squeaky clean image. You wear white,” he said.

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Technorati Tags: elections, prisongotnobroadband, singapore, singaporeelections, TODAY

Incidentally, the term “James Gomez” made it to the top ten of technorati.com — the search engine for the blogosphere.
The petition has garnered more than 1,200 signatures since Monday (though it’s possible for someone to sign more than once).
After mulling over the close result in Aljunied, blogger “Hairy Donut” (smootie.blogspot.com) wondered: “Is it a crime to fill up a form unnecessarily, or to forget to submit the form after filling it up?

“I believe that Dante did allude to the 10th circle of hell, which must be a special place reserved for people who don’t submit their forms and that was such a terrible thing that Dante couldn’t bring himself to mention it.”

To this, Australian expatriate “Expat@Large” (expat-at-large.com) quipped: “Dante did write that chapter, but he forgot to submit it to his publisher.”

Smart quips aside, several bloggers had tried predicting the election results, and this led blogger “Elia Diodati” (diodati.omniscientx.com) to analyse the accuracy of the bloggers’ predictions, because “everyone in Singapore loves rankings”.
While revealing that the final count in Chua Chu Kang, Jalan Besar and Aljunied constituencies were the “most accurately predicted wards”, he explained in detail his methodology:

“I worked out the average number of voters of a ward (75,809) and then computed the fractional rms deviation by dividing D by 75,809. Subtracting the fraction from one and converting it into a percentage finally gives the quantity I called the accuracy.”

I know. I have a headache too.

Of the blogs “Elia” listed, SG Elections 06 (www.djourne.net/sgelection06) was the most accurate, listing its predictions alongside actual results, although it shied away from calling the result for Potong Pasir.

Blogger “Tym” (toomanythoughts.org/blog) was satisfied with the election results, especially with the Workers’ Party’s 44 per cent showing in Aljunied GRC, “even though they hadn’t contested that constituency before and were going up against a People’s Action Party team that included a Cabinet minister, a mayor, a minister for state and two not entirely low-profile Members of Parliament”.
But what was the impact of blogs and forums on the elections?

Little, thought veteran journalist Cherian George (singaporemedia.blogspot.com).

“So, what difference did blogs make? There was little if anything that was ‘exclusive’ to the blogs. Nothing approaching investigative journalism,” he wrote.

Still, blogger “Votre Coeur” (simpleus.blogspot.com) felt that blogs opened a new perspective, “though these fresh perspectives may not be any better or worse than the one by the local media; the reader will have to read both sides of the story and decide for themselves”. Blogger “Mr Cellophane” (cheewing.blogspot.com) was also of the impression that blog and forum activity during the hustings showed that Singaporeans were far from politically apathetic.

“Before the elections, I would assume that most people would think that Singaporeans were not interested in politics and no one really cared about who are the people in white. I was so wrong just by reading stuff on the Internet and attending the rally. No matter what party each person supports, it is truly encouraging to read people being interested in politics and wanting to contribute to society,” he said.

“Mr Cellophane” was also happy that some incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) were returned to Parliament.

“I was glad that people such as Ong Ah Heng and Seng Han Thong were returned to Government. I can safely say these are the people who can really connect to the ground. We need more of these people, who can understand the suffering of the man in the street,” he added.

To some, the elections have had a positive effect on the blogosphere, despite what some perceived as a clampdown announced shortly before the polls.

“But there is really hope. I really believe it. I see so many blogs with entries on politics in this GE, speaking with so much conviction, so much eloquence; drawing with so much effort, so much thought; flickering with so much passion, so much precision,” wrote blogger “Xenoboy” (xenoboysg.blogspot.com).

What other revelations are there for bloggers in this “watershed” elections? Blogger and PAP campaign volunteer “Ephraim Loy” (ephraim.blogspot.com), who was “outstanding in a sea of white” for wearing his black T-shirt and jeans when the results were announced, learned something about the lorries used for campaigning.

“I used to think that the voices in lorries rallying for support were done ‘live’. How naive I was then. Now I know, it is all pre-recorded.”

Mr Miyagi aka Benjamin Lee has been entertaining readers at miyagi.sg for over two years, and was one of the few kids able to convince his parents that 67 per cent for his Chinese examinations was a good result.

BOXED:

Votre Coeur: “I’m sure the PAP will do
even better for Singapore by learning a
trick or two from the opposition party
and a bit of healthy competition won’t
hurt.”