SDP needs to reconsider its electoral weaknesses

In the last few days, SDP Assistant Secretary General, John Tan (the TBT person who treated the court like a circus) attended a forum in Seoul, Korea and "urged the international community to send monitors to Singapore during its next election".

In writing that the SDP are continuing the sale of its party newspapers, SDP highlighted several obstacles that lay in front of it, namely, "fear" of Singaporeans to vote against the PAP, and the "manipulation of the electoral process".

We believe that SDP is suffering from myopia and it needs to reconsider its electoral weaknesses in order for them to be ready for the next General Elections. There is really no point in dwelling at pointless accusations and external factors that the SDP cannot control.

These are our groups' observations and analysis on the SDP's electoral weaknesses.

1. Lack of grassroots appeal
   
   While PAP, WP and SDA members conduct regular walkabouts at their constituencies and their "target constituencies", the SDP just sells newspapers. What SDP needs to do is to do more than just generating income from the sale of its newspapers. SDP should embark on house-to-house surveying and attempt to help locals directly.
   
   
2. Seen to be anti-everything-under-the-sun
   
   SDP is well-known to be against every government policies and everything espoused by the ruling party. We can applaud SDP's effectiveness of transmitting such grievances and complaints. However, this has become a double-edged sword. On the other end, Singaporeans become disillusioned with SDP because SDP becomes a party with no useful outputs other than complaints.
   
   
3. Cannot shed its criminal image
   
   With the numerous libel suits against SDP leaders, Singaporeans would be wary of voting the leaders who brushed with the law. In a society where locals are still not as forgetting and forgiving, SDP leaders might be shooting their feet if they continue to disregard the law.
   
   
4. Unable to differentiate itself from other parties
   
   With the rising popularity of the Reform Party (since the death of JBJ and the coming of JBJ's son), the lines that differentiate SDP from the other parties become blurred. We know SDP claims it fights for democracy and human rights. Reform Party believes in that too. So does SDA and WP. So why vote for SDP?