What's changed after GE 2011?

By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 5 May 2012

It is nearly one year since the 2011 General Election, and many have said they noticed change in government-people engagement and politics.

Much has been written about why the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) lost support in the last General Election.

These include a change in demographics, the impact and access of new media, as well as a better educated and more demanding populace.

Post-election, PAP promised to transform itself, to refocus efforts on winning back support and engaging better with the public.

New Members of Parliament (MPs) have taken their own route at a very local level -- with regular dialogues, house visits, and much effort put into direct engagement with residents.

At a macro level, there is acknowledgement that more effort is needed to explain government policies.

Since getting elected, Acting Minister for Community Development Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing has been holding monthly sessions with residents, at the Buona Vista CC.

"If I may use an analogy from eating a pizza, recently you find a new generation of pizza shops that's quite interesting," Mr Chan said.

"You go in there, you want to try out different things, you tell the chefs, they can prepare it differently for you.

"Sometimes you can even be involved in the making of the pizza and at the end of the day, you eat what you have [put together] yourself.

"That probably reflects the way which our society is evolving. I think people are not just happy to have solutions, even if they are good solutions presented to them, they want to know how this solution is developed, what were the considerations behind the development of this solution."

That change has also affected the opposition.

In Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), the opposition Workers' Party (WP) has been putting in effort to build its grassroots network, even as PAP activists strategise and renew efforts to win over residents.

WP chairman and MP for Aljunied GRC Sylvia Lim said: "People are more open about their links with parties such as ours. [They are] happy to be linked to Worker's Party and to come forward to help us in various ways, sometimes, even to talk about their votes for opposition party.

"In that sense, the climate is more open now and it is probably easier for opposition parties to get more manpower and help."

Ms Lim said she feels the party has managed Aljunied "reasonably well", as it focused the first six months on getting what she called "its municipal politics right".

Visibility is important, with her fellow MPs making it a point to have constant contact with residents.

At the national level, several policy changes have helped to ease some of the concerns raised during the General Election - from the ministerial pay review and government funding of new buses to crowding on public transport and influx of foreigners.

Institute of Policy Studies deputy director Arun Mahizhnan said: "Definitely, the government will be responding to the electoral outcome and what they perceive to be the major grievances.

"But some people may think that this is so different from the past. I don't share the view, I don't see this as a paradigm shift. I see this as greater emphasis on certain areas than before.

"That's because the problems are greater, the grievances are more intense, more acute, but this government has mostly been responsive to major complaints most of the time.

What is clear post-GE 2011 is that both politicians and the people will continue to navigate this new terrain of engagement.