Online poll: 95 percent of respondents will vote for Nicole Seah over Tin Pei Ling

In an online poll conducted by Singapore election 2011 blog, 95 percent of some 1,400 respondents cast their vote for 24 year old Nicole Seah from NSP over 27 year old Tin Pei Ling from PAP.

The contrasting reception for the duo’s first foray into politics cannot be more different. While Ms Seah’s candidacy was welcomed warmly by most netizens, Ms Tin has been flamed mercilessly for being ‘immature’ and ‘inexperienced’ for the past few weeks.

Ms Tin was probably fielded by the PAP in the coming election to woo the Generation Y of voters, but its plan has backfired dramatically given the subsequent controversies generated.

Singaporeans are peeved off with the prospect of a ‘lightweight’ candidate entering parliament on the coat-tails of a heavyweight minister. Ms Tin will be fielded in Marine Parade GRC helmed by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

PAP MPs are the highest paid in the world. They are paid $14,000 monthly for what is essentially a part-time job. Most of them don’t attend parliamentary sessions or attend to their residents’ needs at the weekly Meet-the-People sessions, delegating them instead to their grassroots leaders.

One PAP MP doesn’t even know the buses running in his constituency as he wrote a letter on behalf of a resident appealing against the re-routing of a bus service to the wrong bus company. (read more here)

Though Marine Parade GRC is supposedly a PAP stronghold, a freak result cannot be ruled out given the prevailing public sentiments against the PAP and the youth votes which are likely to swing to Ms Seah.

In the recent Sarawak state election, 75 year old Tan Sri George Tan, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak for more than twenty years, lost by more than 1,500 votes to a 28 year old rookie from the opposition.

It will be an interesting contest between the two ‘Mei Meis’ in Marine Parade GRC where SM Goh is likely to face the toughest electoral contest in his political career.