The Bukit Batok by-election was Dr Chee Soon Juan’s to lose, and this pre-election survey done by Blackbox Research shows that the PAP and its “unknown” candidate Murali Pillai were both more highly regarded than the SDP and its leader, Dr Chee Soon Juan.
Blackbox Research’s prediction of a 64.4 percent win for the PAP in Bukit Batok was fairly acurate.
It was 3.2 percent off the mark.
The data collected shows that many who voted for the SDP did so because they felt the opposition needed a bigger voice in parliament, and they liked Dr Chee.
Dr Chee also had more pulling power for SDP voters, than Mr Murali had with PAP voters/
On the white end, many preferred the PAP because they trusted the party more.
The survey was conducted between 30 April to 3 May, before the mudslinging had begun.
But even then, it appears that Mr Murali was already ahead of Dr Chee in the opinion polls.
Blackbox Research did add that “Polling results showed that Dr Chee was successful in pushing up the Opposition vote” and that the SDP would likely have benefited from a longer campaign period.
One of the key issues in the by-election was the matter of proposed upgrading works.
And the data shows that younger voters were more worried that such upgrading wouldn’t take place if the PAP didn’t win, compared to their older counterparts.
