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SINGAPORE: At MOE (Evans) Stadium, there was no eruption of cheers. No thunderous applause or victory dance from the supporters of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). Just a quiet sigh, a tightening of the jaw, and a knowing glance shared among campaigners—the kind of silence that follows the extinguishing of a long-held hope.

Dr Paul Tambyah, world-renowned infectious diseases expert and the face of principled opposition in Singapore, lost Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC) with 38% of the vote not to a scandal-ridden incumbent or a dazzling new PAP candidate but to the same political machine that has long kept brilliant individuals like him out of Parliament.

A man who could have been a minister anywhere else

Dr Paul isn’t just a good candidate. He presided over the International Society for Infectious Diseases during a global pandemic. He’s trained generations of doctors, spoken at forums worldwide, and earned accolades for his clarity and calm. Had he been in almost any other country, he’d have been a Minister for Health, if not leading a major health agency.

However, in Singapore, where he chose to stay and serve out of a deep sense of duty, he wasn’t even elected.

Not in 2020. Not now.

The questions we’re too afraid to ask

How is it that a healthcare expert of Dr Paul’s calibre still loses in the midst of a national cost-of-living crisis and rising healthcare burdens?

Could it be that his policy-driven speeches—free from populism and anger—fell on ears too conditioned to value charisma over competence?

Or does the answer lie deeper in something no election rally dares admit?

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That Singaporeans, especially in single-member constituencies, may not yet be ready to vote for a minority opposition figure—however brilliant, steady, and sincere.

Singaporeans voted, but did they choose?

There’s no denying it: The electorate spoke. Dr Paul didn’t win.

However, what does that say about us?

That someone so universally respected still cannot clear 40% in a solo fight suggests we may not be voting on ideas alone. We are voting on comfort, conformity, and deeply ingrained expectations.

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Dr Paul has said before that politics is about service, not ego. And true to form, he took his defeat with grace.

But behind that smile is a scar—a reminder that Singapore’s democracy, though polished and orderly, still has blind spots we refuse to see.

Because if Paul Tambyah cannot win Bukit Panjang, who can?

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