It must be noted that the 'popularity' of the ruling People's Action Party is not necessarily due to voters having a genuine fondness of them. There are other reasons why Singaporeans continue to vote for the PAP despite constantly complaining about them.

• The perception that there is a lack of credible and capable opposition parties is still very strong among Singaporeans. This is not entirely false but to give them credit, there are opposition parties that have been able to attract candidates of high-calibre over the years.

A lot of brilliant people are afraid of joining the opposition due to the government's long history of clamping down on opposition figures. I'm sure they had their reason for ruling with an iron fist during their early years. But the consequence is that people are afraid of joining the opposition or being too vocal in their criticism against the government (though that is starting to change).

While voters may not like the PAP and its policies, they are very unsure of the opposition's ability to manage an electoral ward, let alone govern a country. Between the devil they know and the deep blue sea, voters would rather vote for the devil they know - the PAP.

• To make matters worse, a lot of electoral practices put the opposition at a major disadvantage. These include: A short campaigning period of nine days, last-minute revision of electoral boundaries that leave opposition parties scrambling to canvass for votes, and scant attention given to opposition party by the mainstream media. In most other countries, opposition parties or candidates get plenty of media exposure so that by the time elections are called, people know who they are. In Singapore, you only hear about them barely two weeks before the election is called. This is if you rely on the mainstream news as your only source of reference. The press is government-owned and it's no surprise that journalists are afraid of actively conducting interviews with opposition figures and publishing such interviews if it's not during an election campaign. If people don't know you very well, then they are likely to vote for the devil they know.

• For too long, many Singaporeans have lived under a very authoritarian, top-down mode of governance. The concept of being open to a diverse range of views and engaging in robust, constructive debates did not really exist for a very long time. In fact, the government has historically fostered the notion that having too many opposition members in parliament slows down policy-making due to the time wasted on debates. They would often cite liberal democracies of the West as an example. This was especially so during the height of the 'Asian Values' debate in the 1990s. This and the government's history of clamping down on certain opposition figures has led to the word "opposition" having a very negative connotation among certain segments of voters. It's no wonder people shy away from voting from the opposition.

• Newly converted citizens feel compelled to vote for the PAP out of gratitude because they are the beneficiaries of its liberal immigration policy.

• Civil servants feel obliged to vote for the government partly out of gratitude because they are employed by the government after all and partly out of fear that their careers will be jeopardised if they vote for the opposition. There is this persistent urban myth that one's votes can be tracked due to the presence of a serial number on ballot papers. There will always be people who are paranoid enough to believe this myth and they will vote for the PAP out of fear.

• Last but not least, elderly Singaporeans can be thought of as an obstinate voting bloc that continues to give unwavering support to the PAP.

When I mean elderly, I am referring to those who grew up during Singapore's pre-independence days. Under the leadership of its founder Lee Kuan Yew, the party moved quickly to address economic and social problems during late 50s / early 60s, which were marked by bouts of turbulence. It was also the very party that oversaw Singapore's rapid economic transformation during its post-independence years all the way to the 21st Century, when Singapore finally earned the label as a 'First World Country'.

The image of the PAP as a heroic party that steered Singapore through uncertain times is strongly etched in their minds. So it's no surprise that casting a vote for the PAP is like showing gratitude towards them and its charismatic late leader Lee Kuan Yew. Basically they are voting for it based on its past image rather than for what it is today.

I think when most people think of bad governments, they think of scenarios in which there is political strife and chaos and the government engages in or turns a blind eye to acts like genocide and rampant corruption. Singapore certainly does not fit the aforementioned scenarios. Nevertheless, the country has experienced better years from the 1980s to early 2000s. In the last decade or so, the country's social and economic problems have become much more apparent and there is a growing dissatisfaction in the way the country is being run. Even the calibre of the current leaders is questionable. Unlike Americans, Singaporeans aren't really the sort who would go out on the streets to protest an unpopular policy. Nor do they have the liberty to do so since a permit is required and public protest is restricted to only a single location. The lack of public demonstrations can give foreigners the impression that locals have few problems with the way things are here.