Andrew was one of the buggers who was invited for tea by PM Lee (aka "Pinky" by netizens) and the event was bloggged by someone which somehow got Pritam concerned. He wrote on FB "I found noteworthy that PAP MPs Tan Chuan-Jin, Zaqy Mohamed and Low Yen Ling appeared alongside PM in the Istana meet-up with the carefully selected bloggers. They are probably leading the government's effort to retake the online space. Should we let them?"
When Pritam was questioned by netizens (including Andrew Loh) to clarfy his comment, that was how it all started. Pritam hit a raw nerve when he later remarked “You want change? Shut the PC down. Really. Join the struggle. contribute directly instead of indirectly,” With Pritam insinuating that what he is doing is more noble and worthwhile contribution, this was when sparks started to fly.
Several bloggers had written about the incident so you can read it here.
We know that WP has never been very active with their online presence, unlike SDP. But to come across sounding rather arrogant, that is political suicide. Pritam has to understand that he has to gather support in areas where their party is lacking and in this aspect, the online sphere. Getting into an online argument where people can scrutinise every single word you write is not a smart move.
The PAP played it right this time round, getting bloggers out of their comfort zone and engaging them face to face. Like it or not, what people write about you is based on the perception they have. How much they scrutinise you when you screw up is also dependent if they like you enough to cut you some slack.
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