In the rough and tumble of politics, politicians are not always given second chances to seek political redemption.

But the Bukit Batok by-election being called meant that the residents there and Singaporeans at large were given another moment (nine days) to reassess Chee Soon Juan as a politician and take a second look.

There may never be such a perfect moment for the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Secretary General again: Chee was accorded prominent media coverage because of the by-election, Chee did not have to share the limelight with Singapore's main opposition party Workers' Party (WP) and Chee did not have to share the stage with his GRC teammates.

As the Bukit Batok by-election campaign reaches its conclusion tonight, here are three things we observed about Chee and his campaign: 

1. Full-time MP, part-time Bukit Batok parliamentarian

The most persuasive argument put forward by Chee is that he will be a full-time MP and he will be able to speak up in Parliament.

Indeed, Chee is likely to devote his day to his parliamentarian work, compared to PAP's Murali Pillai, who is likely to juggle between his career as the Head of Commercial Litigation at Rajah & Tann law firm and his role as an MP.

But the question one would ask is: Will Chee devote more time to politics or running the town council?

Obviously, these roles are not mutually exclusive. However, one cannot help but notice that Chee has an inclination to weigh in on national issues whether he has an expertise or not.

Take his media interview with the mainstream media, for example.

Instead of focusing on the Bukit Batok by-election campaign, Chee waded in on the Internal Security Act (ISA) arrests and called for a tighter immigration policy.

This, of course, resulted in a rebuttal by Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who said that the SDP chief "shows a lack of understanding of the nature of the problem".

Minister Shanmugam concluded that the ISA arrests were "serious matters, security issues" that "require careful consideration, proper thought".

Chee could have picked his battles, decline comment on the issue, and focus on the Bukit Batok campaign instead.

Will a more prominent platform (as an MP) cause Chee to be more distracted?

After all, Chee appeared to prioritise a voice in parliament more than the management of municipal issues as recent as three years ago.

During the Punggol East by-election in 2013, Chee told the media that he proposed to field a candidate from the SDP in the joint campaign with WP.

He explained that if the opposition wins the by-election, the SDP would enter the Parliament and leave the day-to-day running of the town council to the WP.

WP ignored his proposal.

2. Is he an electoral plus to his party? It is time to examine his electoral track record more closely.

One option is to compare Chee with the other prominent opposition leaders who had lost in elections but had since become MPs.

i. The late J. B. Jeyaretnam, WP Sec-Gen:

First contested in the 1972 General Election (GE), and took 9 years to become an MP in 1981. Lost in 5 elections (1972 GE, 1976 GE, 1977 BE, 1979 BE, 1980 GE) before becoming the MP for Anson.

ii. Chiam See Tong, Singapore People's Party (SPP) Sec-Gen, former SDP Sec-Gen: 

First contested in the 1976 GE, and took 8 years to become an MP in 1984. Lost in 3 elections (1976 GE, 1979 BE, 1980 GE) before becoming an MP in Potong Pasir.

iii. Low Thia Khiang, WP Sec-Gen:

First contested in the 1988 GE, and took 3 years to become an MP in 1991. Lost in 1 election (1988 GE) before becoming an MP in Hougang.

iv. Sylvia Lim, WP Chairman:

First contested in the 2006 GE, and took 5 years to become an MP in 2011. Lost in 1 election (2006 GE) before becoming an MP in Aljunied GRC.

And Chee's record so far?

Chee first contested in the 1992 Marine Parade GRC by-election and had lost in 4 elections (1992 BE, 1997 GE, 2001 GE, 2015 GE) in total.

Compared to the four opposition leaders, Chee has been involved in electoral politics for 24 years without parliamentary success.

If we were to discount his political wilderness years (Chee was declared bankrupt by the High Court from 2006-2012), Chee is involved in electoral politics for 18 years.

This lack of success is much longer than the other prominent Opposition leaders.

A loss in this Saturday's BE would be his fifth electoral loss.

Moreover, Chee's electoral performance has hovered between 30 to 35 per cent in the past four contests he participated (24.5%, 34.86%, 20.25%, 34.4%).

In this one-to-one contest, not scoring at least 40% could spell the beginning of an end of the political career of Singapore's most prominent Opposition leader never elected.

3. Yes, Chee is more likeable. But is he electable? 

The rehabilitation of Chee’s public image was one of the stories of GE2015.

In fact, Chee insisted in an interview last year that he is still the same person, just that people now get to see different sides of him.

But does this change in public perception make him electable?

In the much publicised Lianhe Wanbao Chinese evening daily interview last Friday, Chee said that he did not regret his past and was proud of it.

It is admirable that Chee's views -- especially those related to democracy, political and civil rights, human rights, the rule of law -- remain consistent throughout his 24 years in politics.

In fact, it is commendable for one's values to remain and not be swayed by the latest trends and fads.

Everyone loves a good comeback story.

We identify with the underdog and cheer for him as we would for ourselves.

But what the voters and fellow Singaporeans would like to know is: Can Chee be one of those rare men whose education continues after adulthood?

Does he have the curiosity to continually seek the why, the how, and the why as Singapore evolves?

Because Singapore and Singaporeans have changed much since 1992, and not necessarily to Chee's liking.

And we do not think any Singaporean wants an MP who thinks that we should adapt to accommodate to his aspirations because he thinks he has always been right all along.

Since 1992.

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