Retaining only the two seats of Hougang and Potong Pasir with slim majorities, the opposition suffered an overall drop in support to 25 per cent from 35 per cent in the 1997 election.

From the start, the opposition had cried foul at the rushed polls, accusing the PAP of gerrymandering in the new electoral map and the election fee which was upped to S$13,000.

But their huge margins of defeat have raised more questions on the future of the opposition against the formidable PAP that has reigned since independence in 1965. The opposition has held no more than four seats in Parliament at any one time.

Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) chief Chiam See Tong and Workers' Party leader Low Thia Kiang defended Potong Pasir and Hougang with only 52 per cent and 55 per cent respectively, their popularity sliding 3 per cent in both cases.

Compare that to the PAP -- it's smallest winning margin was 65 per cent and the rest hovered between 73 and 88 per cent. On nomination day alone, the PAP walked away with 55 seats unchallenged by the cash- short and candidate-scarce opposition "It shows the people of Singapore are not willing to give any opportunity to build up Singapore into a two-party state. We have to go back and examine this," said a disappointed Steve Chia, who was among the opposition candidates who failed.

He is the secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party, one of four members of the SDA, a coalition formed for the election this round.

Chia was in no mood to celebrate his 31st birthday yesterday. He managed to get only 34 per cent of the votes in the heartland constituency of Chua Chu Kang and ironically, is the best performing opposition loser that would gain him a place in Parliament as a non- constituency representative.

"It was a very convincing victory this time. It begs the question: Does Singapore really want an opposition? The opposition has an uphill task if it wants to be a force to be reckoned with. To be fair, they have tried hard on bread-and-butter issues but the citizens are still not willing to come forward to support them," Chandra Mohan, nominated Member of Parliament and president of The Roundtable, a civil discussion group, was quoted as saying in the local Sunday Times.

Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the opposition's losses and the diminishing mandate for Chiam and Low showed the future of the opposition was limited.

"In the short run and in the long term, unless the PAP shows itself to be inept, there seems to be no real root for the opposition to grow in Singapore," said Tay.

The poor economic times, which provided ready fodder for the opposition, instead nudged more voters to rally behind the PAP. Singapore's growth is forecast to contract 3 per cent this year with unemployment hitting 4.5 per cent this year, leaving up to 80,000 without jobs.

A columnist in Singapore's Sunday Times writes: "The results show only that in uncertain times, voters, like horses bolt towards the familiar. Nothing is more familiar to Singapore's political landscape than the People's Action Party."

Retired editor, Seah Chiang Nee, who now runs the website, www.littlespeck.com, said the current recession hardship made it difficult for the people to vote for the opposition.

"If I lose my job, I can go to a government MP to try and get another job, that is most important. The opposition just don't have the resources to help," he said.

A big loser at the ballot box was Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan who found himself rejected for a second time. Chee, who had called for minimum wage and retrenchment benefits, had a fiery tussle with PAP leaders when he accused the government of lending S$17 billion to Indonesia.

Chee apologised to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew who threatened to sue him but his image took a beating. Standing in the five-seat constituency of Jurong, Chee and his team only received 20 per cent of the votes.

Rebuffing views that he had marred the opposition's cause, Chee said: "If you look at the results of the other parties, the results are more or less the same. I feel the question is not just with the SDP, but the country's voters who want such results."

Chee and Chiam, a die-hard opposition who has represented Potong Pasir since 1984, blamed the Singapore media for unfair coverage.

But the SDA chairman described his win as a great victory because "the whole machinery of the government is against us and we have won."

The opposition may also find itself overshadowed in Parliament as Prime Minister Goh is mulling the setting up of a shadow cabinet made up of nominated MPs and other appointees to challenge the government policies and programmes in view of the lack of opposition.