I hope to see a smooth and successful leadership transition in Singapore, as it will augur well for our future. However, I have some reservations.

Our leader must have the strong support of the people, as that will show that he has the people's mandate and it will encourage him to do his best.

But to garner the same level of support from Singaporeans today as in earlier times is going to be difficult.

The new prime minister faces a populace with more divergent views than in the past.

Higher education, more liberal attitudes and a globalised outlook have made Singaporeans more vocal than ever before.

On top of that, the populace of today is equipped with the power of social media.

The next PM can expect to find it harder to galvanise support. So we should not compare the level of support he gets with that of his predecessors, who might have been able to chalk up huge wins during elections.

Phillip Tan Fong Lip