SINGAPORE : Singapore's ruling People's Action Party has come up tops in the political party category in a global survey by market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres.
Some 35,000 people from over 40 countries were polled in the global survey, which TNS carried out for the first time.
The Corporate Reputation Index reflects the perceptions of people towards their own country, both politically and economically.
Among the thousands polled across the globe, 500 Singaporeans were selected to share their views.
And the results surprised many, including the researchers.
Singaporeans were so satisfied with their government that the country came up tops in the political parties category.
John Smurthwaite, chairman of Taylor Nelson Sofres, said "Singapore perhaps doesn't have the same reputation as being a democratic country in the western sense, like the UK or US. But I think what has happened is people have been very happy with the change in leadership; they have seen a nice changeover and they are obviously very happy with that."
Said Associate Professor Bilveer Singh, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, "People are looking for material goods and the government delivers that. I think the track record is an excellent one in almost every area that you talk about.
"At the same time, over the last couple of years, what has changed compared to the earlier generation has been the notion of good governance. People say we have good governance, accountability, no corruption, somewhat growing openness, and therefore we are relating with soft authoritarianism."
He added, "The government has also been exceptional in crisis management, in the way it has dealt with SARS and the tsunami, etc. The pride in associating with a successful government -- there are many small states that are not successful and people will ditch them; whereas in this case the government is successful and people like to relate and correlate."
While Singaporeans interviewed by Channel NewsAsia agree with the findings, some feel there is still room for improvement.
"I think the government has to be given credit where credit is due. We are pretty transparent, it is accountable, and there's no corruption. But I think in a democratic system, a one party state is not always the best thing," one Singaporean said.
"My reaction is that the survey confirms everyone's opinions, including my own. No matter how much they gripe, they still think that the government is efficient. But they have to come up with an image that is warmer, I guess; now they portray an image of efficiency, of trust," another said.
Survey results also reveal that Singaporeans think very highly of the country's health, telecoms and postal services.
As a result, health services and telecom operators here clinched the top spots in their respective categories.
Mail services was ranked second best in the world, behind Australia.
This is the first time that TNS has carried out such a massive global survey, so there is no comparison for the present rankings.
But TNS noted that consumer confidence in Singapore only picked up recently after years of slow economic growth.
The survey also showed that Singapore is the best country to do business in Asia.
Globally, it takes the 4th spot, following closely behind the US, Australia and Ireland. - CNA