TR EMERITUS

OPINION When Mr Alex Tan set up a Facebook to get netizens to "Vote the PAP out", few would expect it to be a hit among Singaporeans, especially the youth. Within a week, it has garnered more members than the YPAP Facebook and it now has more than 1,500 members coming from all walks of life. With due respect to Alex, he is not a celebrity blogger and neither is a prominent leader of any political parties in Singapore. How can a "nobody" like him garner so much public support for a political cause in so short a period of time? Furthermore, while Alex appears to have a beef with the PAP over issues like National Service and influx of foreign workers, he does not propose any viable solutions to tackle them. Should the PAP be concerned with Alex's Facebook or should it brush it aside as another example of childish indiscretion? The fact that the "Vote PAP out" Facebook has managed to attract so many Singaporeans is a reflection of the groundswell of discontent and disaffection against the policies of the ruling party. A few years ago, such a Facebook would not have existed in Singapore, let alone flourished as Singaporeans are beginning to find their courage to express their displeasure against the PAP publicly without fear of reprisals. Young, IT-savvy Singaporeans tend to be more vocal and critical against the government and they have no qualms voting against it as they have been readily expressing in the Facebook. The PAP has always relied on rationale, not empty rhetoric to persuade Singaporeans to accept its policies, especially the unpopular ones. Judging from the responses on the ground, it will be nearly impossible for them to rely on that alone to woo young Singaporeans over to its side. To the post-1965 generation Y who grew up in a period of relative affluence and have suffered few hardships, they owe no political allegiance to the PAP whom many regard as a unfamiliar entity. In cyberspace at least, the PAP's efforts to reach out to the young is being hampered by its poor image of being an over-bearing, repressive, and dictatorial political behemoth which is grossly out of touch with the sentiments and aspirations of young Singaporeans. It doesn't help when its leaders such as MM Lee Kuan Yew continues to offend the sensibilities of Singaporeans with callous remarks to put them down such as his latest interview with the National Geographic magazine which sparks a massive outcry in cyberspace. The PAP appears to realize the importance of the internet as a potential battleground for public opinion in the future when it started a blog for its young MPs to engage the post-65 generation in the aftermath of the 2006 election, but it floundered due to the lack of interest and traffic. Attempts to promote REACH as an official feedback channel among Singapore netizens are unsuccessful as the majority of netizens prefer to vent their frustrations against the government on popular news sites like The Temasek Review. Though Alex and co may remain a minority among the online community in Singapore, their influence cannot be underestimated precisely because Singaporeans are largely politically apathetic and inactive. A motivated, passionated and committed young Singaporean can easily persuade all his relatives and friends who are nonchalant about the PAP to cast a protest vote against it. 1,500 protest votes can easily swell to become a vote of no confidence against the government as the AWARE saga had amply demonstrated. Then, supporters of the AWARE old guards were fired up under the leadership of respected leaders in civil society such as Ms Braema Mathi to "reclaim" AWARE which led them to turn up and voted en masse at its EGM held on 2 May 2009. If the "Vote PAP out" movement is helmed by a popular opposition MP such as Ms Sylvia Lim or a prominent public figure such as a Philip Jeyaretnam, it will surely snowball into a broad-based political movement to topple the PAP. While bread and butter issues are important to young Singaporeans, they are also concerned about other aspects of governance such accountability and transparency in the system, social justice and the emotional intelligence of political leaders. Today's voters are more aware, educated and articulate. Unlike their parents and grandparents, they are not contented just to have a roof over their heads, clean drinking water and a safe neighborhood. Even the PAP's strength - its track record in delivering economic development to Singapore has become a weak link with its ill-conceived immigration policies causing tremendous unhappiness and resentment among Singaporeans. Young graduates now have to compete directly with low-cost foreigners for jobs which pay a pittance, hardly enough for them to start a family given the sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats. Middle-aged Singaporeans are facing the squeeze as well, especially those who are retrenched or are forced to switch professions due to re-structuring of the economy. Elderly Singaporeans are unable to withdraw their CPF and have little choice but to continue working well into their golden years may begin to wonder if their support for the PAP is being taken for granted. The PAP can no longer rely on its past achievements alone to demand a "mandate" from Singaporeans to lead the country. The ground is not as sweet as before and it may not enjoy the usual advantages which come along with its incumbency in future elections. Though the opposition is perennially weak, Singaporeans are more than willing to give them a chance so long they appear to be credible, honest and willing to fight for the interests of the people. The "elitist" brand name of the PAP may work against them this time as there is an increasing public perception that its MPs are stuck high up in their own ivory towers and do not understand the concerns, worries and fears of ordinary Singaporeans on the ground. As the recent Malaysian and Japanese elections had shown, Generation Y proved to be a crucial factor in the opposition making huge electoral gains. In Malaysia, young IT-savvy Malaysians who read independent news websites returned to their rural kampungs to cajole their relatives and friends to vote for the opposition. In Japan, young Japanese volunteer their services to help run the electoral campaign of the cash-strapped Democratic Party of Japan which booted the powerful Liberal Democratic Party out of office for the first time in Japan's history. In both instances, the young people are the driving force behind their nations' progress towards greater political pluralism and liberty. Likewise, the Generation Y of Singapore is ready to stand up and make their voices heard as exemplified by Alex Tan. They are no longer willing just to stand on the sidelines and accept whatever the PAP throws at them. They want a stake in their country and a say in its future. Will the PAP which has enjoyed 50 years of uninterrupted rule give in to the demands of young Singaporeans? With so much said and discussed in cyberspace, the next general election will be a testing ground for Generation Y to flex its muscles as the emerging third force in Singapore politics.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Dr James Gomez, one of the five candidates of the Workers' Party in Aljunied GRC during the 2006 elections has ended his association with the Workers' Party. He made the announcement during a speech given on 5 January at Speaker's Corner to commemorate the birthday of late opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam. "I want to end my tribute to JBJ today by sharing with you two updates. One, I like to inform you that I have chosen not to renew my Workers Party memberships which lapsed on 31 Dec 2009. Two, that some of us, inspired by JBJ, had submitted an application to the Registrar of Society in late April 2009 to set up a political association called Singaporeans for Democracy," Dr Gomez said in a short speech. He did not elaborate on his decision not to renew his Workers' Party membership or reveal his future plans. Dr Gomez is currently working as a lecturer in Public Relations and Writing in Australia's Monash University. He was the victim of a smear campaign launched by the PAP during the last elections when he made a mistake of blaming the Elections Department for misplacing his form for the minority certificate when CCTV footage later showed he had not done so. The mainstream media which is controlled by the ruling party, had a field day attacking and demolishing Dr Gomez's character such that the entire electoral campaign period was dominated by "Gomezgate" while important national issues of concern were neglected. The incident peeved off many Singaporeans who were appalled at the pettiness of the PAP which was notorious for "making a mountain out of a molehill" in order to "fix" their political opponents via character assassination like the dirty tactics PAP leaders employed against the hapless Gomez including divulging contents of a private conversation by PAP MP Inderjit Singh. A police report was even lodged against Dr Gomez for "intimidating" a civil servant. He was stopped at Changi Airport from leaving for Sweden where he worked by the unusually efficient Singapore police which recently let a prime suspect in a double hit-and-run accident leave the country. Dr Gomez was eventually let off with a stern warning. During the last three years, he has been based mostly in Sweden before he found work as a lecturer in a Japanese University and now Australia's Monash University. Workers' Party Chairman Sylvia Lim told Lianhe Wanbao that the party will be fielding new candidates in the next election to replace those who have left the party such as Mr Chia Ti Lik and Mr Goh Meng Seng. The present Workers' Party is a pale shadow of its past under the leadership of the charismatic J.B. Jeyaretnam who is still fondly remembered by Singaporeans to this day as evidenced by the huge turnout at his memorial service. As a "PAP-endorsed" opposition party, the Workers' Party has been trying hard to appear "credible" by keeping quiet on sensitive issues which may irritate the PAP. Its MP Low Thia Kiang was famous not for his speeches in parliament, but an incredible silence displayed when asked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong point-blank if Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng should resign over the escape of Mas Selamat. In fact, many of the present Workers' Party leaders appear to be PAP sympathizers in disguise. Workers' Party organizing secretary Yaw Shin Leong sparked an outcry two years ago when he revealed unwittingly on his blog that he voted for PAP MP Dr Teo Ho Pin in the 2006 general election and even praised him for being a "good" MP. Some opposition supporters had asked Yaw to resign over the fiasco, but he refused to do so and Mr Low seemed to lend support to him by re-appointing him as the party's organizing secretary. It is little wonder that when Dr Teo was rapped for the investment losses suffered by PAP Town Councils following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Yaw and his WP colleagues were surprisingly silent. Dr James Gomez may have left the Workers' Party, but his continued involvement in civil society will help to add to the diversity of voices in Singapore which is much needed in the face of the PAP's dominance. Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review (If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours)  Read More →

作者:冀居·谢 近日有些网络英文论坛为了标榜服务“全新加坡人”，而在文章的选择方面加入了少量的华文评论，却引起一些网友的反弹，认为看了很‘苟猥’，有者还认为降低了该坛的评论水平。是的，单语舒适应该是人类的共通惰性，特别是年纪越大，越钟意和怀念乡音。另一方面，如果以1980年完全消灭华校为分水岭，而又假设行动党的双文化见解和政策是正确作为前提，至今教育了二至三代的双语/双文化人，能够优游涵泳于两个世界，然而对于语文的敏感度却似乎有增无减，这本身就是一 个奇怪的现象。 林瑞生(Lim Swee Say)说宁愿两科都五十分也不要做个单科状元；甘愿做双栖的小青蛙，也不要成为单方面的陆地跑步或水上游泳的冠军。既然执政党的愿望那样炙热，为何会生出一个独尊英语的社会，是哪个环节出了错误，还是一开始就有人不断地说谎？ 维斯瓦(Viswa Sadasivan)在国会发言，发现执政党越是声嘶力竭地高喊融合，各种族各语言的隔阂越深。他举的一个例子，我小时候也很有印象，就是第八波道是分时段为华族和淡米尔族 服务的，所以我跟祖母一小一老常在华语节目结束后接下去看淡米尔片，老实说我对淡米尔片歌舞场面的喜爱，远在美国人发现Bollywood之前。 现在很多商家和政府机构把文字内容呈现给各族大众夸大成十足的难题，或者干脆自行选择只用英文呈现，其实就是一种鸵鸟心态。我记得马来西亚的漫画家Lat就把 小时候看露天电影的记忆画出来，布做的天幕上有一半的画面是被华、巫、英的字幕所遮盖，不过大家还是看得津津有味。因为大家都知道，要维持多元文化，让所有人都能一起欣赏，这样的一点让步是必要的。 也不知道什么时候，华文和 “offbeat”划上等号，认为华文呈现的东西都是逊一点的。看到西片有中文字幕，觉得很offbeat，可是当银幕上的人物讲德语或者法语，他们又眼 巴巴希望赶快有英文字幕的辅助。他们说英文是世界主流，娱乐主要来自英语产品，可是他们有没有想想电子科技产品的龙头是日本和南韩，电脑游戏方面中国也渐 渐赶上，这一二十年来就有很多新玩意儿是先有日文版、韩文版，将来可能有更多是先有中文版，然后才翻译成英文给那些懂得英语的人使用，他们有因为这样而看不起使用英语的人吗？我想不会。 新加坡的年轻人很多都喜欢自诩是双语，但是第五波道的很多外地节目只听得懂一半，有时就转向本地制作的第八波道，因为只有第八波道的华语水平适合他们；所以第八波道就成了为老一辈识字不多、还有识华文字 不多的新一代服务。他们看不懂两岸三地的节目，因为华文太“深”！比如昨晚我看韩剧《李算》，有一句“席蒿待罪”，“蒿”是粗糙的织席材料，念hāo。但 是字幕却打成“席藳待罪”，配音员也跟着念错，念成gǎo。 新加坡台面上的人物，能够应用双语发表演说和写文章，达到舒适程度且信手拈来的，我看只有一个吴明盛(Goh Meng Seng)，竟然还是个反对党人物，对于推动双文化的执政党和二丑们，这是多么大的讽刺！四五百万人才出一个，这需要多高的智商，俨然是挟泰山而超北海的不能事，大家别傻了。 有人说不用中文发表的原因是因为打字太麻烦，真的吗？撇开“单指神功”不谈，英文打字要学会用十指来打，也一样要下苦工的。我记得中学的时候还乘着假期花钱到加东购物中心学了十多课才学会的，那时隔壁的奥迪安戏院还在放映《唐山大兄》。 很多人对于眼前事物的理解是不问原由的，比如为什么新加坡的老年人有一部分不能够使用电脑，那一部分就是使用华文华语的人，是这些人比较笨吗？其实不然。根本就是人为障碍的问题，视窗中文版在两岸三地随便都可以买到，但是在本地却完全没有人引进，还能够说我们是提倡双文化的社会吗？只要电脑界面的文字是认识、会看的，其实已经成功了一半，接下来就是熟悉和重复练习的问题罢了。把视窗只能呈现一种英文视为理所当然，才是耽误和剥夺了很多老人上网的机会。就以火狐（Firefox）这个浏览器来说，可以有70多种文字的呈现，中文还分简体和繁体两种，并且每个月都在增加。而我们还执拗于先去spur学会英文才能掌握电脑这个工具，到底是谁先入为主的观念让我们这样笨下去的？ 有人说懂得英文，世界所有政要的名字都能够一目了然，而不必像中文那样，一地有一地的翻译。他这样说的时候，大概心中只有欧美，或者更准确地说是雅利安语系的 Christian names 吧，亚洲、非洲的名字一样也是不了啊， “Ai Iijima”还不如“饭岛爱”更为人所知。 在亚洲，虽然日本、南韩、台湾和大陆的英文程度都不如新加坡，但是人家对于好莱坞电影的欣赏比我们层面更广、更投入，吸收得更多。世界要多元化，不同的文化可以通过翻译来交流，单语化是愚蠢的结论。而翻译也是社会分工的一部分，吾生也有涯，并不一定要自己来。那些认为自己懂得英文可以直接欣赏英文戏剧的人，为什么在欣赏自己的母族文化时，却要靠英文字幕，这一点你们想过没有？ 成语“求全责备”好像很义正词严，其实其近义词却是“吹毛求疵”，这些人用很狭隘的视角，常在门缝里把人看扁了。 来源：大马论坛  Read More →