TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Following the disastrous flooding at Bukit Timah last week which caused immense damage to the properties and cars in the affected areas, PUB now announced that it will be spending $67.5 million over the next three years to widen the drains in five areas around Singapore to make them less prone to floods. The designated areas are in Jalan Haji Alias, Telok Kurau, Keppel Road, Jurong Port Road and Lincoln Road. Construction work to widen the drainage canals in Bukit Timah will begin only in the third quarter of next year which raise questions on why it was not done earlier. The beleaguered Minister of Environment and Water Resources Dr Yaacob Ibrahim claimed that the flooding at Bukit Timah was a "freak" event which occurs "once in fifty years". However in 2006, another "freak" flooding occurs at Thomson under his watch when heavy downpour caused the MacRitchie and Seletar reservoirs to overflow. Dr Yaacob did not apologize to the public for what appears to be a lapse on the part of his ministry except to appeal for "patience". He assumed the portfolio in 2004. The state media has been busy of late trying to limit the damage from the fallout by emphasizing on the measures PUB will be taken to prevent a similar "freak" event from recurring. PAP MP Christopher de Souza visited the areas affected by the flooding two days later and promised to "do something" about it. PUB will be installing water sensors in the drainage canals at Bukit Timah which will warn the residents and traffic police when the water level reaches the 50 per cent mark. An angry resident by the name of Michael Yeo wrote in to the Straits Times Forum on 25 November 2009 demanding that developers bear the cost of flood prevention. He was also baffled by the persistence of the flooding problem despite the widening of canals for many years. "Developments alongside the Bukit Timah Canal are susceptible to flash floods judging from historical evidence......We are told that widening of the canals has been ongoing for many years. Yet, the flooding problem has not stopped." Another Singaporean by the name of Narayana wrote cryptically if the flood was really a "freak" event or could it be tracked in a letter published in the Straits Times forum today: "Although we are into the annual monsoon period when heavy rain is only to be expected, it does seem strange that with all the sophisticated tracking technology now available to meteorologists, there was no advance warning of this 'extraordinarily intensive storm' for the public to prepare themselves adequately. The report informs that 'this flood comes three years after one of Singapore's worst floodings in recent history, in December 2006'. However, this appears to conflict with the comment attributed to the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim ('Deluge a 'once in 50 years' event', last Saturday) that this was a 'freak' event." PUB claimed that it is working with the three Bukit Timah condominiums whose basement carparks were partially submerged during the flooding to prevent a recurrence. Without an independent press nor an effective opposition in parliament, the Bukit Timah residents may never know the real cause of the flooding. In the meantime, they will have to accept the official explanation that it is a "freak" event which "cannot be planned for" in the words of Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.  Read More →

OPINION It was revealed by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan lately that there are about 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders in various estates in Singapore. He claimed that this will help promote integration between the newcomers and Singaporeans. With due respect to Dr Vivian, the grassroots organizations such as Residents' Committees (RCs) and Citizen Consultative Committees (CCCs) have long failed in their original mission to "bring Singaporeans of various races and religions together". Few Singaporeans will bother to participate in events organized by these quasi-PAP organizations, let alone volunteer their time and services to join them as grassroots leaders. You need only show up at every event organized by your RC/CCC for one month to realize that it is attended by almost the same few faces. There are literally no young Singaporeans seen at grassroots functions such as block parties and dialogue sessions with ministers. It will be interesting to find out the membership growth of both the locals and new citizens in the grassroots organizations. Unlike Singaporeans, the new citizens have plenty of reasons to join grassroots organizations. Being new to a foreign land, these  government-affiliated organizations will provide a much needed source of support and help during times of need. Furthermore, it will also serve the purpose of networking for the newcomers to make new friends and acquaintances in Singapore. For Singaporeans who have been living here for their entire lives, they have their own circle of family and friends and do not need to rely on the grassroots organizations. Many are too busy with their daily lives to find time to "serve" their community. They will rather spend their weekends with their family or do their shopping instead of going for a morning stroll with the MP. So if there aren't that many locals in grassroots organizations or participating in its activities in the first place, how are they going to serve as a medium for new citizens to reach out to their Singapore neighbors? It is highly likely that the new citizens will end up mixing only with a particular clique of Singaporeans who are politically affiliated to the PAP. It is an unspoken truth that grassroots organizations are no more than the "eyes and ears" of the PAP on the ground. All of them are directly controlled by the People's Association headed by the Prime Minister himself. Grassroots leaders are more than often not PAP branch secretaries who sit on two or more committees such as the RCs and CCCs at the same time. With more and more new citizens being roped into grassroots organizations, they may end up mingling among themselves rather than the larger population as a whole and accentuating the divide between them and the locals. Being highly politicized organizations which are intricately linked to the ruling party, grassroots organizations should not be beneficiaries of the $10-million Community Integration Fund paid for by taxpayers' monies. Not only will they not help the newcomers integrate, they will have the unintended effect of securing their allegiance to the ruling party. The PAP knows that Singaporeans, especially the younger generation, desire more opposition to check on them in parliament and its support base is slowly being eroded with time. New citizens who have no inkling of Singapore's politics, are usually more inclined to vote for the incumbent government which gives them the opportunity to start their lives afresh in Singapore. Their votes will be crucial to counter the rising support among indigenous Singaporeans for the opposition in the next few elections to enable the PAP to maintain its political hegemony. We must not forget that the entire political system in Singapore is designed to entrench one single ruling party in power to the exclusion of others - the government dislikes having an effective opposition to hold them accountable. To them, this is "adversarial" politics which is anathema to their interests since their flaws, fallacies and hypocrises will be exposed clearly for the public to see. Even with the GRCs, it is a tall order for the PAP to win 98 per cent of the seats in future elections repeatedly. Winning the new citizens to its side first before anybody else is crucial for the ruling party as they and their next generation will form a powerful voting bloc to contend with. The control of the media and grassroots organizations is instrumental in engineering past electoral victories of the PAP. With the information monopoly enjoyed by the mainstream media being chipped away gradually by the new media, it is imperative that the PAP cultivates close ties with the new citizens and voters of the future right now. Singaporeans should demand stringent criteria to be set before the fund is allowed to be used by the grassroots organizations. For example, the activity or event will only qualified for funding if there are are approximately equal mix of locals and new citizens. There is little point in conducting HDB block parties for a group of Indian expatriates with few Singaporeans involved or a one-day tour to Malaysia attended by the same cliche of geriatricians with little participation from the new citizens. Singaporeans will have no objections to fraternizing with the newcomers, but $10-million is no small sum and we have to make sure that it doesn't end up promoting the interests of the PAP instead of the community as it should be.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent A Singaporean by the name of Chia Hern Keng had written to the Straits Times Forum on 27 November 2009 urging the government to be more open in order to reduce policy errors. Quoting the bilingual and "stop at two" policies as examples, Mr Chia wondered why the policy errors were not detected earlier by someone within the government. Singapore has been ruled continuously uninterrupted by the People's Action Party (PAP) since independence. All state institutions including the civil service, police and media are directly under the control of the PAP. Civil servants seldom dare to question policies which are put in place by the ministers. There is no opposition in parliament to check on the ruling party which often passes legislation and bills with little debate or consultation with the people. Mr Chia wrote that "given today's accelerated pace of change in a global world in which mistakes may no longer be reversible, it is crucial that government policies be open to scrutiny and responsive to public feedback as quickly as possible and this requires an even greater liberalisation of the mainstream media for public discussion on national issues." In other developed countries, the media is supposed to act as a watchdog to scrutinize the performance of the government. In Singapore, the mainstream media has effectively been transformed into a mouthpiece of the ruling party which brooks no criticism and has a low tolerance for political dissent. Mr Chia felt "it is illogical to prize skill to the extent of inviting foreign talent if Singapore is simultaneously closed to views and suggestions that do not sit well with the established policies." Under the patriarchal system of government founded and promulgated by MM Lee Kuan Yew, the government can do no wrong. MM Lee once warned potential challengers of what to expect from him if they dare to take him on: "Anybody who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckle dusters. If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try. There is no other way you can govern a Chinese society." The litigious nature of Singapore politics has also stopped Singaporeans from participating in the political life of their country actively let alone criticize and point out the mistakes of the government. Mr Chia ended his letter with an admonishment to the establishment: "It is better to learn quickly and to do that, the establishment must show the way in being willing to change course if policies are found wanting." With no political pressure or impetus to change, it is highly unlikely that the establishment will be opened to alternative views contrary to its well-held official stance. Singaporeans had better prayed hard the government will not admit its mistakes in today's policies in a few decades' time, especially its liberal immigration policy. By the time the mistake is finally realized, Singaporeans may end up being a minority in their own country.  Read More →