TR EMERITUS

By Fang Zhi Yuan Veteran opposition MP Chiam See Tong on Wednesday called for the current Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system to be abolished. If this cannot be done away with, then it should be modified from the present five to six members to two, comprising an ethnic and a Chinese members, he said. He also suggested that the the two-member GRC be limited to 20. Nowhere in the world including countries with significant ethnic minorities such as Malaysia, Indonesia, United Kingdom and France do we find a similiar electoral system to entrench the incumbents in power under the guise of ensuring minority representation. Since the introduction of the GRC system in 1988, the size of the GRC have ballooned from the initial three to six. During the last general elections, there were only 9 single constituency seats. The smallest GRC is in Aljunied with five members. In spite of the PAP and the state media's insistence that GRC is necessary to ensure that minority voices are heard in Parliament, few Singaporeans believe that the set up has little to do with curbing the growth of the opposition in Singapore. How do we get Rajaratnam, E W Barker, Othman Wok and Jeyaretnam into Parliament before the GRC system was introduced? These ethnic minority candidates fought and won in single wards against Chinese candidates. Jeyeretnam, in particular won two elections in Anson which is predominantly Chinese. The electoral boundary review committee which is under the purview of the Prime Minister's Office reserves the right to redraw the electoral boundaries here and there at any time without the need to provide any explanations for doing so thereby leading to rampant gerrymandering to serve the political interests of the PAP. Enclaves with a high level of opposition support were taken out and merge with another constituency to dilute the opposition vote. We have seen this in Eunos and Cheng San GRC which was nearly won by the Workers' Party in 1991 and 1997 respectively. Eunos GRC is now cut and divided amongst East Coast and Marine Parade GRCs while Cheng San GRC has been absorbed into Ang Mo Kio GRC under the Prime Minister. The PAP has no qualms shifting the goalposts to bolster their chances of winning in every elections even in GRCs which have been an impenetrable fortress for them so far. Though I support Mr Chiam's call to abolish the GRC system, it is highly unlikely that the PAP will have the political will and courage to do away with a system which has served them so well over the past two decades. In addition to reducing the size and number of GRCs and increase the number of single constituency wards, may I suggest that we include a clause for all first time PAP MPs such as Indranee Rajah and Lee Bee Wah to fight one on one in single member constituencies (SMCs) instead of hitching a free ride into Parliament on the coat-tails of ministers. Mr Chiam also called for a freer media 'where more news of the opposition is allowed', including the activities of the two incumbent opposition MPs. With the PAP firmly in control of SPH and enjoying a virtual monopoly over the media industry in Singapore, it is almost impossible to expect the media to liberalize itself to go against its political master. Singaporeans have no more time to lose. We are lagging far away behind our neighbors Malaysia where a new media revolution is gradually changing their political landscape. The 2008 political tsunami which hit the shores of Malaysia leading to the loss of the customary two-thirds majority enjoyed by the Barisan Nasional (the Malaysian version of PAP) in Parliament is not a freak result. It began 10 years ago from the reformasi movement to free Anwar Ibrahim who was detained for 6 years under the Internal Security Act by Mahathir and the setting up of an independent online media - Malaysiakini to provide Malaysians a real alternative to the state controlled media. Malaysiakini has an online readership larger than all the mainstream papers today. There is a proliferation of socio-political news blog of late with new players such as The Malaysian Insider, The Nut Graph and the Chinese Merdeka Review adding to the chorus of independent voices to counter the state propaganda. Barisan Nasional, despite dominating the civil service, police and print media, is expected to lose the next general elections due to be held in 2012 if current trends persist. This is unimaginable almost a decade ago. As a keen observer of the political developments across the causeway, I notice a similiar awakening of political consciousness amongst Singaporeans though the pace is still pretty slow at the moment. Singaporeans are more willing to express differing views contrary to the establishment openly compared to 10 years ago and to mobilize fellow citizens for a cause. The recent Aware saga and the ongoing petition drive to ask Lee Bee Wah to relinquish her position as STTA President are ample proof that Singaporeans are becoming more politically active, mature, and assertive. We are no longer contented with a nanny state telling us what to do. We want to have our voices heard by the government and we want to have a say in how the country is run. There is also rising interest in socio-political blogs which are usually less popular compared to celebrity and entertainment blogs. In the last six months, the two leading socio-political blogs of Singapore have seen a 100% leap in readership. A Straits Times article by Jeremy Au Yong last year reported The Online Citizen as having an alexa.com ranking of 1745 in October 2008. Wayang Party's ranking is only 5,945 in the same period. Today, both blogs are not ranked in the top 600 of the most visited sites in Singapore. Established blogs like Yawning Bread and newcomers like The Kent Ridge Common have also seen an increase in their readership. We must seize the moment now to set up an independent online news daily run by professional journalists in the mould of Malaysiakini to give the mainstream media a run for its money. I call on opposition politicians, journalists, activists and all Singaporeans interested to lead Singapore to the next stage of political development to pool their funds and resources together to register a company to run this "Singaporekini". I believe such a news blog run by full time profesional journalists will be a hit in Singapore and it will take no longer than 6 months for it to establish itself as a credible alternative to the mainstream media. The next generation of voters will be spending more time on the alternative news media than the print media which is fast losing its appeal for its lacklustre, biased and toothless reporting. Once we break through the PAP's monopoly on the control and dissemination of news, it will take no more than two elections for Singaporeans to regain their rights as proud citizens of their land by booting the despotic PAP out of power forever.  Read More →

By Fang Zhi Yuan During the Parliament sitting on Monday, Mr Low Thia Kiang of the Workers' Party declared that "only an elected opposition can provide effective checks and balances". (read article here) This is because the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) currently dominates the House, can amend the Constitution freely, and controls key levers of power in the country. There is much wisdom behind Mr Low's words. The PAP has amended the Constitution more than a dozen of times during its 50 year rule to "facilitate" its governance without the people being consulted. Recent events have shown that the PAP is unable or unwilling to check on itself when there is a conflict of interest between the state and the party. The massive losses in our reserves incurred by the reckless investments of GIC and Temasek should have led to executives in both organizations being investigated an independent panel of inquiry. The two unnecessary deaths from the Geylang Serai food poisoning were also not investigated though there were suggestions of negligence and dereliction of duties on the part of both NEA and the temporary market committee. Both the Home Ministry and the media remained silent on the latest stunning relevations from the Malaysian police on how Mas Selamat made his escape - by hiding in the drains while making his way to Woodlands from where he swam across to Johor. We need a more responsive, accountable and transparent form of government and only an elected opposition is able to check on the PAP. However, an elected opposition does not necessarily mean an effective opposition. With due respect to Mr Low Thia Kiang and Ms Sylvia Lim, their performances in Parliament so far is lacklustre at best and they failed to bring up many important issues close to the heart of the people out of fear of offending the PAP. I was appalled when of all MPs, it was Low Thia Kiang who stepped forward to defend the PAP's export-oriented economic growth model which has led to the widening income gap between the poor and the rich. Mr Low defended the long-held growth model, saying in Mandarin: ‘I believe it is correct to attract foreign investments to encourage competition in a free market, to open up our market and to go global and…integrate with the global economy.’ (read article here) Is Mr Low not aware of the rising disgruntlement on the ground at the PAP's policies which has led to an influx of cheap foreign labor depressing the wages of our citizens? It was a PAP MP who sounded more like an opposition MP instead. Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC), questioned if the growth-at-all-cost model was realistic. Singapore should aim for ‘modest, sustainable economic growth’, he said, adding: ‘We need to feel proud of Singapore for what it is, and to take care of it, to protect overexploitation, overcrowding and unsustainable growth.’ There were many issues which Mr Low could have brought up in Parliament such as Temasek's recent sale of its stake in BOA, the second ping pong controversy and the Aware saga. It is mind-bogging that he chose to use his precious few minutes in Parliament to lend support to the PAP when there are 82 other PAP MPs around to do so. Is Mr Low Thia Kiang representing the PAP or the Workers' Party? While it is critical to have an elected opposition in Parliament to add diversity to the views being espoused and to ensure the ruling party is held accountable to the people, an opposition which does not dare to push the boundaries and provide a stiff challenge to the incumbent will be more of a hindrance than an asset to the progress of democracy in Singapore. The Workers' Party under the leadership of Mr Low Thia Kiang has not only lost its mettle and bite, it has been unwittingly made used of by the shrewd PAP promoting it as an acceptable "moderate" political party to marginalize other parties which has the courage to confront it such as the SDP. An "opposition" party which does not oppose cannot claim to represent the voice of the people. During the 2006 election, Mr Low Thia Kiang called on Singaporeans to vote for WP to check on the PAP in Parliament. What has WP done so far to justify continued support from the people? NMPs such as Siew Kum Hong and Eunice Olsen and even PAP backbenchers like Inderjit Singh, Dr Lily Neo, Sam Tan and Michael Palmer have brought rattled the ministers with more difficult and sensitive questions close to the hearts of the people. Being the strongest opposition party in Singapore, the Workers' Party should explore other opportunities other than the usual Parliamentary sittings and meet-the-people sessions to engage Singaporeans, especially the youth and to advocate and expound its views on current affairs and national issues. Civil activism goes hand in hand with politics and they are not mutually exclusive with each other. On 6 June 2009, WP will be organizing a petition drive at Hong Lim Park to garner signatures calling for Lee Bee Wah to step down from STTA as President. It is a shame that the event is not organized by the "Workers' Party", but by its parody in cyberspace  - the "Wayang Party".  Read More →

An Islamic militant described as Singapore's most wanted man has been detained under Internal Securty Act for a two-year term. Mas Selamat Kastari, the alleged head of the Singapore cell of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which has links to al-Qaeda, was captured in Johor in April after being on the run for more than a year. Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed reports that the 48-year-old Islamic militant had been detained under the ISA, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. "This is Malaysia's decision. He is a threat to Malaysia's security, that is why he has been detained. Obviously he's a threat to Singapore and Malaysia," he told a press conference. Najib said Malaysian authorities needed to extract "more information" from Mas Selamat and downplayed suggestions that Singaporean authorities would be anxious to have him in their custody. "Singapore expected us to detain him," he said. Quoting an unnamed source familiar with the case, it said that any extradition proceedings with Singapore would be discussed only after the two-year term had been completed. "While under detention, Mas Selamat will be undergoing a rehabilitation programme which will include debating with religious experts on Islam," it quoted the source as saying. Read full article on Malaysiakini  Read More →