TR EMERITUS

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singaporean bureaucrat who wrote about taking his family on an expensive cooking course in France has sparked ire from locals, with some accusing him of extravagance given the city-state is in recession. Tan Yong Soon, a senior official at Singapore’s Environment Ministry, learnt to truss chicken and cut vegetables at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school in Paris with his wife and son, and wrote about it in the Straits Times newspaper earlier this month. “Taking five weeks leave from work is not as difficult as one thinks. Most times when you are at the top, you think you are indispensable. But if you are a good leader who has built up a good team, it is possible,” Tan wrote in the newspaper. His article raised eyebrows given the five-week course for three at the prestigious French cooking school cost more than S$46,000 (21,000 pounds). Singapore is one of Asia’s wealthiest nations but it was the first country in Asia to fall into recession last year. More job cuts are looming. “Anyone who has any sense of empathy for the average working person struggling to survive would not be splashing his story of luxurious holidays in full spread in a national newspaper,” said Andrew Loh on a Singaporean discussion website. Tan could not be reached for comment and he has not said anything publicly about the response to his article. “How long does each of us take to earn even half that amount that Mr. Tan spent on his lessons? And how many of us can afford to be away for five weeks on paid vacation without getting sacked from our jobs?” said Eugene Yeo, senior writer at the political website, The Wayang Party Club of Singapore. (http://wayangparty.com) Some online forum users said Tan could decide what to do with his money, but still felt he was being boastful. “Agreed that what he does with his money and time is his business but to brag about it really makes me boil,” said an online post from someone nicknamed Ricksw8437.  ($1=1.487 Singapore Dollar) (Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Dean Yates) Source: Reuters  Read More →

By Fang Zhi Yuan and Jeremy Yau If a foreigner were to stumble upon Singapore's boisterous if not sometimes rowdy internet forums and read the ongoing discussions amongst forumers, he would have thought that the ruling PAP is a nefarious government bent on exploiting its citizens and would be booted out of office pretty soon in the next general election. Indeed, save for the PAP's own P65 blog and a few known PAP bloggers like Ephraim Loy and Gerald Giam, the majority of socio-political blogs are staunchly anti-establishment. The perpetual PAP bashing which has been existed ever since the internet is invented has spawn an unique subculture of yippies in cyberspace who regard themselves as self-righteous human rights advocates, democrats and freedom fighters. Netizens compete among themselves to be the most vociferous PAP basher to dominate the discussions. PAP supporters and even neutral objective bystanders were harrassed, lampooned and silenced. Colorful acronyms and nicknames like SIWs (scum in whites), MIWs (Men in white), Pappies, Arseloon, Old Fart, Gecko, Bargain Hen, Clown Prince, Prata-man etc. are coined to ridicule the ruling party and its leaders. It does appear on the surface that the PAP is hated by many netizens. Will this translate into actual loss of votes for the PAP in future general elections ? Unlikely. In reality, this group of anti-PAP netizens form only a small portion of internet users in Singapore, the majority of whom are more interested in financial and recreational topics than politics. Internet forums and blogs are frequented primarily by young Singaporeans and English-educated professionals. The older generation who lives in the HDB heartland still depends on the mainstream media as their only trustworthy source of news. They are not even aware of the existence of such forums and if they do, they will be dumbfounded and flabbergasted at the amount of flak the PAP is getting. In a recent interview conducted by The Singapore Enquirer, nearly half of the respondents polled indicate they will vote for the PAP if an election is held this year. Though more than half did reply to the question, the figure does give us an idea that the core support for the ruling party is still intact in the HDB heartland where the vote matters most. For Singaporeans who have lived through the early years of independence and nation-building, they have witnessed for themselves the transformation the country has undergone under the leadership of the PAP government which has brought about unprecedented social stability and economic prosperity. One uncle in his early 70s recounted the prevalence of triads, gang fights, extortions and kidnappings in Toa Payoh before 1965 which has since been completely eradicated by the government. Another aunty was grateful to the PAP government for giving her yearly cashouts to tide over the difficult times. Just as it is impossible for these seniors to understand the undercurrents of discontent, frustration and angst we have against the PAP, it is equally hard for us to fathom their mindsets. A prominent socio-political blog wishes to be a "voice for the ordinary Singaporeans", another vows to help the opposition win a GRC in the next election. Yet another opposition party blog aims to bring civil liberties to Singaporeans. Do we truly understand the aspirations of Singaporeans ? Or are we simply living in our own ivory towers constructed from the mutual stroking of one another's egoes ? Without having a grasp of the real sentiment on the ground, we are merely "talking about the army on paper" in our respective blogs. Electoral battles are won at the grassroots level and not in internet chatrooms. That's why the ruling PAP has a distinct advantage over everybody else with its extensive network of grassroots volunteers which forms the core of a formidable electioneering machinery for them to canvass votes during the election. As past elections have shown, 20% of the electorate has consistently voted for the opposition. The PAP haters in cyberspace mostly belong to this group already and continued sprouting of grand-sounding rhetoric isn't going to raise the percentage by much. The question we need to ask ourselves is: how are we going to convince the 40% fencesitters who are politically neutral to vote for the opposition ? Will they be influenced by the new media ? What are their most pressing concerns and worries ? Bloggers and forumers who are genuinely serious about helping the opposition gain ground in the next election should move out of the mental prison which the internet has entrapped them in to interact with the man on the street. Continued oral masturbation in cyberspace will do little to contribute to their cause.  Read More →

By Fang Zhi Yuan, Chief Editor 2008 proved to be a watershed in the history of Singapore politics: Outdoor protests were legalized for the first time since independence, albeit in a small corner in the city besides a police station. Over 70 protests were held at Hong Lim Park so far, the most notable being the minibond rallies organized by ex-NTUC INCOME Chief Mr Tan Kin Lian for disgruntled investors of credit-linked notes, who still holds the record for the most number of protests held by a single person (ten, to be exact) and the largest turnout (over a thousand at one rally). The dramatic escape of the nation’s number 1 terrorist suspect Mas Selamat from a supposed high-security detention center and the loss of millions of taxpayers’ monies by the Town Councils through the ill-advised purchase of structure-linked notes have triggered an unprecedented furore against the ruling party both in the fledging local blogosphere and the HDB heartlands alike. With rising inflation, wage cuts coupled with the looming spectre of retrenchments, it appears that the PAP government is in for a tough ride in the year ahead. Yet, in spite of undercurrents of discontent, frustration and anguish at some of its policies such as the lack of accountability and transparency at the bureaucratic level, the uncontrolled influx of cheap foreign labor which has long suppressed the wages of the lowest income level and the continued institution of draconian laws to stifle civil society, there have been no protests against the PAP so far. Internet ramblings are still restricted only to the confines of cyberspace and did not translate into a public outpouring of disgust and disenchantment. Non-net users vent their frustrations at the government with one another at neighborhood kopitiams and parks, completely oblivious to what was being discussed by their younger brethen in online forums and blogs. There lies the unique serf mentality of Singapore voters, most of whom have only experienced life under the rule of the PAP - no matter how peeved they are with the government, they will never dare to openly demonstrate against it. The implicit social contract set between Singaporeans and the PAP at independence which permitted the establishment to curtail some civil rights of the people in exchange for social stability and economic progress is still upheld by young and old Singaporeans alike in this day and age. Young undergraduates and working adults may frequent and partake in online discussions lampooning the PAP, but their preoccupation is with finding a job after graduation or holding on to their present jobs in the midst of economic uncertainty rather than human rights and freedom of speech. Taxi-drivers may curse the government to every passenger they fetch, but few will turn up at Hong Lim Park to protest against the PAP openly in public. They will rather spend time earning some extra cash. Short of a remote castastrophe leading to massive layoffs and unemployment, it is impossible to foresee any form of challenge to the PAP coming from the grassroots level. In spite of the economic hardships, Singaporeans still have not reached the breaking point yet and the government, with its deep pockets and a mammoth civil service at its disposal will ensure this will never happen. The year 2008 also saw the end of an era with the passing of opposition scion Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam who remains the only elected MP who dares to speak up for the people in Parliament. With all due respect to Mr Low Thia Kiang and Mr Chiam See Tong, the only two elected opposition MPs today, they can hardly claim to serve the interests of Singaporeans who are clamoring for a greater check on the ruling party. The PAP has cleverly manipulated the political landscape via the use of draconian laws and propaganda from the state media to prevent future JBJs from emerging and to ostracize them from mainstream society, keeping them forever on the fringes of electoral politics. Dr Chee’s SDP, which shares similiar political ideologies as JBJ, continues to confound detractors by espousing an extra-parliamentary, non-violent activism to effect changes in the system. In recent months, SDP does appear to gain political mileage with a spate of high profile protests which has embarrassed the government greatly in the eyes of the international community together a increase in support from a select group of Singaporeans - namely civil activists and socio-political netizens. SDP’s activism may have brought upon unprecedented external pressure on the ruling establishment, but it does little to win them crucial support from ordinary Singaporeans. By forsaking the parliamentary route completely and adopting a confrontational stance against the PAP, it has unwittingly fall into its enemy’s trap to remain forever in the political wilderness. At the other extreme lies the other opposition parties, which have been slow to embrace the New Media and civil activism unlike the SDP. While Mr Low and Mr Chiam may have genuine support from the residents in their respective constituencies, they have yet to attain the stature of a national leader to challenge the PAP after more than a decade in politics. With the exception of the SDP, there continues to exist an unbridgable gulf between the political parties and civil society. The two parties with seats in Parliament seem only contented to be Town Council managers in their constituencies with little or no involvement in national issues. What Singaporeans really yearn for the a credible alternative center of power to emerge to challenge the PAP on the grounds of governance, policies and management of the economy. Till now, there appears to be no viable alternative to the PAP. Singaporeans tend to play safe and vote for the status quote during difficult times as illustrated by the 2001 election in the aftermath of the 911 terrorist attack which saw the PAP returning to power with a whooping 75% majority. In other countries, a slowing in economy is a bane to the ruling party. Here in Singapore, it is the exact reverse. A weak economy, coupled with a divided if not disoriented opposition and a timid, pragmatic and conservative electorate means that that we can expect few headways made in Singapore’s political status quo. An election, if held this year, is likely to give the PAP another overwhelming mandate.  Read More →