TR EMERITUS

By Fang Zhi Yuan, Chief Editor

The legalization of outdoor protests at Hong Lim Park and the possible relaxation of laws governing political discourse in cyberspace was welcomed by some overly optimistic observers (read CNA  article) who predict it will herald in an era of greater openness and liberalization of political space in Singapore.

Unfortunately, this latest political development in Singapore will prove to be another false dawn as the autocratic PAP is unlikely to yield more ground than is warranted in order to preserve their hegemony.

In the first place, the initiatives rolled out by the government are meant to serve their own vested interests rather than to expand the political space when there was never any pressure exerted on them to do so by Singaporeans.

The large turnout at the minibond rallies comprising mostly of silver-haired retirees who are desperate to recoup their investment losses can hardly be construed as a political awakening for Singaporeans.

Allowing outdoor protests at Hong Lim Park is a tactical move to deflect international criticisms of Singapore’s draconian laws prohibiting freedom of assembly following the World Bank fiasco last year and to circumvent SDP’s strategy of discrediting its laws through civil disobedience.

Now that protests have been permitted albeit in a limited way, it will certainly slow down the momentum of SDP’s push for greater liberalization.

As for the widely anticipated change in laws governing cyberspace such as decriminalizing the production of political podcasts, it is more of removing an obsolete law which is impossible to enforce which has proven to be embarrassing to the regime than a calculated move to promote greater political debate amongst the nation’s net-savvy younger generation.

Looking at things from this perspective, it is clear that the PAP has no desire or motivation to further expand the political space beyond mere tokenism for purposes of political contingency.

In fact, the state-controlled media has added a spin to it to make it appear that the PAP is an enlightened and liberal government which understands the aspirations of Singaporeans so as to appeal to the P65 generation of voters.

While the easing of rules have added vibrancy to the country’s dour political landscape, its core remain essentially unchanged – the PAP system.

As long the PAP system is not challenged directly, the PAP is quite contented to allow ordinary citizens to question and dispute its policies. Yes, we can throw whatever brickbats we have at them, but at the end of the day, they still call the shots.

The latest moves are no more than PR exercises to revamp its patriarchal image in order to win the hearts of the young voters who may be put off by its repressive laws. The PAP is still the same old PAP. It will never allow an alternative center of power to emerge in Singapore simply because it cannot afford to.

After enjoying uninterrupted power for over four decades, the concept and practice of “parliamentary democracy” has become a foreign word to the PAP.

Any moves which threaten the status quo will not be tolerated as evident in its relentless prosecution of opposition politicians who advocate reform of their system of governance such as the late Jeyaretnam and Dr Chee.

And Singaporeans are still the same apathetic Singaporeans. In an increasingly difficult economic climate, most are  more concerned about their pockets rather than political space.

Unless we see a thousand Singaporeans gathering at Hong Lim Park to call for greater political openness, we are unlikely to progress beyond this present infantile stage of political maturity.

2 Responses to “Political space in Singapore unlikely to expand beyond mere tokenism”