TR EMERITUS

By Fang Zhi Yuan According to a report published by The Malaysian Insider, more than 90 per cent of young voters aged 21 - 30 voted for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the recent Permatang Pauh by-election. One key reason for Anwar's empathic victory over his Barisan Nasional (BN) opponent lies in the fact that young internet savvy voters obtain their news chiefly from the pro-opposition alternative media which are seen as more credible than the mainstream media controlled by the ruling party. They simply do not buy the dirt that BN has heaped on Anwar through the mainstream media. Young educated and urbane voters are also more concerned about good governance, human rights and democratic ideals than basic bread-and-butter issues. In spite of feeable attempts to engage young voters, the ruling Barisan Nasional has failed miserably to win them over. What they don't realize is that younger Malaysians will only support a political party which shares their aspirations, not one that continues to lecture them. In Singapore, the recent furore over People's Action Party (PAP) MP Lee Bee Wah's perceived high-handness in a media interview to replace the Singapore Olympic Table Tennis Team manager and coach so soon after winning the silver medal in Beijing marked only the tip of the ice-berg of a groundswell of discontent building up against the ruling party. Many are quick to point out that Mrs Lee's attitude reflects the typical modus operandi of the PAP - insensitive, callous and arrogant. Some even called her to step down as a Member of Parliament. Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, perhaps realizing the political repercussions of a protracted saga moved in quickly to smoothe the flames with a rare public apology by Mrs Lee. However, irreversible damage has already been done, making another dent at the PAP's image and reputation as an overbearing authoritarian control freak. Decades of one-party rule without the presence of an opposition to provide a counterbalance has made the ruling PAP complacent and out of touch with the ordinary citizenry. Singaporeans, especially the young are getting increasingly restless, disgrunted and peeved at the current state of affairs. Like our Malaysian counterparts, we yearn for the competency, accountability and transparency (CAT) as espoused by Penang Chief Minister Mr Lim Guan Eng in the formulation and implementation of government policies. We hate to be lectured repeatedly by the PAP and have unpopular policies forced down our throats without any proper consultation such as the GST hike, annuity scheme and rise in Ministers' salaries. The PAP must have realized that it is entering a new era where perceptions of the populace is easily shaped and influenced by the online media, hence its recent token move to liberalize the political landscape to allow political podcasts and public protests at a designated area. The Malaysian government had a meeting last week to discuss the impact of the new media on their continued stranglehold on power. The conclusion is sombre: by the next GE, there will be 2 million new voters, most of which will vote for the opposition. If the Barisan Nasional continue to ignore this emerging trend, they will be voted out of the government in the next GE. I am sure our astute PAP leaders are not ignorant to this unsavory fact. Unfortunately, there is no real risk of the PAP losing power in the near future as compared to its Malaysian counterpart because there is no Anwar Ibrahim in Singapore to unite the weak and fragmented opposition. Without an united opposition to galvanize Singaporeans long fed up with the PAP, it is highly unlikely the PAP hegemony will be broken. The "largest" opposition in Parliament has only 2 seats out of which one is a "gift" bestowed by the PAP on the "best loser" during the last GE. The de facto opposition "leader" Mr Low Thia Kiang of the Workers' Party (WP) was widely discredited as being a Trojan horse in the opposition, offering only feeble opposition to the PAP while legitimizing its' dubious "mandate". (WP's organizing secretary Yaw Shin Leong admitted to voting for PAP during the last GE and is proud of it) On the other hand, the real voice and conscience of the opposition, Dr Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democractic Party (SDP), is banned from electoral politics for the foreseeable future due to his status as a bankrupt. Even if he is free to participate, his popularity and electability with the pragmatic Singapore voters is a suspect as a result of a decade-long media campaign to demonize him. (SDP's vote of shares has been sliding since 1991 when it won an unprecedented 3 seats in Parliament). Singapore's long-suffering opposition icon Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam who formed the Reform Party this year, is already 84 and there are valid concerns on whether his health permits him to contest in the next GE. The political situation on the ground for Singapore's opposition is grim. Without a viable alternative coalition in the mould of Malaysia's Pakatan Rakyat (consisting of three opposition parties - Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Democratic Action Party and Parti Islam SeMalaysia), Singaporeans will have no choice but to continue to vote for the PAP though deep down inside their hearts, they have little enthusiasm or belief in a future dependent on the PAP running the country. I for one, cannot fathom why the opposition parties in Singapore just simply cannot stand together on the same platform in the spirit of solidarity against the PAP while Mr Anwar is able to weave together quite a formidable coalition from disparate parties such as the secular Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). Singaporeans have become depoliticized over the years of adversarial politics promulgated by the PAP. Even the PAP acknowledged it had problems recruiting new members into its ranks let alone the already decimated opposition camp which continues to be helmed by a few senior leaders hailing from the 1970s and 80s. Apathy breeds disillusion and disillusion eventually leads to despair. While many are resigned to their fates, more and more Singaporeans especially the upper-middle class are opting to vote with their feet - by taking their money out of PAP-controlled CPF to start life afresh in a new land. (Well, why should they allow their hard-earned money to be misused to bail out ailing US banks without their consent?) Mr Anwar Ibrahim's call for a second Merdeka has inspired countless of young Malaysians to join his cause. At this juncture in time, the Pakatan Rakyat is on the threshold of seizing power in the federal government. In Singapore, where the local population is increasingly becoming diluted, marginalized and even oppressed by an uncontrolled influx of foreigners, this second Merdeka continue to be a distant dream. Meanwhile, the wait for Singapore's Pakatan Rakyat to liberate the masses from the clutches of a draconian autocracy remains as forlorn as ever.  Read More →

By Fang Zhi Yuan The Singapore media, ranked  147th by Reporters without frontiers on its latest Press Freedom Index, is constantly being ridiculed and villified by its detractors for being a stooge of the PAP government, in short "The PAP Times". Not only does it churns out daily PAP propaganda to poison and brainwash the minds of Singaporeans (I admit that I am one of its "victims" for the last 18 years before the advent of the internet) to mould them into "obedient, subservient and unthinking citizens", it is also an indirect conduit for the PAP to monitor the sentiments on the ground through the ST Forum. Though we know the PAP is an arrogant political behemoth which will never admit its mistakes, it is actually more adverse to public opinion than we have thought. To put it succinctly, it knows cleverly when to "steer the wheel according to the winds". When it knows it is running against the mill, it will not hesitate to fine-tune, tone down and moderate its rhetoric and stance. The recent IBA's critique of Singapore's human rights record is a slap on the face of the PAP which had spent much time and resources courting the organization. Though it carried a robust defense to exonerate itself through the state media to the extent of dismissing them as a "Western conspiracy to do us in", it is well aware that in this digital era where information is widely availabe at the click of a button, most Singaporeans especially the young IT-savvy, remains unconvinced by its desperate attempts to redeem its bruised credibility, if there is any left in the first place. As such it is not surprising to see a subtle yet significant shift in the state media's stance on human rights. Initially it tried perhaps too hard to propagate the PAP's view that human rights is a western fallacy that is inapplicable and irrelevant to the Singaporean context amid some blatant character assassination. Now it appeared to have taken a more conciliatory and balanced approach bereft of the usual political rhetoric as evident by two articles published in the Straits Times today. In "Human rights: Not whether, but what to debate", Chua Mui Hoong (the sister of the "Dr" Chua Lee Hoong, the self-proclaimed psychiatrist who diagnosed Dr Chee to be suffering from a personality disorder) tried to put things into perspective by arguing that the two opposing prevailing views of human rights are not mutually exclusive of each other and it is more productive to look at its content and relevance to Singapore. She even offered a mild rebuttal to the PAP's rigid hardline attitude towards foreign criticism: "But this assertion of sovereignty over political discourse should not close our minds to what has merit in foreign criticism of Singapore." The next article "The biggest conundrum in Singapore politics" by Li Xueying bears uncanny similiarities to a communist-style self-confession of faults in which she outlined quite frankly the major grouses and grievances against the PAP such as gerrymandering, GRC, use of HDB upgrading as an electoral carrot and the PAP's restriction on civil and political rights. She even chided PM Lee for not moving faster in his promise during his swearing-in speech to liberalize the political landscape. The last paragraph strikes me as holding out an olive branch to Dr Chee: "After all, ultimately, everyone is battling for the same team: Singapore". I are glad that the PAP is aware of the widespread discontent and resentment on the ground against its political high-handness and repression. However, plain empathy alone is still not enough to win back the hearts and minds which have been lost. Unless the PAP reforms itself and the system it entrenched its power in, it is not inconceivable that Singapore ends up being the First World's Zimbabwe one day. The subliminal shift of the state media to a more middle ground is an indication that the PAP is not so monolith and rigid after all. There are liberals in the party who do not agree with how things are done currently. They are acutely concerned about how Singapore's image and standing in the international community had taken a battling lately. A first world economy is not commensurate with a third world political system. To the younger generation who are educated and widely traveled, it is not enough just to have basic economic rights such as a roof over our heads. We want equal civil and political rights as rightful citizens and owners of this land to participate in the running of our nation. We do not want to be told all the time by the PAP that only its decisions are right for Singapore and nobody else's. Does the post-65er MPs in the PAP really understand our concerns, needs and expectations ? I doubt so. Maybe there are some with a reformist streak, but they will be powerless to effect any meaningful changes in the presence of a certain octagenarian. Therefore, I do not expect any paradigm shift in the PAP's mindset on the whole though the subtle shift in the official stance do suggest there is some introspection in the PAP on recent developments so far. It is time the PAP and the state media stop treating Singaporeans as idiots with no minds of their own. The more it tried to impose its views on us, the more peeved we will be and eventually it will lose its credibility and clout completely if not already so. Let us get this clear that Singapore is built by countless of people - our grandfathers and grandmothers, with their blood and sweat, not by the PAP or one individual. We are not indebted to the PAP forever. We want the best for Singapore and if this involves reforming the entire political system and tossing out a rotten decadent political entity incapable of keeping up with modern times, we should do so without any reservations. Enough is enough. Tak Boleh Tahan !    Read More →

By Eugene Yeo Long regarded as politically apathetic and "bochap", there was a well of unprecedented interest amongst Singaporeans especially the young in the latest Malaysian general election. Whether in heartland kopitiams frequented by the Ah Peks and Ah Sohs or a cyberspace populated by young savvy bloggers and forumers, everybody is talking about the political "tsunami" which has hit Malaysia and if its effect will spill over to Singapore in the next GE. Many Singaporeans were inspired and electrified by the triumphs of the underdogs against all odds - the overwhelming grassroots machinery of BN, its seemingly infinite resources, vilification by the mainstream media, all of which they can easily identified with given the similar circumstances in Singapore. Bloggers post daily updates of the Malaysian election campaign and of the results on polling day itself. The podcasts of opposition campaigns, speeches and rallies were widely viewed. Internet chatrooms and forums were filled with threads praising, supporting and even lauding opposition figures though few Singaporeans have met them in person before. Though the ethnic composition of the electorate on both sides of the causeway differs greatly (Chinese is the majority race in Singapore with a majority of 76% as compared to 26% in Malaysia in which the Malays is the dominant race), the political landscape is uncannily similar with a monolith party or coalition leading the countries since independence. Political analysts hailed the internet as having a significant impact on the opposition's electoral success as evident in the high level of support received by the opposition in the urban constituencies with over 60% in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur alone. Malaysia's internet penetration is 62% compared to Singapore's 85% in 2007 and therefore it is not impossible, inferring from the Malaysia experience, that such stunning electoral outcome can be replicated in Singapore in the island's next general election in 2010 or 2011. Frustrated and peeved with the mainstream media's unshamed bias to the incumbent Barisan Nasional, many young Malaysians turned to the alternative media as a reliable source of news. The more biased and lopsided the reports of the state media are, the more credibility the alternative media gains. The popular online news blog Malaysiakini reported a record half a million visitors an hour on the election day itself causing its server to crash. Not surprisingly, the majority of netizens are anti-establishment opposition supporters. According to a mock election conducted by the popular news blog Malaysia Today, 88% of its readers voted for the opposition, Barisan Rakyat. The same trend is also noted in Singapore, not least by the ruling PAP, that more and more Singaporeans are obtaining their news from blogs and forums.   Like their Malaysian counterparts, Singapore netizens are voracious critics of the PAP. Surely it does dawn upon the politically astute PAP that this is a potential threat to their rule in the future. As Raja Petra Kamaruddin of Malaysia Today put it aptly:  "I also read that some politicians in Singapore are anxious as to what had happened in the last election in Malaysia. They feared that the tide will overspill on the island causing the People's Action Party (PAP) to collapse in their next general election."  Read More →