But this article caught my eye...And this definitely did not come up in the Straits Times newspaper at all. (cos I was pretty damn bored on friday afternoon and was reading ST online)
While I can't say I particularly respect the SDP (my friends and I agreed over coffee at Cafe Amalfi in SOHO that for whatever reason, Singapore lacks a credible opposition), I'm not sure this is the way to go for the government. We also agreed that a problem in Singapore politically is that people FAIL to separate the civil service from the politicians. After all, technicaly, the civil service is suppose to be apolitical. It serves whoever the incumbent party is that wins the general election.
I always try to hard to defend Singapore's lack of "human rights" from my westernised friends when I am abroad. After all, who are they to complain? I don't feel particularly oppressed honestly so stop comparing us to yourselves you human rights activists!!! What makes you think you can use your benchmark to judge me/ us? After all, in the USA, to be a politician, you have to know the right people (this is the case MOST of the time). Human rights? BAH
But this definitely does not help my case... go to Singabloodypore.blogspot.com for more. Can't say I like the blog name...sure bitch against the government cos thats only normal right? Grass always greener on the other side of every fence. But have some pride in your country?
Having said that...kinda disturbing don't you think? And most of singapore doesnt even know abt it...
This article was taken from the BBC on 13th of April
Europe MPs 'gagged' by SingaporeSingapore has been accused of acting like an "authoritarian state" after refusing to allow European Parliament members to speak during a visit.
The MEPs had been invited by an opposition politicianThe seven MEPs, as well as a Cambodian and a Philippines congresswoman, were denied permission to speak at a forum on democracy in Europe and Asia.
One MEP likened the Singaporeans' to repressive regimes such as North Korea.
The Singapore government said foreigners did not have permission to address the event.
The seven MEPs, from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), came to Singapore after earlier speaking at a forum in Indonesia.
'Authoritarian state'
"I fear that, in this sense at least, it puts Singapore in a league with North Korea, Myanmar and the People's Republic of China," MEP Graham Watson was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
"What has happened today proves that Singapore is an authoritarian state," said Ignasi Guardans, a Spanish MEP.
The MEPs had been invited to speak by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) led by Chee Soon Juan, opponents of the People's Action Party which has ruled the island state since 1959.
"Singapore's politics are reserved for Singaporeans. As visitors to our country, foreigners should not abuse their privilege by interfering in our domestic politics," Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
6 comments:
Of course you don't feel oppressed; you are not politically inclined. People like you can go on happily with your humdrum daily lives, blissfully unaware of all the oppression and injustice that others are facing.
Do you know, for example, the grievous injustice JB Jeyaretnam faced? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBJ
Do you know how Tang Liang Hong was sued for defamation because he defended himself from their absurd attacks?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Liang_Hong
Perhaps you would also like to read this article: http://www.singapore-window.org/1028judi.htm
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you read all these and still think Singapore is free and the people are not oppressed, then I've nothing to say. But I suspect people like you say such things only because you are not aware of the darker side of Singapore.
its not that i am unaware of what you call the darker side of singapore life. i am aware, maybe not completely, i'll admit. i can't say that i agree with the way the government handles things that are political in nature.
however, my point is that i do not particularly appreciate it when human rights activists slime singapore and compare it to their system that they hold in such high regard. because its not as fair as they think.
the kind of political turmoil/ dissidence/ opening up amongst the people, or whatever else you want to call it, is normal now because as the economy develops, people want more. if you look at the case of taiwan and korea for instance...they weren't democracies but now they are.
but no. i still do not feel oppressed. oppressed would be too strong a word. oppressed is people in africa living under a dictatorship, which you might choose to say we are living under, but i think that would be an unfair comparison for the african people would it not be? but yes there is some sort of self- censorship involved in our daily lives and i guess if you call that oppressed. maybe so then. things are changing and sometimes the leadership doesnt understand that its changing beyond mere economics....
i would say that we are in a time when things are changing, people want change, and a choice. economic growth alone is insufficient. i guess the opposition hasnt had much of a chance to grow but there seems to be better options nowadays, with sylvia lim and the likes...
"however, my point is that i do not particularly appreciate it when human rights activists slime singapore and compare it to their system that they hold in such high regard. because its not as fair as they think."
So Gin, tell me. Will you be more comfortable if the European MPs come to Singapore to give speeches praising the "Uniquely S'pore" system?
Do you also think that there should be varying degrees of fairness? Say a N Korea brand vs a Singapore brand vs an European brand? What is it about the high standards of others that you are disagreeable about? Blind nationalism is foolish and plays into the hands of the oppressors.
Will you be more comfortable if the European MPs come to Singapore to give speeches praising the "Uniquely S'pore" system?
- of course not. the comfortable part is not about not being able to face up to the faults of the singapore political system. rather, yes, i do take a 'look into your own backyard before you stick your nose into ours attitude'
i have no qualms about politicans speaking to us at all. in fact, when i put the article in that post, it was to show the lack of confidence the singapore govt has in its own system.
it all depends on what they say right? if they were to go on about how the singapore system should change to become more open.. sure why not.
but if its like what quite a lot of human rights activists do.. ie say that we are oppressed and dont have rights, then i beg to differ. there is a difference between what these 2 groups are doing. while i dont mind being shown/ informed of what a more open system is, i dont particularly enjoy being judged. especially not by people who have not even lived in my country. no human rights in general for the populance v.s. no political rights for politicians of an opposing party. i think its something that needs to be differentiated. and yes. i do agree there is some sort of overlap. but its the case of a square being a rectangle but a rectangle not a square.
And as to Nationalism
- this is not nationalism. i'm not some blind silly flag waving starry eyed person. rather. there is a difference between the country you belong to and the politicians who rule is there not? maybe to you there isnt. but to me, singapore is one thing, singapore politics is another. sure they overlap. but there still is a slight difference. singapore also includes the people, the places, the memories and even out futile attempts to get into the world cup.
i suppose you are very concerned by the freedom of the political system. and honestly i think its great that there are so many views in singapore. after all, no society can grow without many perspectives. don't get me wrong. i do agree that our system somewhat constrained, somewhat unfair. i even attended a talk by james gomez. and while i see the point brough up by these opposition part members, i still take every little thing with a pinch of salt. but i also take everything the government says with a pinch of salt too.
and on a side note, thank you for your opinion and this is very interesting. though i would definitely prefer to continue it over email or coffee because i would like to keep my blog a little less serious.
and one more thing.
either the titanic and the iceberg will crash
or
somehow the iceberg will melt away
i can see both perspectives on this issue. though i'm certainly not an expert on singapore, it's my understanding that the government does actively restrict certain political and social freedoms that other industrialized countries "enjoy". though i think most reasonable people would admit that in general, greater personal freedoms are correlated with more advanced economies, i would caution those who are quick to apply "western" ideals to other societies.
china is a natural case study in this regard. there is a plethora of human rights activists who have vocally denounced the government policies as oppression. though idealistically, i would love to see greater personal freedom in china, the challenges of modernization for such a huge country incredibly complex. the USSR attempt to liberalize its political and economy pretty much simultaneously has resulted in chaos, corruption and economic stagnation. china's approach of economic liberalization before political and social has yielded phenomenal economic growth, stability and slowly (though very slowly) improving political/social freedoms.
now singapore is in a much different situation, but the principle should translate. different countries progress along different trajectories, and the "means" may not always be to the "western" standard, but i do believe for the most part, in singapore and china, the top leaders (on the whole) have the country's (not the individual's) long-term best interest in mind. for those who believe the ends never justify the means, this may be a tough pill to shallow. note however, i will disagree with gin in pointing to taiwan and korea as evidence that as economies develops, there is an increase in democratic activity because singapore contradicts this - it already has a higher GDP per capita than both taiwan and korea.
with that said, i'm also willing to give singapore more slack because of its fairly open emigration policy. i do not feel entirely comfortable condemning an entire country as repressive when they allow their citizens to openly leave. sure, one can argue that it may be difficult to emigrate in today's world - but the option is there. i'm sure some western countries will welcome singaporean citizens (and their general high level of education/income). mobility is a key factor to consider in a globalized economy. there is certain to be countries with more or less political freedoms, and if you don't like how your country operates (and if you can't change it from within) - then leave! (as some americans have done recently with regard to their country of origin).
for those of us hailing from these countries with the most critics of others' human rights, i do think we need to be more introspective of our own government's policies. the US has seen numerous personal freedoms eroded since September 11th, and human rights situations in guantanomo and iraq are alarming. however, we justify these transgressions in the name of security - security for the society over the individual rights of the one. i believe this is not too different (in theory) than singapore's approach.
and i agree, with global warming - that iceberg is doomed!!
Post a Comment