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http://catherinelim.sg/2015/09/13/some-post-ge-2015-comments/
[h=1]Some Post-GE 2015 Comments[/h]Sometime before the General Election of 2015, I wrote about the Knowns and Unknowns that would affect the election outcome. Little did I think then that the biggest—and most disturbing—Unknown would be the shocking performance of the opposition. There was a heart-stopping moment for me when I actually thought the Workers’ Party might be wiped off the parliamentary slate.
Whatever the reflections and feelings about this election which in many respects was as momentous as the watershed election of 2011, I cannot help wondering about two possible scenarios of a changed PAP leadership following the landslide victory. The first would be most alarming, and the second most reassuring.
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to ‘fix’, once and for all, the opposition
Scenario 1
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to ‘fix’, once and for all, the opposition which they have always regarded as a nuisance and a hindrance to their getting a job done quickly, smoothly and efficiently. From weakening an already demoralised opposition in Parliament, they rapidly move on to squash all dissenting voices in the social media, especially the persistently troublesome bloggers. Their action, they claim, has the support of the majority of Singaporeans who, through the polls, have shown enough trust for the leaders to be their own checks and balances. The dominant one-party system is well on its way to being permanently entrenched in the Singapore political landscape, and the PAP will soon claim entitlement as a government in perpetuity.
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to bring about the political changes which had not been possible in the Lee Kuan Yew era
Scenario 2
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to bring about the political changes which had not been possible in the Lee Kuan Yew era, but which they now know to be inevitable. They are aware that in the long run, as the society matures, people will look beyond the material benefits of housing, transport, jobs, etc to the higher needs related to those basic civic liberties taken for granted in all practising democracies, such as freedom to express one’s views without fear of recrimination, especially the dreaded defamation suit. This progression from bread-and-butter concerns to the less tangible but equally important needs related to the human spirit is a universal one in every society as it aspires to take its place among advanced nations in the international community. Singapore certainly wants to be a First World nation, not just a society seen as successful only in a limited sense of the word.
The leaders, above all, realise that long-term planning for a stable, mature society cannot be governed simply by an election-to-election imperative, urgently correcting the damage caused by a disastrous election on the one hand, and trying to replicate the favourable factors of a successful one, on the other. This is at best a tactical approach when what is needed is an overarching strategy.
they will transform the PAP model of governance into a truly great one that other countries will find worth emulatingIn view of all the above considerations, the PAP leaders brace themselves to take a hard look at the matter of civic rights, and address it honestly and openly. They know that in doing so, they will make it easier for the new team of PAP leaders to deal systematically and effectively with an issue that has, over the last 50 years, been consigned to the fringes but which has to be ultimately faced. Through this action, they will transform the PAP model of governance into a truly great one that other countries will find worth emulating. For the first time ever, their ranking on human rights in international surveys will climb from the dismal lows to match that of their economic achievements.
In short, the leaders are ready to keep their post-election promise to serve the people ‘humbly’. Humility, in the truest sense of the word, means being prepared to listen respectfully, genuinely and patiently to even the 30% who voted against them, and to work hard at narrowing the divide that has existed between government and people for too long.
It is worthwhile mentioning at this point that GE 2015 has highlighted the special position of a senior minister in the PAP leadership, whose huge popularity in general and at the 2015 polls in particular, is clearly based on Singaporeans’ perception of a leader with precisely those qualities that will make this new attitude of the PAP possible. He not only represents the respected PAP qualities of hard work, efficiency, competence and mental astuteness, but also the not-exactly-PAP qualities of approachability, sincerity, authenticity and simple, warm connectedness with the common man. This is as good a time as any to single out this highly respected and well trusted minister by name—Mr Tharman—and to express the hope that with men like him in the post GE 2015 PAP leadership line-up, Scenario 2 may evolve, at long last, in the months and years ahead.
September 13th, 2015 — 4 comments
Respond
[h=1]Some Post-GE 2015 Comments[/h]Sometime before the General Election of 2015, I wrote about the Knowns and Unknowns that would affect the election outcome. Little did I think then that the biggest—and most disturbing—Unknown would be the shocking performance of the opposition. There was a heart-stopping moment for me when I actually thought the Workers’ Party might be wiped off the parliamentary slate.
Whatever the reflections and feelings about this election which in many respects was as momentous as the watershed election of 2011, I cannot help wondering about two possible scenarios of a changed PAP leadership following the landslide victory. The first would be most alarming, and the second most reassuring.
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to ‘fix’, once and for all, the opposition
Scenario 1
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to ‘fix’, once and for all, the opposition which they have always regarded as a nuisance and a hindrance to their getting a job done quickly, smoothly and efficiently. From weakening an already demoralised opposition in Parliament, they rapidly move on to squash all dissenting voices in the social media, especially the persistently troublesome bloggers. Their action, they claim, has the support of the majority of Singaporeans who, through the polls, have shown enough trust for the leaders to be their own checks and balances. The dominant one-party system is well on its way to being permanently entrenched in the Singapore political landscape, and the PAP will soon claim entitlement as a government in perpetuity.
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to bring about the political changes which had not been possible in the Lee Kuan Yew era
Scenario 2
Flushed with success, the PAP leaders see it as their best chance to bring about the political changes which had not been possible in the Lee Kuan Yew era, but which they now know to be inevitable. They are aware that in the long run, as the society matures, people will look beyond the material benefits of housing, transport, jobs, etc to the higher needs related to those basic civic liberties taken for granted in all practising democracies, such as freedom to express one’s views without fear of recrimination, especially the dreaded defamation suit. This progression from bread-and-butter concerns to the less tangible but equally important needs related to the human spirit is a universal one in every society as it aspires to take its place among advanced nations in the international community. Singapore certainly wants to be a First World nation, not just a society seen as successful only in a limited sense of the word.
The leaders, above all, realise that long-term planning for a stable, mature society cannot be governed simply by an election-to-election imperative, urgently correcting the damage caused by a disastrous election on the one hand, and trying to replicate the favourable factors of a successful one, on the other. This is at best a tactical approach when what is needed is an overarching strategy.
they will transform the PAP model of governance into a truly great one that other countries will find worth emulatingIn view of all the above considerations, the PAP leaders brace themselves to take a hard look at the matter of civic rights, and address it honestly and openly. They know that in doing so, they will make it easier for the new team of PAP leaders to deal systematically and effectively with an issue that has, over the last 50 years, been consigned to the fringes but which has to be ultimately faced. Through this action, they will transform the PAP model of governance into a truly great one that other countries will find worth emulating. For the first time ever, their ranking on human rights in international surveys will climb from the dismal lows to match that of their economic achievements.
In short, the leaders are ready to keep their post-election promise to serve the people ‘humbly’. Humility, in the truest sense of the word, means being prepared to listen respectfully, genuinely and patiently to even the 30% who voted against them, and to work hard at narrowing the divide that has existed between government and people for too long.
It is worthwhile mentioning at this point that GE 2015 has highlighted the special position of a senior minister in the PAP leadership, whose huge popularity in general and at the 2015 polls in particular, is clearly based on Singaporeans’ perception of a leader with precisely those qualities that will make this new attitude of the PAP possible. He not only represents the respected PAP qualities of hard work, efficiency, competence and mental astuteness, but also the not-exactly-PAP qualities of approachability, sincerity, authenticity and simple, warm connectedness with the common man. This is as good a time as any to single out this highly respected and well trusted minister by name—Mr Tharman—and to express the hope that with men like him in the post GE 2015 PAP leadership line-up, Scenario 2 may evolve, at long last, in the months and years ahead.
September 13th, 2015 — 4 comments
Respond
