http://wayangparty.wordpress.com/200...e-party-state/
Suppose you were a doctor, and one day you diagnosed a young male adult with a malignant tumour. The only way to cure the patient was through major surgery. What would you do?
Would you just dish out some homely advice about having a proper diet, getting exercise, sleeping well, reducing stress in one’s life, and hope the patient gets better on his own?
Or would you immediately perform surgery on the patient and try to remove the malignant tumour once and for all?
Any qualified doctor would definitely answer that the patient must undergo surgery to remove the tumour. Just asking the patient to eat right, sleep well, would do nothing to cure him. He may end up dying from the tumour no matter how good a diet or sleep habits he adopts.
This is the situation with our local politics at this time. We have a sham opposition which is like a malignant tumour in our political body. It is making us unwell, and we may die a political death if we don’t treat it our condition soon enough.
The sham opposition I’m referring to is the Wayang Party. Why do I call it a sham opposition? It is because over time, we have seen that through its words and actions, it has no real intention of opposing the ruling party, but only making a show and pretending that it is opposing.
People may argue, but the Wayang Party often speaks up in Parliament and criticizes the government. How can you call it a sham opposition? Well, consider these instances:
* WP Sec-Gen Low Thia Khiang openly gave the PAP a passing grade in governance, and used the media to insinuate that other opposition leaders are “mad dogs”. This remark was made before WP’s 50th anniversary dinner in 2007.
* WP Chairman Sylvia Lim spoke in the IBA Conference held in Singapore that PAP’s laws are fair and just, and serve as a good benchmark for international standards. This is despite the fact that PAP has detained opposition leaders under ISA, people are denied freedom of speech and assembly, and numerous defamation suits have been won against political opponents.
* WP (joint) Organizing secretary Yaw Shin Leong openly bragged on his blog that he voted PAP and openly slammed opposition candidate Ling How Doong as a justification. When Yaw was hammered in cyberspace, he maintained that his conscience is clear, and never offered a single word of apology to his supporters.
* Low Thia Khiang frequently backs down when challenged by PAP MPs. He also remains silent on important issues. For example, when PM Lee asked LTK in Parliament if Wong Kan Seng should resign, LTK kept quiet. PM Lee then passed a sarcastic remark: “No answer. So I guess that settles the point”. By his silence, LTK made the PAP look good, and made the opposition look very bad. One wonders whether LTK is helping the PAP or helping the opposition.
The truth is that the Wayang Party only provides token criticism to PAP policies, but they never push through with their challenge, and back down when rebutted. The Wayang Party has praised the PAP on numerous occasions and even attacked other opposition leaders.
In 2001 after JBJ was bankrupted as a result of a defamation suit filed by PAP leaders, Low Thia Khiang held an AGM in which only 31 out of 60 cadres attended. JBJ was absent during this AGM, and LTK became the new Secretary-General of the WP. LTK’s appointment drew the ire of other cadres who considered the AGM illegitimate. A disgruntled faction, led by Goh Yew Chye, considered taking legal action to contest the legitimacy of the AGM. This event was reported by Agence France Presse, a report is archived here:
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw01/010607a1.htm
Thereafter, JBJ resigned from the WP, totally disheartened at what had happened. It is clear that LTK had carefully orchestrated JBJ’s exit.
From that point onwards, LTK turned the WP into a Wayang Party, keeping it out of direct confrontation with the ruling party, but only providing superficial challenge and resistance. The PAP in turned has praised the WP for being a responsible opposition, and media coverage of LTK has frequently been positive even though LTK had not said anything of substance.
Why does PAP approve of WP? By having a couple of opposition in Parliament, the PAP can claim that Singapore is a democracy. In reality, Singapore is a sham democracy because the opposition in Parliament has failed to represent the constituents who oppose government policies. The fake opposition has allowed the PAP to claim on the international stage that Singapore is a first world democratic nation, but that is far from the truth. Till today, the PAP has full control of Parliament and is effectively a one-party state.
The presence of the Wayang Party legitimizes PAP’s rule and helps the PAP maintains its dominance and political hegemony. The opposition in parliament has been castrated.
The PAP in turn uses the Wayang Party to check on real oppositions like the Reform Party and SDP. The presence of sham opposition is the greatest threat to the growth of opposition parties who are genuinely interested in challenging the PAP rather than playing second fiddle to the PAP.
The Wayang Party is like a malignant tumour in our political system. If we ignore the fact that WP is a sham opposition, and only focus on voting in more opposition members to Parliament without considering the quality of the candidates, we end up achieving nothing, because the candidates we vote in will not challenge the PAP, but only help PAP perpetuate its rule. In the end, it is like telling a patient with a malignant tumour just to eat and sleep well, but not performing the necessary surgery to remove the tumour. The patient will die in the end.
The Wayang Party is the greatest obstacle to democratic progress in Singapore. We must be prepared to bite the bullet and perform the surgery to remove the Wayang Party first. Otherwise, our political system will forever be unhealthy, no matter how many candidates we vote into Parliament.
Some cyberspace fellows have asked, what can we do about the Wayang Party? There are a lot of things we can do:
* Stage a complete boycott of the WP. Avoid all their activities and election rallies. Do not legitimize their activities by participating in them.
* Spoil your vote if WP contests in your constituency, to send a strong message to both the PAP and WP that wayang politics is no longer tolerated.
* Support true oppositions like the Reform Party and SDP with your resources, manpower and money.
* Consistently criticize PAP policies even if the WP does not do so. Make it clear that the WP does not challenge the PAP at all.
Cutting the sham opposition out from the local politics scene may seem harsh, but it is necessary if we are to achieve democracy and political plurality in Singapore. We must each play our part and cooperate in this venture. Spread this message to your friends and colleagues. Tell everyone the truth about the Wayang Party and urge them to give their support to true opposition instead. Together, we can make our nation healthy again.
The above article was contributed by an annonymous netizen and regular SBF forumer whose identity is not revealed due to fears of reprisal from the WP internet brigade which has gained notoriety in cyberspace for stalking and intimidating critics of WP.
__________________
