By Hamish McDonald
May 6, 2006
ANALYSIS
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AdvertisementEARLIER this week, Singapore's 300,000 older and lower-income citizens were courted in a breath-taking example of electoral bribery.
They looked in their bank accounts and, in most cases, saw deposits of $S400 ($A330) to $S600 by the Government. They will get the same amount on May 1 next year.
The handouts are the nifty "workfare bonuses" revealed in the March budget speech by Singapore's Finance Minister, none other than Lee Hsien Loong himself.
Its aim was said to be maintaining workforce participation by helping with retraining and the like, but the scheme is widely seen as a blatant sweetener for voters aimed at a 12th successive election sweep by the ruling People's Action Party.
If that were all, we would be applauding the mix of self-interest and democracy in Singapore.
But, alas, today's election has been preceded by the usual rounds of litigation by senior PAP figures. The latest victim is Chee Soon Juan, of the Singapore Democratic Party, declared a bankrupt in February after failing to pay $S500,000 in defamation damages to the two previous prime ministers, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, over remarks in the 2001 election. He is now barred from standing for elections until 2011.
Authorities have also tightened controls over the political content of the numerous websites and blogs flourishing in Singapore.
With about two-thirds of Singaporean homes hooked to the internet, these new media were penetrating the state's pervasive control of conventional newspaper, TV and radio media.
So the Government has banned the use of podcasts, or internet broadcast of audio messages, and videocasts for election campaigns.
Bloggers can discuss politics among themselves, but will have to register with the Government's Media Development Authority.
During the election period, such bloggers are barred from providing online material deemed to be election advertising.
"In a free-for-all internet environment, where there are no rules, political debate could easily degenerate into an unhealthy, unreliable and dangerous discourse, flush with rumours and distortions to mislead and confuse the public," Balaji Sadasivan, the Junior Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, told Parliament last month.
The huge irony is that Lee Hsien Loong came to the prime ministership on a promise of freeing up Singapore's creative side, but has fallen back on the techniques of reward and repression developed by his father, Lee Kuan Yew.
This election is nonetheless a milestone of sorts. For the first time in its history, the PAP has not won the election before the ballots are cast. This year, a majority of seats, 47 out of 84, are contested. Whereas in 2001 only 675,000 of the 2 million eligible voters needed to turn out, this year about 1.3 million will be required to do their duty.
The opposition parties may eat into the PAP's share of the overall vote, but will be struggling to hold, let alone increase, their number of seats, now two out of 84. The junior Lee is reasonably assured of a long span in office, health permitting.
The prospects of Singapore developing a livelier culture, with more new faces putting up new ideas for its growth, are not so strong.
Without real political contest, the Government functions more like a bureaucracy. With the PAP not renowned for vigorous internal debate, many of the big decisions could be taken around the Lee dinner table.
May 6, 2006
ANALYSIS
Advertisement
AdvertisementEARLIER this week, Singapore's 300,000 older and lower-income citizens were courted in a breath-taking example of electoral bribery.
They looked in their bank accounts and, in most cases, saw deposits of $S400 ($A330) to $S600 by the Government. They will get the same amount on May 1 next year.
The handouts are the nifty "workfare bonuses" revealed in the March budget speech by Singapore's Finance Minister, none other than Lee Hsien Loong himself.
Its aim was said to be maintaining workforce participation by helping with retraining and the like, but the scheme is widely seen as a blatant sweetener for voters aimed at a 12th successive election sweep by the ruling People's Action Party.
If that were all, we would be applauding the mix of self-interest and democracy in Singapore.
But, alas, today's election has been preceded by the usual rounds of litigation by senior PAP figures. The latest victim is Chee Soon Juan, of the Singapore Democratic Party, declared a bankrupt in February after failing to pay $S500,000 in defamation damages to the two previous prime ministers, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, over remarks in the 2001 election. He is now barred from standing for elections until 2011.
Authorities have also tightened controls over the political content of the numerous websites and blogs flourishing in Singapore.
With about two-thirds of Singaporean homes hooked to the internet, these new media were penetrating the state's pervasive control of conventional newspaper, TV and radio media.
So the Government has banned the use of podcasts, or internet broadcast of audio messages, and videocasts for election campaigns.
Bloggers can discuss politics among themselves, but will have to register with the Government's Media Development Authority.
During the election period, such bloggers are barred from providing online material deemed to be election advertising.
"In a free-for-all internet environment, where there are no rules, political debate could easily degenerate into an unhealthy, unreliable and dangerous discourse, flush with rumours and distortions to mislead and confuse the public," Balaji Sadasivan, the Junior Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, told Parliament last month.
The huge irony is that Lee Hsien Loong came to the prime ministership on a promise of freeing up Singapore's creative side, but has fallen back on the techniques of reward and repression developed by his father, Lee Kuan Yew.
This election is nonetheless a milestone of sorts. For the first time in its history, the PAP has not won the election before the ballots are cast. This year, a majority of seats, 47 out of 84, are contested. Whereas in 2001 only 675,000 of the 2 million eligible voters needed to turn out, this year about 1.3 million will be required to do their duty.
The opposition parties may eat into the PAP's share of the overall vote, but will be struggling to hold, let alone increase, their number of seats, now two out of 84. The junior Lee is reasonably assured of a long span in office, health permitting.
The prospects of Singapore developing a livelier culture, with more new faces putting up new ideas for its growth, are not so strong.
Without real political contest, the Government functions more like a bureaucracy. With the PAP not renowned for vigorous internal debate, many of the big decisions could be taken around the Lee dinner table.
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