Rilek1Corner

Tag: democracy

  • Reserved Presidential Elections: The Challenges And The Opportunities..

    Reserved Presidential Elections: The Challenges And The Opportunities..

    Mdm Halimah is now the President of Singapore. Elected on a technicality for the only one candidate meeting the set requirements for this year’s RPE. The Government has urged the people to move on and acknowledged the bitterness over elements leading up to the RPE. There are still lingering sentiments of unhappiness from the people. But overtime all this will die down as the reality of life in our sunny Island catches up.

    Below are a summary of issues for our reflections in moving forward.

    1. Race

    – Race was upfront and personal in this RPE. It was ugly at times but overall it was a good exercise for everyone to see the raw issues in public space. It is not as bad as we pictured.

    – Singapore has indeed grown up somewhat and from the spectrum of views and commentaries from all segments of society, we can see that it gave a fair variety, capturing feelings and thoughts representatives of quite a good number of us, Singaporeans.

    – The letting off steam period will soon pass and we will pick up the pieces so to speak and honestly we came off not as bad as we might have. A testimony of our collective growth and vigour. We differ strongly on views and adamantly stood our grounds but at the end of the day we all have to move on. The bruises are part and parcel of growing up as a nation.

    – Much can therefore be picked up and learned to continue the engagement from where this RPE have left us to reach the needed rapprochement across the stereotypes and divide. We should all see this as a welcome process of our maturing society.

    – I may be against the RPE but I do see the benefits that this truly unexpected move the Government took for reasons that is best left for now, as all sentiments have been expressed.

    – The Government has a vital role to address the soreness of the RPE but it has the vantage view of where we are truly at by taking a pretty back seat so far to its credit. But the next move it makes will be the game-changer. It can choose to ignore or capture the moment to offer us a fresh new deal which Singaporean clearly are keen to learn about.

    2. Politics

    – Putting aside the unfortunate vitriols of all kinds, there has been many more reasoned and intellectually worthy discourses from netizens. Several online forums platform do provide critical and constructive analysis offering good sound bases for further political explorations.

    – Citizen’s has shown genuine concerns on processes and changes to our constitution. The Government should consider the people’s desire for engagement in politics and have their questions answered, instead of sticking to rigid clinical executions ignoring the people.

    – This RPE stood right in the middle of the 5-year term of parliament and should have an impact in the next election. Depending on which way the Government again choose to lead, the opportunity for widening the political space is there for the taking.

    – Singapore politics clearly has so much room for improvement and the Government should cease the day and begin the process of political reform.

    3. Democracy

    – This word has too often been taken for granted and it is high time that society and citizens learn more about what democracy is about. The Government for reasons it chooses to keep to itself adopts a very measured and slow progress in teaching democracy to us. Now is the right time for the Government to embrace the spirit of strengthening our democracy.

    – For this, the Government can begin to reduce its excessive control on the media and public spaces for political discourse. It should not be overly sensitive and show more confidence which it actually has, as not all political discourse including opposition’s views are automatically detrimental to the Government.

    – In fact, it will benefit the Government by allowing more diverse ideas and plurality of political viewpoints. It has enough buffer to take a robust political engagement than it realises. However, it has to restrain its army of online supporters which often time discredit the Government more than any short term good it does. The online troops adopts a shallow approach in engaging netizens that contributes little in content and substance but focuses on sarcasm, emotions and fears. It is hampering our citizen’s political growth and education.

    4. Singaporean Identity

    – The Government has thrown race into the political machine that it has carefully avoided in the past. It has open up a can of worms but on the flip-side it actually forced a nationwide wakeup. It now has the golden chance to reconfigure the race discourse as it chooses to. It should do so together with the people.

    – The stakes are high but it is worth taking as the benefits truly outweighs its downside. This is about the Singaporean identity project that now requires a deeper soul searching exploration.

    – There has been many opinions about race but most are stale uninspiring tales of the political past. However there has been thought provoking but reasoned views calling for a relook at our ethnic divide.

    – Race realities are more fluid and the struggles over the definition of race for the RPE should suffice to tell us reform is a must, as indeed society has moved on and policies on race may be past its dues.

    – We are more united and race blind in form than we view from the emotional lenses of ourselves. It is an exciting window to be opened by the Government to offer us a review of what our multi-racialism today is truly all about.

    Finally, we can see the less savoury, somewhat polarised race divide that this RPE has caused. The Government by its decision for the RPE has calculated and has said clearly that it is prepared to take the risk. It must now listen to the voices of the people expressed in frustration not out of any hate, but an emotional pouring of love for this nation that we truly care about. The Government is truly poised to take the higher road and address this divide with the grace of leadership foresight or chooses to do otherwise. The nation awaits to see what it does.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Commentary: No Other Possible Way Of Calling A Spade A Spade, Similarly A Kelong President

    Commentary: No Other Possible Way Of Calling A Spade A Spade, Similarly A Kelong President

    PAP’s Kelong Presidency

    Some people, especially my Malay FB friends, are not happy that I use the hashtag #MadamKelongPresident against Halimah. They seem to think that I am disrespectful to her just because she is Malay President?!

    That is utter nonsense. Just like many Singaporeans, I am totally disgusted with PAP’s rigging of the Presidential Elections. Unfortunately, Halimah has CHOSEN to be part of this disgusting ploy.

    As explained, she could have just WALKED away from submitting her nomination papers so to trigger an Open PE after the other two contenders were disqualified. She would have shown that she is truly INDEPENDENT of PAP’s ploy and we would applause her true spirit of democracy. But no. She has CHOSEN to play along with PAP’s script. The rest is history.

    I do not know Halimah personally and do not have any ill feelings, neither good feelings about her. She is just a plain White PAP people to me.

    However, no matter what you say about her being a “Nice Lady”, the truth is, she has become the President under such Wayangism and Kelongism. There is really no other possible way of calling a spade a spade, a Kelong President so she must be.

    I am confident that she will not be the ONLY Kelong President in Singapore history. There will be Future Kelong Presidents, REGARDLESS of Race, Language or Religion or Sexuality, as long as PAP is in Total Monopoly of Power. There will be Chinese Kelong President, Indian Kelong President, Eurasian Kelong President etc. There will be Madam Kelong President and Mr Kelong President. All in all, they will be ALL the same, the product of Kelongism and Wayangism by PAP government.

    As long as there is Kelong President, I will call he or she as so; thus, mistake me not, it is NOT about Halimah but it is the Kelong Presidency of hers which will deserve such appropriate calling.

    As long as there are people who are wiling to play along with PAP’s Kelongism and Wayangism, there will always be Kelong Presidents born out of the process. I shall not be moved by any SOB story of why these people have to accept or forced into the ploy or scheme of things. As long as you made that conscious choice, you are hardly innocent of being the accomplice of such Kelongism.

    Kelong President of PAP you shall be.

     

    Source: Goh Meng Seng

  • Damanhuri Abas: What To Tell My Children About Meritocracy, Racism Realities, Democracy, Malay Community And Singapore’s Future

    Damanhuri Abas: What To Tell My Children About Meritocracy, Racism Realities, Democracy, Malay Community And Singapore’s Future

    Since some remind us to accept and look at the wisdom of the whole episode of a race based Presidential non-election, let me share what I heard, saw, reflected, learned and gathered to tell my children.

    1. Meritocracy

    – It is a good word thrown around to legitimise why some are not up there (just not ‘good’ enough i.e. PM, top civil servant, etc., etc.)
    – It is a good word to justify high paying public salaries i.e. best in private sector will only be attracted to public service for equal salary
    – It is good word to excuse clear conflict of interest situations i.e. no other choice as he/she is the best for the position, even though related to one another i.e. so many out there (nepotism?, cronyism?)
    – It is a bad word used to apply selective affirmative action (symbolism i.e. Reserved PE, tokenism i.e. GRC – serving political interest)
    – It is an abused word – all the while the sacred meritocratic claim is a sad joke

    2. Racism Realities

    – Acknowledged – Majority privilege exposé
    – Racist – Chinese majority
    – Excused – 70% Chinese majority for racial harmony
    – Contradiction – GRC minority racial provision to assure minority representation is transferable to majority race (MYT GRC no By-election)
    – Undesirable – Madrasah, for its religious exclusivism
    – Legitimised – SAP school necessary for elitism
    – Institutionalised – HDB only race quota good
    – Ignored – i.e. Mindef unspoken security policy (Malays full loyalty doubted) poisoning wider society’s perceptions of Malays for the last 52 years of being inherently untrustworthy for no apparent reason
    – Taboo – public not allowed to talk race
    – Abused – government exploits race sentiments for political benefits

    3. Democracy

    – Institutionalised – the parliament
    – Institutionalised – judiciary and legislative
    – Process – election
    – Symbolic – the pledge
    – Reality – no press freedom (world press freedom ranking Singapore 151st position, worst than even Afghanistan at 120th)
    – Reality – controlled on public debate on policies (Think-tanks not allowed to think, IPS, LKYSPP, etc.)
    – Reality – political interest overrides democratic principles and foundations i.e. Constitutional changes with no referendum
    – Reality – constant changing the rules and gaming the system eg. constitutional boundary changes, limited campaigning period, cooling day, reserved PE, etc.

    4. Malays : Compliant Leadership and Voiceless Community

    – Painted as desiring the Presidency even though never consulted and neither asked for it
    – Supportive or silent Malay leadership in Government and community legitimising the reserved PE, not in sync with real community’s ground sentiment
    – Leadership not willing to criticise Government policy as will impact on funding for their community based institutions – beholden to the Government
    – Self-serving impression, prioritising community’s interest above that of the country’s interest to put the best independent individual to be President
    – Leaders colluded in elaborate scheme to deny Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s genuine chance to be President that the people really wanted
    – Sellout community i.e. easily bought and sold for cheaps

    5. Future of Singapore Takeaways

    – Political Maturity – undermined (vote denied), hindered (voiced-out), regressed (forced-acceptance)
    – Democratic Principles – downplayed (not-ready excuse), worsened (power-dominance strengthened), brutalised (people’s rights-trampled)
    – Multi-Racial Society – cosmetic (tokenism over real change), conflicting (racism politicised), compromised (racist policies unchallenged)
    – Overall Feeling – shortchanged (Singaporeans choice denied), cheapened (Malay community’s integrity), sold-out (leadership of yes-man)

    May we draw some wisdom for the sake of our country’s future.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Khan Osman Sulaiman: Those Responsible For Using Racial Politics To Divide And Conquer Gets Away Scott-Free

    Khan Osman Sulaiman: Those Responsible For Using Racial Politics To Divide And Conquer Gets Away Scott-Free

    I was upset when the gov disguise condescension as affirmative action. I was distraught that my community was taken as a pawn in a political manoeuvring. I was disappointed that I can’t partake in democracy when there’s a walkover.

    Now that the charade has completed, I’m apprehensive about the ill effect of such disastrous policy just so that we can have a Malay President.

    The feeble justification by the gov that we need a Malay President can be felt even by those supporting it. The PAP is trying to paint itself as a champion of minority but we know it is all nothing but just political.

    At the top, we are always under-represented. And when they allow one to pass through, it is only because we have ‘progressed’. Not because we are equal in the first place.

    It surely rings hollow that the Malay community desire to have a Malay President but other pressing issues are not met with the same vigour the PAP has, to install a Malay president.

    What worries me the most is how the ill effect of this whole episode will affect the community. Especially my community.

    Given that we are viewed as getting a back door promotion to hold high office and the non-Malays are denied to participate in the presidential election, it is natural that people would feel upset about it.

    There are already fault lines to begin with before the reserved presidential system. With this whole saga playing out, it will only widen the fault lines further and scratch the delicate social fabric we have built on.

    It infuriates me that the one responsible for creating this mess playing racial politics to divide and conquer gets away scott-free. These types of policies pit us against one another.

    The people have to know that after 50 years of PAP rule, we are treated no more than a pawn in a game of chess. To be sacrificed to protect the queen falling from grace.

    The sooner we realise this, the sooner we can change our situation.

     

    Soon: Khan Osman Sulaiman

  • Commentary: We Didn’t Like #PE2017, But We Didn’t Resist, Either

    Commentary: We Didn’t Like #PE2017, But We Didn’t Resist, Either

    Finally, Singapore has a female president. A woman as our head of state. Her photo will hang in every government building, not as the benevolently smiling wife, but as the boss.

    I would have expected myself to be bloody ecstatic.

    Instead, I’m feeling a range of emotions that run the gamut from a simmering anger to an exasperated eye-roll. The pride I should have felt over what would otherwise be significant progress in the political landscape of my country has been usurped by an overwhelming sense of having been taken for a ride.

    It’s been over a year since the People’s Action Party (PAP) government said that they would make changes to the Elected Presidency to include this “hiatus-triggered model”. Over a year of parliamentary speeches, of think pieces, of forums, of Facebook posts, of challenges in court, of “oops I called her Madam President” slips, of will-Halimah-run-or-not faux-suspense. Of wayang, wayang, wayang.

    I know that Singapore’s democracy flawed, an illusion in many respects. I know about the gerrymandering of electoral boundaries, of the obstacles deliberately erected to trip up opponents, of the calculated coercive actions that extract costs from opposition politicians and dissidents alike.

    Yet this presidential “election” has been its own sickening reveal—a demonstration of a ruling party so up itself that it would prioritise its own power and self-interest over what’s good for the country and its democratic processes. Or, and this is almost worse, a ruling party who has conflated itself with the country so much that it believes its self-interest is the country’s interest.

    The implications are terrifying; if the PAP’s #1 goal is to consolidate its own power, what will (or won’t) it do?

    After the optimistic-sounding “new normal” post-2011, civil and political space has been shrinking once again in Singapore. Key members of the opposition Workers’ Party are now facing lawsuits for huge amounts of money. We’ve been promised laws that will further restrict free speech and press freedom, all in the name of maintaining religious harmony and combating “fake news”. Academics, artists and activists have been pushed out of the country, either through the denial of visas and permits or of employment. The police have opened an investigation into activists, reporters and supporters—myself included—for attending a candlelight vigil for a death row inmate who was about to be hanged at Changi Prison.

    But it’s not enough to just look at the PAP. We need to look at ourselves too. Despite the presidential election triggering widespread scepticism and unhappiness, there was no organised grassroots resistance. There were plenty of frustrated, cynical social media posts; it was clear that there was no shortage of intellectual discussion or criticism. Yet there was little to no on-the-ground action, no mobilisation or organising to mount greater opposition to this farce.

    There are, of course, reasons for this: years of oppression, restriction and restraint, of an education purged of awareness of civil and political rights. But we can’t wait for the government to loosen the reins before we shake ourselves out of this inaction, because, as we’ve just seen, they have no intention of doing anything of the sort.

    It’s going to get tough; action will not be without risks. But silence and paralysis can’t be the answer. The more we resign ourselves to our fate, the more we tell ourselves that “this is just how Singapore is”, the more we wait for that magic election where the scales will suddenly tip in the opposition’s favour, the more inevitable results like this joke election will be.

    To resist further erosions of our democracy, we need to build: build awareness, build networks, build solidarity. We need to be activists for our own cause, and democracy is our own cause.

    This is not to say that we should all take to the streets right now (although, if that’s what you want to do, it should be your right). But we should find ways to push ourselves and the people around us a little more—to normalise (intelligent) political discussion, to be more critical about the assumptions we make on a daily basis, to refuse to simply sit down and accept. We need to find our comfort levels, then push ourselves a little further. If you’ve been a casual observer, educate yourself more. If you’ve been passively attending events, find ways to volunteer and contribute more actively. If you’re already a member of civil society, start working on how to organise more effectively and reach more people. There is no step too small, as long as we keep taking more steps.

    We can’t turn back the clock on this farcical election now. But we can do something about future erosions of our democracy—as long as we’re willing to work for it.

     

    Source: https://spuddings.net