How come ST opinion pieces so fierce?

[Goldbug]

Eventful year may hold clues to ruling party's future approach to changing political landscape
Posted on Dec 30, 2013 3:20 PM Updated: Dec 30, 2013 3:22 PM


By Han Fook Kwang
Managing Editor
[email protected]

2013 isn't an easy year to define.

Just when you thought you had it figured out, a riot broke out in December.

Welcome to the Singapore we no longer know as well as we thought we did.

The early signs in January should have been warning enough.

When the Government announced that a by-election would be held in Punggol East, most pundits expected it would face a close fight with the opposition Workers' Party (WP).

Instead, the People's Action Party (PAP) was roundly beaten, failing to hold a seat it had won comfortably barely two years before.

While the WP's victory might not have been unexpected - by-elections traditionally favour the opposition - the size of its winning margin was.

Singaporeans witnessed the unusual spectacle of WP leader Low Thia Khiang playing down the stunning win and saying nice things about the competence of the Government.

It was too early in the year for him to play hardball.

Reality check No. 1

The desire for a stronger opposition presence in Singapore hasn't abated and will continue to define the political landscape in the coming years no matter what the ruling party does.

Indeed, 2013 was the year the PAP tested the waters in its search for an answer to this dilemma - the more it tries to appease voters' unhappiness over immigration, housing, transport and health care, the harder it will be to counter the argument that it is doing all this because it fears an electoral backlash.

The opposition will continue to hammer away at this point, and claim credit for successfully putting pressure on the PAP; and the PAP will continue to try to find a way to get voters to support not just the changes but also the political party making them.

The year provided many clues to what its approach is likely to be.

On the ideological front, the PAP said it was moving left of centre and closer towards its original democratic socialist leanings.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called it a strategic shift in his National Day Rally in August. Four months later, at the party's convention, it adopted a new resolution that promoted greater social mobility through an open and compassionate meritocracy, and pledged to moderate the excesses of the free market.

But the PAP has also shown that, on the tactical front, it hadn't forgotten how to play hardball with its political opponents.

Its skirmishes with the WP over the running of the opposition-held town council and a certain hawker centre had all the trappings of a forward probe ahead of the main battle. So too the recent attempts to control online websites, requiring some of them to be registered.

This was new territory. The way it handled the online site Breakfast Network, resulting in it being closed, was one bit of collateral damage that could have been avoided.

Critics saw these actions as signalling the end of the Government's "light touch" approach.

Are these moves part of a grand plan that is being put in place, with the whole becoming clearer in the years to come?

There is no doubt the PAP wants the Internet beast controlled. That much 2013 has made clear.

What's not evident is how it intends to do so, and more important, whether anything it does will be effective or reap the political benefits it desires.

Look out for more such experimentation in 2014.

Reality check No. 2

The desire to seek control is still as strong in the ruling party, shaped by more than 50 years of being so dominant in Singapore.

But will it succeed in cyberspace the same way it had in the real world? Should it bring its enormous power to bear, or let the beast alone?

Best guess: It can't fight its DNA, so it will continue trying.

That DNA was at work when, so soon after the by-election defeat, it introduced a White Paper setting out its approach to managing a future population of almost seven million.

The public reacted with unprecedented intensity over what many saw as an overly liberal immigration policy. Until today, it isn't clear why the Government acted in such an unprepared manner.

Was it out of touch, failing to recognise how upset Singaporeans had become over the increased influx of foreigners into the country?

Perhaps it did know but believed this was the right policy in the country's long-term interest, and it was prepared to face public anger.

Whatever the reason, it conceded that it should have done better, especially in the way it communicated its policy intentions.

Reality check No. 3

It isn't so easy for the Government to change its modus operandi.

The classic way of yore was: Get a White Paper done, discuss it in Parliament, have it accepted, and proceed from there. It had worked so many times in the past.

But in the so-called "new normal" of domestic politics, the people hijacked the plan even before it made its way to Parliament.

Increasingly, the Government will have to recognise that although its numerical advantage in the House enables it to pass any law it wants, popular sentiment can hold sway in a decisive way.

In the meantime, Singapore's immigration policy is far from settled.

How should it manage the issue, balancing the needs of the economy with rising popular resentment against the country having too many foreigners?

2013 saw the can being kicked down the road, as the issue was just too hot to handle. Don't hold your breath for it to become more clearly resolved in the coming year.

Do so only if the air suddenly turns dangerously unhealthy, as it did in June when thick haze descended from forest fires in Sumatra.

If anyone needed reminding how tiny this little red dot was, this was the perfect example.

Singapore is so small even minor shifts in the wind direction can result in that smoky, choking air disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

That was how one weather expert described why the Pollutant Standards Index was 40 one day and the sky turned blue, and 400 on another day when it smelt like a barbecue pit.

As it turned out, the burning stopped sooner than expected or the winds hightailed, and the reminder was short-lived.

Reality check No. 4

Nothing has changed Singapore's smallness as a country and how its fortunes depend so much on the outside world, including the land-clearing actions of Indonesian farmers and the vagaries of the shifting winds.

Expect many more external surprises to come this way, 2014 included.

And so the year closed with images of burning police cars in Little India still fresh in the mind.

As a news event, it dwarfed everything that had happened in the year..

It was the mother of all reality checks, that a night can turn so violent, overturning not just police cars, but the very idea that is safe, peaceful Singapore.

So what can one look forward to in 2014?

If there are any lessons to be learnt, it is to expect the unexpected.In fact, there's only one certainty next year - it will be a year closer to the general election than this year.

This fact alone will make it completely different from 2013.

How different?

We will have an entire year to find out.

Happy New Year.

This article was first published in The Straits Times Saturday section, page D2, on December 28, 2013.

 

===============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

By Chua Mui Hoong
Opinion Editor
[email protected]

Posted on Dec 31, 2013 8:00 AM Updated: Dec 31, 2013 3:14 PM

If there is one word to sum up Singapore's experience this year, it would be Vulnerability.

2013 is the year the People's Action Party lost whatever it might have retained of the lustre of invincibility.

In January, it had already lost a seat in the Punggol East by-election and was trying to beat a dignified retreat from the backlash unleashed by the Population White Paper's conclusion about preparing for a population of 6.9 million.

By the end of the year, it wasn't just the PAP but the entire Singapore system of governance that had shown its vulnerability.

High-profile trials for corruption underscored the way an organisation can entrench an anti-graft culture, yet have its own leaders behave with immunity against it, trading favours for sex and material gains. Squeaky clean Singapore suddenly became tawdry.

A fire broke out in SingTel's infrastructure in October, disrupting broadband services for days.

The websites of the offices of the President and Prime Minister were hacked last month, exploiting a loophole called "cross-site scripting". IT experts said such hacking was "elementary". In other words, Singapore's IT fortress was found to have done the equivalent of forgetting to lock its gate even as it installed high-tech anti-burglary alarms all over its premises.

This month, hundreds of migrant workers rioted in Race Course Road, overturning and burning police cars. Orderly Singapore suddenly became dangerous.

Meanwhile, train delays and breakdowns have become such a common occurrence, they barely merit a spot as top news item of the day, or even a retweet.

Some Singaporeans are asking: What is happening? Is this the beginning of the decline of the Singapore state as we know it?

It's easy to be an armchair critic and venture theories and opinions.

One might say the recent episodes of failure are the result of decades of success. Having become accustomed to success, our institutions, systems and people are not used to picking up on signals of dysfunction and pre-empting problems, and are slow to react when things do go wrong.

Or we could put up a theory that we have become so reliant on systems and sophisticated technology, we have lost ground feel: the art of responding to what is here and now, of tackling today's problems to nip tomorrow's in the bud.

In the SingTel fire, a blowtorch used for maintenance that overheated materials was fingered as the cause.

On the Little India riot, residents had complained for years about rowdy, drunken behaviour by migrant workers.

That brought to my mind the July 2012 Committee of Inquiry report on the December 2011 MRT breakdown, which pointed to "a gaping disconnect between what was formally on record and what was happening on the ground" when it came to MRT maintenance.

At the risk of tarring the public sector with the same brush, I do wonder if Singapore is facing the problems of success. A generation of people who grew up in complacent plenty are now in leadership positions. Across the public service, and in the private sector too, men and women in their 30s and 40s are heading organisations. They are smart and may even have First World exposure, having been schooled and trained with the best in New York, London and Fontainebleau.

But are they schooled in the problems of the Third World? And more crucially, are they skilled in the ways of the street?

Increasingly, Singapore will have to deal not only with First World problems of success - managing income inequality, widening social safety nets, maintaining competitiveness - but also with Third World problems - overcrowding, preventing shanty slums (think slovenly dormitories), and maintaining basic law and order.

This is inevitable if Singapore is to continue its reliance on a large pool of migrant workers. Both First and Third Worlds are so densely packed into Singapore's tiny 716.1 sq km land area that they sometimes collide.

Officials need skills to handle First World issues, Third World issues, and the interplay of both.

This year of Vulnerability is full of teachable moments.

For the innocent full-time national serviceman, the riot must have been a baptism of fire. Did all those hours of seemingly pointless training come to his aid when he faced down hundreds of hostile workers?

For those watching on the sidelines, reading the voluminous online commentary, this is also a crucial year. Did we speak up and take a stand for what we think is right? Draw a line in the sand and say: that's enough? Or shrug off yet another insult, jibe, toxic comment?

For the many thousands of IT administrators, MRT maintenance staff, SingTel staff, and anyone remotely concerned with maintaining the computer, electrical, water, cable, or medical systems that make Singapore gel so wonderfully together, this year must be one of rude awakening.

The things that shouldn't happen, can and did happen. Law enforcement vehicles can be burned, as can IT networks. Prestigious websites can be defaced.

Fortress Singapore is no more.

For a generation used to yawning when Singapore wins yet another new accolade - best workforce, most competitive economy, best performer in international examinations - the notion of Singapore losing its sheen of super-achieving invincibility can be traumatic.

And yet it is also a necessary part of growing up, as a people and as a nation. We are not the citizens to whom things are done by a government. We the people are Singapore.

If Singapore is no more fortress, what must take its place?

For me, there is only one answer. As citizens, we have to see that Fortress Singapore is no citadel of stone and steel built and protected by "them", but a society of us, made of flesh and blood that can tear and bleed.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times Think section, page 35, on December 29, 2013.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Goldbug

[Hydrocarbon]

Woah, morning wake up read this before first day of working year. I think the first article more fierce. Anyway, I think some problems will be going away the next year right? Maybe even some money coming our way so we forget those problems, aye? Haha..

 

Thanks for the share!

[Hamburger]

thks for the upload.

[Toothiewabbit]

Signs of an early erection?

[Watwheels]

Maybe too many things concerning politics to write in 2013, editors get hands muscle cramp.

 

Or maybe they want to move up the rankings and not wanting to forever stay at 154th in the rankings and be called shitty times. LoL...

[Ender]

This is ST's happy new year to PAP..

[Rncw]

talking about IT people, many employed "experts" from india, pinoyland....etc.....thats what you get for the money you pay....

[Sabian]

To solve any problem, you must first admit something isn'tright.

 

But not everyone will agree on the what the most suitable solution is.

[Celicar]

Han Fook Kwang is one of the best, if not the best, ST writer. I always read his articles without fail. They are so insightful and a delight to read at the same time.

[calbin7077]

So what can one look forward to in 2014?
If there are any lessons to be learnt, it is to expect the unexpected.In fact, there's only one certainty next year - it will be a year closer to the general election than this year.
This fact alone will make it completely different from 2013.
How different?

 

------------>>> guess its the usual for 2014... say Plan A do Plan B...
every year the same...so looking forward to the upcoming election...

Life in singapore is like a tin of sardines...worst still...can of baked beans...

[Mrkopi]

Well, our government is under heavy scrutiny for all their actions. But come to think of it, should the opposition whens majority and takes control of the government, will things be better or will they steer our country to a better position?

[Mustank]

So what can one look forward to in 2014?

If there are any lessons to be learnt, it is to expect the unexpected.In fact, there's only one certainty next year - it will be a year closer to the general election than this year.

This fact alone will make it completely different from 2013.

How different?

 

------------>>> guess its the usual for 2014... say Plan A do Plan B...

every year the same...so looking forward to the upcoming election...

 

Life in singapore is like a tin of sardines...worst still...can of baked beans...

 

 

not a box of chocolate meh?

[calbin7077]

 

not a box of chocolate meh?

chocolate all got equal share of space in the box...some still got tray...bake beans...no order all pour into the tin....no matter how u shake all will move to the direction of your hand motion.....

[Sosaria]

Han Fook Kwang is one of the best, if not the best, ST writer. I always read his articles without fail. They are so insightful and a delight to read at the same time.

 

Yup, it's not easy to stay on the 'tightrope' keeping balance between toeing the official line, and at the same time, publish the news as close to the truth as possible.

 

One mis-step, and... so sometimes better to keep on the 'safe' side.

 

Nevertheless, he has managed to do this difficult job very well and survive to rise to a high rank.

[inlinesix]

 

Yup, it's not easy to stay on the 'tightrope' keeping balance between toeing the official line, and at the same time, publish the news as close to the truth as possible.

 

One mis-step, and... so sometimes better to keep on the 'safe' side.

 

Nevertheless, he has managed to do this difficult job very well and survive to rise to a high rank.

 

Well, it depends on how tough his "backing".

[Celicar]

I think he is trusted, if my recollection serves me right he was involved in some publications of LKY. I think because even when he tables a different opinion, he does it in a measured and reasoned why, so I think he is respected.

 

 

Yup, it's not easy to stay on the 'tightrope' keeping balance between toeing the official line, and at the same time, publish the news as close to the truth as possible.

 

One mis-step, and... so sometimes better to keep on the 'safe' side.

 

Nevertheless, he has managed to do this difficult job very well and survive to rise to a high rank.

 

[Knoobie]

Well, our government is under heavy scrutiny for all their actions. But come to think of it, should the opposition whens majority and takes control of the government, will things be better or will they steer our country to a better position?

Not sure if the opposition can perform better.. Honestly I am not sure.

 

But what I am sure is, life ain't getting better if it is going down this way.

 

It will be a huge gamble for us.

 

Besides, what I hope is not the opposition to run the country for us. What I hope is more seat for the opposition so that they can help represent the ideal and opinion of the people more.

 

Especially when it comes to matters like population white paper.

 

I think he is trusted, if my recollection serves me right he was involved in some publications of LKY. I think because even when he tables a different opinion, he does it in a measured and reasoned why, so I think he is respected.

 

 

But did he got the henta kaki treatment?

Edited January 2, 2014 by Knoobie

[KumarB]

as a motorist,

 

i bei tahan so many bus lanes on the roads making the already congested roads even more congested.

i bei tahan so many ERP around and more coming up on high usage roads.(refer to above, what a scholarly move)

i bei tahan they going to introduce satellite ERP to milk even more $ from us.

 

so i am going to vote anything other than PAPPIES.

 

kee chiew joker say by next GErection, singapolang can say life has improved.

i say PUI!!

Edited January 2, 2014 by KumarB