Good Luck for the Elections
Dear Mr Gomez,
Just thought I'd wish you all the best for the upcoming elections. I generally don't agree on the WP's stand on certain economic issues, but I do hope that MP Low keeps his seat and that your other candidates win a few more seats. Hopefully a GRC.The WP is certainly the most organised and professional of the opposition parties. So I wish you all the best in the upcoming elections.
Sincerely, Gavin Ng
Dear GavinThanks for your good wishes. My colleagues and I will contribute our best to WP. Eventually it is the voters that decide.Cheers, James
Response from NUS Forum
Dear Mr. Gomez,
I hope this email finds you well. I heard you speak at the NUS forum chaired by Dr.Kenneth Tan last month and I found you to be sincere in wanting to make a difference in our political landscape. Allow me then, this opportunity to ask a few questions and to share some thoughts with you.
I think the problem with Opposition politicians in Singapore today is one of image. Because of a few who have run a foul of the law, the rest of you are also viewed askance and with skepticism. This coupled with the fact that the Opposition is hardly ever seen or heard from outside of election season has made it difficult for Singaporeans to trust them. In the past, the argument of limited access to and coverage by the media may have held some water but in the age of the Internet and blogs, this is hardly tenable. I regret to inform you that prior to having heard you speak at the NUS, I had never heard of your commentary site or your blog.
Now in the Army we are taught that if a message is sent and if it is received either erroneously or not received at all, the fault lies with the transmitter and not the receiver. As politicians, the onus is upon you to ensure that you are heard by your electorate. Otherwise you become like the French revolutionary who said, "There go my people; I must find out where they are going so I can lead them." When the local news media seems reluctant to give you any coverage unless you have been referenced by PAP politicians, the Internet is a cheaper and highly effective tool for campaigning wouldn't you say?
Yet a cursory survey of the Workers' Party website reveals that in a year coming up to four months (and an election year at that) only 3 press releases have been issued and the last article posted in the News section is fast coming up on its one year anniversary. A democracy should never be a monologue and yet in the popular political discourse of Singapore, the dominant voice is that of the PAP. In fact I should say, it is the only sound which seems to resonate in the political consciousness of the people (insofar as there is one...I'm not so sure). The elections are coming up on us quickly now but where is the debate? Where are the issues? What are the issues?
Perhaps I may be wrong, but why hasn't anyone complained about the gerrymandering? Even if the issue has been raised by the opposition, it's like the proverbial tree that fell in the forest. Coming now to an issue that has been raised, I still do not see how abolishing the elected presidency anything but further marginalizes the opposition. You seem to be conceding another front in which to do battle with the PAP in the democratic process. Instead, why not campaign on something like making Supreme Court appointments lifetime? In this way, we can finally put to bed all this nasty business about the judiciary's independence being suspect. Appointments can be made on the basis of a nominee satisfying rigorous and exhaustive selection processes which include live interviews conducted by a committee comprising of members of the government, the Law Society as well as academics. In this way, not only can we assure that only the finest legal minds adjudicate our laws but their partiality can also be beyond reproach as they are not dependent on the government for their continuing to sit on the Bench.
The government is very circumspect about granting the kind of liberty which the Worker's Party envisions because of the greater potential for harm than for good in the short run. I say in the short run because if there is to be a sudden onset of unexpurgated freedom, there will also be a great propensity for abuse which might then lead to social chaos. But in the long run, this kind of censorship can never be a good thing because it only breeds intellectual torpor and raises a citizenry that is politically passive. This will eventually undermine the democratic process itself which is premised upon active participation. Thus while the government continues to withhold freedom of speech and expression out of fear, perhaps it should fall to the opposition to create a role for itself by educating Singaporeans about the awesome responsibility of freedom and how it should be employed constructively as opposed to seditiously. Admittedly there will be a few false starts at first with a minority of mischief makers, but they will not be beyond the capacity of the law to contain. It seems to me that more and more we've come to expect less and less from ourselves and each other. Rather than withholding freedom of speech for fear of abuse, we should expect from each other the level of responsibility which comes with this freedom.
Over time I have no doubt that Singaporeans will in fact mature politically and our society will advance. This could be where the Worker's Party plays a role and in doing so, you also cover yourselves against allegations that you are out to undermine racial harmony and destroy a cohesive society with your "time bombs".
Mr. Gomez, government should be optimistic; it should excite and it should inspire. Time and time and again the PAP has whitewashed the opposition in the elections because they have been able to provide Singaporeans with a vision of an exciting future. The Integrated Resorts and the development of the downtown area are just the latest promise of how exciting life in Singapore is going to get. What is to be the Opposition's contribution to the vision of a great society? If you propose to lead us, tell us, where can you take us?
I wish you the best of luck in the coming elections.
Yours truly, Praveen
Dear Praveen, Thanks for your letter it is well received and you raise quite a few valid points.I just want to respond briefly. In terms of the internet, the WP is setting up a specific GE site this is being looked into in the context of revamping our current website. Not only in terms of its look and feel but also in terms of the technology behind it. So do look out for it.Some of the points about the legal system as well as that of politicial participation has been enumerated in our latest manifesto. Which is available for reading online.Apart from feedback and commentary the WP is also looking for volunteers for the GE as well as after the GE. If you would like to take the next step for involvement please feel free to drop me or my colleagues at the Party a line.Best Regards, James
Request to answer questionnaire on blog
I had a request from a student a few days ago...
"I'm currently writing a thesis on "political" blogging in Singapore as part of my degree in the Department ofSociology in NUS. I'm a Singaporean student, Chinese male, 25 years old. With regards to my research field, I'm particularly interested in the roleof the blog medium as a platform of discussion on Singapore politics. I'm also interested in the interactions (online and offline) between thepolitical blogger and his pool of readers and fellow bloggers. Through this study, I hope to illustrate that blogs can offer viable alternatives tojournalism and democracy.""You are one of the first opposition party members who have a blog, and thus a researcher collecting a sample of local "political blogs" cannot afford to ignore your effort as well as your associates'."In particular, I'm interested in how political blogs like yours help to democratize public discourse in Singapore and how the blogsphere in general help open up alternative public spheres. I'm interested in blogs because they are possibly, an antithesis to what people what normally term as "proper" journalism. Through the processes of decapitalization, deinstitutionalization and deprofessionalization, "political" blogs are a viable source of what I would call, counter hegemonic contentious journalism."Click here to see my responses to his questions.
