Waiting for Singapore’s Pakatan Rakyat

By Fang Zhi Yuan

According to a report published by The Malaysian Insider, more than 90 per cent of young voters aged 21 – 30 voted for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the recent Permatang Pauh by-election. One key reason for Anwar’s empathic victory over his Barisan Nasional (BN) opponent lies in the fact that young internet savvy voters obtain their news chiefly from the pro-opposition alternative media which are seen as more credible than the mainstream media controlled by the ruling party. They simply do not buy the dirt that BN has heaped on Anwar through the mainstream media. Young educated and urbane voters are also more concerned about good governance, human rights and democratic ideals than basic bread-and-butter issues. In spite of feeable attempts to engage young voters, the ruling Barisan Nasional has failed miserably to win them over. What they don’t realize is that younger Malaysians will only support a political party which shares their aspirations, not one that continues to lecture them.

In Singapore, the recent furore over People’s Action Party (PAP) MP Lee Bee Wah’s perceived high-handness in a media interview to replace the Singapore Olympic Table Tennis Team manager and coach so soon after winning the silver medal in Beijing marked only the tip of the ice-berg of a groundswell of discontent building up against the ruling party. Many are quick to point out that Mrs Lee’s attitude reflects the typical modus operandi of the PAP – insensitive, callous and arrogant. Some even called her to step down as a Member of Parliament. Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, perhaps realizing the political repercussions of a protracted saga moved in quickly to smoothe the flames with a rare public apology by Mrs Lee. However, irreversible damage has already been done, making another dent at the PAP’s image and reputation as an overbearing authoritarian control freak.

Decades of one-party rule without the presence of an opposition to provide a counterbalance has made the ruling PAP complacent and out of touch with the ordinary citizenry. Singaporeans, especially the young are getting increasingly restless, disgrunted and peeved at the current state of affairs. Like our Malaysian counterparts, we yearn for the competency, accountability and transparency (CAT) as espoused by Penang Chief Minister Mr Lim Guan Eng in the formulation and implementation of government policies. We hate to be lectured repeatedly by the PAP and have unpopular policies forced down our throats without any proper consultation such as the GST hike, annuity scheme and rise in Ministers’ salaries.

The PAP must have realized that it is entering a new era where perceptions of the populace is easily shaped and influenced by the online media, hence its recent token move to liberalize the political landscape to allow political podcasts and public protests at a designated area. The Malaysian government had a meeting last week to discuss the impact of the new media on their continued stranglehold on power. The conclusion is sombre: by the next GE, there will be 2 million new voters, most of which will vote for the opposition. If the Barisan Nasional continue to ignore this emerging trend, they will be voted out of the government in the next GE. I am sure our astute PAP leaders are not ignorant to this unsavory fact.

Unfortunately, there is no real risk of the PAP losing power in the near future as compared to its Malaysian counterpart because there is no Anwar Ibrahim in Singapore to unite the weak and fragmented opposition. Without an united opposition to galvanize Singaporeans long fed up with the PAP, it is highly unlikely the PAP hegemony will be broken. The “largest” opposition in Parliament has only 2 seats out of which one is a “gift” bestowed by the PAP on the “best loser” during the last GE. The de facto opposition “leader” Mr Low Thia Kiang of the Workers’ Party (WP) was widely discredited as being a Trojan horse in the opposition, offering only feeble opposition to the PAP while legitimizing its’ dubious “mandate”. (WP’s organizing secretary Yaw Shin Leong admitted to voting for PAP during the last GE and is proud of it) On the other hand, the real voice and conscience of the opposition, Dr Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democractic Party (SDP), is banned from electoral politics for the foreseeable future due to his status as a bankrupt. Even if he is free to participate, his popularity and electability with the pragmatic Singapore voters is a suspect as a result of a decade-long media campaign to demonize him. (SDP’s vote of shares has been sliding since 1991 when it won an unprecedented 3 seats in Parliament). Singapore’s long-suffering opposition icon Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam who formed the Reform Party this year, is already 84 and there are valid concerns on whether his health permits him to contest in the next GE.

The political situation on the ground for Singapore’s opposition is grim. Without a viable alternative coalition in the mould of Malaysia’s Pakatan Rakyat (consisting of three opposition parties – Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Democratic Action Party and Parti Islam SeMalaysia), Singaporeans will have no choice but to continue to vote for the PAP though deep down inside their hearts, they have little enthusiasm or belief in a future dependent on the PAP running the country. I for one, cannot fathom why the opposition parties in Singapore just simply cannot stand together on the same platform in the spirit of solidarity against the PAP while Mr Anwar is able to weave together quite a formidable coalition from disparate parties such as the secular Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). Singaporeans have become depoliticized over the years of adversarial politics promulgated by the PAP. Even the PAP acknowledged it had problems recruiting new members into its ranks let alone the already decimated opposition camp which continues to be helmed by a few senior leaders hailing from the 1970s and 80s.

Apathy breeds disillusion and disillusion eventually leads to despair. While many are resigned to their fates, more and more Singaporeans especially the upper-middle class are opting to vote with their feet – by taking their money out of PAP-controlled CPF to start life afresh in a new land. (Well, why should they allow their hard-earned money to be misused to bail out ailing US banks without their consent?) Mr Anwar Ibrahim’s call for a second Merdeka has inspired countless of young Malaysians to join his cause. At this juncture in time, the Pakatan Rakyat is on the threshold of seizing power in the federal government. In Singapore, where the local population is increasingly becoming diluted, marginalized and even oppressed by an uncontrolled influx of foreigners, this second Merdeka continue to be a distant dream. Meanwhile, the wait for Singapore’s Pakatan Rakyat to liberate the masses from the clutches of a draconian autocracy remains as forlorn as ever.