http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/09/05/facebook-generation-turns-to-politics-in-singapore/
Agence France-Presse
SINGAPORE, Sept 5, 2010 (AFP) – It’s tough being an opposition
party member in Singapore, but history undergraduate Bernard Chen
of the Workers’ Party is unfazed as he meets voters, organises
events and attends internal meetings.
The 24-year-old is part of a new generation of activists
fighting the formidable People’s Action Party (PAP), which has
ruled Singapore for 51 years and currently holds all but two of the
84 seats in parliament.
All political parties in Singapore are reporting increased youth
involvement as the country prepares for its next general elections,
which are only due by February 2012 but are widely expected to
be held much earlier.
New voter-friendly measures announced by the government, such as
caps on immigration following complaints from citizens about a
spike in recent years, have further fuelled expectations of an
early vote.
“The PAP started off as being a minority in government too, so
it’s all about participating in the process and hoping to win the
support of the people,” Chen told AFP.
One of his pet causes is lowering the voting age from 21 to 18
to enable more members of the Facebook and Twitter generation to
take part in politics and — in his thinking — support the
opposition.
Despite getting into occasional trouble with media censors and
police, young Singaporeans have indeed become more critical of the
PAP on social networking sites, blogs and websites like
theonlinecitizen.com and temasekreview.com.
Opposition parties are also ramping up their web presence.
“This interest in opposition politics will in a way require the
PAP to raise its game,” said Eugene Tan, a law professor at the
Singapore Management University specialising in local politics.
He said the ruling party had far more resources than its rivals
but believed the PAP was taking notice of young people’s
involvement with other parties.
“I think overall a more competitive political scene should be
beneficial to Singapore,” he added.
The PAP was founded in 1954 by a 31-year-old English-educated
lawyer named Lee Kuan Yew, who went on to become the country’s
first leader, serving from 1959 until 1990. His son Lee
Hsien Loong has been prime minister since 2004.
Despite the PAP’s record of rapid economic progress which has
turned Singapore into one of the world’s richest societies, critics
of the PAP say the city-state has lagged behind when it comes to
democratic freedoms.
Opposition parties are reporting a rise in youth membership,
with the Reform Party founded by the late democracy icon J.B.
Jeyaretnam claiming 40 percent of its members are now aged 30 years
and below.
The Workers’ Party Youth Wing membership has increased 50
percent from four years ago, and the Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP) has likewise reported a healthy increase in younger
members.
All the parties refused to reveal exact membership numbers, but
media reports say the PAP increased its youth membership by more
than 1,000 last year alone.
Young opposition activists are championing causes ranging from
implementing a minimum wage to protecting minority and disabled
persons’ rights.
Wong U-Wen, who is partially deaf, joined the youth branch of
the Singapore Democratic Party last year as he wanted to bring the
plight of handicapped Singaporeans to public attention.
“When I first came to SDP office, they were surprised to see
that I am deaf. They are starting to open their eyes and learn more
from me because they never had someone who is deaf or a person with
disabilities,” the unemployed 38-year-old said.
He cited employment discrimination and a general lack of
deaf-friendly services such as captions on television and movie
programmes as well as certified sign-language interpreters.
Jermyn Wee, 27, the webmaster of the Reform Party website, felt
young members have a bigger voice in opposition parties.
“We have regular meetings with our secretary general, Kenneth
Jeyaretnam, should he need to bring up a concern,” the information
and communication technology executive said.
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