Why I joined the
Opposition
It has been just over a year since I joined the Workers’ Party
(WP) as an ordinary member. I must say that the past year has
probably been the most exciting and eventful year of my life, and
there is every indication that the year ahead will top that.
Although I declared months ago in the “About Me” section of my blog
that I am a WP member, this will mark my first full blog post about
my involvement with the opposition.
I wasn’t always an opposition supporter. I have no history of
oppositionists in my family and most of my friends and teachers
from school days knew me as someone who always followed the rules
and did not question authority. Many, therefore, have expressed
surprise that I have taken the plunge into opposition politics.
I first got interested in current affairs during my
undergraduate days at the University of Southern California in the
United States in the late nineties, where I majoring in electrical
engineering. Although the level of political apathy on campus was
still high compared to that of previous generations of students, it
was enough to help me to see that what happened in the political
realm had a huge impact on everyone’s life, including my own.
I brought my interest in politics back to Singapore when I
returned in 1999 to serve my National Service. Back then, I used to
think that being part of the PAP government machinery was the only
way to effect positive change in Singapore. This was a reason why I
made a drastic career switch from my first job as an IT consultant
to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 2005. It was
also why I had volunteered for more than seven years as a youth
leader in South West Community Development Council, which I have
since resigned from.
Ironically, it was during my time in the civil service that my
eyes were opened to the reality that Singapore needs a stronger
opposition in order to ensure better governance for our future
generations.
The civil service is generally a very well-run organisation,
with many intelligent, competent and committed officers at all
levels of the hierarchy. As a political desk officer in MFA, I had
the privilege of interacting with a diverse array of
officials—fellow policy officers, protocol officers, management
support officers, permanent secretaries, ambassadors, ministers,
and officers from other ministries like the Ministry of Trade and
Industry and IE Singapore.
I made a number foreign visits during my stint in MFA, usually
staffing ambassadors and ministers in small delegations. This gave
me an opportunity to have lots of personal interaction with them
and get a sense of how they thought about issues away from the
glare of the media. I remember occasionally even getting into
debates with them, sometimes over the PAP’s lack of commitment to
democratic principles and fair play. During one such debate, over
drinks on evening in a foreign capital, I recall the wife of the
ambassador turning to my director and telling him, half in jest:
“Don’t suppress that idealistic spark in him!”
Fortunately my director didn’t suppress my idealism, not that I
displayed much of it after that—it is generally not career
enhancing to have a reputation for being too idealistic in the
Singapore civil service, where hard-nosed pragmatism is a prized
asset. But I realised that despite its efficiency and
professionalism, the civil service can only help fulfil the
political objectives of the party in power. It cannot change those
objectives, because it has neither the power nor the mandate to do
so. Policy directions are set by politicians in the ruling party.
(By policy directions, I’m referring to issues like whether or not
Singapore should provide a universal social safety net for needy
Singaporeans, not whether the Public Assistance grant should be
$360 or $400.)
My friends in the PAP tell me that it is more effective to
change Singapore from within the PAP than from outside. I believe
that changes to the finer details of policies are possible from
within, but fundamental changes to the way the country is governed
can only come if the top echelon of leaders in the party either
radically change their mind, or are replaced. Neither is about to
happen anytime soon.
The pace of change from within will be too slow to meet the
challenges of this fast moving world. Our country cannot afford to
allow our competitors to pass us by or for our income divide to
reach dangerous levels, while we wait for some senior gentlemen at
the top to pass from the scene.
The need for an effective opposition
The PAP has conditioned Singaporeans to see the political
opposition as a destructive force in society. They routinely accuse
the opposition of “playing politics”, engaging in “unconstructive
criticism” and “opposing for the sake of it”. These are very untrue
and damaging characterisations.
In the United Kingdom, where we inherited the Westminster
Parliamentary system from, the official title of the largest
alternative party is “Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition”. This implies
that the opposition opposes the government—“Her Majesty’s
Government”—and its policies, but not the state, as represented by
the monarch.
Even while the PAP remains in power, there is a useful role for
the opposition to play. The opposition can use its platform in
Parliament to apply pressure on the government to change policies
which are not serving Singaporeans well. As much as the PAP wants
to portray itself as impervious to public pressure, the reality is
that when they know that there is a real threat to their support at
the next elections, they will have to bow to public pressure built
up by the opposition.
This is the beauty of genuine political competition. Just like
how commercial competition forces businesses to work harder, become
more efficient and provide better services to woo their customers,
political competition will force the ruling party to focus more on
bettering the lives of all Singaporeans in order to earn their
votes.
I joined the WP because I believe Singapore needs an alternative
leadership that is capable of taking over the reins and steering
our country to its next level of development, should the PAP
stumble. This will ensure that Singapore will continue to prosper
and thrive even without the PAP in power. I believe the WP has the
potential to be that alternative government in the future, and I
want to play my part to contribute to its growth and development. I
hope to be able to help my party sharpen its policy proposals and
broaden its outreach to Singaporeans who are not usually interested
in politics.
I am under no illusions that the road ahead as an opposition
activist will be long and fraught with obstacles, not to mention
minefields. Many who have gone before me have paid a heavy price
for their ideals. Some have lost everything they had, except their
dignity. All Singaporeans are heavily indebted to these heroes,
whether or not they realise it.
I hope I will not have to suffer political persecution like
these heroes did, but I know many things are beyond my control. I
therefore ask my friends and readers for their prayers and support,
as I take my first of many steps in this long march towards
building a better Singapore for all Singaporeans.
Reclaiming our five stars – democracy, peace, progress, justice
and equality
WP and RP must work more closely in the coming election so as to
win 2 GRCs and a few single seat constituencies as expected by
voters.