December 30, 2009
Written by Our Correspondent
In an uncharacteristic Freudian slip, Singapore’s
octogenarian leader Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew finally confirmed
the suspicions of many Singaporeans – that all grassroots
organizations are part of the PAP and not “non-partisan” as they
are supposed to be.
Dispensing his usual “pearls of wisdom” on China yesterday
during a dialogue, Lee said that the Chinese have been
studying Singapore for several years, sending many teams of
officials, at different levels of government, to attend courses at,
for example, the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang
Technological University, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public
Policy.
To illustrate one lesson the Chinese learnt, he said:
“They discover that the People’s Action Party (PAP) has only
a small office in Bedok. But everywhere they go,
they see the PAP – in the RCs
(residents’ committees), CCCs (citizens’ consultative committees),
and the CCs (community clubs).”
[Source: Straits Times, 30 December 2009]
Over 85 per cent of Singapore’s population lives in public
housing estates built by HDB. Every estate is subdivided into
various zones, each with its own RC.
A RC usually comprises of residents living within the zone and
serve to promote interaction between Singaporeans by organizing
events such as “block parties” at the void decks of HDB flats.
Community Clubs cater to residents of the entire estate and
offers a broader range of activities such as yoga classes, language
courses and cooking classes.
All grassroots organizations in Singapore are under the purview
of the People’s Association, a statutory board set up on 1 July
1960 “to promote racial harmony and social cohesion.” Its Chairman
is none other than the Prime Minister himself who is also the
Secretary-General of the PAP.
Though grassroots organizations are non-political organizations,
they are often involved in “pseudo-political” activities which
serve the partisan interests of the PAP.
The premises of RCs are used for the weekly “Meet-the-People”
sessions of PAP MPs. Dialogue sessions with ministers are
often held in the halls of Community Clubs.
To further complicate matters, the Chairpersons of RCs are
sometimes PAP members who sit on many boards. A PAP branch
secretary may be the Vice Chairman of a Community Club Management
Committee and a RC Chairman at the same time.
As an example, a YPAP member and moderator of the YPAP Facebook
Network Mr Fong Yoong Keong, is the Vice Chairman of Eunos
Community Club Management Committee and Assistant Secretary of
Eunos Zone “3″ RC at the same time.
The RCs and CCs give the PAP a powerful grassroots machinery on
the ground which enables it to steamroll over the opposition
election after election.
Since the PA is a statutory board funded entirely by taxpayers’
monies, Singaporeans have been unwittingly “sponsoring” the PAP’s
partisan activities over the last four decades.
In fact, the PAP is found not only in grassroots organizations,
but everywhere in Singapore as well from the mainstream media,
trade unions, police, Internal Security Department, state-linked
companies and what not – you name it, you have it!
Lee once boasted unashamedly about the PAP’s complete dominance
in Singapore during an interview with its mouthpiece Petir in
1982:
“I make no apologies that the PAP is the (Singapore)
Government and the Government is the PAP.”
No wonder the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is so interested to
learn from Singapore.