It is a fact
that there is less political freedom in Singapore as compared to
most Western nations. But then again, we are a young nation with
barely 50 years of history. Even for the US (which attained
independence in 1776), women were granted voting rights only
from 1893 and African Americans in 1965 with the passage
of the Voting Rights Act.
Since our
independence in 1965, the PAP government has relentlessly pursued a
strategy of economic development, job creation and
poverty eradication, often at the expense of political reform.
But is this strategy flawed?
Bear in mind
that India, which is often recognised as one of the most
democratic country in Asia, has 42% of
its population living in poverty. Mikhail
Gorbachev's twin pillars of glasnost and
perestroika have been attributed as the root cause
for the collapse of the former USSR.
In my opinion,
political reform in Singapore is inevitable. Once a society has
achieved relative affluence, it is only a matter of time before
pressure will mount for political reforms to be introduced.
What is important is for reforms to be introduced in an orderly
manner.