Politics
Growing restiveness
With the changing voter, the ping pong saga revisits the question:
How long can the PAP carry on selecting MPs from elites with little
political acumen or sensitivity and not pay a price. By Seah Chiang
Nee.
Aug 30, 2008
IN
SINGAPORE today where diversity is growing and young Singaporeans
are becoming more opinionated, almost everything touches on
politics, including table tennis.
It
is the sign of the times. An educated post-war generation is slowly
taking over that is better informed, helped by the powerful reach
of the Internet.
More
than ever, Singaporeans are speaking out their minds on many
subjects – sometimes vociferously – and shedding the reticence of
their parents.
Even
the Republic’s first medal win in an Olympic Games in 48 years has
produced a heated controversy that is rubbing off badly on the
government.
Singapore’s
three women table tennis players, all naturalised, China-born
citizens, lost to the Chinese in the finals in Beijing to win the
team silver medal. But the fourth player, who is ranked 12th in the
world for men, got the short end of the stick when it came to
support and attention.
While
the attention of the team was riveted on the medal-winning women
players, Singapore’s sole men’s representative, Gao Ning, went into
battle without the support of a coach.
The
idea of a coach-less competitor in an Olympic tournament is
inconceivable. Gao went down to a shocking 4-0 defeat to an
unfancied player from Croatia. Alone, he wept
afterwards.
The
fiasco started when a livid People’s Action Party MP chastised and
sacked the team manager over national television without holding an
inquiry.
She
not only fired the manager, Anthony Lee, without telling him but
also hinted that the future status of the popular head coach was
being considered.
Many
Singaporeans reacted angrily while players were upset – not by the
idea of disciplining wrongdoers – but by the summary, arrogant way
it was done.
The
MP, Lee Bee Wah, who hails from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s
group constituency, was president of the Singapore Table Tennis
Association, a post she assumed only a month earlier.
The
mistake in Beijing, said Lee, a Malaysian-born engineer, required
accountability of the officials.
The
issue attracted a deluge of letters – both on and offline – mostly
condemning Lee’s “high-handedness”. Some Singaporeans, however,
praised her for her speedy response to what was obviously a
terrible dereliction of duty by officials or coaches.
Such
debates are normally confined to the English-speaking world, but
the ping-pong saga is an exception.
The game is widely played and loved by the Chinese-educated, so the
arguments were not just an Internet phenomenon. It spread through
the heartland coffee shops.
The
non-English heartland ripple worries the ruling party since it
still holds the majority of PAP supporters. The conflict may even
affect PM Lee’s political fortunes.
Lee
is one of six Members of Parliament in the Prime Minister’s Ang Mo
Kio group constituency.
Unless the conflict is resolved and tempers cool down, its overall
vote can be dragged down in the 2011 election.
“ I’m bruised,” Lee admitted but insisted she did no
wrong.
Her
many detractors think differently, with some calling on her to
resign as president of the table tennis body to take
responsibility.
“She
should have waited for the team to return and carry out a proper
investigation before taking action,” said a more polite
critic.
Other
criticisms are stronger. “Her behaviour was a typical PAP
representative – elitist, arrogant, overbearing.
“ Only a month into the job and knowing nothing about the sport,
she acted as though she knew everything by firing people,” one fan
said.
In a
move to control damage, the Sports Minister promised a full review
of the episode.
“I
am very concerned with the way it is spinning out of control
because I don’t want a situation where people say things or do
things which destroy relationships,” he said with a hint of
criticism of Lee.
Having
a second controversial MP in his constituency is something the
Prime Minister doesn’t need.
Another
member, Wee Siew Kim found himself in the centre of a storm when
his daughter, Shu Min posted elitist views that supported the
principle of the survival of the fittest. Singaporeans who fail to
make it could only blame themselves, she added.
The
father criticised her strong language but supported the message in
principle.
These
controversies could drag down the vote for Lee.
In
the 2006 election, a team of unknown young candidates from Workers
Party shocked the PAP by polling 33.86% of the votes.
It
has also raised questions about the suitability of selecting
scholars with no political acumen or articulation skills to stand
in elections.
The
Olympics ping-pong success also produced another controversy:
should Singapore resort to the use of foreign talent to win
medals.
While
the win has stirred a general sense of pride in this migrant
society, whose people’s forefathers had also settled here from
abroad, it was not shared by a large minority.
“They
were not true Singaporeans. It was like a China ‘A’ team versus
China ‘B’ team,” said a fan.
The resentment partly reflects the public unease over the large
influx of foreigners into the city out of fear of losing jobs to
them.
The
increasing diversity in this land, marked by people speaking out
more often, is slowly changing things.
For one thing, the consensus society that Lee Kuan Yew had long
worked to establish is fast fading.
“Is
this good or bad?” Some are fearful it will bring chaos, while
others cheer diversity as bringing new hope.
diversity can be a rainbow but we have to deal with the rain
also.
I think the PAP leaders themselves are disconnected with the
people.
