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SDP
disappointed with WP's IBA comments
21
Oct 07
It
is unfortunate that the Workers' Party Chairman Sylvia Lim feels
that Singapore can deal with rule of law issues without support
from the international community.
If that were the case,
then why did Mr Chia Thye Poh remain detained without trial for
32 long years?
Ms Lim says that:
"We Singaporeans are quite capable of deciding what kind of
country we want."
By logical extension, did
Singaporeans want Mr Chia Thye Poh's three-decade detention? Did
Singaporeans want the media to be completely under the thumb of
the PAP? Did the people support the manipulation of the electoral
process?
The truth is that Singaporeans, while wanting to
decide what kind of country we want for ourselves, have been
unable to do so because our rights, including our right to free
and fair elections have been crushed by the PAP.
It is
therefore disappointing that as an opposition leader, Ms Lim
feels that the election system is acceptable and that the outcome
must be respected. We may not be able to do anything to change
the election outcome but we do not have to respect it.
We
need to fight to win back these rights and we need to change our
political system. In short, we need reform.
To be very
sure, only Singaporeans can effect that change. But let us not
fantasize. We also need support from the democratic world as
Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, Poland, Serbia,
Chile, etc. needed it. And as Burma now desperately needs it.
On this matter, isn't it a trifle hypocritical for us to
condemn the regime in Burma and call for democratic change there
while in the next breath call on others to stop interfering in
our own affairs?
It is true that the PAP says it doesn't
want foreign interference. It is also a lie. What do you call the
National Wages Council having American, German and Japanese
business representatives sitting on its board deciding the wage
levels of Singaporean workers?
If we shun foreign
interference, why did the Singapore Government invite the IBA
here. Shouldn't the Government have taken the IBA president to
task for saying that Singapore has an "outstanding legal
profession and judiciary?"
The truth is not that the
PAP does not want foreigners interfering in our domestic affairs.
Comments from foreigners, be they compliments or criticisms, are
consider interference. While the PAP welcomes the former, it
rejects the latter.
In a similar vein, Ms Lim accepts the
accolades of the legal/judicial system of business groups. What
is troubling is that she ignores studied criticisms of legal
watchdog organizations such as Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, New
York City Bar Association and the International Commission
Jurists.
Does she consider these researched but critical
reports "foreign interference" while welcoming the
complimentary surveys of organisations cited by Mr Lee Kuan
Yew?
In order for Singaporeans to decide what we really
want for our country, we need an election system that is free and
fair, a media that is not controlled by the ruling party, and the
freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.
None of these
institutions exist in Singapore. Without them the wishes and
wants of Singaporeans can be, and are being, manipulated by the
PAP to serve its own interests.
Help for Singaporeans so
that they can be empowered to speak up against the suffocating
grip of the PAP is not interference. Interference is when a
foreign government supports one party over another as the British
did with Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his wing in the PAP.
For the
record, the SDP welcomes support for efforts to democratise
Singapore. Beyond that we reject attempts to influence the
policies of any political party by outsiders.
It is
disappointing that the Chairman of the Workers' Party cannot see
this distinction but instead parrots what the PAP so
disingenuously advocates.
Appeasing the PAP so that we
can be an acceptable opposition is not to "draw a balance"
as Ms Lim claims. It is rather an unfortunate tactic that will be
conveniently exploited by the PAP.
The SDP said it before
and we say it again: Singapore's Opposition cannot stand up for
the people on bended knees.
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