Best Practices in Good Governance
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
February 8-10, 2001
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"Success and failures of the Singapore Government in Transparency and Accountability"
It would be a misnomer to call the Singapore PAP Government transparent and accountable. The duty of a government is first and foremost a sacred duty to the citizens of a given country. It should spend its hours in government governing the people in the fairest and best possible way given its vast resources, and on top of all that, be transparent and accountable to them all. The PAP Government has failed in being transparent and accountable to the people, and that is one reason why the Open Singapore Centre (OSC) exists and one reason why the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) continues to educate people - to highlight the areas where the Government is not and urging it do so, to rid itself of commercial business interests and pursuits and start thinking about people.
The one-party state of Singapore can only boast of its "excellent" in terms of impersonal digits of "economic growth" and its scenic skyline. Apart from that visual nicety, living as an ordinary citizen in Singapore is a struggle unseen by most of the outside world.
In a January 14, 2001 posting in an online forum in Project Eyeball, I responded to the next Prime Minister, Brigadier General (BG) Lee Hsien Long who claimed that "last year we predicted 4 to 6 cent growth; we ended up with more than 10." (Straits Times & Project Eyeball, Jan.8, 2001, p.2) that what he said "looks good on paper. The Singapore working class would, however, have taken note that there were also increases in utility bills and public transportation last year , on top of the controversial POSB-DBS (banks) S$2 charges that forced the lower income groups to close their accounts. Full Central Provident Fund (forced savings) restoration was not implemented by the end of the year. Recently, people were encouraged to "top-up" their CPF when the government should be restoring it in full. The Singapore Dollar continues to weaken against the U.S. Dollar. Unit trust prices, especially technology stocks, have crashed despite the government announcement of positive GDP growth.
Furthermore, the May 2000 report issued by the Department of Statistics stated that for the bottom 10% of the society the average household income for 1999 was S$133 (US$7
a month, with figures showing that nearly 30% of households in Singapore not earning enough to afford the minimum standard of living while the rich continue to get richer. Whilst the average wage remains low, salaries for ministers are shockingly high. It must be pointed out that Singapore's ministers are the highest paid politicians in the world. The growing gap between the rich and the poor is a great concern for those who care for the future of our society. It must also be remembered that the brunt of the recession during the Asian crisis was borne by the workers whose wages were cut by 15%. Unemployment as well as underemployment continues to be a major problem.
According to the 1999 Global Competitiveness Report, out of the 59 countries surveyed, Singapore ranked 56th in terms of wages of its workers relative to their productivity. Only Russia, Ukraine and Ecuador paid their workers worse.
BG Lee may talk about economic growth. The real question that should be asked is: How much of this 'growth' has benefited working Singaporeans?"
The state paper, The Straits Times, seems reluctant to highlight the fact that Singapore was ranked so low on the scale of workers' wages as compared to other developed and industrialized countries. Even more outrageous is the fact that PAP Ministers raised their pay in the middle of last year, making them one of the highest paid politicians in the world. Consider this: the Prime Minister now earns approximately US$93,000 a month, while more than 40% of Singapore's work force earn less than US$1,000 a month (1999 Labour statistics). Income disparity is not growing any better.
The Straits Times often sees no qualms, however, in boasting Singapore's top status as a business center and in fields where money and people can be measured in digits and profited from. Let us also not forget that the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), the major newspaper conglomerate in existence in Singapore has an ex-ISD (Internal Security Department) secret police director as Director and President.
With the media bound in the hands of the Government, the latter reigns free without having to worry about media interference in its affairs. The SDP have released numerous media statements on every major issue affecting the lives of ordinary citizens in Singapore, but the Singapore media rarely carries them, making the people believe in the illusion that we are inactive and even non-existent till the General Elections.
The ISD secret police continues to run with impunity - never accountable to the people, with bestowed state powers under the Internal Security Act (ISA) to detain anyone, anytime for an indefinite period of time without a public trial. Throughout Singapore's political history, the political Opposition and its supporters have been detained with trial under the PAP's Government's orders. Operation Cold Store of 1963 netted in about 120 persons and Operation Spectrum in 1987, 22 social justice activists fell. The longest serving prisoner in Singapore, Chia Thye Poh, Barisan Socialis MP, arrested in 1966 was forced to give 23 years of his life away in prison. Singaporeans continue to live in fear in the atmosphere of Singapore. The lack of dynamism in Singapore politics with a large and active Opposition and civil society groups hints at the state of fear and apathy 42 years of iron-fisted PAP rule has created.
My recent January call-up by the Singapore police to investigate a possible offense committed on December 10, 2000 at the newly introduced Speakers' Corner. On that fateful day, the Open Singapore Centre was one of the key organizers in publicly marking International Human Rights Day. Now, we are under police and government scrutiny for a peaceful public gathering where speeches in what human rights is were made in open air and the song "We Shall Overcome" was sang. The move to put us in police files is another way to scare the population into thinking that civil rights activity may not be tolerated. Such is the infant stage of civil society growth in Singapore.
One primary area which exposes the non-transparent and non-accountable nature of the PAP Government is that of the public accountability of the sale of Singapore arms and the business and investment dealings of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) which handles billions of Singaporeans' CPF savings. Currently, these are non-debatable issues in Singapore, and only recently - with the SDP's insistence through The New Democrat, Singapore business losses in Suzhou Park, China and the lack of CPF funds for Singaporeans golden years were publicly admitted.
Author Alan Clements who interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi in his 1997 book A Voice of Hope noted that Singapore's investment of US$770 million in Burma helped prop the SPDC regime (p.70).
According to Burma Alert (Feb. 97, Volume 8, No.2), Singapore tops the world again. This time, in an ugly fashion of being the SPDC junta's top investor.
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Investments: SLORC INVESTMENTS INCREASING?
According to SLORC's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, foreign investments in Burma are increasing. As of Nov 30, there were reportedly 226 foreign projects worth US$5.27 billion (The totals below only add up to US$3-4 billion - Ed):
Oil & Gas (31) projects US$1.49 billion
Manufacturing projects 1.07 billion
Hotel/Tourism (3
projects 731.2 million
Mining (41) projects 496.9 million The three major SLORC investors are:
Singapore US$1.17 billion
UK 1.01 billion
Thailand 960 million
The Spring 1998 edition of Covert Action Quarterly revealed that that a Government-Linked Company (GLC), Singapore Technologies, helped the Burmese military junta build a high-tech cyber-warfare center capable of intercepting a range of incoming communications-including telephone calls, faxes, e-mails and computer data transmissions-from 20 other countries. The secret arms deals with the junta is no big secret to the free world although it is still a very dangerous topic to be discussed openly in Singapore, and is something that the Singapore government has refused to acknowledge or admit to the public. Jane's Intelligence Review (Feb-March 199
has also reported on the PAP Government's dealings with the SPDC junta of Burma. The media in Singapore, not surprisingly, does not report on such "sensitive" issues. This state of affairs tells us how much the media is independent in Singapore.
Dear friends, after 42 years of ruling Singapore in an authoritarian manner, the Singapore PAP Government finds itself reluctant and difficult to relinquish and share power with the political Opposition and to open society to tolerate pluralistic voices of democracy. Let not the cosmetic changes the PAP Government paints to the world fool anyone here. Beneath the cloak of skyscrapers and fancy, expensive restaurants, Singapore has not progressed in terms of understanding and respecting human rights. Her people groan under the weight and fear of PAP laws and regulations. The non-transparent nature of the PAP Government and its atrocious dealings with the SPDC in Burma is a lamentable fact that cannot be ignored or swept under the carpet of Asian diplomacy. Lives are lost as we speak. Let's not forget that.
Let's also not forget that with international attention on Singapore's political progress and on the activists from the political Opposition, the Singapore Government can be made to change for the better. It can be made to account for everything it does to the public and to the international community. This in turn contributes to regional stability, an active civil society and a democratic political system where justice and the rule of law reign supreme over our lands. Recommended Reading:
Chee, S.J. 1998, 'Burma' in To Be Free, Monash Asia Institute, Australia, pp.53-99.
Clements, Alan 1997, The Voice of Hope, Penguin Books, London
Jane's Intelligence Review February-March 1998, 'Burma receives advances from its silent suitors in Singapore'.
Seow, Francis 1998, The Media Enthralled, Lynne Rienner Publications, Inc., Boulder, Colorado.
------------- 1994, To Catch a Tartar, Yale University SEA Studies, Connecticut.
Recommended Websites:
SINGAPOREANS FOR DEMOCRACY: http://www.gn.apc.org/sfd/
SINGAPORE WINDOW: http://www.singapore-window.org/
