September 4, 2009
In Freedom House's 2009 report on freedom in the world, Singapore received a downward trend arrow due
to the politically motivated handling of defamation cases, which cast
doubt on judicial independence.
Some highlights from the report:
Singapore is not an electoral democracy. The country is governed through a parliamentary system, and elections
are free from irregularities and vote rigging, but the ruling PAP
dominates the political process. The prime minister retains control
over the Elections Department, and the country lacks a structurally
independent election authority. Opposition campaigns are
hamstrung by a ban on political films and television programs, the
threat of libel suits, strict regulations on political associations,
and the PAP’s influence on the media and the courts.
Despite
his expressed desire for a “more open society,” Lee Hsien Loong did
little to change the authoritarian political climate. He called
elections in May 2006, a year early, to secure a mandate for his
economic reform agenda. With a nine-day campaign period and defamation
lawsuits hampering opposition candidates, the polls resembled past
elections in serving more as a referendum on the prime minister’s
popularity than as an actual contest for power.
In
2007 and 2008, Lee continued to pursue his economic agenda while using
the legal system and other tools to keep the opposition in check. The
government also maintained that racial sensitivities and the threat of
Islamist terrorism justified draconian restrictions on freedoms of
speech and assembly. Such rules were repeatedly used to silence criticism of the authorities.
Singapore
has traditionally been lauded for its relative lack of corruption.
There is no special legislation facilitating access to information,
however, and management of state funds came under question for the
first time in 2007. Critics lamented the state’s secret investment of
national reserves, and investigations into the state investment arm,
Temasek Holdings, were launched by Indonesian and Thai watchdog
agencies.
Singapore’s media market remains tightly constrained. All newspapers, radio stations, and television channels are owned by
government-linked companies. Although editorials and news coverage
generally support state policies, newspapers occasionally publish
critical pieces. Self-censorship is common among journalists as a
result of PAP pressure.
Read the full report here.
http://seelanpalay.blogspot.com/2009/09/singapore-is-not-electoral-democracy.html