Singapore wrapped up campaigning ahead of a vote today that is expected to result in a wide margin of victory for the ruling party, which has won every general election since independence from Malaysia in 1965.
The invitation from the ruling People's Action Party is clear: vote for us and we will deliver more of Singapore's trademark economic success and social stability. Most Singaporeans are likely to heed the call, but some say the government needs new voices and looser controls.
"We have some questions about how the government is run and how it can be improved," said Alvin Teo, a 23-year-old student. "There should be a healthy debate. Right now, it seems that there isn't sufficient healthy debate."
Singapore's leaders say debate has limits, and point to Thailand and the Philippines as examples of places where unfettered, Western-style democracy led to upheaval. The tiny city-state is a neighbor of Indonesia, where ethnic and other tensions often explode in violence.
So while Singapore remains a Southeast Asian oasis of calm and market success, it has muted dissent with strict controls on freedom of speech and assembly.
Government leaders have bankrupted some opposition figures with defamation lawsuits, making them ineligible to run for public office.
Any suspense in the election lies in whether the struggling opposition can boost its number of elected seats beyond two out of a total of 84. In a bold gesture, the opposition Workers' Party is challenging Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his stronghold of Ang Mo Kio.
But the opposition already has no chance of winning 37 seats because it did not field candidates in those constituencies.
In a campaign speech this week, Lee cited political gridlock in Taiwan and said he would be distracted from running Singapore if he had to deal with an opposition that had 10 to 20 seats in Parliament.
"Instead of spending my time thinking of what is the right policy for Singapore, I have to spend all my time thinking what is the right way to fix them, what's the right way to buy my own supporters over," said Lee, the son of Singapore's founder, Lee Kuan Yew.
The comment drew instant fire from the Workers' Party, which said Lee's use of the term "fix" was ominous and that his comments suggested he was not competent to handle a robust opposition. In a rare retraction, Lee's office later said the prime minister was sorry if his "direct language" had offended anyone.
Opposition candidates have highlighted a growing income disparity between the rich and poor in Singapore, where some people struggle financially despite the country's status as a high-tech, manufacturing hub.
Critics also cite a recent corruption scandal at Singapore's largest charity, the National Kidney Foundation, as a sign that the government should be subject to the checks of a vocal opposition.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS