The Times They Are A-Changing (in Singapore's Politics)

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the facts, Singapore is a tiny island-nation in Southeast Asia, unremarkable in almost every way except for its people and what they have achieved; a level of economic growth and development that is envied by every other post-colonial country out there. It has not, however, come without a price (albeit one that most Singaporeans were, for a long time, willing to pay): a lack of political freedom. The People's Action Party (PAP) and its undisputed helmsman, Lee Kuan Yew, have been in power since Singapore gained complete independence in 1965, an achievement that was arguably made possible by the heavy-handed silencing of opposition politicians and any sounds of dissent.

Growing up in Singapore, I remember never being very impressed by the opposition parties that would, every once in a while, try to contest an election. Few of their candidates were well-educated, and they didn't really seem to have much of a plan or platform. Many Singaporeans apparently agreed with me, because the opposition was, for a very long time, viewed as simply not being credible.

But the times, they are a-changing. Singapore goes to the polls this Saturday, and for the first time that I can remember (and probably for the first time that a lot of Singaporeans can remember), the opposition is fielding candidates to challenge half of all the seats that are up for grabs in Parliament. It's symbolic more than anything else, really; no one expects them to be able to unseat the PAP. But it is well-timed symbolism; Singaporeans are increasingly dissatisfied with the PAP and how it stifles any expression of freedom that can be seen as deleterious to the government (or as Singaporeans are fond of calling it, the gahmen). There is, at least online, a certain sense that this election will be different.

A lot of that has to do with the Internet, especially the proliferation of blogs. The Singapore Government has naturally clamped down, chiefly by imposing a moratorium on political blogging in Singapore during the election campaigning. Yet a quick blogsearch for "singapore elections" will turn up many blogs that discuss the elections, oftentimes in a way calculated to not run afoul of the law (as some of them cheekily remark, "Prison got no broadband!"). A search for the Technorati tag "singaporeelections" will pull up many more blog posts. The Asia Times Online also has a good article on how the PAP is trying to control political expression on the Internet, arguably an exercise in inevitable futility.

And I must say: I never thought I'd see the day that the PAP would actually be afraid. Well, okay, perhaps I did think that I would live to see the day, but I certainly never thought it would appear so soon. I now have some small inkling of the heady rush of freedom that East Germans had in 1989. Well, except that I don't live there anymore, but still. Merdeka!

Technorati tag: singaporeelections