Compare the complete lack of proof of guilt against the "Marxist conspirators" detained under ISA in Operation Spectrum, with the manifest close comradeship between the Young PAP and the Chinese Communist Youth League.
What hypocrisy. Operation Spectrum is a most blatant and cynical use of detention without trial against the government's perceived and potential, not even real, political opponents.
Does any opposition party or politician in Singapore dare to associate with the Chinese Communist Party?
*****************************************
Source: Wikileaks (here)
created 2009-9-9
RULING PARTY YOUTH WING COZIES UP TO CHINESE,
STEPS UP RECRUITMENT
¶1. (C) Summary. The youth wing of Singapore's ruling party,
Young PAP (YP), is pursuing closer ties with the Chinese
Communist Youth League, two YP executive committee members
told PolOffs on August 27. Recent YP "study visits" to China
have focused on political education and recruitment. In
contrast, YP's relations with fraternal parties in Indonesia,
Malaysia, and Taiwan are less active. Though YP membership
has recently increased by about 150% to approximately 9,000,
it remains a relatively small organization even by Singapore
standards. It has never fulfilled its intended role of
cultivating new leadership for the ruling People's Action
Party (PAP), with only one former member in a cabinet-level
position. Instead of influencing policy, YP appears geared
toward creating a positive image of the PAP for young
Singaporeans, with the ultimate goal of encouraging them to
become PAP members. End summary.
Young PAP Pursues Ties with Communist Youth League...
--------------------------------------------- --------
¶2. (C) Young PAP (YP), the youth wing of Singapore's ruling
People's Action Party (PAP), nurtures close ties with its
communist Chinese counterpart, two members of the
organization's executive committee told PolOffs on August 27.
Joel Leong, Chairperson of the International Relations
Sub-Committee, and Phyllis Chng, Executive Secretary,
explained that YP's "easiest" international relationship is
with China's Communist Youth League (CYL). Leong said the
YP-CYL relationship dates back many years. In keeping with
Singapore's growing ties with China, YP officials have made
two "study trips" there this year. In February, they visited
a party school in Beijing to seek inspiration for their own
political education and training programs, and in July, they
received advice on recruitment strategies from their CYL
counterparts in Chengdu. After the February trip, YP
chairman Teo Ser Luck told Singapore press that associating
with a Communist organization did not trouble him: "We're
not worried because it's the governing party and
Singapore-China relations are so close. We don't talk about
political philosophy." (In a throwback to the PAP's early
days as a member of the Socialist International, YP members
still use the honorific "Comrade.")
...But Is Less Engaged with Other Regional Counterparts
--------------------------------------------- ----------
¶3. (C) YP has more difficulty maintaining active
relationships with other fraternal parties in the region.
Leong described parties in Indonesia and Malaysia as more
"closed" to YP than the Chinese Communist Party. He also
noted that the presence of active opposition parties in both
countries poses occasional dilemmas for YP. For example, YP
received an invitation from the youth wing of Malaysia's
opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition but declined because of
concerns about the potential political ramifications of
accepting. Leong reported that YP has some ongoing relations
with the DPP in Taiwan, but the youth wing there, like its
parent party, is focused on an internal split over the
direction of Taiwan's relations with mainland China. YP has
no relations at all with the Republican or Democratic parties
in the United States, but it would be interested in
establishing some, Leong said.
Membership Surges, but Organization Remains Small
--------------------------------------------- ----
¶4. (C) YP has recently focused on boosting recruitment. YP
does not publish its rolls or membership figures, but press
accounts in early 2009 estimated membership at 6,000.
Phyllis Chng confirmed that the current figure is closer to
9,000, and she and Leong suggested that this reflects a
substantial increase over the past year. Membership is open
to Singaporeans up to 40 years old. In addition to regular
members, YP also registers "friends" - mainly, according to
Leong, civil servants who are forbidden by law to join
political parties but who may still want to signal an
affiliation with the dominant party. Despite its recent
growth, YP remains a small organization in the context of
Singapore's 3.2 million citizens.
Young PAP Plays Limited Role in Cultivating PAP Leaders
--------------------------------------------- ----------
¶5. (C) Although one of YP's original objectives since its
1986 founding was to help renew the PAP leadership over time,
Leong and Chng agreed that its success in this respect has
been limited. YP has been one source of leadership and
technocratic talent for the PAP, they said, but the party has
drawn equally, if not more, on the youth wing of the National
Trades Union Council, the civil service, and sources
unconnected to the party or government. Singapore's Foreign
Minister, George Yeo, is the only current cabinet-level
official who was a YP member.
For the Moment, Merely a Social Club and Recruiting Device
--------------------------------------------- -------------
¶6. (C) Comment: YP appears focused on trying to make the
ruling party more attractive to young people and acting as
one of the many channels through which Singapore fosters
closer relations with China. As a result, it currently
places little emphasis on substantive thinking or on trying
to influence public policy. For example, Leong, although in
charge of YP's international activities, claimed to have no
opinion about the state of bilateral relations between the
United States and Singapore; he merely commented that YP
leaves such things to the civil servants. Likewise, though
Leong and Chng said YP is an effective conduit for
transmitting young people's feedback and ideas to the
government, they were unable to give a single concrete
example of this. They also claimed that YP helps the PAP
change with the times by keeping "an ear to the ground," but
in support they offered only the vague and commonplace
observation that as young Singaporeans become better educated
and cosmopolitan, demands will grow for greater openness in
government. Singapore will have to respond, they said, but
only incrementally over time. Meanwhile, two other young
Singaporeans recently told PolOff in unrelated conversations
that they have considered joining YP - not out of affection
for the People's Action Party, but because they think it
would enhance their career prospects. End Comment.
Here appear occasional jottings of my random musings. Profound or jejune, they reveal the contours of my mental universe, with world history, intellectual history, civilizations, philosophy, religion, society, knowledge, and books as some major themes. Since May 2011, this blog has been exclusively focused on Singapore. All my other reflections are now posted in "Notes from Noosphere" (see link under "Miscellany" on the right margin).
Showing posts with label wikileaks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wikileaks. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Embassy Wikileaks: Pre GE 2006 assessment
(source)
Created 2006-4-27
¶1. (C) Summary: For the first time since 1988, the opposition
parties will contest more than half of the seats for
parliament in the May 6 general election, denying the ruling
People's Action Party (PAP) an automatic majority on
nomination day. The economy and local issues will dominate
the nine-day election campaign and the PAP will benefit from
a booming economy and generous handouts in the recently
enacted budget. Despite media hype about how "breathless"
one should be about the PAP's 24 new MP candidates, they are
a mixed lot. Some are of ministerial caliber, but others
were drawn from the second or third tier, noted one PAP MP.
The opposition parties, especially the Workers' Party, have
put together a better set of candidates than in the past --
but can realistically hope only to begin the process of
improving their public image. End Summary.
An Actual Contest
-----------------
¶2. (SBU) For the first time since 1988, the opposition
parties will contest more than half of the seats for
parliament in the May 6 general election. At the April 27
nomination deadline, the opposition put forward 47 candidates
for the 84 seats in parliament. In the last three general
elections, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) was
automatically returned to power on nomination day as more
than half of its candidates won "walkovers" when the
opposition failed to field an opponent. In addition, this
year, the Workers' Party (WP) decided to run a slate in Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong's electoral district -- giving the
PM his first electoral challenge in 18 years. Institute of
Policy Studies Research Fellow Jeanne Conceicao characterized
it as a "suicide mission" for the WP slate, but should reduce
the time the PM can spend campaigning outside his district.
All Politics is Local
---------------------
¶3. (SBU) The economy and local matters will be the central
issues in the nine-day election campaign. The PAP will
benefit from the strong state of the economy, which has been
booming for the last few years. Economic growth in 2005
exceeded 6 percent and should be 4-6 percent this year.
Furthermore, unemployment has fallen to a four-year low of
2.5 percent. Nevertheless, Singapore faces growing income
inequality with the bottom 20 percent of households suffering
a real decline in income. Opposition parties plan to focus
on this issue as well as on the rising cost of living in
general, Singapore People's Party (SPP) Chairman Sin Kek Tong
told us. To deal with this, the PAP approved a government
budget for this year that included a S$2.6 billion giveaway
to voters -- dubbed the "Progress Package." Singaporeans
will receive hundreds of dollars each and more money will be
targeted for the elderly and working poor. The payouts are
timed for May 1, just five days before the election.
¶4. (U) The vast majority of Singaporeans live in
government-built apartments that they buy. Over the last six
months, the PAP government has rolled out plans for housing
estate upgrades and new amenities in many key districts. The
two opposition districts have generally been last in line for
any such upgrades. For example, Foreign Minister Yeo's
electoral district received more than five times as much
grant money on a per-household basis than WP MP Low Thia
Khiang's, according to press reports. The PAP has promised
to give the opposition wards far more assistance if they
elect PAP candidates this time.
¶5. (C) One concern for the PAP is a decline in the
maintenance standards in the housing estates, PAP MP Charles
Chong told us. In order to create more jobs for
lower-skilled Singaporeans, the local town councils have had
to replace cheaper foreign labor with more expensive
Singaporeans to do the cleaning, painting, and repair work.
PAP "Self-Renewal"
------------------
¶6. (C) The new group of 24 PAP MP candidates has benefited
from extensive and glowing media coverage starting well
before the announcement of the election date, while
opposition candidates have been given cursory attention.
Despite the media hype and the fact that they still outshine
the opposition, the new PAP MP candidates are a mixed lot. A
few of them look like they have ministerial potential,
notably former Chief of Navy Lui Tuck Yew and former
International Enterprises of Singapore CEO Lee Yi Shyan.
Some of the others we have met look quite weak, with limited
political skills or policy experience. It looks as if the
PAP was trying to meet an overall profile -- so many
community activists, so many union officials, a few business
figures, commented Conceicao.
¶7. (C) PAP MP Chong admitted that the party had not succeeded
in recruiting a number of "high-flying" business leaders to
run. In fact, the party had to reach down to some of its
second and third tier candidates to fill out its ticket.
Those new candidates will all run in the Group Representative
Constituencies (GRCs) helmed by higher profile ministers --
for example, four of them will run in Senior Minister Goh
Chok Tong's uncontested district. Overall, the opposition will compete in only 7 of the 14 GRCs.
Opposition Hopes
----------------
¶8. (SBU) The opposition parties, especially the Workers
Party, have put together a better set of candidates than in
the past -- with more education and professional
qualifications. Running on their resumes has long been a
foundation of PAP campaigning, but it has acknowledged that
the WP has done a better recruiting job this time. In what
will undoubtedly be one of the most watched districts, the WP
Chairman Sylvia Lim is leading a slate against Foreign
Minister George Yeo in the Aljunied GRC. Although several
political observers say FM Yeo's frequent travels have
affected his support at the grassroots level, the WP slate
looks doomed.
¶9. (C) Most opposition leaders are not sanguine about their
chances this year. Non-Constituency MP Steven Chia said he
will likely abandon politics if he loses again. SPP Chairman
Sin told us he thinks the PAP might win a clean sweep of all
84 seats. Dr. Chee Soon Juan's Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP) appears on the verge of collapse (Ref A.) The
heavy-handed defamation suit brought by PM Lee and Minister
Mentor Lee Kuan Yew against the SDP and the printer of its
newspaper has fractured the party's leadership. It is
unclear if the SDP will even be able to print campaign
posters and flyers for the election after its part-time
printer (and part-time taxi driver) promised to not do any
work for them when he settled with the PM and MM.
¶10. (C) The opposition should focus on changing the public's
impression of them, observed National University of Singapore
(NUS) Professor Kenneth Tan. Opposition politicians have a
reputation for being "clowns" or pursuing "vendettas" against
the PAP. By demonstrating their professionalism this time,
the opposition could lay the groundwork for electoral gains
down the road.
¶11. (C) Comment: The PAP enters the campaign period confident
of victory. At the same time, it is eager to talk down
expectations for its final vote total -- to ensure that PM
Lee is seen as securing a mandate -- and continues to put
forth that 65 percent of the popular vote is a stirring
victory. Winning a GRC would be a major breakthrough for the
opposition, but remains a long shot. A more realistic goal
would be to win two or three seats and leave the voters with
a more positive impression. End Comment.
Created 2006-4-27
¶1. (C) Summary: For the first time since 1988, the opposition
parties will contest more than half of the seats for
parliament in the May 6 general election, denying the ruling
People's Action Party (PAP) an automatic majority on
nomination day. The economy and local issues will dominate
the nine-day election campaign and the PAP will benefit from
a booming economy and generous handouts in the recently
enacted budget. Despite media hype about how "breathless"
one should be about the PAP's 24 new MP candidates, they are
a mixed lot. Some are of ministerial caliber, but others
were drawn from the second or third tier, noted one PAP MP.
The opposition parties, especially the Workers' Party, have
put together a better set of candidates than in the past --
but can realistically hope only to begin the process of
improving their public image. End Summary.
An Actual Contest
-----------------
¶2. (SBU) For the first time since 1988, the opposition
parties will contest more than half of the seats for
parliament in the May 6 general election. At the April 27
nomination deadline, the opposition put forward 47 candidates
for the 84 seats in parliament. In the last three general
elections, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) was
automatically returned to power on nomination day as more
than half of its candidates won "walkovers" when the
opposition failed to field an opponent. In addition, this
year, the Workers' Party (WP) decided to run a slate in Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong's electoral district -- giving the
PM his first electoral challenge in 18 years. Institute of
Policy Studies Research Fellow Jeanne Conceicao characterized
it as a "suicide mission" for the WP slate, but should reduce
the time the PM can spend campaigning outside his district.
All Politics is Local
---------------------
¶3. (SBU) The economy and local matters will be the central
issues in the nine-day election campaign. The PAP will
benefit from the strong state of the economy, which has been
booming for the last few years. Economic growth in 2005
exceeded 6 percent and should be 4-6 percent this year.
Furthermore, unemployment has fallen to a four-year low of
2.5 percent. Nevertheless, Singapore faces growing income
inequality with the bottom 20 percent of households suffering
a real decline in income. Opposition parties plan to focus
on this issue as well as on the rising cost of living in
general, Singapore People's Party (SPP) Chairman Sin Kek Tong
told us. To deal with this, the PAP approved a government
budget for this year that included a S$2.6 billion giveaway
to voters -- dubbed the "Progress Package." Singaporeans
will receive hundreds of dollars each and more money will be
targeted for the elderly and working poor. The payouts are
timed for May 1, just five days before the election.
¶4. (U) The vast majority of Singaporeans live in
government-built apartments that they buy. Over the last six
months, the PAP government has rolled out plans for housing
estate upgrades and new amenities in many key districts. The
two opposition districts have generally been last in line for
any such upgrades. For example, Foreign Minister Yeo's
electoral district received more than five times as much
grant money on a per-household basis than WP MP Low Thia
Khiang's, according to press reports. The PAP has promised
to give the opposition wards far more assistance if they
elect PAP candidates this time.
¶5. (C) One concern for the PAP is a decline in the
maintenance standards in the housing estates, PAP MP Charles
Chong told us. In order to create more jobs for
lower-skilled Singaporeans, the local town councils have had
to replace cheaper foreign labor with more expensive
Singaporeans to do the cleaning, painting, and repair work.
PAP "Self-Renewal"
------------------
¶6. (C) The new group of 24 PAP MP candidates has benefited
from extensive and glowing media coverage starting well
before the announcement of the election date, while
opposition candidates have been given cursory attention.
Despite the media hype and the fact that they still outshine
the opposition, the new PAP MP candidates are a mixed lot. A
few of them look like they have ministerial potential,
notably former Chief of Navy Lui Tuck Yew and former
International Enterprises of Singapore CEO Lee Yi Shyan.
Some of the others we have met look quite weak, with limited
political skills or policy experience. It looks as if the
PAP was trying to meet an overall profile -- so many
community activists, so many union officials, a few business
figures, commented Conceicao.
¶7. (C) PAP MP Chong admitted that the party had not succeeded
in recruiting a number of "high-flying" business leaders to
run. In fact, the party had to reach down to some of its
second and third tier candidates to fill out its ticket.
Those new candidates will all run in the Group Representative
Constituencies (GRCs) helmed by higher profile ministers --
for example, four of them will run in Senior Minister Goh
Chok Tong's uncontested district. Overall, the opposition will compete in only 7 of the 14 GRCs.
Opposition Hopes
----------------
¶8. (SBU) The opposition parties, especially the Workers
Party, have put together a better set of candidates than in
the past -- with more education and professional
qualifications. Running on their resumes has long been a
foundation of PAP campaigning, but it has acknowledged that
the WP has done a better recruiting job this time. In what
will undoubtedly be one of the most watched districts, the WP
Chairman Sylvia Lim is leading a slate against Foreign
Minister George Yeo in the Aljunied GRC. Although several
political observers say FM Yeo's frequent travels have
affected his support at the grassroots level, the WP slate
looks doomed.
¶9. (C) Most opposition leaders are not sanguine about their
chances this year. Non-Constituency MP Steven Chia said he
will likely abandon politics if he loses again. SPP Chairman
Sin told us he thinks the PAP might win a clean sweep of all
84 seats. Dr. Chee Soon Juan's Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP) appears on the verge of collapse (Ref A.) The
heavy-handed defamation suit brought by PM Lee and Minister
Mentor Lee Kuan Yew against the SDP and the printer of its
newspaper has fractured the party's leadership. It is
unclear if the SDP will even be able to print campaign
posters and flyers for the election after its part-time
printer (and part-time taxi driver) promised to not do any
work for them when he settled with the PM and MM.
¶10. (C) The opposition should focus on changing the public's
impression of them, observed National University of Singapore
(NUS) Professor Kenneth Tan. Opposition politicians have a
reputation for being "clowns" or pursuing "vendettas" against
the PAP. By demonstrating their professionalism this time,
the opposition could lay the groundwork for electoral gains
down the road.
¶11. (C) Comment: The PAP enters the campaign period confident
of victory. At the same time, it is eager to talk down
expectations for its final vote total -- to ensure that PM
Lee is seen as securing a mandate -- and continues to put
forth that 65 percent of the popular vote is a stirring
victory. Winning a GRC would be a major breakthrough for the
opposition, but remains a long shot. A more realistic goal
would be to win two or three seats and leave the voters with
a more positive impression. End Comment.
A compendium of embassy Wikileaks (Diary of a Singaporean mind)
Interesting Wikileaks revelations about Singapore: here
Embassy Wikileaks: Creativity stifled in Singapore
(source)
created: 2007-2-27
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Government of Singapore (GOS) is
attempting to steer the economy to become more
knowledge-based and entrepreneurial to counter the
competitive challenges China, India and other lower-cost
exporters pose. Characteristically, the GOS is taking the
lead, putting schemes in place to encourage creativity and
entrepreneurship, particularly in "strategic" sectors. It
has even tinkered around the edges of its tight political
controls, mandating a relaxation in social mores in order to
give Singapore "buzz." But the dominance of
government-linked corporations in Singapore's economy, an
educational system that stifles independent thinking, and the
continued presence of the government in many aspects of
Singaporean life perpetuate "habits of constraint" that may
hinder the development of entrepreneurship in Singapore. The
recent failure of a French topless revue franchise, part of a
GOS-led effort to pump up Singapore's nightlife, has laid
bare the limits of such top-down efforts. End Summary.
------------------
Creativity by Fiat
------------------
¶2. (U) A strong record of economic success notwithstanding,
Singapore's leadership recognizes that further growth will
depend on finding economic advantages over the rapidly
growing and low-cost economies of China, India, and ASEAN
neighbors. As a developed nation, Singapore must also
compete with other developed economies. To continue
thriving, the GOS believes that Singapore must transform
itself from an efficient platform for manufacturing and
logistics into a global, knowledge-based and more
entrepreneurial economy. With a small population, no natural
resources, and a trade-heavy economy, the GOS is acutely
aware of the need for Singapore to develop a strong
entrepreneurial class that can adapt.
¶3. (SBU) Pursuing the objective with its usual vigor, the
government is pouring in resources. Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong chairs a Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council
(RIEC), established in 2005 to promote R&D and innovation in
"strategic" sectors of the economy. In 2006, the RIEC
announced it would provide $916 million (SGD1.4 billion) over
the next five years to fund entrepreneurs. Also in 2006, the
Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) unveiled its Science and
Technology 2010 Plan (STP2010) which commits $4.9 billion
(SGD7.5 billion) over the next five years to encourage
raising R&D spending to 3 percent of Singapore's GDP by 2010.
-------------
The Challenge
-------------
¶4. (SBU) GOS efforts to promote entrepreneurship continue to
encounter a risk-averse Singaporean mindset, government
domination of the economy, and discouragement of critical
thinking and inflexibility in the educational system. The
2007 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report (GEM) showed
that, among the surveyed OECD and developed economies,
Singapore was consistently below the mean for all indicators
of social and cultural attitudes toward entrepreneurship.
For example, only 57.8 percent of Singaporeans believed that
new business success was accorded high status in their
country, compared to an average of 66.2 percent among all the
countries in the survey, ranking Singapore 21st of 24.
-------------------------
Government Itself a Cause
-------------------------
¶5. (C) Entrepreneurs continue to face obstacles in a number
of sectors in the form of Government-Linked Corporations
(GLCs), which account for nearly 60 percent of the national
GDP. Temasek Holdings, the government's investment arm, is
by far the largest investor in Singapore, with an estimated
50-percent stake in Singapore's GLCs. GLCs often compete
against each other in key markets, making entry by an
independently-held company difficult. For example, SingTel
and Starhub, both Temasek Holdings companies, compete
directly in the wireless service market and will soon do the
same in the cable television market. The strong GOS role in
directing the economy likely has the unintended result of
"crowding out" natural economic development, according Dr.
Sha Reilly, Chief Knowledge Officer at the National Library
Board (NLB), which has a mandate to encourage creativity and
entrepreneurship among young Singaporeans. She believes
Singaporeans look first to the government, rather than the
private sector, to be the innovation leader.
¶6. (C) Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) -- a
potential source of innovation and commercial nimbleness --
find it difficult to secure financing for their businesses
since financial institutions, accustomed to an abundance of
large corporate customers, are reluctant to lend to riskier
SMEs. The 2007 GEM report ranked Singapore 17 out of 21
countries for venture capital availability. The Singapore
Stock Exchange (SGX) is similarly inhospitable to SMEs, with
many Singaporean entrepreneurs opting to list in other
countries. SGX Executive Vice President Lawrence Wong told
us that the SGX targets SMEs with a capitalization of SG$500
million to SG$5 billion ($327 million - $3.27 billion). Wong
characterized the amount as "not a lot," but it does put SGX
listing out of the range of many SMEs. He says a GOS
proposal to develop an exchange catering to smaller firms was
"still under discussion."
7.(C) While the government has allocated various funds to
encourage SMEs, a number of business leaders told us that
funding is still inadequate. They suggested that even if
sufficient funding were available, it would still take at
least a generation before an entrepreneurial culture would
truly take root. Of the $4.9 billion STP2010 budget, less
then two percent has been allocated for SME financing.
Inderjit Singh, a Member of Parliament and an entrepreneur,
told us that the proliferation of entrepreneurial schemes for
SMEs was "government lip-service that fails to address the
critical need to divest GLCs and open markets."
----------------------------------------
Political System Discourages Risk-Taking
----------------------------------------
¶8. (SBU) The GOS's tight political control and the "habits of
constraint" it fosters have inhibited the development of an
entrepreneurial spirit and risk-taking culture, according to
Nominated Member of Parliament Kum Hong Siew and others. G.
Jahyakrishan, Assistant Director of International Enterprise
Singapore (IE), a government entity responsible for helping
Singaporean companies grow globally, believes that a
prevailing atmosphere of restraint "subtly" leads to less
risk-taking behavior by firms and individuals. Siew believes
the government's attempt to encourage economic risk-taking
while limiting political and social freedoms is unsustainable
because it discourages the kind of critical thinking required
for entrepreneurship.
----------------------------
Education System Not Helping
----------------------------
¶9. (C) Singapore boasts a highly competitive and
well-regarded primary and secondary education system, but the
number of Singaporeans completing a tertiary education is
relatively low. Only 23 percent of Singaporean students
entering primary school complete a degree at a local
four-year university. In other knowledge-economies such as
Japan's, around 50 percent of students complete a university
degree. However, according to Cheryl Chan, Assistant
Director of the Planning Division at the Ministry of
Education (MOE), the government does not plan to encourage
more students to get a higher education. The university
enrollment rate will continue to be maintained at 20-25
percent because the Singaporean labor market does not need
everyone to get a four-year degree, she asserted.
¶10. (SBU) Singapore's education system has been criticized
for being heavy on memorization and light on critical
thinking and creativity. Based on the British model, the
system is highly test-focused and separates students (a
process referred to as "streaming") at an early age between
high, middle, and low achievers. The GOS has slowly begun to
introduce greater flexibility into the system by allowing
"streaming" in subjects (rather than based on total average
scores) and has created new magnet schools focused on
mathematics, the arts, and sports. But there are only three
such schools, and the overall education system has changed
little.
-------------------------------
Some "Strategic" Sectors Suffer
-------------------------------
¶11. (SBU) Growth in the "strategic" media sector may be
hampered by limits the government sets on freedom of speech
and expression. Filmmakers such as Martyn See (reftels) or
productions that touch on sensitive issues often find their
distribution and broadcasting rights disapproved by the Media
Development Board (MDA), a governmental agency responsible
for regulating and promoting media industries. Cheah Sin
Liang, Deputy Director of International Relations at MDA,
admitted to us that the GOS's tight control over
controversial political, religious, or social topics does
limit growth in the media sector, but argued that such
controls are necessary to prevent negative social
consequences.
¶12. (SBU) Singapore's approach to promoting R&D development
in the biomedical field, another government-identified
"strategic" sector, has also been criticized by foreign
education specialists as too focused on quick economic gains
rather than fostering the "holistic approach" necessary for
sustained innovation in science and technology. Dr. William
Broady, President of Johns Hopkins University, told the local
press in January that in order to be a leading center for
R&D, Singapore had to get away from "trying to measure
short-term economic returns. There has to be a mindset
change... in tolerating and being comfortable with failure
and ideas that don't seem to be going anywhere." (Note:
Johns Hopkins stopped development of a $53 million (SGD82
million) Biomedical Sciences research unit after its
Singapore Government partner, A*Star, accused Johns Hopkins
of not meeting performance benchmarks. End Note.)
----------------------------------
Casinos, Kumar and the Crazy Horse
----------------------------------
¶13. (SBU) The GOS appears to recognize the need to give
citizens freer rein in order to foster creativity and
entrepreneurship. Unwilling to loosen political controls, it
has focused so far on easing social restrictions. The
government made a highly controversial decision to allow
casinos, and has awarded contracts to open two integrated
resorts in 2009. Kumar, a popular transvestite nightclub
comedian whose material focuses on taboo subjects including
race, sex and the foibles of government personalities, has
been allowed to perform on television and in public venues.
Singaporeans returning from long stays overseas have told us
of being shocked at the mushrooming of racy billboard
advertising. MDA's Cheah pointed to the opening of the Crazy
Horse French Burlesque in December 2005 (which subsequently
closed in January 2007 due to poor attendance), and to the
"success" of the Singapore Biennale (an arts festival) as
further signs of greater social openness.
-------
Comment
-------
¶14. (C) Ever thinking strategically, Singapore's leadership
will keep pushing innovation in order to stay competitive in
a rapidly changing Asia. To its credit, the government
appears to recognize that its own penchant for control --
however enlightened its policy choices or soft its
authoritarian touch -- may be at odds with the kind of
free-wheeling atmosphere it needs to achieve its economic
objectives. Time will tell whether it can promote
creativity, critical-thinking, and innovation in society by
loosening up on social issues and tinkering with the
education system while keeping politics in quarantine. One
way or another, Singapore's flirtation with openness will
provide another interesting chapter in its unique history as
a social-engineering petri dish.
created: 2007-2-27
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Government of Singapore (GOS) is
attempting to steer the economy to become more
knowledge-based and entrepreneurial to counter the
competitive challenges China, India and other lower-cost
exporters pose. Characteristically, the GOS is taking the
lead, putting schemes in place to encourage creativity and
entrepreneurship, particularly in "strategic" sectors. It
has even tinkered around the edges of its tight political
controls, mandating a relaxation in social mores in order to
give Singapore "buzz." But the dominance of
government-linked corporations in Singapore's economy, an
educational system that stifles independent thinking, and the
continued presence of the government in many aspects of
Singaporean life perpetuate "habits of constraint" that may
hinder the development of entrepreneurship in Singapore. The
recent failure of a French topless revue franchise, part of a
GOS-led effort to pump up Singapore's nightlife, has laid
bare the limits of such top-down efforts. End Summary.
------------------
Creativity by Fiat
------------------
¶2. (U) A strong record of economic success notwithstanding,
Singapore's leadership recognizes that further growth will
depend on finding economic advantages over the rapidly
growing and low-cost economies of China, India, and ASEAN
neighbors. As a developed nation, Singapore must also
compete with other developed economies. To continue
thriving, the GOS believes that Singapore must transform
itself from an efficient platform for manufacturing and
logistics into a global, knowledge-based and more
entrepreneurial economy. With a small population, no natural
resources, and a trade-heavy economy, the GOS is acutely
aware of the need for Singapore to develop a strong
entrepreneurial class that can adapt.
¶3. (SBU) Pursuing the objective with its usual vigor, the
government is pouring in resources. Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong chairs a Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council
(RIEC), established in 2005 to promote R&D and innovation in
"strategic" sectors of the economy. In 2006, the RIEC
announced it would provide $916 million (SGD1.4 billion) over
the next five years to fund entrepreneurs. Also in 2006, the
Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) unveiled its Science and
Technology 2010 Plan (STP2010) which commits $4.9 billion
(SGD7.5 billion) over the next five years to encourage
raising R&D spending to 3 percent of Singapore's GDP by 2010.
-------------
The Challenge
-------------
¶4. (SBU) GOS efforts to promote entrepreneurship continue to
encounter a risk-averse Singaporean mindset, government
domination of the economy, and discouragement of critical
thinking and inflexibility in the educational system. The
2007 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report (GEM) showed
that, among the surveyed OECD and developed economies,
Singapore was consistently below the mean for all indicators
of social and cultural attitudes toward entrepreneurship.
For example, only 57.8 percent of Singaporeans believed that
new business success was accorded high status in their
country, compared to an average of 66.2 percent among all the
countries in the survey, ranking Singapore 21st of 24.
-------------------------
Government Itself a Cause
-------------------------
¶5. (C) Entrepreneurs continue to face obstacles in a number
of sectors in the form of Government-Linked Corporations
(GLCs), which account for nearly 60 percent of the national
GDP. Temasek Holdings, the government's investment arm, is
by far the largest investor in Singapore, with an estimated
50-percent stake in Singapore's GLCs. GLCs often compete
against each other in key markets, making entry by an
independently-held company difficult. For example, SingTel
and Starhub, both Temasek Holdings companies, compete
directly in the wireless service market and will soon do the
same in the cable television market. The strong GOS role in
directing the economy likely has the unintended result of
"crowding out" natural economic development, according Dr.
Sha Reilly, Chief Knowledge Officer at the National Library
Board (NLB), which has a mandate to encourage creativity and
entrepreneurship among young Singaporeans. She believes
Singaporeans look first to the government, rather than the
private sector, to be the innovation leader.
¶6. (C) Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) -- a
potential source of innovation and commercial nimbleness --
find it difficult to secure financing for their businesses
since financial institutions, accustomed to an abundance of
large corporate customers, are reluctant to lend to riskier
SMEs. The 2007 GEM report ranked Singapore 17 out of 21
countries for venture capital availability. The Singapore
Stock Exchange (SGX) is similarly inhospitable to SMEs, with
many Singaporean entrepreneurs opting to list in other
countries. SGX Executive Vice President Lawrence Wong told
us that the SGX targets SMEs with a capitalization of SG$500
million to SG$5 billion ($327 million - $3.27 billion). Wong
characterized the amount as "not a lot," but it does put SGX
listing out of the range of many SMEs. He says a GOS
proposal to develop an exchange catering to smaller firms was
"still under discussion."
7.(C) While the government has allocated various funds to
encourage SMEs, a number of business leaders told us that
funding is still inadequate. They suggested that even if
sufficient funding were available, it would still take at
least a generation before an entrepreneurial culture would
truly take root. Of the $4.9 billion STP2010 budget, less
then two percent has been allocated for SME financing.
Inderjit Singh, a Member of Parliament and an entrepreneur,
told us that the proliferation of entrepreneurial schemes for
SMEs was "government lip-service that fails to address the
critical need to divest GLCs and open markets."
----------------------------------------
Political System Discourages Risk-Taking
----------------------------------------
¶8. (SBU) The GOS's tight political control and the "habits of
constraint" it fosters have inhibited the development of an
entrepreneurial spirit and risk-taking culture, according to
Nominated Member of Parliament Kum Hong Siew and others. G.
Jahyakrishan, Assistant Director of International Enterprise
Singapore (IE), a government entity responsible for helping
Singaporean companies grow globally, believes that a
prevailing atmosphere of restraint "subtly" leads to less
risk-taking behavior by firms and individuals. Siew believes
the government's attempt to encourage economic risk-taking
while limiting political and social freedoms is unsustainable
because it discourages the kind of critical thinking required
for entrepreneurship.
----------------------------
Education System Not Helping
----------------------------
¶9. (C) Singapore boasts a highly competitive and
well-regarded primary and secondary education system, but the
number of Singaporeans completing a tertiary education is
relatively low. Only 23 percent of Singaporean students
entering primary school complete a degree at a local
four-year university. In other knowledge-economies such as
Japan's, around 50 percent of students complete a university
degree. However, according to Cheryl Chan, Assistant
Director of the Planning Division at the Ministry of
Education (MOE), the government does not plan to encourage
more students to get a higher education. The university
enrollment rate will continue to be maintained at 20-25
percent because the Singaporean labor market does not need
everyone to get a four-year degree, she asserted.
¶10. (SBU) Singapore's education system has been criticized
for being heavy on memorization and light on critical
thinking and creativity. Based on the British model, the
system is highly test-focused and separates students (a
process referred to as "streaming") at an early age between
high, middle, and low achievers. The GOS has slowly begun to
introduce greater flexibility into the system by allowing
"streaming" in subjects (rather than based on total average
scores) and has created new magnet schools focused on
mathematics, the arts, and sports. But there are only three
such schools, and the overall education system has changed
little.
-------------------------------
Some "Strategic" Sectors Suffer
-------------------------------
¶11. (SBU) Growth in the "strategic" media sector may be
hampered by limits the government sets on freedom of speech
and expression. Filmmakers such as Martyn See (reftels) or
productions that touch on sensitive issues often find their
distribution and broadcasting rights disapproved by the Media
Development Board (MDA), a governmental agency responsible
for regulating and promoting media industries. Cheah Sin
Liang, Deputy Director of International Relations at MDA,
admitted to us that the GOS's tight control over
controversial political, religious, or social topics does
limit growth in the media sector, but argued that such
controls are necessary to prevent negative social
consequences.
¶12. (SBU) Singapore's approach to promoting R&D development
in the biomedical field, another government-identified
"strategic" sector, has also been criticized by foreign
education specialists as too focused on quick economic gains
rather than fostering the "holistic approach" necessary for
sustained innovation in science and technology. Dr. William
Broady, President of Johns Hopkins University, told the local
press in January that in order to be a leading center for
R&D, Singapore had to get away from "trying to measure
short-term economic returns. There has to be a mindset
change... in tolerating and being comfortable with failure
and ideas that don't seem to be going anywhere." (Note:
Johns Hopkins stopped development of a $53 million (SGD82
million) Biomedical Sciences research unit after its
Singapore Government partner, A*Star, accused Johns Hopkins
of not meeting performance benchmarks. End Note.)
----------------------------------
Casinos, Kumar and the Crazy Horse
----------------------------------
¶13. (SBU) The GOS appears to recognize the need to give
citizens freer rein in order to foster creativity and
entrepreneurship. Unwilling to loosen political controls, it
has focused so far on easing social restrictions. The
government made a highly controversial decision to allow
casinos, and has awarded contracts to open two integrated
resorts in 2009. Kumar, a popular transvestite nightclub
comedian whose material focuses on taboo subjects including
race, sex and the foibles of government personalities, has
been allowed to perform on television and in public venues.
Singaporeans returning from long stays overseas have told us
of being shocked at the mushrooming of racy billboard
advertising. MDA's Cheah pointed to the opening of the Crazy
Horse French Burlesque in December 2005 (which subsequently
closed in January 2007 due to poor attendance), and to the
"success" of the Singapore Biennale (an arts festival) as
further signs of greater social openness.
-------
Comment
-------
¶14. (C) Ever thinking strategically, Singapore's leadership
will keep pushing innovation in order to stay competitive in
a rapidly changing Asia. To its credit, the government
appears to recognize that its own penchant for control --
however enlightened its policy choices or soft its
authoritarian touch -- may be at odds with the kind of
free-wheeling atmosphere it needs to achieve its economic
objectives. Time will tell whether it can promote
creativity, critical-thinking, and innovation in society by
loosening up on social issues and tinkering with the
education system while keeping politics in quarantine. One
way or another, Singapore's flirtation with openness will
provide another interesting chapter in its unique history as
a social-engineering petri dish.
Embassy Wikileaks: US assessment of GE 2006
(source)
created 2006-5-8
C) Summary:
In the May 6 general election for parliament,
the ruling People's Action Party won another landslide
victory with 82 out of 84 seats. The election is another
mandate for the PAP to continue its successful economic and
security policies. It is not a mandate for Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong, who frequently failed to take center stage
in the campaign and did relatively poorly in his own
district. The PAP continued to rely on old style tactics,
from threats of defamation suits to ad hominem attacks, to
defeat opposition politicians. Despite winning only two
seats, the opposition parties performed credibly, improved
their tattered reputations, and laid the groundwork for the
future. PM Lee lost a golden opportunity to put his own mark
on the PAP and change its style -- and get out from the
shadow of his father, Lee Kuan Yew. End Summary.
Final Tally
-----------
¶3. (U) In the May 6 general election for parliament, the
ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won another landslide with
66.6 percent of the vote and 82 seats. This gives the PAP
the same 82-2 majority it had in the last parliament. The
Workers' Party won one seat and 16.3 percent of the vote.
The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) also won one seat and
13 percent of the vote. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)
failed to win any seats and received 4.1 percent of the vote.
Is it a Mandate?
----------------
¶4. (C) Is this election a mandate for the PAP? In a word,
yes. The PAP won roughly as many seats and votes as it
usually has over the last two decades. With its strong team
of technocratic ministers, the PAP has continued to deliver
robust economic growth and job creation and to steer the
economy through external shocks such as SARS. The PAP also
showed its pragmatic side in ending its ban on casinos in
2005 in order to stimulate growth in the tourism sector.
While the bottom 20 percent of wage earners have seen their
incomes stagnate over the last five years, the government
targeted many of the handouts in its pre-election "Progress
Package" budget this year to low-income households. In
addition, SingTel (which has more than a million Singaporean
stockholders according to press reports) announced a special
USD 2.4 billion dividend just two days before polling day.
The CEO of SingTel is Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
¶5. (C) Since he became Prime Minister in August 2004, PM Lee
and the local media have characterized this election as his
opportunity to secure a personal mandate from the people.
Did he get it? In a word, no. One would have expected PM
Lee to be the focal point of the PAP campaign to show that he
was his own man and to highlight a softer, more "modern"
political style. But, in the run up to the campaign and
during it, however, PM Lee frequently ceded center stage to
his father, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, and Senior Minister
Goh Chok Tong. MM Lee and SM Goh made the strong statements
and dominated the attacks on the opposition. The PM did not
project a strong leadership image when he did talk tough. It
made even PAP supporters uncomfortable when, in one rally, he
claimed that he wouldn't be able to run the government
effectively if there were ten opposition MPs -- he would have
to "fix" the opposition. PM Lee did relatively poorly in his
own electoral district. Facing his first opponents in 18
years -- a group of twenty- and thirty-something nobodies in
the WP's weakest slate -- PM Lee failed to win as high a
percentage of the vote (66.1 percent) as his party did
overall (66.6 percent.)
¶6. (C) SM Goh also emerges from the election diminished. PM
Lee gave him the high-profile task of helping the PAP win
back the two opposition-controlled districts. The evening
news dutifully showed SM Goh working the two wards with the
PAP candidates in tow. He warned residents in one
neighborhood that it might turn into a "slum" if it stayed
with the opposition and offered USD 100 million (over USD
2500 per eligible voter) in public works projects to both
districts if they would vote for the PAP. Despite SM Goh's
threats and blandishments, the opposition won both seats with
significantly higher margins of victory than in past races.
Politics of Personal Destruction: Old Business
--------------------------------------------- -
¶7. (C) In previous elections, the PAP has singled out one
opposition politician and attacked his integrity
relentlessly, commented Institute of Policy Studies
Researcher Gillian Koh. In 2001, for example, the PAP
targeted Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the SDP and hit him with a
defamation suit during the election campaign. This year, as
soon as the campaign started, the PAP threatened defamation
suits to demolish the SDP (Ref B). All of the SDP's Central
Executive Committee members except Dr. Chee and his sister
Chee Siok Chin publicly apologized to PM Lee and MM Lee.
Himself already bankrupted from an earlier defamation suit,
Dr. Chee told us that he completely understood why his fellow
party members apologized, since they had to protect their
livelihoods in the face of a potential financially-ruinous
defamation suit.
Politics of Personal Destruction: New Business
--------------------------------------------- -
¶8. (C) Turning to a new target, the PAP spent the first week
of the nine-day campaign launching vitriolic attacks against
WP MP candidate James Gomez over, bizarrely, an election form
he didn't submit and didn't need to submit. Gomez claimed to
have submitted a registration form to be a minority
candidate, but security tapes showed he failed to do so. MM
Lee called Gomez a "liar" over the non-submission of the
form; Deputy Prime Minister Wang Kan Seng said Gomez had
shown "blatant dishonesty"; and PM Lee accused Gomez of
perpetrating a "dastardly trick." The local media also
played up the "story" -- on one day, the Straits Times
newspaper ran more than a dozen stories that discussed Gomez.
Eventually, some PAP officials realized that the personal
attacks on Gomez were creating a backlash, as PAP
Headquarters Executive Director Lau Ping Sum told us on May
¶2. It took several more days, however, for it to stop.
After the election, the GOS continued to harass Gomez. On
May 7, immigration authorities seized his passport when he
tried to return to his job in Sweden and police questioned
him for eight hours, according to press reports.
A New Hope and a Lost Opportunity
---------------------------------
¶9. (C) Comment: By performing credibly in this election and
avoiding the buffoonery that damaged its chances in the past,
the opposition laid the groundwork for future electoral
gains. In particular, the WP fielded a better qualified
slate than it has in the past and ran a capable issues-based
campaign. It refused to rise to the bait of the PAP's ad
hominem attacks on James Gomez. The task for the opposition
now is to sustain its energy and commitment over the years
until the next election.
¶10. (C) For PM Lee, the election was an opportunity missed.
The PAP could have run on its superior policies, experience,
and candidates and eschewed the old-school
hit-them-when-they-are-down tactics. Its candidates could
have asked voters if they wanted to be governed by someone
(James Gomez) who didn't even live in Singapore instead of
launching a phony attack that extended to opening a
"criminal" investigation as the defeated candidate was trying
to return home to Sweden. Instead, the PAP's hardball
tactics -- vintage Lee Kuan Yew -- cost them some votes and
contradicted the PM's stated interest in a more open society.
¶11. (C) While the MM's abrasive style may appeal to older
"heartland" Singaporeans, it does not work well with younger,
better-educated voters. He appeared a cranky and sour old
man and was only a liability to the PAP's campaign. The
extensive reporting in the government-controlled press may
have backfired for the PAP as voters found the vindictiveness
against Chee and his party distasteful and tired of the
overwrought Gomez affaire. The MM's role in the 2006
election may have accelerated Singaporeans' reaching an
emotional turning point. Many of the younger voters do not
recall Singapore's early, precarious days. They are less
willing to accept the PAP's fundamental premise that
opposition and choice lead inexorably to disunity and chaos.
Suggested Press Guidance
------------------------
¶12. (U) Below is suggested press guidance for the
Department's use on the election campaign:
¶Q. What is your reaction to the May 6 general election in
Singapore?
¶A. The People's Action Party (PAP) was returned to power with
82 of 84 seats in parliament.
We will continue to work with the Government of Singapore to
promote United States interests in free trade, security ties,
law enforcement cooperation, and efforts to combat terrorism
and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
¶Q. Were the elections free and fair?
¶A. The election took place in accordance with the relevant
legal and constitutional mandates. Voting and ballot
counting took place without any incidents.
The Government used its powers to limit freedom of assembly
and speech to handicap the political opposition:
-- The government restricted political rallies to times and
locations of its designation.
-- Government regulations curtailed dissemination of
political speech, including via the internet.
-- Government leaders used the threat of defamation suits
against opposition politicians to chill political speech and
action.
-- Local media coverage closely reflected the views of the
ruling party.
¶Q. Do you have any comment on the "criminal" investigation of
Workers' Party candidate James Gomez?
¶A. As this is an on-going investigation, it would be
inappropriate to comment at this time. We will follow the
case closely.
Background: In the May 6 general election for parliament, the
ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won another overwhelming
victory, as it has in every election since independence in
¶1965. It won 82 seats and 66.6 percent of the vote while
opposition parties won 2 seats and 33.4 percent of the vote.
created 2006-5-8
C) Summary:
In the May 6 general election for parliament,
the ruling People's Action Party won another landslide
victory with 82 out of 84 seats. The election is another
mandate for the PAP to continue its successful economic and
security policies. It is not a mandate for Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong, who frequently failed to take center stage
in the campaign and did relatively poorly in his own
district. The PAP continued to rely on old style tactics,
from threats of defamation suits to ad hominem attacks, to
defeat opposition politicians. Despite winning only two
seats, the opposition parties performed credibly, improved
their tattered reputations, and laid the groundwork for the
future. PM Lee lost a golden opportunity to put his own mark
on the PAP and change its style -- and get out from the
shadow of his father, Lee Kuan Yew. End Summary.
Final Tally
-----------
¶3. (U) In the May 6 general election for parliament, the
ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won another landslide with
66.6 percent of the vote and 82 seats. This gives the PAP
the same 82-2 majority it had in the last parliament. The
Workers' Party won one seat and 16.3 percent of the vote.
The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) also won one seat and
13 percent of the vote. The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)
failed to win any seats and received 4.1 percent of the vote.
Is it a Mandate?
----------------
¶4. (C) Is this election a mandate for the PAP? In a word,
yes. The PAP won roughly as many seats and votes as it
usually has over the last two decades. With its strong team
of technocratic ministers, the PAP has continued to deliver
robust economic growth and job creation and to steer the
economy through external shocks such as SARS. The PAP also
showed its pragmatic side in ending its ban on casinos in
2005 in order to stimulate growth in the tourism sector.
While the bottom 20 percent of wage earners have seen their
incomes stagnate over the last five years, the government
targeted many of the handouts in its pre-election "Progress
Package" budget this year to low-income households. In
addition, SingTel (which has more than a million Singaporean
stockholders according to press reports) announced a special
USD 2.4 billion dividend just two days before polling day.
The CEO of SingTel is Lee Hsien Yang, brother of Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
¶5. (C) Since he became Prime Minister in August 2004, PM Lee
and the local media have characterized this election as his
opportunity to secure a personal mandate from the people.
Did he get it? In a word, no. One would have expected PM
Lee to be the focal point of the PAP campaign to show that he
was his own man and to highlight a softer, more "modern"
political style. But, in the run up to the campaign and
during it, however, PM Lee frequently ceded center stage to
his father, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, and Senior Minister
Goh Chok Tong. MM Lee and SM Goh made the strong statements
and dominated the attacks on the opposition. The PM did not
project a strong leadership image when he did talk tough. It
made even PAP supporters uncomfortable when, in one rally, he
claimed that he wouldn't be able to run the government
effectively if there were ten opposition MPs -- he would have
to "fix" the opposition. PM Lee did relatively poorly in his
own electoral district. Facing his first opponents in 18
years -- a group of twenty- and thirty-something nobodies in
the WP's weakest slate -- PM Lee failed to win as high a
percentage of the vote (66.1 percent) as his party did
overall (66.6 percent.)
¶6. (C) SM Goh also emerges from the election diminished. PM
Lee gave him the high-profile task of helping the PAP win
back the two opposition-controlled districts. The evening
news dutifully showed SM Goh working the two wards with the
PAP candidates in tow. He warned residents in one
neighborhood that it might turn into a "slum" if it stayed
with the opposition and offered USD 100 million (over USD
2500 per eligible voter) in public works projects to both
districts if they would vote for the PAP. Despite SM Goh's
threats and blandishments, the opposition won both seats with
significantly higher margins of victory than in past races.
Politics of Personal Destruction: Old Business
--------------------------------------------- -
¶7. (C) In previous elections, the PAP has singled out one
opposition politician and attacked his integrity
relentlessly, commented Institute of Policy Studies
Researcher Gillian Koh. In 2001, for example, the PAP
targeted Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the SDP and hit him with a
defamation suit during the election campaign. This year, as
soon as the campaign started, the PAP threatened defamation
suits to demolish the SDP (Ref B). All of the SDP's Central
Executive Committee members except Dr. Chee and his sister
Chee Siok Chin publicly apologized to PM Lee and MM Lee.
Himself already bankrupted from an earlier defamation suit,
Dr. Chee told us that he completely understood why his fellow
party members apologized, since they had to protect their
livelihoods in the face of a potential financially-ruinous
defamation suit.
Politics of Personal Destruction: New Business
--------------------------------------------- -
¶8. (C) Turning to a new target, the PAP spent the first week
of the nine-day campaign launching vitriolic attacks against
WP MP candidate James Gomez over, bizarrely, an election form
he didn't submit and didn't need to submit. Gomez claimed to
have submitted a registration form to be a minority
candidate, but security tapes showed he failed to do so. MM
Lee called Gomez a "liar" over the non-submission of the
form; Deputy Prime Minister Wang Kan Seng said Gomez had
shown "blatant dishonesty"; and PM Lee accused Gomez of
perpetrating a "dastardly trick." The local media also
played up the "story" -- on one day, the Straits Times
newspaper ran more than a dozen stories that discussed Gomez.
Eventually, some PAP officials realized that the personal
attacks on Gomez were creating a backlash, as PAP
Headquarters Executive Director Lau Ping Sum told us on May
¶2. It took several more days, however, for it to stop.
After the election, the GOS continued to harass Gomez. On
May 7, immigration authorities seized his passport when he
tried to return to his job in Sweden and police questioned
him for eight hours, according to press reports.
A New Hope and a Lost Opportunity
---------------------------------
¶9. (C) Comment: By performing credibly in this election and
avoiding the buffoonery that damaged its chances in the past,
the opposition laid the groundwork for future electoral
gains. In particular, the WP fielded a better qualified
slate than it has in the past and ran a capable issues-based
campaign. It refused to rise to the bait of the PAP's ad
hominem attacks on James Gomez. The task for the opposition
now is to sustain its energy and commitment over the years
until the next election.
¶10. (C) For PM Lee, the election was an opportunity missed.
The PAP could have run on its superior policies, experience,
and candidates and eschewed the old-school
hit-them-when-they-are-down tactics. Its candidates could
have asked voters if they wanted to be governed by someone
(James Gomez) who didn't even live in Singapore instead of
launching a phony attack that extended to opening a
"criminal" investigation as the defeated candidate was trying
to return home to Sweden. Instead, the PAP's hardball
tactics -- vintage Lee Kuan Yew -- cost them some votes and
contradicted the PM's stated interest in a more open society.
¶11. (C) While the MM's abrasive style may appeal to older
"heartland" Singaporeans, it does not work well with younger,
better-educated voters. He appeared a cranky and sour old
man and was only a liability to the PAP's campaign. The
extensive reporting in the government-controlled press may
have backfired for the PAP as voters found the vindictiveness
against Chee and his party distasteful and tired of the
overwrought Gomez affaire. The MM's role in the 2006
election may have accelerated Singaporeans' reaching an
emotional turning point. Many of the younger voters do not
recall Singapore's early, precarious days. They are less
willing to accept the PAP's fundamental premise that
opposition and choice lead inexorably to disunity and chaos.
Suggested Press Guidance
------------------------
¶12. (U) Below is suggested press guidance for the
Department's use on the election campaign:
¶Q. What is your reaction to the May 6 general election in
Singapore?
¶A. The People's Action Party (PAP) was returned to power with
82 of 84 seats in parliament.
We will continue to work with the Government of Singapore to
promote United States interests in free trade, security ties,
law enforcement cooperation, and efforts to combat terrorism
and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
¶Q. Were the elections free and fair?
¶A. The election took place in accordance with the relevant
legal and constitutional mandates. Voting and ballot
counting took place without any incidents.
The Government used its powers to limit freedom of assembly
and speech to handicap the political opposition:
-- The government restricted political rallies to times and
locations of its designation.
-- Government regulations curtailed dissemination of
political speech, including via the internet.
-- Government leaders used the threat of defamation suits
against opposition politicians to chill political speech and
action.
-- Local media coverage closely reflected the views of the
ruling party.
¶Q. Do you have any comment on the "criminal" investigation of
Workers' Party candidate James Gomez?
¶A. As this is an on-going investigation, it would be
inappropriate to comment at this time. We will follow the
case closely.
Background: In the May 6 general election for parliament, the
ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won another overwhelming
victory, as it has in every election since independence in
¶1965. It won 82 seats and 66.6 percent of the vote while
opposition parties won 2 seats and 33.4 percent of the vote.
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