A New Opposition Party for Singapore?

Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam, once the strongman for the opposition Singapore Worker's Party before being rendered bankrupt by the Singapore Government, and thus ineligible to stand for Parliament, has re-entered the political arena after emerging out of bankruptcy.

The 20th May edition of the International Herald Tribune reported that JBJ, as he is commonly known in Singapore, has left his Worker's Party to form a new opposition, which rumours suggest will be called the Reform Party.

The re-entry of JBJ into Singapore Politics represents a step in the right direction, and there are suggestions that Singaporeans themselves are responding positively to this development. After casting their votes behind the ruling People's Action Party for so long, many Singaporeans are growing uneasy with the increasingly blatant acts of corruption on the part of the Government. In recent months, the Singapore Cabinet, in the midst of growing economic disparities and dislocations, voted in favour of giving themselves a massive salary hike. The latest salary revision will by next year nearly double each minister’s current remuneration, and bring it on average to nearly three times that of US President George Bush’s, five times in the case of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s.

Amidst such discontent, it is likely that the stranglehold the PAP has on the Singaporean Parliament (it currently holds 82 of the 84 seats in the unicameral parliament) may be loosened in the next parliamentary "election", with a lot of electoral support going to the opposition, and in particular JBJ. With his training as a barrister, he would prove a more than a match to any of the PAP dropkicks that currently infest the esteemed house. But cold water can be poured on such hopes on several fronts.

Firstly, the entry of the Reform Party would split the already fragmented opposition three ways. Unless these parties go into coalition, none would be able to form a cohesive vision so as to be able to present themselves to be more than just critics on the sideline, and as a viable alternative government.

Secondly, it is unlikely that the opposition would be able to field sufficient candidates to pose any serious challenge to the PAP. The Party has put to good use its utilisation of the courts to stifle opposition by suing for defamation any candidate which criticises the government before, during and after campaigning. If such suits are successful, the damages are often enough to render a parliamentarian bankrupt, thus makng him ineligible to be a member of parliament. The fear of reprisal that this systematic abuse of the courts, which are far from independent, would instill in potential candidates would make them think twice before seriously standing as a candidate. This of course results in the inadequate fielding of candidates to the point that the PAP wins the bulk of the electorates hands down for want of opposing candidates.

Thirdly, one wonders if materialism has sunken so deep into the Singaporean psyche that not enough would care enough about their current state of serfdom. Many may think that having virtually every material want fulfilled, to talk of anything that could jeoparise such a state should be avoided at all cost. This in turn results in a wilful political apathy that could be an even bigger enemy for opposition parties than Lee Kuan Yew's henchmen.

But hope always springs eternal in the hearts of those that are either exiled or royally annoyed with the abuse of power perpetrated by those holding the reins of power in Singapore.