For years, the Singapore government has been touting the Singapore model of government as the most effective for a small country like Singapore. The theory goes that a small country like Singapore cannot afford an opposition in parliament. Unfortunately the flipside of not having an opposition has been on full show for the past 5 weeks.
After 5 weeks of protests at the Speaker’s Corner at Hong Lim Park, petitions bring sent in to the government, there's still been no action at all by the Singapore government. What’s more has been the total lack of presence by Singapore politicians. And in Singapore, that means the People’s Action Party (PAP).
As there are only 2 opposition MPs in parliament (3 if you count Sylvia Lim which I don’t since she didn’t win her seat), no one in Singapore really expect much from the opposition. This means that everything, rightly or wrongly, has been put on the lap of the PAP. So far, I have been disappointed by the non-actions of them.
I’m not saying that they have to side with the protesters, but surely as politicians they got to have some views on the situation! There are over 70 PAP politicians in the Singapore Parliament, surely at least one of them has a view on the minibond fiasco. Even if that view is pro-government, as an elected MP for the people, they have a duty to make their views known to the public.
So far, it has been a deafening silence.
If this continues, I wonder whether it would be better for Singaporeans to have more opposition MPs in parliament.
1 comment:
This group is hopeless but not stupid. After two terms they get paid for the rest of their lives and on top of wages they get for doing something else. I suspect the opposition are getting smart too. Really Sad story. The stranglehold the PAP has is suffocating and choking everything else. Goodluck to future generations of Singaporeans.
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