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The PAP first contested the [[Singaporean general election, 1955|1955 elections]], in which 25 of 32 seats in the legislature were up for election. In this election, the PAP's four candidates gained much support from the trade union members and student groups such as the [[University Socialist Club]], who canvassed for them.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Men in White: The Untold Story of Singapore's Ruling Political Party.. ISBN|last=Yap|first=Sonny|last2=Richard|first2=Lim|last3=Weng|first3=K. Leong|publisher=Straits Times Press|year=2010|isbn=9814266515|location=Singapore|pages=54}}</ref> The party won three seats, one by its leader [[Lee Kuan Yew]] for the Tanjong Pagar division, and one by co-founder of the PAP, [[Lim Chin Siong]], for the [[Bukit Timah]] division.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/c8a3566b-5380-11e4-859c-0050568939ad|title=Elected into the Legislative Assembly were (from left) …|last=|first=|date=1955-04-03|website=National Archives of Singapore|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550403-1.2.10|title=The Results|last=|first=|date=1955-04-03|work=The Straits Times|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> Then 22 years old, unionist [[Lim Chin Siong]] was and remained the youngest Assemblyman ever to be elected to office. The election was won by Labour Front, headed by [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|David Marshall]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550403-1.2.2|title=Labour Wins - Marshal Will Be Chief Minister|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>
The PAP first contested the [[Singaporean general election, 1955|1955 elections]], in which 25 of 32 seats in the legislature were up for election. In this election, the PAP's four candidates gained much support from the trade union members and student groups such as the [[University Socialist Club]], who canvassed for them.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Men in White: The Untold Story of Singapore's Ruling Political Party.. ISBN|last=Yap|first=Sonny|last2=Richard|first2=Lim|last3=Weng|first3=K. Leong|publisher=Straits Times Press|year=2010|isbn=9814266515|location=Singapore|pages=54}}</ref> The party won three seats, one by its leader [[Lee Kuan Yew]] for the Tanjong Pagar division, and one by co-founder of the PAP, [[Lim Chin Siong]], for the [[Bukit Timah]] division.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/c8a3566b-5380-11e4-859c-0050568939ad|title=Elected into the Legislative Assembly were (from left) …|last=|first=|date=1955-04-03|website=National Archives of Singapore|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=2017-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550403-1.2.10|title=The Results|last=|first=|date=1955-04-03|work=The Straits Times|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> Then 22 years old, unionist [[Lim Chin Siong]] was and remained the youngest Assemblyman ever to be elected to office. The election was won by Labour Front, headed by [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|David Marshall]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550403-1.2.2|title=Labour Wins - Marshal Will Be Chief Minister|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>


In April 1956, Lim and Lee represented the PAP at the [[Merdeka|London Constitutional Talks]] along with Chief Minister [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|Marshall]], which ended in failure: the British declined to grant Singapore [[Self-governance of Singapore|internal self-government]]. On 7 June 1956, [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|David Marshall]], disappointed with the constitutional talks, stepped down as Chief Minister, as he had pledged to do so earlier if self-governance was not achieved. He was replaced by another [[Labour Front]] member [[Lim Yew Hock]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1462_2009-02-18.html|title=Lim Chin Siong|author=Wong Hongyi|year=2009|work=Singapore Infopedia|publisher=National Library Board Singapore}}</ref> Lim pursued a largely [[anti-communism|anti-communist]] campaign and managed to convince the British to make a definite plan for self-government. The [[Constitution of Singapore]] was revised accordingly in 1958, replacing the Rendel Constitution with one that granted Singapore self-government and the ability for its own population to fully elect its Legislative Assembly.
In April 1956, Lim and Lee represented the PAP at the [[Merdeka|London Constitutional Talks]] along with Chief Minister [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|Marshall]], which ended in failure: the British declined to grant Singapore [[Self-governance of Singapore|internal self-government]]. On 7 June 1956, [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|David Marshall]], disappointed with the constitutional talks, stepped down as Chief Minister, as he had pledged to do so earlier if self-governance was not achieved. He was replaced by another [[Labour Front]] member [[Lim Yew Hock]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1462_2009-02-18.html|title=Lim Chin Siong|author=Wong Hongyi|year=2009|work=Singapore Infopedia|publisher=National Library Board Singapore|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728022721/http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1462_2009-02-18.html|archivedate=28 July 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Lim pursued a largely [[anti-communism|anti-communist]] campaign and managed to convince the British to make a definite plan for self-government. The [[Constitution of Singapore]] was revised accordingly in 1958, replacing the Rendel Constitution with one that granted Singapore self-government and the ability for its own population to fully elect its Legislative Assembly.


PAP, and left-wing members who were labelled by some as communists, were criticised for inciting riots in the mid-1950s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550922-1.2.2|title=Mr. Lim Sits on The Fence|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550517-1.2.2|title=The Guilty Men - By Goode|last=|first=|date=1955-05-17|work=The Straits Times|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> Lim Chin Siong, Fong Swee Suan and [[Devan Nair]], as well as several unionists, were detained by the police after the [[Chinese middle schools riots]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19561028-1.2.5|title=Who's Who - The Top 15 Names|last=|first=|date=1956-10-28|work=The Straits Times|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>
PAP, and left-wing members who were labelled by some as communists, were criticised for inciting riots in the mid-1950s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550922-1.2.2|title=Mr. Lim Sits on The Fence|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19550517-1.2.2|title=The Guilty Men - By Goode|last=|first=|date=1955-05-17|work=The Straits Times|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref> Lim Chin Siong, Fong Swee Suan and [[Devan Nair]], as well as several unionists, were detained by the police after the [[Chinese middle schools riots]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19561028-1.2.5|title=Who's Who - The Top 15 Names|last=|first=|date=1956-10-28|work=The Straits Times|access-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=}}</ref>

Revision as of 06:51, 6 December 2017

This article is about the People's Action Party of Singapore. For other groups with the same name, see People's Action Party (disambiguation).

People's Action Party
Parti Tindakan Rakyat ڤرتي تيندقن رعيت
人民行动党 Rénmín Xíngdòngdǎng
மக்கள் செயல் கட்சி Makkaḷ Ceyal Kaṭci
ChairmanKhaw Boon Wan
Secretary-GeneralLee Hsien Loong
Deputy ChairmanYaacob Ibrahim
Vice ChairmanTharman Shanmugaratnam
FounderLee Kuan Yew
Founded21 November 1954; 70 years ago (1954-11-21)
HeadquartersPCF Building
57B New Upper Changi Road
#01-1402
Singapore 463057
Youth wingYoung PAP
Women's wingWomen's Wing (PAP)
Policy forumPAP Policy Forum
Senior wingPAP Seniors Group
IdeologyConservatism
Economic liberalism
Meritocracy
Third Way[1]
Multiracialism[2]
Secularism
Political positionCentre-right
International affiliationNone
ColoursWhite, Blue, Red
Parliament
82 / 101
Website
www.pap.org.sg

The People's Action Party (abbrev: PAP) is a centre-right[3] political party in Singapore. Having been the country's ruling party since 1959, it is Singapore's longest (and only ever) ruling party. This continuous rule has led the country to be described as a "de facto one party-state" and "undemocratic."[4][5]

Since the 1959 general elections, the PAP has dominated Singapore's politics and has been central to the city-state's rapid political, social, and economic development.[6] In the 2015 Singapore general election, the PAP won 83 of the 89 constituency elected seats in the Parliament of Singapore, representing 69.86% of total votes cast.

Political developments

People's Action Party supporters during the Singapore General Election, 2011

Lee Kuan Yew, Toh Chin Chye and Goh Keng Swee were involved the Malayan Forum, a London-based student activist group that was against colonial rule in Malaya in the 1940s and early 1950s.[7][8] Upon returning to Singapore, the group met regularly to discuss approaches to attain independence in Malayan territories, and started looking for like-minded individuals to start a political party. Journalist S. Rajaratnam was introduced to Lee by Goh.[9] Lee was also introduced to several English-educated left-wing students and Chinese-educated union and student leaders while working on the Fajar sedition trial and the National Service riot case.[10]

The PAP was officially registered as a political party on 21 November 1954. Convenors of the party include a multi-ethnic group of trade unionists, lawyers and journalists such as Lee Kuan Yew, Abdul Samad Ismail, Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee, Devan Nair, S. Rajaratnam, Chan Chiaw Thor, Fong Swee Suan, Tann Wee Keng and Tann Wee Tiong.[11] The political party was led by Lee Kuan Yew as its secretary-general, with Toh Chin Chye as its founding chairman. Other party officers include Tann Wee Tiong, Lee Gek Seng, Ong Eng Guan and Tann Wee Keng.[12]

The PAP first contested the 1955 elections, in which 25 of 32 seats in the legislature were up for election. In this election, the PAP's four candidates gained much support from the trade union members and student groups such as the University Socialist Club, who canvassed for them.[13] The party won three seats, one by its leader Lee Kuan Yew for the Tanjong Pagar division, and one by co-founder of the PAP, Lim Chin Siong, for the Bukit Timah division.[14][15] Then 22 years old, unionist Lim Chin Siong was and remained the youngest Assemblyman ever to be elected to office. The election was won by Labour Front, headed by David Marshall.[16]

In April 1956, Lim and Lee represented the PAP at the London Constitutional Talks along with Chief Minister Marshall, which ended in failure: the British declined to grant Singapore internal self-government. On 7 June 1956, David Marshall, disappointed with the constitutional talks, stepped down as Chief Minister, as he had pledged to do so earlier if self-governance was not achieved. He was replaced by another Labour Front member Lim Yew Hock.[17] Lim pursued a largely anti-communist campaign and managed to convince the British to make a definite plan for self-government. The Constitution of Singapore was revised accordingly in 1958, replacing the Rendel Constitution with one that granted Singapore self-government and the ability for its own population to fully elect its Legislative Assembly.

PAP, and left-wing members who were labelled by some as communists, were criticised for inciting riots in the mid-1950s.[18][19] Lim Chin Siong, Fong Swee Suan and Devan Nair, as well as several unionists, were detained by the police after the Chinese middle schools riots.[20]

Following this, the PAP decided to re-assert ties with the labour faction of Singapore in the hope of securing the votes of working-class Chinese Singaporeans, many of whom were supporters of the jailed unionists. Lee Kuan Yew convinced the incarcerated union leaders to sign documents to state their support for the party and its policies, promising to release the jailed members of the PAP when the party came to power in the next elections.[21] Ex-Barisan Sosialis member Tan Jing Quee claims that Lee was secretly in collusion with the British to stop Lim Chin Siong and the labour supporters from attaining power because of their huge popularity. Quee also states that Lim Yew Hock deliberately provoked the students into rioting and then had the labour leaders arrested.[22] "Lee Kuan Yew was secretly a party with Lim Yew Hock" – adds Dr Greg Poulgrain of Griffiths University "in urging the Colonial Secretary to impose the subversives ban in making it illegal for former political detainees to stand for election."[22] Lee Kuan Yew eventually accused Lim Chin Siong and his supporters of being communists working for the Communist United Front, but evidence of Lim being a communist cadre was a matter of debate as many documents have yet to be declassified.[23][24]

The PAP eventually won the 1959 election under Lee Kuan Yew's leadership.[25] The 1959 election was also the first election to produce a fully elected parliament and a cabinet wielding powers of full internal self-government. The party has won a majority of seats in every general election since then. Lee, who became the first prime minister,[26] requested for the release of the PAP left-wing members to form the new cabinet.[27]

In 1961, disagreements on the proposed merger plan with Malaysia and long-standing internal party power struggle led to the split of the left-wing group from the PAP.[28][29][30] The breakaway group of members formed the Barisan Sosialis with Lim Chin Siong as Secretary-General.[31] Aside from the Chinese union leaders, lawyers Thampoe Thamby Rajah and Tann Wee Tiong,[32] as well as several members from the University Socialist Club such as James Puthucheary and Poh Soo Kai joined the party.[33]

After gaining independence from Britain, Singapore joined the federation of Malaysia in 1963. Although the PAP was the ruling party in the state of Singapore, the PAP functioned as an opposition party at the federal level in the larger Malaysian political landscape. At that time (and ever since), the federal government in Kuala Lumpur was controlled by a coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). However, the prospect that the PAP might rule Malaysia agitated UMNO. The PAP's decision to contest federal parliamentary seats outside Singapore, and the UMNO decision to contest seats within Singapore, breached an unspoken agreement to respect each other's spheres of influence, and aggravated PAP-UMNO relations. The clash of personalities between PAP leader Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman resulted in a crisis and led to Rahman forcing Singapore to leave Malaysia on 9 August 1965. Upon independence, the nascent People's Action Party of Malaya, which had been registered in Malaysia on 10 March 1964, had its registration cancelled on 9 September 1965, exactly a month after Singapore's exit. Those with the now non-existent party applied to register "People's Action Party, Malaya", which was again rejected by the Malaysian government, before settling with the Democratic Action Party.

The PAP has held an overwhelming majority of seats in the Parliament of Singapore since 1966, when the opposition Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) resigned from Parliament after winning 13 seats following the 1963 state elections, which took place months after a number of their leaders had been arrested in Operation Coldstore based on charges of being communists.[22] In the general elections of 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980, the PAP won all of the seats in an expanding parliament. Although opposition parties managed to get back into Parliament in 1984, the PAP still rules Singapore as a virtual one-party state. Opposition parties did not win more than four parliamentary seats from 1984 until 2011 when the Workers' Party won six seats and took away a Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for the first time for any opposition party.

Organisation

People's Action Party Headquarters in New Upper Changi Road, Singapore
A People's Action Party branch in Bukit Timah, Singapore

Initially adopting a traditionalist Leninist party organisation, together with a vanguard cadre from its labour-leaning faction in 1958, the PAP Executive later expelled the leftist faction, bringing the ideological basis of the party into the centre, and later in the 1960s, moving further to the right. In the beginning, there were about 500 so-called "temporary cadre" appointed[34] but the current number of cadres is unknown and the register of cadres is kept confidential. In 1988, Wong Kan Seng revealed that there were more than 1,000 cadres. Cadre members have the right to attend party conferences and to vote for and elect and to be elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC), the pinnacle of party leaders. To become a cadre, a party member is first nominated by the MP in his or her branch. The candidate then undergoes three sessions of interviews, each with four or five ministers or MPs, and the appointment is then made by the CEC. About 100 candidates are nominated each year.[35]

Central Executive Committee and Secretary General

Political power in the party is concentrated in the Central Executive Committee (CEC), led by the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General of the People's Action Party is the leader of the party. Because of the PAP electoral victories in every General Election since 1959, the Prime Minister of Singapore has been by convention the Secretary-General of the PAP since 1959. Most CEC members are also cabinet members. From 1957 onwards, the rules laid down that the outgoing CEC should recommend a list of candidates from which the cadre members can then vote for the next CEC. This has been changed recently so that the CEC nominates eight members and the party caucus selects the remaining ten.

Historically, the position of Secretary-General was not considered for the post of Prime Minister. Instead, the Central Executive Committee held an election to choose the Prime Minister. There was a contest between PAP Secretary-General Lee Kuan Yew and PAP treasurer Ong Eng Guan. Lee Kuan Yew won, and thus became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.[36]

Since that election, there is a tradition that Singapore's Prime Minister is the Secretary-General of the winning party with the majority of the seats.

HQ Executive Committee

The next lower level committee is the HQ Executive Committee (HQ Ex-Co) which performs the party's administration and oversees 12 sub-committees.[37] The sub-committees are:

  1. Branch Appointments and Relations
  2. Constituency Relations
  3. Information and Feedback
  4. New Media
  5. Malay Affairs
  6. Membership Recruitment and Cadre Selection
  7. PAP Awards
  8. Political Education
  9. Publicity and Publication
  10. Social and Recreational
  11. Women's Wing
  12. Young PAP

An additional two more were later added, totalling 14.
13. PAP Seniors Group (PAP.SG)
14. PAP Policy Forum (PPF)

Ideology

Since the early years of the PAP's rule, the idea of survival has been a central theme of Singaporean politics. According to Diane Mauzy and R.S. Milne, most analysts of Singapore have discerned four major "ideologies" of the PAP: pragmatism, meritocracy, multiracialism, and Asian values or communitarianism.[38] In January 1991 the PAP introduced the White Paper on Shared Values, which tried to create a national ideology and institutionalise Asian values. The party also says it has 'rejected' what it considers Western-style liberal democracy, despite the presence of many aspects of liberal democracy in Singapore's public policy such as the recognition of democratic institutions. Professor Hussin Mutalib, however, opines that for Lee Kuan Yew "Singapore would be better off without liberal democracy".[39]

The party economic ideology has always accepted the need for some welfare spending, pragmatic economic interventionism and general Keynesian economic policy. However, free-market policies have been popular since the 1980s as part of the wider implementation of a meritocracy in civil society, and Singapore frequently ranks extremely highly on indices of "economic freedom" published by economically liberal organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Lee Kuan Yew also said in 1992: "Through Hong Kong watching, I concluded that state welfare and subsidies blunted the individual's drive to succeed. I watched with amazement the ease with which Hong Kong workers adjusted their salaries upwards in boom times and downwards in recessions. I resolved to reverse course on the welfare policies which my party had inherited or copied from British Labour Party policies."[40]

The party is deeply suspicious of communist political ideologies, despite a brief joint alliance (with the pro-labour co-founders of the PAP who were accused of being communists) against colonialism in Singapore during the party's early years. In 2015, the party was seen by some observers to have adopted a left-of-centre tack in certain areas, in order to remain electorally dominant.[41]

The socialism practised by the PAP during its first few decades in power was of a pragmatic kind, as characterised by the party's rejection of nationalisation. According to Chan Heng Chee, by the late Seventies, the intellectual credo of the government rested explicitly upon a philosophy of self-reliance, similar to the "rugged individualism" of the American brand of capitalism. Despite this, the PAP still claimed to be a socialist party, pointing out its regulation of the private sector, activist intervention in the economy, and social policies as evidence of this.[42] In 1976, however, the PAP resigned from the Socialist International after the Dutch Labour Party had proposed to expel the party,[43] accusing it of suppressing freedom of speech.

The PAP symbol (which is red and blue on white) stands for action inside "interracial unity." Furthermore, PAP members at party rallies have sometimes worn a "uniform" of white shirts and white trousers. The "white-on-white" symbolises the party's ideals of clean governance, it reminds party members that the white uniform, once sullied, is difficult to make clean again.

Leadership

For many years, the party was led by former PAP secretary-general Lee Kuan Yew, who was Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. Lee handed over the positions of secretary-general and prime minister to Goh Chok Tong in 1991. The current secretary-general of the PAP and Prime Minister of Singapore is Lee Hsien Loong, son of Lee Kuan Yew, who succeeded Goh Chok Tong on 12 August 2004.

The first chairman of the PAP was Dr Toh Chin Chye.

The current chairman of the PAP is Khaw Boon Wan.[44]

List of Chairman

No Name In Office
1 Toh Chin Chye (1921—2012) 1954—1981
2 Ong Teng Cheong (1936—2002) 1981—1993
3 Tan Keng Yam (1940— ) 1993—2004
4 Lim Boon Heng (1947— ) 2004—2011
5 Khaw Boon Wan (1952— ) 2011—

List of Secretaries-General

No Name In Office
1 Lee Kuan Yew (1923—2015) 1954—1992
2 Goh Chok Tong (1941— ) 1992—2004
3 Lee Hsien Loong (1952— ) 2004—

PAP's general election results

Legislative Assembly

Election Seats up for election Seats contested by party Seats won by walkover Contested seats won Contested seats lost Total seats won Change Total votes Share of votes Outcome of election
1955 25 4 0 3 1
3 / 25
 Increase3 13,634 8.7% PAP in opposition. Labour Front forms government.
1959 51 51 0 43 8
43 / 51
 Increase40 281,891 54.1% PAP majority
1963 51 51 0 37 14
37 / 51
 Decrease6 272,924 46.9% PAP majority

Parliament

Election Seats up for election Seats contested by party Seats won by walkover Contested seats won Contested seats lost Total seats won Change Total votes Share of votes Outcome of election
1968 58 58 51 7 0
58 / 58
 Increase21 65,812 86.7% PAP wins all seats
1972 65 65 8 57 0
65 / 65
 Increase7 524,892 70.4% PAP wins all seats
1976 69 69 16 53 0
69 / 69
 Increase4 590,169 74.1% PAP wins all seats
1980 75 75 37 38 0
75 / 75
 Increase6 494,268 77.7% PAP wins all seats
1984 79 79 30 47 2
77 / 79
 Increase2 568,310 64.8% PAP supermajority
1988 81 81 11 69 1
80 / 81
 Increase3 848,029 63.2% PAP supermajority
1991 81 81 41 36 4
77 / 81
 Decrease3 477,760 61% PAP supermajority
1997 83 83 47 34 2
81 / 83
 Increase4 465,751 65% PAP supermajority
2001 84 84 55 27 2
82 / 84
 Increase1 470,765 75.3% PAP supermajority
2006 84 84 37 45 2
82 / 84
 Steady 748,130 66.6% PAP supermajority
2011 87 87 5 76 6
81 / 87
 Decrease1 1,212,514 60.1% PAP supermajority
2015 89 89 0 83 6
83 / 89
 Increase2 1,576,784 69.86% PAP supermajority

Internet presence

See also: State-sponsored Internet propaganda

Since 1995, the youth wing of the PAP has had an internet presence "posting corrections to "misinformation" about Singaporean politics or culture."[45] In February 2007 it was reported by The Straits Times that the PAP's "new media" committee, chaired by minister Ng Eng Hen, had initiated an effort to counter critics anonymously on the Internet "as it was necessary for the PAP to have a voice on cyberspace".[46] The initiative was divided by two sub-committees, one of which was in charge of strategising the campaigns and is co-headed by minister Lui Tuck Yew and MP Zaqy Mohamad. The other sub-committee 'new media capabilities group', led by MPs Baey Yam Keng and Josephine Teo, executed the strategies. The initiative was set up after the 2006 general elections and also included around 20 IT-savvy PAP activists.[46]

In June 2014, PAP MP Baey Yam Keng called for legal action against those who had vandalised its Wikipedia page, which had been the subject of an edit war between vandals and editors of Wikipedia on 12 and 13 June,[47] though he later said that "(advocating for legal action was) never on top of my mind, nor is it PAP's (People's Action Party) priority".[48] This came weeks after blogger Roy Ngerng disparaged the incumbent Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over the use of CPF Funds in an ongoing defamation lawsuit.[49]

Lack of meaningful opposition

One commonly cited explanation for a lack of opposition in Singapore has been the use of the country's strict defamation laws used against political opponents. Since Singapore law forbids those who have declared bankruptcy from running for office, the PAP will pursue opponents through the courts until they are bankrupt, a practice which has been described as "soft repression."[50][51] This tactic has been used against both the former leader of The Workers' Party Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam and former leader of the Singapore Democratic Party Chee Soon Juan, who were bankrupted in 2001 and 2011, respectively, among other notable members from both parties.[51][50]

Another explanation given is the lack of freedom of the press in Singapore, with Freedom House having deemed the press "not free" in 2015.[52] One of the reasons given for the low press freedom ranking is the pursuit of legal action against journalists critical of the People's Action Party and its policies.[52][53] Reporters Without Borders cites such lawsuits, along with attempts at making critical journalists unemployable, among its concerns when ranking the country 151st in the world for press freedom in 2017.[54]

The Workers' Party is the main opposition party. WP took 6 of the 89 parliamentary seats in the 2015 election, while the PAP won the other 83.[55] An unsuccessful WP candidate, Dennis Tan, spoke of a need for competition in elections, saying, "It's not so much a setback for the WP but for Singapore as we need to develop and entrench a strong alternative voice. It will take time."[56] WP drew thousands of people to their rallies, while the PAP drew less.[57] Another major opposition party, the Singapore Democratic Party, obtained no seats in the 2015 election.[56]

According to The Guardian, the PAP has in the past threatened voters by saying that constituencies voting for opposition MPs would be put at the bottom of the list for public housing programs.[58]

Political theories about lack of opposition to PAP

Economists Acemoglu and Robinson hypothesized that the PAP's success can be attributed to the relatively low inequality. They argue that this reduces the incentives for voters to demand a transfer of resources toward the majority.[59] According to Acemoglu and Robinson's argument, voters have fared well under social programmes from the PAP's policies. For example, 80% of Singaporeans live in government-funded housing, namely HDB flats.[60] Furthermore, since Singapore is a relatively new country compared to some Western states, there is no landed aristocracy, which enables civil servants, rather than elites, to take charge.[59] However, Acemoglu and Robinson's argument about equality does not fit very well with Singapore's gini coefficient, which is one of the highest in the region at 0.43.[61] See: List of Countries by Income Inequality.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ Discovery Channel - A History of Singapore: Asian Tiger, Lion City (c) Discovery Networks
  2. ^ Diane K. Mauzy and R.S. Milne (2002). Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party. Routledge. p. 52. ISBN 0-415-24653-9.
  3. ^ Diane K. Mauzy and R.S. Milne (2002). Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party. Routledge. p. 147. ISBN 0-415-24653-9.
    Partido de Ação Popular
  4. ^ Rodan, Gary. "The Internet and Political Control in Singapore" (PDF). Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  5. ^ Reyes, Sebastian (29 September 2015). "Singapore's Stubborn Authoritarianism | Harvard Political Review". Harvard Political Review. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
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