Citizen participation and policy making in Singapore: Conditions and Predicaments

Asian Survey

Volumn 40, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 436-455

  Leong, Ho Khai ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EMPOWERMENT; LOCAL PARTICIPATION; POLICY MAKING; STATE ROLE;

SINGAPORE;

EID: 0033824108     PISSN: 00044687     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/3021155     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. See, for example, Eugene Lewis, American Politics in a Bureaucratic Age: Citizens, Constituents, Clients, and Victims (Cambridge, Mass.: Winthrop, 1977). Lewis argues that "the attention and concern of the citizenry are either highly segmented or too diffuse to translate into policies."
2. R. S. Milne and D. Mauzy, Singapore: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew (Boulder, CoLo.: Westview Press, 1990), p. 110. Gordon Means also noted that the Singapore political system is inclined toward "soft-authoritarianism" rather than democracy. See Gordon Means, "Soft Authoritarianism in Malaysia and Singapore," Journal of Democracy 7:4 (October 1996), pp. 103-17.
3. R. S. Milne and D. Mauzy, Singapore: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew (Boulder, CoLo.: Westview Press, 1990), p. 110. Gordon Means also noted that the Singapore political system is inclined toward "soft-authoritarianism" rather than democracy. See Gordon Means, "Soft Authoritarianism in Malaysia and Singapore," Journal of Democracy 7:4 (October 1996), pp. 103-17.
4. Christopher Tremewan, The Political Economy of Social Control in Singapore (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994).
5. See Chan Heng Chee, "Democracy: Evolution and Implementation: An Asian Perspective," in Democracy and Capitalism: Asian and American Perspectives, eds. Robert bartley et al. (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1993). For critical comments on Singapore's style of democracy, see Joseph B. Tamney, The Struggle over Singapore's Soul: Western Modernization and Asian Culture (New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1996).
6. See Chan Heng Chee, "Democracy: Evolution and Implementation: An Asian Perspective," in Democracy and Capitalism: Asian and American Perspectives, eds. Robert bartley et al. (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1993). For critical comments on Singapore's style of democracy, see Joseph B. Tamney, The Struggle over Singapore's Soul: Western Modernization and Asian Culture (New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1996).
7. Francis T. Seow, To Catch a Tartar: A Dissident in Lee Kuan Yew's Prison (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1994).
8. The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, available on the World Wide Web at 〈http:/ /www.lawnet.com.sg/freeaccess/Constitution.htm〉.
9. See T. S. Selvan, Singapore: The Ultimate Island (Melbourne: Freeway Books, 1990).
10. For a balanced account, see Melanie Chew, "Human Rights in Singapore: Perceptions and Problems," Asian Survey 34:11 (November 1994), pp. 933-48.
11. The most famous dissident arrested under the Internal Security Act has been Chia Type Poh. A physics teacher and member of Parliament, Chia was imprisoned on October 29, 1966, along with 22 other suspected leftist agitators. He was released in 1997 after 32 years of confinement. See "Chia Tries to Understand Past while Figuring Out Future," Las Angeles Times, February 13, 1999. Also see Chee Soon Juan, To Be Free. Stories from Asia's Struggle against Oppression (Monash, Australia: Monash Asia Institute, 1998). According to Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, "We have never used it against political opponents, only to protect our security interests. We arrested two people in 1997 and two in '98 for espionage." See Terry McCarthy and Tim Ellis, "B. G. Lee on Facing a New and Younger Singapore," Time (international edition), July 19, 1999.
12. The most famous dissident arrested under the Internal Security Act has been Chia Type Poh. A physics teacher and member of Parliament, Chia was imprisoned on October 29, 1966, along with 22 other suspected leftist agitators. He was released in 1997 after 32 years of confinement. See "Chia Tries to Understand Past while Figuring Out Future," Las Angeles Times, February 13, 1999. Also see Chee Soon Juan, To Be Free. Stories from Asia's Struggle against Oppression (Monash, Australia: Monash Asia Institute, 1998). According to Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, "We have never used it against political opponents, only to protect our security interests. We arrested two people in 1997 and two in '98 for espionage." See Terry McCarthy and Tim Ellis, "B. G. Lee on Facing a New and Younger Singapore," Time (international edition), July 19, 1999.
13. The most famous dissident arrested under the Internal Security Act has been Chia Type Poh. A physics teacher and member of Parliament, Chia was imprisoned on October 29, 1966, along with 22 other suspected leftist agitators. He was released in 1997 after 32 years of confinement. See "Chia Tries to Understand Past while Figuring Out Future," Las Angeles Times, February 13, 1999. Also see Chee Soon Juan, To Be Free. Stories from Asia's Struggle against Oppression (Monash, Australia: Monash Asia Institute, 1998). According to Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, "We have never used it against political opponents, only to protect our security interests. We arrested two people in 1997 and two in '98 for espionage." See Terry McCarthy and Tim Ellis, "B. G. Lee on Facing a New and Younger Singapore," Time (international edition), July 19, 1999.
14. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Singapore Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998 (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 1999).
15. Catherine Lim, "One Government, Two Styles," Straits Times, November 20, 1994.
16. "PM: Debate Welcomed but Govt Will Rebut Malicious Arguments," ibid., January 24, 1995.
17. Ibid.
18. "Debate Yes, but Do Not Take on Those in Authority as 'Equals'," ibid., February 20, 1995.
19. "Professionals Can Form Clubs to Engage in Politics: PM Outlines Future Scenarios for S'pore," ibid., November 27, 1995.
20. "Singapore Starts to Relax Rigid Rules," Sunday Morning Post, March 19, 2000.
21. Catherine Lim was reported as saying in a local conference that three of her later articles were refused publication. It is believed that her answer implies that local media self-censorship was involved. Straits Times, May 9, 1998.
22. "People's Wishes Are Often Incoherent," ibid., July 25, 1990.
23. Quoted in Lee Kuan Yew: The Man and His Ideas (Singapore: Times Edition, 1997), p. 134.
24. Ibid., p. 367.
25. Thomas R. Dye and Harmon Zeigler, The Irony of Democracy: An Uncommon Introduction to American Politics, 9th ed. (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1993), pp. 410-11.
26. "Opposition Party Says Free-Speech Corner a Farce," Agence France Presse, May 2, 2000.
27. "Be Ready to Have Your Views Scrutinised," Straits Times, February 11, 1995.
28. Jack DeSario and Stuart Langton, "Citizen Participation and Technocracy," in Citizen Participation in Public Decision Making, eds. Jack DeSario and Stuart Langton (New York: Greenwood Press, 1987).
29. In an interview when he was still the deputy prime minister, Goh Chok Tong said: "We have to deal with a different Singapore. Expectations of the people are very high. Their reference point has changed. That makes the achievement of the same level of satisfaction among the people considerably more difficult. We are concerned about this problem." Raj Vasil, Governing Singapore (Singapore: Mandarin, 1992), p. 207.
30. The overwhelming emphasis of the conference, however, was on the strengthening of state-society relations. See Brigadier-General (NS) George Yeo, "Strengthening the Singapore Network for the Web World," Straits Times, May 7, 1998.
31. Bilver Singh, "Whither PAP's Dominance? An Analysis of Singapore's 1991 General Elections" (Malaysia:Pelanduk Publications, 1992), p. 86.
32. International Herald Tribune, August 3, 1993.
33. "PAP Admits Upgrading Link Swung Vote in GE," ibid., January 12, 1998.
34. "Our Concrete Plans Did the Trick, Say PAP MPs," ibid., January 3, 1997.
35. Marc Landy, "Public Policy and Citizenship," in Public Policy for Democracy, eds. Helen Ingram and Steven Rathgeb Smith (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1993), p. 20.
36. Lester Milbrath, Political Participation (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965), pp. 18-19. In a survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies, it was found that "fewer than a quarter of the people, 24%, agreed that they would like to serve in organisations such as Town Councils, PA-related grassroots organisations, Community Development Councils. Slightly more than a third, 37%, were neutral with another one-third who said they would not like to serve in organisations such as Town Councils." See Ooi Giok-Ling, Tan Ern-Ser, and Gillian Koh, Survey of State- Society Relations Social Indicators Research Project: Executive Summary Report, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Working Papers, no. 5 (Singapore: IPS, 1998), p. 15.
37. Lester Milbrath, Political Participation (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965), pp. 18-19. In a survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies, it was found that "fewer than a quarter of the people, 24%, agreed that they would like to serve in organisations such as Town Councils, PA- related grassroots organisations, Community Development Councils. Slightly more than a third, 37%, were neutral with another one-third who said they would not like to serve in organisations such as Town Councils." See Ooi Giok-Ling, Tan Ern-Ser, and Gillian Koh, Survey of State-Society Relations Social Indicators Research Project: Executive Summary Report, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Working Papers, no. 5 (Singapore: IPS, 1998), p. 15.
38. "Hng Kiang Says Singaporeans Are Not Apathetic," Sunday Times, June 8, 1997.
39. "The Singaporean voter is more concerned about the value of his flat and whether or not the grass will be cut." said Workers' Party J. B. Jeyaretnam. Quoted in "Lee Ready To Be 'Nudged' Aside," Sydney Morning Herald, September 5, 1988.
40. Walter Woon, a former nominated member of Parliament, wrote, "The inability of the previous government to discuss politically controversial matters in a non-confrontational way led to a great degree of alienation among thinking Singaporeans. The result was a pervasive cynicism. Singapore became a society of coffee-shop complainers - people who would bitch in private about matters but do not do anything publicly." See Walter Woon, "Commentary," in Singapore in Review Year 1990 (Singapore: IPS, 1991), p. 17.