[h=1]DO SINGAPOREANS HAVE A VOICE?[/h]
Post date:
10 Apr 2015 - 9:29pm
[Pic Credit: David Teo]
Born with the mental capability to deal with complex functions and communications, we humans are undeniably way up the evolution tree from most other animals. This means that we have a better way of communicating with one another and also a greater need and desire for it since we are social animal by nature. But, in Singapore, does Singaporean own a voice, are our voices heard by the higher-ups ─ the government? In my humble opinion, no, we Singaporeans do not have a voice. Firstly, one certain proof that Singaporeans do not have a voice is the fact that we are not a true full democratic nation. Secondly, almost all daily newspaper in Singapore is printed by the Singapore Press Holdings and subjected to censorship by the government. As such, how could Singaporeans have a voice? Thirdly, Singaporeans could be seen as not having a voice due to the fixation of the government’s policies despite protests against it. However, one could not trivialise the fact that the Singapore government has indeed taken measures to ensure that its people have a voice.
To start off, Singaporeans do not have a voice due to the lack of democracy in the country. Democracy is the form of government where power is in the hands of its people. By default, this would mean that its people all have a voice. A country that is lacking in the democracy department would therefore be a place where its citizens have lesser voice. This is the case for Singapore. In an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit; the Democracy Index, Singapore did poorly. The Democracy Index classifies all its countries according to one of the following type: Full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime and authoritarian regime. Singapore was classified under hybrid regime. This meant that Singapore have a serious lack of democracy and by extension, its people would also suffer in having a voice.
Additionally, Singaporeans does not have power in its government’s politics and this is seen in the way the Singapore government tries to control articles talking bad about them. On 30 June 2006, blogger mrbrown wrote an article on his weekly opinion column in Today newspaper about the growing gap in the income of Singaporeans as well as the cost of living in Singapore. On 3 July, an official from the ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts responded on the same newspaper, saying that mrbrown was a partisan player whose views distort the truth. Three days later, mrbrown’s colum was suspended. This is definite evidence that Singaporeans does not have a voice in their country as their attempts to voice out their opinions are met with overly harsh measures by the government.
Also, Singaporeans obviously does not have a voice as even after many repeated protest, the government still does not answer or address the issues that Singaporeans are unhappy about. This is a pertinent issue in Singapore and has been going on for quite some time, leading to some saying that the Singapore government does not care about the demands of its people. In the past few years, Singaporeans has been complaining about the burgeoning population of Singapore and its high population density. Instead of further restricting and controlling the population, the Singapore government came up with the White Paper earlier this year which aims to further increase the Singapore population to a whopping 6.9 million; up from the current 5.26 million. This is in spite of the many protest of Singaporeans to down the population of Singapore. Taking this into regard, Singaporeans could be said as not having a voice.
However, one cannot deny that the Singapore government has implemented ways to engage and ensure that Singaporeans does indeed have a voice. For example, earlier this year, the Singapore government has allowed the protest at Hong Lim park on the White Paper. If the Singapore government truly does not care about the opinions of its people, it would definitely have outlawed the protest in the first place. Another testament to Singapore’s government’s willingness to listen to its people is the fact the earlier this year and last year, there was a reality show on one of Singapore’s broadcast channel; channel 5 whereby ministers and Singaporeans would sit together to discuss a common issue or debate and address any concerns Singaporeans might have.
All in all, I would say that to a large extent, Singaporeans does not have a voice. This is because the government’s policies severely limits the voice of its people through censorship and penalties. Granted, the government does attempt, in some sort of way to connect and listen to the cries of its people, it is not enough. This is because most of the time, while the government does “listen”, it does not “hear”. In other words, the government simply does not hold the opinion of its people in high enough a regard to actually make concrete and tangible actions. Since the voice of Singaporeans does not carry weight, how so can they be considered as having a voice? The only time when the government appears to “listen” to the citizens and make decisive actions is when their goals and intention coincide with that of its citizens. So once again, I assert, Singaporeans, to a large extent, does not have a voice.
ThinkingBoy96
*Article first appeared on https://thinkingboy96.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/do-singaporeans-have-a-vo...
Post date:
10 Apr 2015 - 9:29pm
[Pic Credit: David Teo]
Born with the mental capability to deal with complex functions and communications, we humans are undeniably way up the evolution tree from most other animals. This means that we have a better way of communicating with one another and also a greater need and desire for it since we are social animal by nature. But, in Singapore, does Singaporean own a voice, are our voices heard by the higher-ups ─ the government? In my humble opinion, no, we Singaporeans do not have a voice. Firstly, one certain proof that Singaporeans do not have a voice is the fact that we are not a true full democratic nation. Secondly, almost all daily newspaper in Singapore is printed by the Singapore Press Holdings and subjected to censorship by the government. As such, how could Singaporeans have a voice? Thirdly, Singaporeans could be seen as not having a voice due to the fixation of the government’s policies despite protests against it. However, one could not trivialise the fact that the Singapore government has indeed taken measures to ensure that its people have a voice.
To start off, Singaporeans do not have a voice due to the lack of democracy in the country. Democracy is the form of government where power is in the hands of its people. By default, this would mean that its people all have a voice. A country that is lacking in the democracy department would therefore be a place where its citizens have lesser voice. This is the case for Singapore. In an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit; the Democracy Index, Singapore did poorly. The Democracy Index classifies all its countries according to one of the following type: Full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime and authoritarian regime. Singapore was classified under hybrid regime. This meant that Singapore have a serious lack of democracy and by extension, its people would also suffer in having a voice.
Additionally, Singaporeans does not have power in its government’s politics and this is seen in the way the Singapore government tries to control articles talking bad about them. On 30 June 2006, blogger mrbrown wrote an article on his weekly opinion column in Today newspaper about the growing gap in the income of Singaporeans as well as the cost of living in Singapore. On 3 July, an official from the ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts responded on the same newspaper, saying that mrbrown was a partisan player whose views distort the truth. Three days later, mrbrown’s colum was suspended. This is definite evidence that Singaporeans does not have a voice in their country as their attempts to voice out their opinions are met with overly harsh measures by the government.
Also, Singaporeans obviously does not have a voice as even after many repeated protest, the government still does not answer or address the issues that Singaporeans are unhappy about. This is a pertinent issue in Singapore and has been going on for quite some time, leading to some saying that the Singapore government does not care about the demands of its people. In the past few years, Singaporeans has been complaining about the burgeoning population of Singapore and its high population density. Instead of further restricting and controlling the population, the Singapore government came up with the White Paper earlier this year which aims to further increase the Singapore population to a whopping 6.9 million; up from the current 5.26 million. This is in spite of the many protest of Singaporeans to down the population of Singapore. Taking this into regard, Singaporeans could be said as not having a voice.
However, one cannot deny that the Singapore government has implemented ways to engage and ensure that Singaporeans does indeed have a voice. For example, earlier this year, the Singapore government has allowed the protest at Hong Lim park on the White Paper. If the Singapore government truly does not care about the opinions of its people, it would definitely have outlawed the protest in the first place. Another testament to Singapore’s government’s willingness to listen to its people is the fact the earlier this year and last year, there was a reality show on one of Singapore’s broadcast channel; channel 5 whereby ministers and Singaporeans would sit together to discuss a common issue or debate and address any concerns Singaporeans might have.
All in all, I would say that to a large extent, Singaporeans does not have a voice. This is because the government’s policies severely limits the voice of its people through censorship and penalties. Granted, the government does attempt, in some sort of way to connect and listen to the cries of its people, it is not enough. This is because most of the time, while the government does “listen”, it does not “hear”. In other words, the government simply does not hold the opinion of its people in high enough a regard to actually make concrete and tangible actions. Since the voice of Singaporeans does not carry weight, how so can they be considered as having a voice? The only time when the government appears to “listen” to the citizens and make decisive actions is when their goals and intention coincide with that of its citizens. So once again, I assert, Singaporeans, to a large extent, does not have a voice.
ThinkingBoy96
*Article first appeared on https://thinkingboy96.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/do-singaporeans-have-a-vo...
