Manifesto: The Political System

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The Political System

NO AMOUNT OF WARM pronouncements by the PAP about the state of the republic can replace the truth brought about by a transparent and accountable polity. Democracy remains the surest way forward for nations yearning for progress and stability. Singapore is not exempted. To achieve this, major political reform cannot be avoided.

Reform the election system

In the absence of genuinely free and fair elections, the act of voting becomes a treacherous impostor of democracy. In Singapore, the Elections Department is under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office. Because it conducts its business largely away from public scrutiny, many are as convinced of its impartiality as they would be the act of a ventriloquist over the radio.

Unfair boxing

The institution of an independent elections commission would be a remedy for all of this. Such a commission would take elections out of the hands of the ruling party and place them firmly in the oversight of civil society. To do this, the commission must ensure that:

all contesting political parties’ representations are taken into account in the decisions it makes,
its decisions are announced well in advance and submitted to parliament for approval,
it has the power to administer the elections, including handling complaints and petitions and prosecuting violators of the PEA,
it remains accountable to the courts.

An independent election commission will also see to it that:

the dates of elections are fixed so that the ruling party enjoys no advantage in terms of implementation and preparation,
campaigning periods be lengthened to a minimum of three weeks to give all parties adequate opportunity to address the electorate,
contesting parties be have the right to choose the time and sites for their election rallies.

In addition, the Singapore Democrats call for the following:

abolish the GRC system,
end the Nominated MP; only people elected by their fellow citizens can rightfully take their seats in parliament,
conduct by-elections, without fail, in constituencies where representatives no longer hold office,
remove the serial numbers on ballot slips which compromises the secrecy of the vote.

Respect freedom of speech, assembly and association

These rights are the brick and mortar of any democracy, and without them a political system is as robust as Kleenex tissue. The PAP cannot continue to propagate the nonsense that such freedoms unavoidably lead to instability. The right of citizens to freely congregate, speak, and interact—in other words, to organise and protect themselves from excesses of the state—must be inviolate. No corner of the country should be marked a free-speech zone; all public areas must remain public property and hence available to the people for assembly.

The Political Donations Act must be revised to allow civil society NGOs to work with international foundations. Alternatively, the government should set aside adequate funding for NGOs to be disbursed by an independent and disinterested non-government committee. Such a body can also be empowered to act as ombudsman on behalf of the citizens.

Abolish the Internal Security Act

In an era when openness and accountability are increasingly coveted, giving a government the power to imprison citizens without trial grates against the reasoned mind like sand on silk. To extricate confessions from detainees through humiliation, abuse, and torture cannot be the substratum on which ‘stability’ is predicated. Even those who argue that the ISA, first instituted by the British colonialists in a less severe form as the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, was needed to stem the spread of Communism will find it difficult to argue that the law has not outlived its intended purpose. Like food long past its expiration date, the use of the ISA is a danger to public health. It must be discarded.

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Carin - abolish internal security act

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:58 am

Could the SDP include a proposal of protecting singapore from terrorists in SDP manifesto. Saying that SDP wants to abolish internal securtiy act is easy. but SDP would not be able to convince if SDP can't counter propose something to protect the country from terrorists.

thanks.

Stephan Ortmann - ISA does not protect from terrorism

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 9:30 pm

The ISA is a relic from colonial times that is more a threat to political opponents than to terrorists. The terrorist arrests only serve as a way to legitimize this arcane legislation. In order to successfully target the terrorist threat, Singapore authorities should write terrorism specific legislation, which distinguishes peaceful and legitimate opposition from violent extrimists.

Under the ISA, the ISD has been established, which has, however, been less effective in the fight against terrorism as in the fight against political opponents. While the ISD successfully kept the Barisan Sosialis politician Chia Thye Poh for 23 years from leaving Sentosa, it could not prevent the escape of a potentially dangerous terrorism suspect, Mas Selamat Kastari, from prison.

Carin -

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 3:14 pm

Does the SDP have a better idea to counter the terrorists other than having the ISD?

Think carefully and you'll realize its not ISD which caused the escape of the terrorism suspect, Mas Selamat Kastari, from prison. Instead, its the carelessless of that person in that prison, directly involved in the protection of the security of the detention centre.

Dissapointed Citizen - Arrogant Civil Servant

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 9:14 pm

Dear SDP,

I have visited your website now and then and wished to convey my supports your party to fight against Communised Democratic of our Government System.

I have graduated in Singapore and worked with several firms; including a Consulting firm serving an engineering project overseas. Client is MFA, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I am quite a kind person in nature, that's why I left the post after experiencing a disastrous encounter with the Civil Servants working in the Embassy.

They are just holigans, bullies and spent alot of public funds in holding parties with the foreign counterparts, so called building bilateral ties. And they are are carries, meaning carry boss, from top to bottom. I just gave up on the job and move on with my life. Guess what, I was young then and naive believing our government policies, my life has not been good after that encounter, especially when I returned home, back to my motherland of Singapore.

I struggled for awhile, to meet ends meet and pay my taxes. Then, through an enlightenment over my kind heart, I was given another opportunity to go overseas, this time it's a private sector.

I took the chance and don't want to look back at the disappointed and disgraced political and economic system back in my motherland. I left, without looking back, luckily I am a bachelor with nothing to think about of working overseas.

From that encounter with arrogant civil servants, I have fully understood and given up the hopes of staying back in Singapore, where I was born and served my national service.

The policies of foreign imports, the GSTs, the ERPs, the Ministers' pays checks and the MM or SM, to even our current PM's capabilities are all rubbish as compared to many of our foreign counterparts when the Govt really look after the benefits of their people.

I left my country, without any regret. Thanks to our arrogant leaders.

You have my supports in the fights against democracy in Singapore, morally and spiritedly.

From:

Dissapointed Citizen of Singapore

V.Benedict - I support this manifesto too!!!

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 8:22 pm

"a superior man does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow." - Confucius

As of the above message from Confucius, those pro-PAP think again.

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