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Protests
are a lifeline for the people, not a waste of taxpayers'
money
Singapore
Democrats
24 Mar 08
TO:
Mr Yap koon Hong
Forum Editor
The
Straits Times
stforum@sph.com.sg
Dear Sir,
Please publish my reply to Mr Paul Antony Fernandez's
letter dated 20 March 2008. As before, please do not edit my
letter without my consent before publication. Thank you.
Chee
Soon Juan
Chee's
reply
I
thank Mr Paul Antony Fernandez for his advice (Advice
to Chee: Don't waste taxpayers' money,
ST,
20 March 2008; see
below).
Unfortunately, it is misplaced.
Just because Mr Fernandez
is "grateful" and "appreciative" of the
Government does not mean that it is right for the ruling party to
ignore the Constitution that guarantees the right of Singaporeans
to freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly.
For every
Paul Antony Fernandez who is leading a "trouble-free life",
there are several others who toil under an unforgiving economic
regime that strips them of all dignity and hope.
The
writer has a well-constructed channel to express his love for
what benefits him. What about those who disagree with him?
They
have two ways of making their views heard: One is through the
elections. The other is through peaceful public assembly. Both
are guaranteed under the Constitution and absolutely essential to
a functioning democracy.
Just as Mr Fernandez does not
think that elections are a waste of taxpayers' money, why should
he think that way about public protests?
Perhaps its
because in elections the PAP can bribe and intimidate voters, fix
the opposition, and make up the rules as it goes along in order
to achieve a certain outcome.
The result is that, in such
unfair and unfree elections, issues important to voters become
submerged under the onslaught of misinformation propagated by the
PAP-controlled media.
Note that Freedom
House,
in its annual report, states that "Citizens of Singapore
cannot democratically change their government." The
Asia Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
observed the 2006 general elections and concluded that reform of
the election system is needed.
Such control of the
citizens' views and the production of a predetermined outcome in
elections is much more difficult to achieve in public
protests.
In addition, it is only through peaceful mass
protests that the people can compel the PAP Government to reform
the election system.
Mr Fernandez also wants the SDP to
"form a coalition and work in tandem with the ruling party."
This sounds curiously similar to what Mr Peh Shing Huei had
advocated in his piece "The partitioning of the opposition."
There seems to be an effort to try to get the SDP to
accept the ruling party as the unchallenged power and for the
opposition to be a political ornament in a PAP-state.
It
must be made absolutely clear that under such a one-party system,
the only way for the opposition to work in tandem with the ruling
party is for us to abandon our democratic principles and become
client-party of the PAP.
In case it is not already clear,
let me reiterate the party's stand: The SDP is not for sale.
We
make this pledge to the people of Singapore: We will continue to
fight to empower Singaporeans so that they can have a voice in
the policies that affect their everyday lives.
Peaceful
assemblies, especially in an authoritarian state where elections
are manipulated, are far from a waste of taxpayers' money; they
are the lifeline of the disenfranchised, the weak and the
voiceless.
Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore
Democratic Party
Advice
to Chee: Don't waste taxpayers' money
Forum,
The Straits Times
20 Mar 08
I refer to Sunday's report,
'SDP holds illegal protest against rising consumer prices; 12
held', on the protest march held by Dr Chee Soon Juan and his
supporters last Saturday.
As a Singapore-born citizen
since the 1960s, I and many others are grateful to the Government
and appreciative of what it has done since Independence.
No
government can appease all. A good government will do its utmost
to ensure that the majority are taken care off.
My advice
to Dr Chee and his comrades is that instead of periodic publicity
stunts which waste taxpayers' money, they should form a coalition
and work in tandem with the ruling party to make life here more
interesting and peaceful for all.
Until then, let us
continue enjoying a trouble-free life under our current
Government, which is in touch with the ground through grassroots
organisations, and addresses the concerns of those who fall
through the income gap.
Paul Antony Fernandez
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