My friends in the PAP tell me that it is more effective to change Singapore from within the PAP than from outside.
I believe that changes to the finer details of policies are possible from within, but fundamental changes to the way the country is governed can only come if the top echelon of leaders in the party either radically change their mind, or are replaced.
Neither is about to happen anytime soon.
5 comments:
Gerald Giam is not saying anything new that most if not all Singaporeans already know deep down in our hearts.
What's new and rare is that Gerald is putting into action what all of us are too cynical or chicken to do.
I don't know about you folks, but I'm in Singapore only for the money. I ask only what my country can do for me. As soon as a better alternative appears, I'm out of here.
Mr Giam unwittingly made a very important point in his paragraph
"But I realised that despite its efficiency and professionalism, the civil service can only help fulfil the political objectives of the party in power. It cannot change those objectives, because it has neither the power nor the mandate to do so."
This is an important and on-going debate in political science concerning the "politicizing of the civil service."
Try this google link:
http://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&q=politicizing+the+role+of+the+civil+service&start=0&sa=N
For example:
"Karl Rove has played a key role in the politicization of almost every department of the federal government.
And by “politicization” in this context, we mean the process of redirecting federal personnel and assets to the accomplishment of a partisan political agenda.
That means, first and foremost, doing exactly what Karl Rove sits in the White House to do: namely, insuring the election of Republican candidates to elective office and the defeat of Democrats."
Source:
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/07/hbc-90000632
Why must Singaporeans keep clamouring for change? The PAP government transformed Singapore from a sleepy fishing kampong to one of the world's busiest cities. It has done a lot of good things. I think we need to have faith in the government and stop questioning so much.
In S'pore, they are called Men In White or the White Shirts!
Now we have Men In Red or the Red Shirts! Fear No More, Vote for Change, Vote PAP Out!!
I believe competition would bring the best out of the system. For example, since M1 broke the monopoly of Singapore Telecoms, the handphone market grown exponentially and everyone benefited. When you have a monopoly in business or power for too long, complacency would invariably set in. I believe that if we had had a strong voice of alternative parties, many of the problems we face today would not have surfaced.
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