Singapore revisited
Sir: In attempting to negate Mr Burgess's assertion that democracy is a big joke in Singapore, Mr Gerald Choo (Letters, 27 June) embarked for most of the time on extolling the material achievements of the
island republic. One may likewise speak of, say, South Africa's material achievements in similarly lavish terms. But that is to say nothing of its democracy. Significantly, to Mr Choo, democracy as 'advertised' in western Europe is unfit for 'consumption' in Asia. One is tempted to add that the apt description of democracy in Singapore is that it is not consumed but devoured.
Mr Choo's inability to find evidence of racial tension in Singapore reflects on his inquiry rather than the actual situation. If
anything at all is to be learnt from neigh- bouring Malaysia it is that its leaders were
basking in the same complacency prior to
the final outbreak of violence in May last year. Though an outbreak of similar propor- tions is unlikely in Singapore, it is not to be attributed to any claim of an ideal atmo- sphere of race relations but to the sheer overwhelming Chinese majority.
Undoubtedly in stating that 'in Singapore opposition parties are not outlawed' Mr Choo was attempting to equate the situation
in the favourable light of westei a European democracy which he seemingly admired.
According to the report of Amnesty Inter- national, there are at present more than seventy political detainees languishing in Singapore's prisons. Among them are those who opposed the formation of Malaysia in 1963—a singular development, for Singa- pore has been out of Malaysia for at least five years now. As further precautionary measures: there is a law in force which auto-
matically deprives an MP of his parliament- ary seat once expelled from his political party (there is at present only one party in
parliament); the Prime Minister has the
power to appoint whomsoever he pleases to be judge in the high court; the government is vested with power to imprison political
opponents on a two-year recurrent basis with- out trial; a person may be denied the right
to be admitted to institutions of higher learn- ing on failure to obtain the government- issued 'suitability certificate'; the government exercises strict control over the mass media; and a citizen may be deprived of his citizen- ship anytime. It is in this light that Mr Choo's dichotomy of the advertised and the con- sumed in democracy becomes relevant.
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