In the bleakness that envelopes the political landscape in Singapore, there shines through a tiny glimmer that carries the hopes of the SDP to bring about democracy and freedom in Singapore.
Mr John Tan conveyed this sentiment in his address at the just concluded Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) forum entitled Asia Liberal Parties in Power: Getting There, Remaining There.
He added that in spite of the continuing harrassment of dissidents and defenders of democracy by the Singapore Government, there is hope for change in Singapore because of developments in technology.
The Assistant Secretary-General of the SDP was speaking at a session with the theme Assessing the Political Environment: Opportunities and Constraints. Among some of the questions tackled at the discussion are:
What are the political, legal, economic, socio-cultural and historical factors which affect the nature and operation of political parties?
How can political parties take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the constraints presented by political environment?
In devising campaign strategies and framing of issues, should political parties take the political milieu as it is, or should they advocate for change or reform of this environment?
Mr Tan pointed out that fear in Singapore is still prevalent among the populace from years of repressive state action. The latest curtailing of political freedom is the recent introduction of the Public Order Act that prohibits even a single individual to protest.
The election system is still very much in the hands of the ruling party and together with the control of the media, the elections in Singapore could not be more unfree and unfair.
Despite the difficulties, however, Singaporeans are still coming forward to resist the authoritarian control of the PAP. With the advent of the Internet and information becoming more readily available, more people especially the younger folks are coming forward to work for democratic change especially with the Singapore Democrats.
"The emotive quality of their fear is somewhat diluted," Mr Tan told the audience. "Many of them are savvy in the new technologies and are a great help to the party as we gear up for the coming elections."
Mr Tan also called on democratic governments to play their role in promoting democracy. A world whose governments respected human rights and democratic principles is more stable. In Asia, democracies must takle the lead in setting a good example for non-democracies to follow.
Regional bodies such as CALD can help to coordinate efforts to bring about political change in autocratic states like Burma, Vietnam and Singapore.
In a separate interview, Mr Tan sat down with Dr Sebastian Braun from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and talked at length about the political situation in Singapore. Watch video here:
Well-done John......you are a most suitable assist/deputy to our SecGen Dr CSJ!
Keep up the good work, faith and courage! God Bless.
Wed 30 Jun 2010 10:46 PM
|
BryanT - Content (and Message) is still key!
The article quoted John Tan as saying that "in spite of the continuing harrassment (sic) of dissidents and defenders of democracy by the Singapore Government, there is hope for change in Singapore because of developments in technology."
The recent survey by Mr Tan Kin Lian on the how netizens perceive the political parties seem NOT to support this statement.
(survey is linked here: http://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=11n_8e5AdrFzBHfx5hrY2VWDcL5JdO8uCjHOirB8Y35M)
In fact, the Opposition parties that least exploit the internet (WP and SDA/SPP) to reach the people are most popular.
Conversely, while SDP is arguably in the lead in terms of internet and technology usage as media to convey its messages and to reach Singaporeans, its ranking among the Opposition parties is the lowest.
Either the the traditional mass media have not been supplanted, or the messages released by SDP are simply being disregarded or rejected by the populace.
In other words, while the technology may be available, what is being transmitted is still key.
And I still believe that that is SDP's greatest shortcoming.
Thu 01 Jul 2010 12:42 AM
|
asoaso
Dear TeeTee,
Long time no see. Let me cite you another online poll: http://www.1001-votes.com/vote/mvoteres11.php?idv=28517&lg=en&ncom=1
Q: Who are you voting for?
SDP: 83.41%
WP: 8.78%
SDA:1.18%
PAP: 4.6%
Others: 1.44%
The survey you cited has 100 votes.
The one I cited has 4738 votes.
Both online. Which one do you believe?
Thu 01 Jul 2010 10:41 AM
|
Seelan Palay - Results have shown, and will continue to
BryanT suggests that messages released by SDP are simply being disregarded or rejected by the populace.
But taking a glance at Facebook alone, SDP's fanpage has the highest number of fans amongst all Singapore opposition parties.
What is being transmitted seems to be working on the Internet, when the mainstream isn't there to whitewash or twist it.
As a side note, the same Mr Tan Kin Lian has also come out in support of SDP's Alternative Economic Program, just in case BryanT (conveniently) hasn't noticed: http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3804-tan-kin-lian-sdps-alternative-economic-vision-sensible-
In the bleakness that envelopes the political landscape in Singapore, there shines through a tiny glimmer that carries the hopes of the SDP to bring about democracy and freedom in Singapore. 
Support SDP , buy our 30th Anniversary Magazine here
Keep up the good work, faith and courage! God Bless.