The Singapore Democratic Party was constituted in 1980. Since then the Party has evolved and, today, stands proudly as the vanguard for the democratic struggle in our nation.
We are acutely aware that pocket-book issues are what drive political opinion in Singapore. A look at some of the articles in this website and especially those in The New Democrat, our party newspaper, shows that we have been emphasizing much on the bread-and-butter issues concerning the common folk.
In fact, we made issues such as paying minimum wage, giving retrenchment benefits, and advocating giving jobs to Singaporeans first before foreigners our focus in the 2001 elections.
However, without a system where opposition parties can freely campaign for votes, where the media reflects fairly and accurately about dissenting views, where civil society can speak up on behalf of the people, no meaningful change can occur.
Conversely when society has a free and pluralistic media, where the people are able to exercise our freedoms of speech and assembly, and are able to vote in genuinely free and fair elections the PAP will not be so arrogant and insensitive to the wishes of the people.
Then, and only then, will our grievances on bread-and-butter issues be taken seriously by the PAP Government. Dr. Toh Chin Chye, former deputy prime minister and founding chairman of the PAP, said: "When the PAP and the Opposition were 26-25, the government was sensitive to issues and was circumspect. When you've got a strong opposition, there's consultation."
What we, the Singapore Democrats, are offering Singaporeans is a way out of this cage that the PAP has put us in. We spell out clearly in this section, what we stand for and how we will go about achieving our goal of entrenching democracy for our nation.
These are not pipedreams. They are achievable goals that require the leadership of the SDP and the active support and involvement of Singaporeans young and old, rich and poor, man and woman.
But we can only do this if we get the message out to Singaporeans. this is where the Internet and our supporters come in. With the media under the control of the PAP, we have to rely on the Alternative Media to get our news and views out. To this end we have made significant progress. This website and the way it has evolved is testament to our effort in cybersapce.
But as far as we have come, we still have a long way to go before we can effectively challenge the PAP's control of information flow in Singapore. To this end, we call on our supporters to help us disseminate information on this website. Use whatever means and technology you have at your disposal - facebook, emails, blogs, twitter, etc - to help us get our message out to the Singaporean public.
You may ask why is it that you should do this and support the Singapore Democrats? Because we believe in, and are working towards:
- restoring human, civil, and political rights in Singapore; - fostering a vibrant and dynamic society based pluralism and diversity; - cultivating a transparent and accountable political system; - establishing an economic system based on free competition and equal opportunity for all; - removing all policies and practices that discriminate against the less fortunate, women, and minorities; - and cooperating with democratic parties and organisations in Asia to achieve peace and sustainable development in the region.
The Central Executive Committee (CEC) governs the party. Its members are elected by the Party's cadre members at the Ordinary Party Conference held biennially. The present CEC comprises of:
Gandhi Ambalam Chairman Francis Yong Vice-Chairman Chee Soon Juan Secretary-General John Tan Assistant Secretary-General Gerald Sng Treasurer Jeffrey George Assistant Treasurer Chee Siok Chin Lilian Chia Johnny Ho Mohd Isa Jufrie Mahmood Sylvester Lim
(Standing L-R) Sylvester Lim, Jufrie Mahmood, Chee Siok Chin, Lilian Chia, Johnny Ho, Gerald Sng (Kneeling L-R) Chee Soon Juan, Francis Yong, Jeffrey George, Gandhi Ambalam, John Tan, Mohd Isa (Laurence Lai and Warren Eswaran are not in the photograph)
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