Singapore Democrats
Even before the advent of the financial crisis that has gripped the world Dr Chee Soon Juan talked about the evil of greed and exploitation of the poor in a capitalist world. In A Nation Cheated, the SDP secretary-general wrote about how PAP policies have marginalised the working class in Singapore especially in the last ten years:
The only difference between communism and capitalism, it has been said, is that the communists have admitted that they were wrong.
Such an observation, undoubtedly made with tongue firmly in cheek, is nevertheless a serious indictment of the economic system that has enveloped this planet. The widening disparity between the world’s rich and poor continues to ask questions about the way humanity conducts itself.
Poverty brutalises and dehumanises the victims it claims. It is an evil that tears at the very heart of civilisation.
Giving succour to us all is the knowledge that people are not defenceless when it comes to combating poverty. The weapon of choice is, of course, democracy. For without it, capitalism becomes nothing more than exploitation in disguise.
And yet, in Singapore the situation is such that while the ruling PAP remains alive to the capitalist world, it ensures that democracy is kept dead and buried. Such an arrangement renders the working poor voiceless and powerless, opening them up to abuse and exploitation.
This section addresses the fallacy that Singapore has a well-run, free-market economy system put in place by the PAP that continues to benefit the island’s inhabitants. In fact, this report clearly demonstrates that there is nothing free or market-oriented about Singapore’s economy.
Worse, developmental trends over the last 10 years show how Singaporeans have been economically displaced and socially dislocated as a result of PAP policies.
A Nation Cheated continues to sell rapidly at Kinokuniya Bookstore and Select Books. In this economic climate, Singaporeans are obviously keen on finding out more about how the PAP has been exploiting them.