1) Jan 2006 - PAP asserts that WP manifesto has 4 timebombs

It was perhaps the first indication that the GE 2006 will be a fierce political battle. With PAP leaders criticizing the first party that released its manifesto, it was heavy artillery on Low's new outfit from the beginning. It stuck on some voters that the WP might be too "communalistic" in its policies, but as part of the good strategy taken by the oldest political party, the manifesto turned out to be well researched and thought out. Although one might ask, "What is the point of a manifesto of a party that cannot [ever] win power?" A WP supporter might reply, "To show that we are a credible party."

2) Feb 2006 - Academias and Nominated MPs become more vocal in voicing political concerns

Panelists at a Feb political forum forum on 'The (In)Significance of Political Elections in Singapore', organised by the National University of Singapore's (NUS) political science department, lamented the lack of political choice in Singapore and said this would hurt the country in the long term. They said it was important to have more contests during elections or voters might well lose their ability to make such choices.

'There is a rather depressing effect. No matter how diverse the views of those they attract into the PAP, they undergo some kind of transformation into 'homo-PAPsters',' Dr Ger Min, an NMP said.

It was an indication that perhaps intellectuals were a little more open in calling for greater political openness. Did it materialize? Perhaps it did, with Cherian George calling the coverage of the opposition by the mainstream media during the GE 2006 one of the best in recent years. In addition, PM Lee did not change much the boundaries of the GRC for the 2006 election, making Chiam's remark of "shifting goalposts" less relevant.

3) March 2006 and beyond- Reaching out to the youths politically; intensification and new approaches by the ruling party

Speaking at Anglo-Chinese Junior College in March 2006, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen told the students that each one had the potential to be a 'change agent' for Singapore.He said he hoped that 'in 30 years' time, there would be seated among you leaders of Singapore'.Dr Ng, a former student of the school, was the guest of honour at the junior college's 120th Founders' Day.

Even before March 2005, In August 2004, 2,000 youths including students, working adults, disabled youths and overseas Singaporeans took part in a Youth Consultation Exercise. 120 of them then organized themselves into four work groups and came up with proposals they submitted to the Government in April. More than half have been accepted for implementation and some others are under review. The Minister of Youth, Dr Vivian Balakriskan, remarked after the exercise that the "Overall that level of trust and engagement has improved. You can see that this is a sincere government open to ideas."[1] Youths also mentioned that this exercise demonstrated to them that the government is sincere in seeking out their views and ideas.[2]

The recent 'Hip Hop' efforts by post-65 MPs is a cumulation of these efforts to reach out to younger Singaporeans, although post-65 MP Hri Kumar seems to question the wisdom of pushing that too far in a PAP conference.

The dilemma is still somewhat apparent, "How do we reach out to the wider youth community that does not really understand or appreciate the nuances of Singapore politics?" Can we blame youths when they know more about the comings and goings of American and Chinese politics than our own country? How do we retain people who feel passionate about Singapore but yet does not wholly subscribe to the 'wide umbrella' of the ruling party? Is lower taxation sufficient to keep Singaporean talents in the country? Can monetary benefits induce loyalty in the long run? Are ordinary youths important to Singapore or are they dispensible? Are knowledge of constitutional rights, political history, historical trajectory of civil society dangerous to the Singapore polity?

[1] Channelnewsasia. July 6, 2005.
[2] Channelnewsasia, July 8, 2005.

4) April 2006 - PAP manages to attract one liberal candidate; Surprising number of good candidates from the WP

A ST reports in April 2006 as below:
" He is a political science graduate from the University of California at Berkeley and now completes the Workers' Party line-up of likely candidates to stand in East Coast GRC. Mr Perry Tong, 35, joined the party three years ago at the invitation of executive council member Melvin Tan, whom he met in 2003."

In retrospect, the WP managed to field credible candidates in the last election, with many professionals contesting in various wards. Friends I spoke to were particularly impressed with candidates Sylvia Lim, Chia Ti Lik and Yaw Shin Leong. Their credible candidates translate into credible election results for the party overall, with PM Lee reckoning that people voted for the "WP brand" rather than individual candidates.

Also, it should be heartening that the PAP has managed to get a more liberal candidate in the form of Baey Kim Yang to stand for the election. Not only has he spoken up for more press freedom in parliament, he continues to make an impact on the arts scene with his upcoming play, "International Marriage Forum". People who miss MP Tan Cheng Bock and MP Leong Horn Kee would hope that Baey will live up to their expectations.

5) April 2006 - Young Journalists Question Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on Singapore's freedoms

It was considered a watershed event where journalists from the Singapore media questioned Mr Lee Kuan Yew on various freedoms and responsibilities in Singapore. Not only was the outcome of the Q & A session controversial with many debating the "tone" of the young Singapore journalists, it possibly shed light on the future of Singapore journalism. If the Singapore mainstream media could be more open, isn't it likely that press reporting will become more pluralistic with these young journalists?

6) May 2006 - The James Gomez Affair

The James Gomez affair was retrospectively, a strange one. One main reason was that while Mr. Gomez was probably quite rude to the civil servant(s), was the resulting widespread coverage of PAP's artillery against the WP over this incident by the mainstream media actually less conductive to PAP's chances in the election? The Bak Chok Mee Podcast by Mr Brown also made the blogsphere an addition factor to consider in the election. Even academias and political watchers were divided over the effect of Gomez affair. My own take is that the overall effect of the Gomez Affair helped the PAP more than the WP, because it reinforced the lack of quality of opposition candidates in some Singaporeans' minds more than it generated empathy votes for the WP. This is not to say that many Singaporeans also felt that the WP leaders remained calm and confident in the midst of the storm. In any case, it dominated the GE 2006, disappointing some who looked forward to a contest of ideas rather than contest of personalities.

7) June 2006 - That IPS Post Election Survey

The Institute of Policy Studies' post-election survey was probably one of the more important survey done on Singapore politics, especially on voting patterns and behaviors of Singaporeans.

The survey showed that the level of fairness of government's policies came out top in Singaporeans' concern when deciding on their votes. Post-65ers were not as "pluralistic" as thought to be, compared to older Singaporeans. Why weren't bread and butter issues, as claimed by political parties, one of the top five issues then? Are young people so socialized by our education system to support a certain party, then even if they are indignant on the issue of the issue "fairness of government's policies", their ideological stand on being "conservative" won out in the end as reflected by the election results?

8) July 2006 - The Mr Brown Affair

The Mr Brown Affair, which saw popular TODAY columnist and blogger Mr Brown suspended, reflects the differences between the attitudes taken by the authorities towards the mainstream media and the alternative media. The authorities were prepared to allow such an article to be published online but not in the mainstream press. It was unfortunate that Mr Brown was suspended for an article meant to be a satire, as the authorities probably felt that ordinary Singaporeans might have taken a more "cynical" attitude towards governance in Singapore after reading the article. Even so, I have argued that future collaboration between writers of the mainstream and alternative media is possible and desirable, even though it seems like a pipe dream--for the time being.

9) August 2006 - IMF/WB meeting

The IMF/WB meeting in Singapore was an exercise in limiting globalization by the Singapore government. While facilitating overseas guests to come to Singapore with the 'Million Smiles Campaign' kicking off by PM Lee, selective entry was given to global civil society activists. It seemed that under the pressure of the IMF and WB, Singapore relented and allowed 22 out of the 28 'banned' activists in. The Financial Times put Chee Soon Juan's protests in Hong Lim Park on the front page, while Mdm Lim Hwee Hwa regretted such reports and stances taken by the foreign media in the Straits Times. Overall, many international guests were impressed with Singapore's efficiency and competence in holding the event. In addition, the public relations for the action to ban activists can be dealt with better, especially when Minister Wong Kan Seng seemed to threaten to cane activists that did not comply with our laws.

10) August-September 2006 - Rise in Civil Society and Theater Activism?

The inaugural Talkingcock in Parliament was organized by Colin Goh of Talkingcock. I am sure many have saw the Ruby Ban or Hossan Leong's performacnes on youtube and other online media.

In addition, the Thinkcentre organized a youth forum called "Planting Seeds: Youths in Politics and Civil Society." The inaugural Singapore Theater Festival which showed slews of numerous socio-political plays and forums was well attended. Who can forget Oliverio and Oei's excellent performances at the "Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ"?

11) October 2006 - The Resurgence of Law Society under Philip Jeya?

Excerpt from the ST report in Oct 28:

"Law Society president Philip Jeyaretnam called for the body to be given the freedom to speak out on issues outside the legal profession in 2006, but the Law Ministry does not look likely to agree. Since 1986, the society has been bound by tight laws limiting its scope to comment on matters like civil liberties, after it went head-to-head with the Government in a tussle over the issue."

Given that many politicians and activists in Singapore are lawyers, will a more outspoken Law Society be a training ground for more articulate, observant and emphatic politicians in the future?

12) November 2006 - Wee Shu Min Incident

The Wee Shu Min incident generated debate in Singapore over the extent of elitism in Singapore. While the debate seemed to be running on parallel tracks, very often on the definition of elitism vis-à-vis meritocracy itself, it was probably an extension over the wide-ranging themes of social mobility and inclusiveness debated during the GE 2006. What was more significant was that a new PAP MP raised the issue of "the politics of envy", signaling that perhaps that members of the government also acknowledge the need to do more to address the issue of an widening income gap. Since then, the government has been careful to state that elites in Singapore do care about Singapore and Singaporeans by giving back to the society. As the income gap widens in Singapore due to increase globalization and restructuring of the economy, how will this issue play out in 2007 and beyond?

13) November 2006 - The GST debate

When the PM announced that an increase in GST from 5% to 7% was to help the poor, many Singaporeans found it intellectually difficult to bring these two together. In addition, some Singaporeans felt that exemptions of key services and goods from the GST might be the good way forward. Extended issues of welfarism were debated too.

14) Dec 2006 - Chee Soon Juan in prison

Chee's decision not to pay a fine but to go to prison for his offence of speaking in public without a permit in Dec 2006 was a culmination of Chee and the SDP's continual strategy of civil disobedience in 2006. These include speaking in public without a permit and holding demonstrations. Night vigils were held and internet petitions were circulated in support of his actions. His imprisonment sparked off protests from international civil society actors while many of his accusations of ill treatment by the government were rebutted robustly by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

15) Dec 2006 - Strong Economic Growth

The 7.6% annual growth in the Singapore economy reflects the stability of our polity and the credibility of the government, considering the difficulties faced throughout the region with an anticipated slowing down of the US economy. Looking ahead, how will the rise in GST, the construction of IRs and 'expected' restoration of the CPF cuts affect future economic performances?

Picture Credits (From Left to Right): The Economist.com, James Gomez Website, Mr Brown's WTF show and WorldBank.org