OPPOSITION FORUM SHOWCASES DISUNITY, LACK OF IDEAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000126

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
NEW DELHI FOR J. EHRENDREICH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SN
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION FORUM SHOWCASES DISUNITY, LACK OF IDEAS

REF: 08 SINGAPORE 1143

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Daniel Shields for Reason 1.4(d)

Summary and Comment
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1. (U) Summary. A public forum on the future of opposition
politics in Singapore drew an audience of about 100 on
February 7. Panelists representing civil society and two
opposition parties aired grievances against the ruling
People's Action Party (PAP),Singapore's electoral system,
and other members of Singapore's fractured opposition. The
moderator called for concrete suggestions for action, but the
panelists offered only general proposals for more cooperation
among opposition forces. Speakers emphasized the
opposition's dependence on the Internet given that the
mainstream media is effectively closed to them, and several
expressed hope that Singapore will follow a Malaysian model
of uniting activist bloggers with opposition politicians.
Ex-PAP member Tan Kin Lian, who last year made headlines by
organizing protests about ordinary Singaporeans' financial
losses on Lehman Brothers "minibonds" (see reftel) and has
shown interest in potentially running for elective office,
spoke at the forum but did not align himself with any
opposition party. End summary.


2. (SBU) Comment. The forum failed to deliver a substantive
discussion of the political opposition's future. The absence
of three of the five main opposition parties reflected
ongoing tensions among the country's marginalized opposition
and undermined the forum's credibility. After the
proceedings opened on an amateurish musical note, the
panelists delivered standard opposition anti-PAP rhetoric,
interspersed with a handful of platitudinous proposals. The
vitriol directed openly at opposition colleagues, and
especially at the parties represented (albeit
insignificantly) in Parliament, did nothing to chart a way
forward. Although the forum garnered respectable attendance
by Singapore standards, it illustrated the opposition's
paucity of ideas and inability to set aside personalities and
historical grievances to present a united front and build
public support. End comment.

100 Singaporeans Attend Opposition Public Forum
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3. (U) The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) sponsored a
public forum February 7 entitled "Opposition: Where To?"
Poloff observed approximately 100 Singaporeans in attendance.
Only one of Singapore's four other principal opposition
parties sent an official representative. The two opposition
parties represented in Parliament - the Workers Party and the
Singapore Democratic Alliance, each of which has a single
elected MP - either declined the SDP's invitation or withdrew
after initially accepting. The remaining panelists were
well-known civil society figures and an official from another
opposition party who said he was attending only in his
personal capacity.

After "Amazing Grace," Opposition Grinds Its Favorite Axes
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) The moderator, Chee Siok Chin of the SDP, opened
the event by calling on the panelists and audience to sing
two verses of "Amazing Grace" in honor of late opposition
leader J.B. Jeyaretnam. The audience response was tepid.
Ms. Chee then invited the panelists to talk about "where the
opposition is going" in Singapore, asking them to focus not
on identifying problems but on making concrete suggestions
for action. Ignoring this request, the panelists devoted
most of their time to rehearsing long-standing complaints
against the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) and
Singapore's electoral system. One participant said the real
job of the opposition is "to make life difficult for the
ruling party." Their few positive suggestions were
rudimentary, such as drawing up a common agenda or manifesto,
or starting a common opposition website.

Can Singaporeans "Do a Malaysia" Using the Internet?
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5. (U) Most speakers agreed that the opposition can make no
progress without an Internet strategy because the PAP
dominates Singapore's mainstream media. Tan Kin Lian said
his experience shows that the Internet can generate
word-of-mouth publicity that reaches beyond the young or
affluent; otherwise his minibond rallies, which attracted
hundreds of mainly older and less well-off Singaporeans,

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would not have been as successful as they were. Some
speakers invoked Malaysian politics, wondering if Singapore
can "do a Malaysia" by virtue of politically engaged bloggers
and opposition parties combining forces to effect change.
SDP leader Chee Soon Juan cautioned, however, that without
meaningful freedom of assembly outside cyberspace, even a
politically active civil society on the Internet has only a
limited ability to mobilize ordinary Singaporeans.

Panelists Turn Their Fire on Fellow Oppositionists
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6. (U) Though they focused their criticism on the PAP, the
speakers did not spare their opposition colleagues. Among
other barbs, panelists said that "some opposition MPs remain
silent when asked pertinent questions in Parliament"; that
the opposition parties must "get their act together" as they
seem to be "collections of people who can get along together"
but are not bound by a common vision; and that long-serving
opposition MPs have "betrayed" the voters who sent them
there. An audience member asked Sin Kek Tong, chairman of
the Singapore People's Party (SPP) who attended the forum in
his personal capacity, whether the SPP would support a common
opposition manifesto. Sin answered by criticizing his own
party's secretary-general (and its sole MP): "With leaders
like Chiam See Tong, it's not likely."

Tan Kin Lian Keeps His Political Plans to Himself
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Tan Kin Lian's participation in the forum was of
particular interest because he is an ex-PAP member and the
retired CEO of NTUC Income (a major GOS-linked insurer) who
has expressed interest in potentially running for public
office outside the PAP fold. Contacts in the National
Solidarity Party earlier told Poloff that several opposition
parties, including the NSP, were courting Tan, but that he
has so far declined to join any of them. Tan's February 7
speech emphasized the need for the "alternative parties" -
his preferred nomenclature - to promote positive ideas and
avoid attacking others. He made no reference to any
particular opposition party. Poloff observed him sleeping
during the speeches of some other panel members, and Tan
departed promptly at 5:00 p.m. - the forum's scheduled ending
time - when the audience question-and-answer session was just
beginning.

Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm
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