Congratulations to the Workers’ Party and the other opposition parties of Singapore for their sterling performance in yesterday’s elections even as the PAP continues to maintain a stranglehold in Parliament with 81 out of 87 seats. However, having obtained almost 40 per cent of the popular vote through a campaign dominated by the rallying call for democratic reform, the opposition has triggered a tectonic shift in Singapore’s political landscape.
The results have torn apart the veneer of contentment touted on the strength of impressive economic numbers and exposed the bare realities that come with governance under the same power for too long – social inequities, the hard knocks of inflation and increasingly unaffordable healthcare.
Nevertheless, in spite of the absence of a free media generally, the opposition parties were given a small window of opportunity to air their positions via state television, something that has never happened in Malaysia and not about to happen anytime soon.
And it is also a good reminder to the Pakatan Rakyat that by closing ranks and setting aside personal differences, the opposition parties in Singapore have stepped up to the plate for political change. Again, as it is happening elsewhere, the youth play an essential role in this transformation harnessing the force of social networks and other alternative media and staying at the forefront to overcome the fear of change and chart the course for greater freedom and democracy.
Anwar Ibrahim
8th May 2011.
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