Singapore by most measures is one of the most advanced countries in the world , but when it comes to human rights, we’re in cahoots with the rest of the third world and developing world. Here are 8 unmistakable signs that we’re living in an authoritarian police state.
- Protests and peaceful assemblies are banned in Singapore.
Thinking of organizing a protest? You’re limited to a 0.94 acre space in Hong Lim Park. Want to organize a street protest or demonstration? You’ll have to apply for a police permit (which the police never approve of anyway). The Public Order Act makes it ILLEGAL for individuals to organize or take part in a protest, even peaceful, harmless demonstrations that aren’t a nuisance to the public. We have seen mass demonstrations take place in Turkey, Thailand, during the Occupy movement and the Student’s movement in Taiwan just this year. Our neighbors to the North just held a massive street protest in the Bersih Rally in KL. Even in China, political Demonstrations against corruption do occur, despite it being a rarity. Most governments have accepted that the right of its citizens to peaceful assembly is a fundamental and irrevocable right. In Singapore, protests are seen as taboos and the government maintains that it would lead to chaos social collapse. In 2005, 4 protesters staged a silent demonstration outside the CPF building. They were subsequently arrested and charged with “disrupting public order”.
2. Singapore’s press is one of the most tightly controlled in the world.
Literally every newspaper, TV channel, radio station and news outlet in the country is controlled by MediaCorp and Singapore Press Holdings, which both answer to the MDA. Those biased pro government headlines you read isn’t just a coincidence, it was meant to be that way. The government has relied heavily on the mainstream media to leverage its views and promote its agenda to Singaporeans. No surprise we rank 150th in press freedom in a 2014 report by Reporters without Borders. Even countries like Myanmar, Afghanistan and Malaysia exercise lesser controls on their press.
A United States diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks quotes Chua Chin Hon, the Straits Times’ U.S. bureau chief, saying that the paper’s “editors have all been groomed as pro-government supporters and are careful to ensure that reporting of local events adheres closely to the official line”, and that “the government exerts significant pressure on ST editors to ensure that published articles follow the government’s line”
3. Singaporeans have NO right to due process or a free trial.
Ever heard those cheesy lines in Hollywood movies that went something like “You have the right to remain silent; everything you say from this point forth will be used against you in the court of law.” The right to due process is one that most Singaporeans barely understand. To summarize it, it is the right of a citizen to consult a lawyer before speaking to the police and to have a lawyer present during questioning now or in the future. Don’t think this right is important, get this: The police have the power to detain you INDEFINITELY, without a trial if they suspect you to be guilty of a crime or if they perceive you to be a threat to national security. Note: they can still detain you even if you’re innocent. Don’t think the government has the capacity for that? They’ve done that before. Just google Operation Spectrum.
4. The government is clamping down on the internet.
The internet is probably the last remaining space where you can freely criticize and insult the government without fearing a knock on your door by the police. But with the government moving to reign in the free internet, that looks set to change. In 2013, the MDA announced new regulations for online websites, making it mandatory for websites that report on Singapore news to register their websites. Websites who refused are arbitrarily shut down by the MDA and those who do have to agree to a $50,000 performance bond that must be paid when any of the countless regulations are breached. Yacoob Ibrahim famously said that he wants Singaporeans to “read the right thing”. Well what exactly is “read the right thing”? It sounds awfully akin to “PRO GOVERNMENT CONTENT”.
Let’s not forget as well, the government has announced its intentions to shut down websites guilty of streaming free content. Bad news for all the Game of Thrones or Walking Dead fans out there. Torrent looks set to be blocked in Singapore.
5. Singaporeans’ every move is being watched.
The term “Big Brother is watching” could not be any more applicable in Singapore. Singapore has one of the highest densities of surveillance cameras in the world. Cameras in lifts, stair cases, void decks, car parks. The moment you step out of your door, you can be sure that you’ll show up on one of them. The police have defended this move saying that it deters crime. But to what extent do we have to go? The NEA says it’s installing CCTVs on the walls of HDB flats. These cameras point directly into people’s houses. The reason? To deter “killer litter”.
6. We are way behind the rest of the world when it comes to LGBT rights.
When it comes to LGBT rights, we’re in “good” company.
This is the part where it gets controversial, at least if you’re someone who believes deeply in conservative values. The rights of the LGBT minority have been the subject of passionate debate for years. I’ll save the points of argument for some future article. But for a developed country, we lag far behind when it comes to the social acceptance of LGBTs. We are if fact the only developed country outside of the Middle East that still criminalizes homosexuality. Although S377A is rarely enforced, it still represents a stain in our collective conscience. Most Asian countries have already repealed their anti-gay laws. Even if same sex marriage is still debatable, most countries have accepted the fact that legislating public morality is no excuse to dictate how others should live their lives. The United States repealed its laws criminalizing homosexuality in 2003. And as far as we know, American society hasn’t broken down or collapsed.
7. Cruel and excessive punishments
The arrest of the 5 alleged vandals of the Toa Payoh HDB block rekindled the debate on the role of judicial punishments in the legal system. These 17 year olds face a minimum of 3 strokes of the cane if found guilty. Get the current logic “Vandalism doesn’t harm anyone physically, but if you’re caught doing it, the state shall physically harm you through caning.”
Such punishments exist for other forms of nonviolent crime such as drug possession and trafficking. And in the case of drugs, a large enough amount would be punishable by death. Perhaps the most redundant among the list of banned substances is Marijuana. There have been a grand total of zero documented deaths from the consumption of Marijuana. Yet if you’re caught smuggling more than 400g of it, you could be face the death penalty. One could argue that the abuse of alcohol or fast food would be far more detrimental to one’s health, but the government doesn’t respond well to carefully reasoned arguments.
8. Lack of checks and balances in government.
The principle of checks and balances in government is the cornerstone of any representative democracy. It ensures that the potential for misplaced power doesn’t exist. However, Singapore’s system is riddled with flaws and loopholes that make the abuse of power inevitable. For a start, the Elections committee is headed by the Prime Minister’s Office. This is a major conflict of interest as it essentially gives the incumbent Prime Minister all authority to decide when to hold an election. Barring the authority of President to dissolve Parliament, the Prime Minister has the ultimate authority, stacking the odds against the opposition. The second major policy flaw is the party whip. The government maintains that this is used to establish party discipline. But combined with the PAP’s monopoly in Parliament, the party whip essentially becomes a tool for the government to ignore democratic norms and processes. This was illustrated in the case of the Population White Paper. The major backlash from constituents both online and offline didn’t matter, the party whip was still enforced, forcing every PAP MP, regardless of his conscience, to vote for the passing of the Population White Paper. The coalition of opposition MPs failed to dent the vote and the population White Paper was passed 77-13.
S. LIM
I am S. Lim, a student, activist, active contributor and administrator of Wake up, Singapore.
*The author blogs at http://ariffin-sha.com