I usually don’t have much to say about Singapore Elections.
The results, like any libel trial involving our senior political leaders, is a
forgone conclusion. The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) is an expert at
using the vast powers and resources of incumbency to its advantage and our opposition
remains fragmented and too filled with different egos to focus on the main prize.
Furthermore, if you work on the principle that elections are not won by opposition
but lost by governments, the PAP government, while having made some serious
mistakes, has yet to do enough to lose the election.
Having said that, it’s been unfortunate that a member of the
ruling party has decided to put display a very disturbing attitude towards
ethnic minorities. The background is as simple. Dr. Tan Wu Meng, a member of
parliament (MP) for the ruling party took issue with the playwright, Alfian Sa’at.
I must admit that I’ve never read Alfian Sa’at’s works. However,
from what I’ve heard of him, he’s by no means a violent revolutionary nor has he
ever suggested that he’d support any damage to Singapore. What he has been is
critical of certain government policies and certain members of high society. In
short, Mr. Sa’at is not much different from the rest of us when it comes to discussing
politics. He is merely more vocal. He was described by Professor Tommy Koh, one
of our most respected diplomats as a “loving critic” of Singapore.
Dr. Tan, however, decided that Mr. Sa’at was not a loving critic
but a dangerous “anti-Singaporean” and when Dr. Pritam Singh, leader of the
Workers Party (the only opposition party with seats in parliament), defended
Mr. Sa’at in parliament, Dr. Tan decided to go for the proverbial jugular and
in doing so, put on display one of the worst displays of “Chinese Privilege”
ever seen:
Dr. Tan’s point is this simple – he, as part of the ethnic Malay
minority in Singapore was ungrateful for the fact that Chinese majority
Singapore had given him an education and allowed him to make a living. The
argument was simple, had he been born as an ethnic minority elsewhere, he
wouldn’t live the life he lives or even been allowed to live.
Nobody denies that ethnic minorities don't have it easy. In
Southeast Asia, the ethnic Chinese minorities, particularly in Indonesia and
Malaysia have had to live with, at best legal discrimination or been at the
wrong end of a violent mob, as happened to Indonesia’s Chinese back in 1998.
While Singapore’s ethnic Malays have not been on the wrong
end of violent clashes, Dr. Tan misses the point. Just because ethnic
minorities get it worse elsewhere, it doesn’t make treatment of our own ethnic
minorities right nor does it make Dr. Tan’s attitude correct.
For a start, the attitude of “You the ethnic minority are
lucky” goes against the ethos of what Singapore is supposed to be. I cannot
stress enough that the ruling party, which Dr. Tan is a part of wrote our
national pledge as “Regardless of Race, Language or Religion.” Our national
pledge is based on us being “Singaporean” first rather than our ethnicity or
faith.
Sure, racial prejudice does exist on a personal level and you
can’t expect these prejudices to vanish overnight. There is no doubt that
ethnic minorities will have to deal with personal prejudices on a personal
basis. However, you’d expect that elected representatives of the people would
have a duty to combat such prejudices in the public sphere rather than to use
the fact that ethnic minorities are just that and to use that as a threat.
Mr. Sa’at was educated in Singapore and makes a living here.
Isn’t that the right of every citizen of Singapore? Why is that even an issue?
I am sure that there are plenty of issues that one can take
up with Mr. Sa’at but the fact that he’s an ethnic minority that had the good
fortune of being able to receive an education and make a living in Singapore
should not be one of them.
The leader of the ruling party should demonstrate that we
are serious about being “regardless of race, language or religion” and make Dr.
Tan pay with his seat in Parliament. There should be no room for politicians to
use the race card in a progressive society.
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