Singapore to let more opposition MPs in parliament

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Reuters

SINGAPORE, May 27 - Singapore plans to amend laws to bring more political opposition to its parliament, enough to create some dynamism but not to destablise the long-serving dominant party.
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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament its membership in the future will have at least nine opposition members and nine "nominated" or appointed members, for a total of 18 members who are not from the ruling party.

He rejected a proposal to increase the number of seats for the opposition through a system of proportional representation, in which parties are allocated seats based on their share of the popular vote.

"We cannot afford a government that is ineffective, indecisive, or paralysed by internal disagreements," said Lee, whose People's Action Party has ruled the city-state since its independence in 1965 and has never lost more than four seats in any election.

In the past decade, the ruling PAP has sued two top opposition politicians for hundreds of thousands of dollars in defamation damages, forcing them into bankruptcy.

Under Lee's plan, the 18 non-ruling party legislators would comprise one-fifth of the total number in the House, from less than 10 now.

He said the plan would provide an "adequate voice for diverse views," and ensure the government has a "clear mandate to govern in the interests of Singapore".

He said he is proposing the changes now so they can be implemented before the next general election in 2011.

But political commentators were cool to the proposal.

"On the face of it, it looks fine. It's a way of bending backwards to accommodate the need for more opposition," political analyst Alan Chong at the National University of Singapore said.

"But one must bear in mind also that when it comes to formal elections, I think Singaporeans are still wary of having too much elected opposition." (Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan and Candida Ng; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

You know something is screwed up when the ruling party have to nominate enough opposition into the parliament.

Of course, the opposition down here failing to get their act together doesn't help things either.

[Teebs]

How fair are elections in Singapore? The impression I've got is that they're nominally free and open but in practice the government controls the media and has a tendency to get rid of opposition either by coopting it or suing it.

[PainRack]

How fair are elections in Singapore? The impression I've got is that they're nominally free and open but in practice the government controls the media and has a tendency to get rid of opposition either by coopting it or suing it.

They're fair to the extent that the ruling party can call upon the resources of both the party AND the government to poll and campaign in the elections and has restructured electoral borders so as to further weaken the opposition ability to roll over vulnerable sectors by forcing them to campaign for multiple seats.
Well, the last isn't exactly true, mutiple GRCs have that effect on the opposition, but it would appear that the real main goal is to elect politicians that the party wants elected, but don't feel secure enough to expose to voter fancy.

Other than that, its "fair". The rules apply equally to both sides, and both Chiam and Low can use Hougang and Potong Pasir estate councils to help in their political campaigns. Again, its fair only in sofar as the rules are applied equally, the rules however massively favour the ruling party and has been tweaked to further do so.

There is a popular perception that the government controlled media don't offer a fair shake of the views, in particular, several elections coverage was stated to be skewered due to the coverage of said rallies showing much smaller crowds than the actual turnout. As for suing...... its not so much a matter of campaign fraud but rather, the political elite using every single tool in its arsenal to achieve maximum overkill by seizing upon every single folly than a political opponent may had made.

Frankly, I don't give a damn about the number of opposition members elected in Parliament. The issues rests more in the quality of said members. We do have some gems among the last crop of NMP, and despite Eunice Olsen receiving some flak, she's doing a world of good outside of Parliament and weighing in appropiately in session. Just get rid of the anti-gay NMP as it is...... Her idiotic delusion of what the law is, even the victorian code that we inherited makes one wonder how on god green earth the NUS law faculty screens its tendered members.

Similarly, the much proclaimed relaxation of the Party Whip has seen only miminal opposition views from non faction allied PAP politicians .

[ray245]

Too bad the only liberal party we all have is a bunch of lunatics. Which reminds me, does the SDP even support homosexual rights?