Climate of Fear Hurts Singapore?

Climate of fear hurts Singapore: author
Suppression of criticism could lead to to its eventual declin, says author Catherine Lim.
Reuters, Dec 15, 2007

A climate of fear that stops citizens from speaking out against the government could eventually lead to the decline of Singapore, novelist Catherine Lim says.

Lim, Singapore's best-known writer, praised the government for its economic achievements but said its Achilles' heel could be its suppression of criticism, such as defamation suits against opposition politicians and bans on protests.

"A compliant, fearful population that has never learnt to be politically savvy could spell the doom of Singapore," Lim told Reuters in an interview.

Lim, 65, is one of few dissident voices in Singapore and has criticised the government in opinion pieces in the local press.

But her latest article, an open letter to the prime minister in which she pleaded for a political opening up, was rejected. She has posted it on her website www.catherinelim.sg

She said the worst-case scenario would be for a future leader to get away with corruption "because of the ingrained, unquestioning trust of a fearful, overly dependent people".

Another factor is that the current generation of young people are exposed to views from around the world and discussion on political freedoms on the internet, she said. Her latest article has generated a string of comments in Singapore's active political blogging community.

"You could have a case of younger Singaporeans creating unrest because they do not have an outlet," she said.

Lim also argues that the tight political control could hurt Singapore's aim of attracting the talent needed to retool its economy from manufacturing to a hub for research and services.

"What Singapore wants is managed creativity. So not only would those really creative people not want to come, but those who are here want to get out," she said.

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I don't think the suppression of criticism could be the Achilles' heel of the govt but its disconnection with the average Singaporean could be.

In the past few years the govt implemented several inconsiderate and ill-timed policies which caused severe financial hardship to the average Singaporean. Despite public outcries the govt appeared not too concerned and went ahead to implement those policies.

If the govt will to continue with its unilateral actions, Singaporeans could be pushed beyond their limits and forced to follow the footsteps of the Indians in Malaysia. The impoverished Malaysian Indians were so desperate that they took to the street to protest despite their govt's warnings and threats of arrest.

I certainly don't hope to see that day here.