SDP: Govt must stop legal action against its citizens

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

The recent spate of legal action or threats of legal action against activists and bloggers signal that despite its promises to change, the PAP has remained largely unreformed.

During the last general elections, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed contrition for “mistakes” his administration made. Mr George Yeo admitted that Singaporeans resented the Government and said that the PAP had to change its ways.

But that was then when the PAP was trying to shore up its vote count prior to polling day. A couple of years after the elections, the party is back to its old ways, taking citizens to court and threatening them with punitive action when criticisms are levelled at the Government.

Ms Han Hui Hui was sued by the Council of Private Education (although the suit was later rescinded), cartoonist Leslie Chew was cited for contempt of court, and filmmaker Lynn Lee was harrassed by the police and threatened with prosecution for her reporting.

Most recently, political commentator Mr Alex Au was charged with scandalising the court. This is not the first time that Mr Au has been threatened with legal action.

The PAP must realise that criticisms of the government and its policies are not a bad thing. In fact, they are necessary feedback for the system (and, therefore, society) to improve. To silence civil society and its actors is to cripple the feedback mechanism that keeps a healthy check on government.

Such freedom of expression is not only a fundamental right and important in itself, but it is also a necessity where creative impulses are encouraged in order to develop a vibrant society. It is the key to Singapore graduating to a higher phase of economic development.

Without an innovative culture, we cannot get out from the low-wage, MNC-dependent economic model and move on to a higher, ideas-driven economic paradigm.

It is unfortunate that the PAP Government refuses to accept this fact. The danger is that its continued unenlightened approach towards governance will cause Singapore to become less and less competitive. Ultimately, it is ordinary Singaporeans who will will suffer the most.

Protecting our political rights is also necessary to protect our economic rights – without the former, we cannot have the latter. It is the inability of the people to speak up all these decades that has caused our healthcare, housing, wage, and population policies to become so skewed against the interests of Singaporeans.

The SDP repeats its call for the Government to stop taking legal action against citizens, starting with the cessation of proceedings against Mr Au. Singapore desperately needs a new start to our political system.


Singapore Democrats


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