Recruitment:
The ground shifts
With public mood shifting a little to its favour, opposition has landed a few blows in fight to recruit quality members. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Feb 2, 2010

(Synopsis: A surging tide of young professionals is giving growing strength to the opposition as it readies to mount a serious challenge to the ruling party).

FEARED for his destruction of political foes, Lee Kuan Yew once predicted that when he quit, a new breed of quality politicians would come out to challenge his party.

Today Lee remains very influential in the Cabinet, but his prophecy is prematurely coming to pass.

At 87, the Minister Mentor is seeing the emergence of a rising number of Singaporeans with good academic credentials to take on his successors.

At the peak of tough – but effective – rule, none but the bravest would have dared to venture without preparing to pay a price.

There are several reasons for the change. First, years of stepped-up investment on education has given birth to a highly-expecting, worldly-wise population.

Second, Lee has mellowed and his charisma of power perceivably declined because of age; a counter-trend is taking place that could eventually end Singapore’s predominant one-party structure.

Lee has predicted the PAP could retain power for two more terms – or 10 years – but after that it would depend on its leadership capabilities.

(He confirmed his increasing passive role in a recent interview when he said he was not doing much work these days “except forecasting”.)

The public fear of Lee, once a dominant feature that influenced many aspects of society, has significantly decreased.

More Singaporeans are speaking out openly – sometimes fearlessly, with the help of the Internet. More than two-thirds of youths either surf or take part in forums.

Helping the opposition cause is a widening gap between rich and poor and the public’s concerns about jobs, housing and the big influx of foreigners.

All these helped the drift of quality professionals towards the opposition.

Last week, two government scholars and former high-flying civil servants announced they had joined the Reform Party.

Both had graduated with 1st class honours at Cambridge University and were once senior civil servants.

One is Ms Hazel Poa, a 39-year-old PSC (maths) scholar and a former assistant director in the Finance Ministry. She now manages a regional education company.

The other is her husband, Tony Tan, an ex-army officer with a 1st Class Honours in Engineering who won a prestigious armed forces scholarship.

They are the latest of a trickle that can turn into a flow in the years ahead – especially if Lee really remains on the government sidelines.

The Reform Party is itself led – since April – by Kenneth Jeyaretnam, who has a Cambridge Double First honours in Economics. He is the son of the late opposition icon J.B. Jeya-retnam.

This development is dealing a blow to the powerful People’s Action Party, which has long monopolised the recruitment of graduates into its fold.

In this paper-chasing society, Singaporeans have long preferred to vote for top-quality scholars in an election, a tradition that may fade in future as tertiary education becomes widespread.

“More young tertiary-educated Singaporeans are joining opposition parties over the past few months,” reported online website Temasek Review.

The growing public awareness may gradually close the gap in numbers and quality that separates the PAP and its political rivals.

At the moment, it is still a David-vs-Goliath contest.

However, almost every opposition party has gained from it, although few are betting on their collective ability to dislodge the PAP from power any time soon.

The top beneficiary is the newest. Jeyaretnam said that his Reform Party has attracted some credible candidates for the next election during its first year of existence.

It hopes to triple its 30 members over the next year.

The Workers Party, Singapore’s oldest and largest opposition party, last week gained two high-profile members – former foreign ministry officer Gerald Giam and 22-year-old project engineer Alex Tan.

(Editor’s note: It has been pointed out to me that Alex Tan has joined the opposition Singapore People’s Party (SPP) not the Workers Party. My apologies to Alex and all.)

The party has attracted some 50 young people in the past year, many of whom are graduates and professionals, a representative said.

Last year, a biomedical science and microbiology graduate from the University of Queensland, Jarrod Luo, became youth leader of the Singapore Democratic Party.

They are impressive gains given the continued presence of Minister Mentor Lee.

An experienced stock broker commented: “The fact is the younger generation of Singaporeans no longer fear him. They are confident about moving to another country, if need be.”

Lee’s declining political role will likely result in more quality politicians joining the opposition, as well as a more assertive citizenry.

“Between being loved and being feared, I have always believed (that) Marchiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, then I am useless,” Lee had once remarked.

For most of the first 30 years, Lee had governed Singapore with two weapons – superior logic and the cane, or legislation.

The first weapon, the use of logic had succeeded in rallying a whole people behind him even when his policies were unpalatable. It transformed a squatter colony into an advanced country.

The second – draconic laws to “crack heads” – also worked in cowing his enemies as well as a generation of his people and creating a compliant society.

His successors, faced with a better-educated breed, still need superior logic to govern, but obviously cannot resort to the use of the cane as Lee did in the chaotic past.

The PAP remains a powerful, well-organised organisation with a system of grassroots working extensively on the ground.

It has also been working hard. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the party has already assembled a slate of high-calibre candidates for the next election.

They will form the leaders of tomorrow’s Singapore, he said.

The next electoral test will be very crucial to the future the ruling party – and Singapore.

(This was first published in The Star, Malaysia.)