skinnylatte

Another related fact about Singapore: every tree in the country is tracked with its own row in a database

http://t.co/WMuBIv5tYk

I think you'll find that there are no grounds to prove the latter part of your statement in a way which supports your implied accusations of nepotism.

Yes, and I fought for its repeal along with other members of civil society. There was no overwhelming public support. In the only show of overwhelming public support was when fundamentalist Christians (who are not affiliated with the government) took over a feminist organization and overwhelming public support for the feminists and homosexuals pushed them out.

I'm not comfortable with blanket statements about Singapore politics and society from armchair political scientists.

At least I'm trying.

You guys don't make my job any easier by shitting on Singapore whenever you get the chance to, without even the least interest in learning the truth about it.

The other opposition parties are not viable because they are (1) terribly organized (2) run by personality cults --> both of these are traits which do not lend well to 'creating a better alternative'.

They can't even get a newsletter going without fighting about it -> level of disorganization and in-fighting.

Hear, hear.

exactly. thank you for saying that.

I'm troubled by your continued assertion that only your thoughts on Singapore count, more than that of any Singaporeans.

And that only you get to make personal attacks on anybody. Your thoughts are so clever and I am so intimidated. I must surely be wrong.

I think you'll see that this is not true anymore. 60% of Singapore did not vote for the opposition in 2011 because the majority of Singaporeans are afraid.

The PAP that you describe is no longer alive. It is one in which some of its top members are messaging me (a known volunteer for the opposition) and giggling with me over Amercians' perspectives of Singapore as seen on Hacker News.

"Corrupt".

Care to substantiate that?

Singaporean in opposition politics here — desperately wanting to know.

I've come to see that listening to them talk about 'freedom' and about how we don't have any = somewhat the same as my strong beliefs that breakfast should always have curry and noodles. Never the twain shall meet. But I'm not the one telling them that curry and noodles are the only things anybody should eat. Eat horrible cereal and muesli and bacon if you have to.

Using that quote means he has no understanding because Chee Soon Juan isn't what the OP portrays him to be, he isn't even what his own quote says he is.

It's completely factually wrong and there are few Singaporeans (even the ones in Chee's own party) who would give that quote (and the man who said it) any legitimacy whatsoever.

What a surprise that you're an American who believes that your visits to such locations give you the divine right to tell us off (looking at your ignorant comments in the other threads). And that you would use 'lah' inappropriately.

I'm also willing to wager that most of these armchair political scientists hate on Singapore because "it's not Asia" (meaning not poor enough). So much BS.

"I went to America once and here is everything I have to say about American politics and its people, and if you disagree you must be a brainwashed American."

Meh.

I joined because I'm frankly a little amused by some of these comments.

More totalitarian: how do you quantify that?

I was born and brought up in Singapore and do business in all those countries (tech startup). That sentiment is alien (and not just because I'm Singaporean), it's because Malaysia for example is more totalitarian and is also on the way to becoming a failed state economically and socially. You seem to be reasonably well-versed in the cultural aspects of those countries, but how much of the political institutions do you know — to back up such a claim, anyway? Have you seen Thailand and the junta lately?

Seriously? Have you been to any of these countries?

So we are too corrupt or are we too authoritarian?

After all we just jailed a man over pineapple tart corruption.

NKF is not the government. That's kind of like saying that TSA molests people, and that the federal government is responsible for it.

Here in Singapore, you can bitch about it and not be jailed or murdered for it. We bitch about (everything) most of the time. We also have a healthy assumption that we are never going to be murdered in our lifetimes in Singapore, and that things do get better most of the time, which is more than can be said for America.

Have you seen how the poor 'native Malays', poor 'ethnic Chinese', poor 'ethnic Indians' and 'lower class Western expats' live... side-by-side, in rather bad neighbourhoods (which would seem spectacular in most Western countries)?

Every other way is up for debate?

We have a good education system, and I would not trade our healthcare system for what you're likely used to; as a gay Singaporean, I have no curtailing of my social freedoms. I cannot marry or adopt legally yet, but that's the conversation that we're soon going to have (and which the "West" has only just recently gotten). The civil service is good. More can be done for the low income, and that's happening at the moment. The roads are clean and everything gets fixed. I walk around the city at any time of day and night with no fear, in any neighbourhood. Which ways are up for debate?

I'm a Singaporean. I've worked in opposition politics. I'm going to be voting this year.

Here are a few thoughts:

- your understanding of the Lees in Singapore have no historical context. You cannot view his leadership in a vacuum. You cannot look at Singapore politics and say it needs a dash of 'Western liberalism & democracy' and proclaim Chee Soon Juan one of its administrators. LKY, and the Singapore of his time, was a product of the times. There is no other place like it.

- No other place like it: that at the point of independence, we could have become "either a Palestine or a Switzerland". He was prescient on that. Few other small states are sandwiched between two giants (India and China), few other small states are at the best spot of an important shipping route, and in that sense he — and Singapore — had a leg up

- The most successful opposition party in Singapore is the Worker's Party, a party which is nearly as old as the ruling party. They are just as organized, if not more, and they are gaining momentum and strength. Like Lee's party, they have no overwhelming 'ideology', it is about 'what works for Singapore'. Voters like that. Voters don't like SDP, and they don't like Chee. Singapore voters don't trust loose cannons, and I as someone who has been in the 'opposition' most of my life would rather vote for the PAP if it presented a better candidate than the opposition, which is usually the case.

- Odds are stacked against the opposition, that is true; but the odds are lowered now, Lee Hsien Loong is not his father and the media is not nearly as powerful now. I would say that other than the Worker's Party, every single opposition candidate and party is unelectable. God help us if they do. Personality cults and horrible politics. No ability to execute. Voters will not give them the benefit of the doubt; we do not see the 'ability to govern' in them, and that counts more than 'what party one is from'

- Throughout the land there is a profound sense of mourning. Even among the ones who have spent their lives on the fringes of Lee's Singapore. He was a lion, and Singapore will not be the same without him.

- It will not descend into chaos, it will not swing the popular vote for the opposition. My read is that the PAP will still be in majority power for then next two elections.

- In the meantime, the work that has to be done is about how we ensure that we are ready for a post-PAP future. The reality of post-LKY is upon us today, and that changes things. Rapid destruction of our institutions isn't the answer. The building of our capacity with our people, institutions and processes may be.

- In many ways, we are more ready than the world thinks for that future

- You'd think that well-educated well-travelled Singaporeans who have the world at their feet (can live and travel and work anywhere, pretty much) would immediately switch allegiances and vote in 'democratic figureheads'. We will not.

- That doesn't come from conservatism. It comes from a practical belief that these figureheads, like Chee, will be the end of Singapore as we know it — and that's not from believing the propaganda of the state. It comes from knowing that the Singapore model works, but needs tweaking; and that the situation you have described above isn't going to end well.

- After working on the ground for the opposition in the last elections, I believe Singapore voters are rational and no longer afraid.

- The odds are good, but the goods are odd. That's the Singaporean opposition right now.

This is kind of the equivalent of someone posting something from Breitbart or NYPost and saying "this is real news".

Oh good god. As a Singaporean (who has worked in the opposition politics no less) I am sick and tired of Chee Soon Juan the megalomaniac who can't get basic economics right, being treated as our saviour. He is not.

Under-reporting of rape and sex crimes is rife all over the world, including in so-called developed societies.

I'm a woman in tech who has only been on the periphery of the Valley (mostly working out of Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, etc).

The sexism is everywhere. However, the brogrammer culture which has made an art of condescending to women PLUS all that PUA bs, is quite specific to SV and may even be an SV export (when I have seen it outside SV, it tends to a derivative).

In some other places they just treat women like shit outright without writing long articles about it :) (Like the founder who told me he was going to have a wet dream about me, after I kicked him out of a startup competition he sucked at.)

Nice to see someone pretend he knows all about social issues.

I don't even like that bar, now I'm going to go and have a drink there.

Sure, but our food is $2, not $20, and we have completely different restaurant economics from Australia (or anywhere in the "Western" world).

Also, what's wrong with drones? We have a great tech industry, and the people building those systems actually know what they're doing + are solving real world business problems. If it develops the tech/hardware industry further, I have no problem with that.

@crdoconnor I'm from Singapore. It's not so simple. We're primarily a city state with just under 3.5 million citizens — mostly highly educated, geared towards 'professional jobs'. In short, nobody wants to work in the service industry.

Coupled with some political issues of the last 3 years (mostly resentment towards lower income migrant workers from neighbouring countries), we went from "our entire service industry — and construction and retail and manufacturing and everything other than high end jobs — IS staffed by low wage workers" to "holy shit, let's not let too many of them in and only bring in the educated folks with degrees".

This has created and worsened the labour situation. Additionally, with some of the highest residential and commercial rents in the world (on par with or similar to Manhattan), it's a very big gap to fill. I have lots of friends who run F&B establishments — and it's something they're all grappling with. Retail, too. You seem to not be able to hire any Singaporeans for the love of money, of any amount. It sucks, esp since we have super exciting growth in our food/bar scene right now.