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“Singapore This Week”. In our weekly digest, we discuss a deer fatality in Mandai; police drones in our skies; the downsides of a free trading port; the kebaya, “intangible cultural heritage”; Cultural Medallion winners; tech giant Figma suing a Singapore-based start-up; and more.

Essay: “Is one-party dominance necessary for sustainable, long-term policymaking?” Leon Perera, former member of Parliament with the Workers’ Party, has today published his first essay for Jom. He opens with the assumption about one-party rule that has become part of our country’s political doctrine:

“By this account, the government can take tough but unpopular measures—such as GST hikes, an openness to high rates of immigration and fiscal conservatism—that are supposedly in the long-term interest of the country, with less fear of electoral blowback. In contrast, intense political competition can lead to various shades of populism or ‘short-termism’, as rival parties struggle for votes, seeing no further than the next election.”

Singaporeans are well versed in the supposed benefits of the dominance of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), but much less so in the possible downsides. Leon articulates this partly through a case study of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled for 71 years—a fact, coincidentally, recently mentioned by Lawrence Wong, prime minister, at the PAP’s convention.

“Moreover, at a time when economic and income growth are harder to come by, that dominant party may find it harder and harder to win popular support by delivering genuine economic benefits. It may then be tempted to increasingly use that dominance to resort to unsustainable, reckless financial populism and ‘dirty tricks’ against opponents and critics.

This is precisely what happened in Mexico in the 20th century.”

Of course, given Singapore’s geopolitical exceptionalism—the world’s only global city cum sovereign state—such comparisons have their limitations. Leon augments his argument by exploring several related questions. Did the PAP enjoy single-party dominance in the 1950-60s when it implemented many long-term policies? Has the PAP recently succumbed to any form of populism? Is it true that competitive electoral democracies are unable to enact long-term policies? 

I particularly appreciated his brief meditation on whether long-termism itself is an unalloyed good. When I think about different “long-term” elements of the PAP’s growth strategy—the Long Island project, the relentless desire to attract MNCs and wealthy individuals through low tax rates and other means—I do wonder: what if the long-term effects are actually negative for our earth and our society?

Leon asks some terribly important questions, and it’s important that all voters contemplate them ahead of a crucial general election, due by November 2025. Read his essay now.

Jom fikir,
Sudhir Vadaketh
Editor-in-chief, Jom

Behind Jom’s art, with Charmaine Poh

This week’s artwork, by Grace Hong, borrows from the semiotics of political propaganda posters to depict the way citizenry under autocratic regimes are persuaded to buy into government visions of the future. The use of red, stripes, and bold lines, combined with an image of a self-assured leader figure, are designed to leave an arresting impression on the viewer-voter. In Singapore, where rhetoric surrounding both the prosperity and precarity of the future is bandied about, perhaps we’ll do well to critically re-examine what it is that we are marching towards.

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