What civil society activists and conscientious citizens have to do is not just to step back and say ‘this is just tokenism, this is just concessionary’. What is probably a better strategy is to occupy these spaces, because in a sense, if you do not use it, you do lose it, or if you use it badly or dangerously, you also lose it.
Dr Kenneth Paul Tan, assistant dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy