Civil Servant Foo Chi Hsia defends PAP: Singaporeans continue to vote PAP because it delivers

Last month, The Economist published an article lamenting that even though there may be a lot of elections in South-East Asia, there is still a lack of democracy in the region ('South-East Asia: lots of elections, not so much democracy', 26 May).

"For in the dozen or so countries that make up South-East Asia, liberal democracy has long struggled in the face of authoritarianism, bolstered by monarchism, nationalism and ethnic chauvinism," The Economist wrote.

It noted that there has never been a shortage of elections in South-East Asia, but they are not "sure-fire signs of democratisation". Lee Morgenbesser of Griffith University in Australia and Tom Pepinsky of America’s Cornell University point out that between 1945 and 2015, South-East Asia held no fewer than 110 executive or legislative elections.

"Singapore leads the regional pack. The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has suffered no erosion of power in the 14 parliamentary elections since it came to power in 1959, even if it got a bit of a fright in 2011," The Economist said.

"Voting is clean. But the PAP wins not just by running the country competently, but also by instituting a favourable electoral system, harassing opposition politicians, cowing the media, threatening to cut spending on districts that vote against it and inculcating the absurd notion that its survival and that of Singapore itself are synonymous."

But it also noted that some of these electoral tricks often used by SE Asia authoritarian governments may have its limits.

"In Malaysia, UMNO’s usual trick of bribing voters did not work this time, since Malaysians saw it as their own money. In Cambodia a political system that exists for no other reason than to distribute profit and privilege may not survive Mr Hun Sen. Even the Western-educated offspring of Cambodia’s elites admit to embarrassment," The Economist observed.

PAP won 70%

Feeling insulted, the High commissioner for Singapore to UK, Ms Foo Chi Hsia, then wrote back to The Economist to defend the PAP government. Her letter was published on The Economist today ('Politics in Singapore', 9 Jun).

She started her letter by asking The Economist, "How many former British colonies are there where voting has always been clean and their governments consistently competent?"

She then took The Economist to task for saying that the PAP government instituted a "favourable electoral system" and a cowed electorate, among other things.

"The PAP won 70% of the popular vote in the last general election. Could a 'favourable electoral system' have delivered that?" she asked again.

"Your (The Economist's) correspondents have been stationed in Singapore for decades. Did Singaporeans strike them as a people easily brainwashed into believing that the PAP and Singapore are 'synonymous'?"

She went on to state that Singaporeans are well-travelled and well informed. "Some even read The Economist," she said.

"They continue to vote for the PAP because it continues to deliver them good government, stability and progress. The PAP has never taken this support for granted. As Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister, noted recently, the political system is contestable. We have kept it so. The PAP could well lose power, and would deserve to do so if it ever became incompetent and corrupt," she added.

Foo Chi Hsia a high-ranking civil servant

Ms Foo Chi Hsia joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 1994.

She was Director in-charge of the International Economics Directorate responsible for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and WTO matters from 2008 to 2009 and concurrently Senior Deputy Director in the Southeast Asia Directorate (April to September 2008).

She was Second Director in the Southeast Asia Directorate from 2008 to 2010 before her appointment as Director-General of the Americas Directorate from August 2010 to July 2014.

Ms Foo served at the Singapore Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2003, including as the Political Coordinator during Singapore’s term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from 2001 to 2002.

Ms Foo graduated with a Bachelor of Law in 1994, and obtained a Master in Public Management in 2005, both from the National University of Singapore. She was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2008.

Ms Foo assumed her post as High Commissioner to the UK in 2014.

In any case, if one day a new party or coalition of parties win to become the new government of Singapore, would Ms Foo be prepared to defend the new party or coalition as earnestly as she did for PAP?

This entry was posted in Opinion, Politics.

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