The saga raises questions about the ruling party’s governing model. Its response is to insist that the system is working as intended
In mid-July the transport minister, S. Iswaran, was arrested along with a tycoon, Ong Beng Seng, who brought Formula One racing to Singapore. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau is looking into the relationship between the two men.
Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister, claims the arrests show that the system is working. After all, the government acted promptly—Mr Lee himself gave approval for the’s investigation. Questions remain, however, not least why Mr Iswaran’s arrest was only announced three days after it had taken place. Many Singaporeans think the explanation of “operational considerations” given by Lawrence Wong, the deputy prime minister and Mr Lee’s successor-in-waiting, is limp.
Much harder to defend are the circumstances surrounding the departure of Parliament’s speaker, Tan Chuan-Jin, once ahigh-flyer. An innocent outsider might assume that his calling a member of the opposition Workers’ Party, Jamus Lim, a “fucking populist”, caught in Parliament on a hot mic, would be the clear reason for his going . Mr Tan later apologised for “unparliamentary” language.
The government cites the Tan saga as further evidence that it keeps an eye out for wrongdoing and then acts on its findings. There is a Singaporean phrase for it: “Ownself check ownself”, a form of self-monitoring that has been raised almost to dogma by theThe process was also kicked into gear following the revelation that the home and law minister, K.
Another feature of the Singapore model follows from the party’s spotlessness and steady hand: with the grown-ups in charge, liberal democratic features such as a combative press and a vigorous civil society can be dispensed with. Nothing wrong with “ownself check ownself”. But if internal checks cannot ensure spotlessness and a steady hand, there is good reason to add external ones.
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