Another uninformed citizen

This meandering letter published on the Straits Times Forum is astounding on several levels. It starts off as a response to the Chee Soon Juan-Chiam See Tong spat, proceeds to hammer Chee for "introducing a confrontational Western-style democracy in Singapore", then betrays his lack of knowledge in the international politics, before regurgitating the main PAP talking points in a furious flurry topped with the old Deng Xiaoping quote "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice", ending off in full patriotic glory by invoking the national pledge. It reads like Stalinist propaganda.

Let's take a closer look at Patrick Tan's thought process. First, his view of the Chee-Chiam dispute.

I regard Mr Chiam highly as an opposition MP - he has contributed in no insignificant way to Singapore politics.

Dr Chee, however, seems more intent on introducing a confrontational Western-style democracy in Singapore. While that model may work in some countries, it does not mean it is the best and only model for us.

And that's it. To his credit, Chee has never said a "confrontational Western-style democracy" is "the best and only model" for Singapore. But what is so wrong with a adversarial democratic system? Nothing, except Tan has allowed his depthless understanding of world politics to affect his perspective of Singapore and its political system.

In the United States, something as basic and fundamental as health-care reform has taken years to push through because of bipartisan politics.

Teens continue to be shot at in schools because the right to bear arms is more important than the lives and safety of children. Politicians do what is necessary to be elected instead of doing what is right.

Nearer home, look at what is happening in Thailand. Once a peaceful country, it is now torn apart because of the confrontations between two main parties.

Singapore is a young country with a multiracial population. While we have enjoyed peace for many years now, our society remains fragile. Harmony is key to our survival and our future. In this scenario, political contests by rival parties based on a confrontational approach are not the best model.

This neatly packages "Western-style bipartisan democracy", which is turning out to be a great punching bag lately, as a system that is inhumane enough to deny people healthcare, dehumanised enough to allow children to be murdered fecklessly, and destructive to the social fabric of countries. All of which are not only outlandish misrepresentation, but also evidential of his rejection of alternative political systems and the comfort in sacrificing his rights as a citizen, for his rights to be represented and protected, for some small measure of security that offers no progress.

There is also no merit to Tan's argument that a young country should not be host to an adversarial system. Add all these factors to his decidedly shallow understanding of world politics, and what you have is either an uninformed citizen or an advocate for the ruling party. Oftentimes, these roles merge and are indistinguishable.

Tan's abject understanding of politics makes this show of patriotism even more laughable.

It does not matter if we have a full Western-style democracy, partial demo-cracy or socialism that works the Singapore way. What is important is that we continue to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress based on justice and equality.

How would we achieve progress, justice and equality by tolerating egregious acts of the ruling party to violate those same principles? There will not be progress without pushing for change, or confronting the difficult and often uncomfortable questions, or when a country's people throw away their rights to the state to decide what is best for them. We deserve no less.

And yet, that is exactly what is happening. Yet another Singaporean who believes in the Singapore Story so much, he is willing to embark on a dogmatic defense of the PAP's talking points. This is what keeps them in power, and this is something that Mr Tan himself should do well to consider, especially since he wrote

Politicians do what is necessary to be elected instead of doing what is right.