SG Daily Special: An Open Letter To The Prime Minister By Catherine Lim

The following was sent to us via email. Read and judge for yourself its authenticity. It does read like a Catherine Lim.

Update 6 Nov 2007: Catherine Lim has officially published this letter at her website.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER

Dear Mr Prime Minister,

This open letter is a plea which, as a concerned Singaporean, I am making with some confidence, since at no time has your government been more sincere and earnest in inviting feedback to make our society an even better place to live in.

My plea concerns the long-standing issue of political openness. It had, in the more than 40 years of PAP rule, been a source of much unease in the relationship between the government and the people. Now and then, the unease would erupt in the open, with the people agitating (usually through permitted channels such as letters to the press, public forums, dialogues with members of parliament, etc)for a long overdue political opening up, and the government firmly, often sternly, reminding them of more important national concerns, such as bread-and-butter matters that affect the lives of everyone.

But despite the lack of agreement, there was reason to hope. For there were signs that the PAP leaders saw a political opening up as a necessary goal , even if a very disagreeable one, to be achieved sometime in the future, even if a very distant one. There was no escaping the fact that Singapore, being a permanent member of the free world of practising democracies, is open to international scrutiny. I recollect your PAP colleagues talking about the need to proceed cautiously in the controversial matter of political reform, the need to avoid the perils of ‘revolution’, by adopting the peaceful process of ‘evolution’, variously called ‘incrementalism’ and ‘gradualism’, to emphasize the small, even imperceptible, but definitely forward-moving steps. The message seemed to be: ‘Be patient. In good time. When we are ready.’

Now I note with alarm that this is not going to happen. For the new model of PAP governance which, under your premiership, is shaping up to provide the definitive, final framework for government policy in the next 40 or more years, has no place or role for political freedom. There are two principal features of the model that provide the evidence to support this worrisome thought.