3 Perspectives on the Proposed Pre-Election ‘Cooling-Off’ Period

Much has been said in the blogosphere about the proposed 1-day pre-election ‘cooling-off’ period (e.g., link 1 / link 2). But I’ll give my own perspective anyway — or three perspectives, rather.

(1) Cooling Off — Without Having Broken a Sweat

One striking thing about a ‘cooling-off’ period is its pointlessness in Singapore’s context. Why the need to ‘cool off’, when there isn’t much of a ‘warm-up’ period to speak of? A minimum 9-day campaigning period between Nomination Day and Polling Day is ludicrously short. And past General Elections have, true to form, stuck closely to the absolute minimum prescribed by law, as the Elections Department’s record makes clear.

In this regard, Australia and Indonesia (two countries PM Lee mentions as already having ‘cooling-off’ periods) are false comparators. In Australia, the minimum period between Nomination and Polling is 23 days (Commonwealth Electoral Act, s. 157). Similarly, full-scale electoral campaigning for the 2009 Indonesian legislative elections lasted some 21 days.

Racism in “Daddy At Home” (Part II) — The Offending Segment

|  Part I |  Part II |

The Straits Times Forum today published a letter defending(!) Mediacorp in its tasteless use of a racist stereotype on its Channel 8 serial, “Daddy at Home”. But more on that later.

As I made clear, my previous post had been based entirely on Ms. Chow’s description in her letter to the ST Forum dated 14 November 2009. But I’ve since dug up the actual sequence itself from a clip which an evident local TV fan posted on Youtube. The video is here, and the specific part in question is from 2:50-4:10.

Thinking Aloud: The Rule of Law in Singapore

Asst. Prof. Eugene Tan of the School of Law at SMU writes the occasional, insightful piece in the local newspapers. Last Saturday, his TODAY article entitled “Debating rule of law in Singapore” (14 Nov) reflected on last month’s New York State Bar Association meeting in Singapore. Here are some extracts:

… … …

Is Singapore an ersatz democracy which patently lacks human rights, and the rule of law an elaborate fiction?

Singapore is a glaring exception to established understanding in the liberal theory of democracy and empiricism of how democracies evolve. Singapore has remained stable, peaceful and prosperous without the full suite of democratic norms taken for granted in liberal democracies

… … …

In its own particularistic conception, Singapore accords importance to the rule of law, especially in the economic realm, but argues for a relativistic understanding and application of the venerable concept.

… … …

The Government has steadfastly maintained that there is no universal understanding and prescription of what the rule of law constitutes. It has abidingly insisted that the rule of law is subject to the social, economic and security imperatives facing Singapore.

Thus, rule of law here is not an end in itself but a process, a means to the end of good governance denominated by a stable political order grounded in social consensus on the common good.

Prof. Tan runs together the 3 concepts, “democracy”, “human rights” and “rule of law”. Some may protest that they come as a package-deal, but I think each has a distinct meaning we must unravel.

Racism in MediaCorp Channel 8 Serial, “Daddy At Home”

|  Part I |  Part II |

It seems that racist jokes are not limited to casual coffee-shop talk and semi-inebriated pub-jabberings. They are now broadcast on prime-time national TV, as evidenced by an ST Forum letter by one Ms. Chow Pei Sze:

“How did ethnic stereotype go unflagged?”
The Straits Times Forum
14 November 2009

I was appalled when last Friday’s prime-time drama series of MediaCorp’s vernacular Channel 8, Daddy At Home, scripted in an ethnic stereotype.

Colleagues of the title character (played by Li Nanxing) joked that they should start calling him ‘Aminah’ as his character’s job was reduced to a cleaner. The nonchalance with which the name of a Malay woman is used interchangeably with the role of a cleaner is insensitive and has encouraged in the popular imagination the equation of Malays to occupations of low income and menial labour.

[redacted]

Unpacking the Racism in a Racist Joke

As described, the show employed a clearly racist, demeaning stereotype. The “equation of Malays to occupations of low income and menial labour” is one aspect of the racism. It’s appalling in light of reportedly prevalent discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities, both at the workplace and in hiring decisions.

Response to ST Forum Letter, “Decriminalise consensual underage sex”.

This is a slightly revised and footnoted version of a letter I sent to the Straits Times Forum last Saturday. It’s a reply to this letter, published last Friday.

(Incidentally, a letter today by Mr. Alvin Chen, which was selected for publication over mine, mirrors several points I made.)

I refer to the letter, “Decriminalise consensual underage sex” (13 Nov) by Mr. Vikram Ranjan Ramasamy. Mr. Ramasamy mistakenly asserts that “consensual” underage sex does not cause harm to others. Teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) impose costs (including healthcare and social support) which are collectively borne by society. For example, STIs among youths more than doubled from 238 cases in 2002 to 787 last year.[1]

These societal costs are magnified because youths who do have sex are unlikely to take adequate precautions. A 2006 survey indicated that less than a quarter of sexually-active Singaporean youths use contraceptives.[2] While sex education is the best antidote, the continued criminalisation of underage sex may deter youths who otherwise would engage in unprotected sex from putting themselves in a position to take those risks to begin with.

Mas Selamat Escape: The Disciplinary Fallout

Edited: 27 May 2008 at 1200hrs

News has broken regarding the disciplinary action taken in light of the Mas Selamat escape. Appended at the bottom of this post is a ‘quick-reference’ table summarizing (from DPM Wong Kan Seng’s speech in Parliament on Monday) the disciplinary actions taken against the various officers and guards. Certain cells I have left blank, because the information was not available from DPM Wong’s speech.

In all, 9 individuals faced disciplinary action of some kind; 6 by the Internal Security Department, 2 by the Singapore Police Force, and 1 by the Minister for Home Affairs himself.

The Problem of Concurrent Appointments

From the Table, you’ll note that the most senior officer involved apparently held concurrent appointments, as a Command Director of the Internal Security Department (ISD), and as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC).

Racist Speech — Whose Fault is It, Anyway?

A dude going by the rather charming moniker, Sexy Fragrance Prince, has been charged under s. 298 of the Penal Code. Since I’m presently researching on the topic of hate speech legislation, I thought I should weigh in a little on this debate.

A few good blog posts on this issue:

• Ian on the Red Dot, “Bloggers Should be Allowed to be as Racist as Possible”
• Simply Jean, “Local Blogger Arrested”
• Simply Inconceivable, “Jail the racist blogger. Legal?”

Before commenting on the free speech issues, I would note that the relevant provision used here is s. 298 of the Penal Code (for wounding another person’s racial or religious feelings with deliberate intention), and not the Sedition Act (as in 2005, with Benjamin Koh and his ilk).