The Singapore Daily

Remembering JBJ
- TOC: A subdued commemoration at Speaker’s Corner
- TOC: Stop re-writing history!
- Sgpolitics.net: Speech by Mr James Gomez commemorating JBJ on 5 Jan 2010 at Speaker’s Corner
- Singapore Alternatives: Commemorating JBJ – The Icon of a Lost Generation
- TOC: JBJ is my inspiration
- Seelan Palay’s Blog: JBJ: In our hearts forever

Housing
- The Temasek Review: Resale HDB flats hit a record high price fueled by demand from PRs
- Tan Kin Lian’s Blog: Price of new HDB flat

The Gospel of Harry
- Singapore Recalcitrant: Another Booboo of the Minister Mentor

Singapore Coloring
- The Grand Moofti Speaks: Race and Singaporeans, what’s all the fuss about?

Road to Election
- On Nation and State: Preliminary forecast for a likely 2010 GE

Twilight in Paradise. CPF Life
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: CPF Reform and Political Change..

Lee vs Chee
- Chee Siok Chin’s Blog: Chee Siok Chin begins jail term

Daily Discourse
- catherinelim.sg: A Climate Of Fear In Our Society?
- Hear Ye! Hear Ye!: Tackling the Malay-Muslim underclass issue
- Yawning Bread: Should Singapore’s Home Minister be thrown into a Vietnamese jail?
- Singapore Recalcitrant: The Disoriented Romanian Diplomat
- mrbrown: YPAP Member: No job? It’s your karma or your forefather’s fault!
- The Temasek Review: PA launches official investigation into business dealings of YPAP member Sear Hock Rong
- Singapore Social and Political Thoughts: Why should there be a TV License?
- My Very Own Glob: Forced to pay to watch crap

Life, the universe and everything
- kitchen tigress: Prying a Cake from OCBC’s Cold, Hard Fingers
- Midnight Monkey Monitor: Nature in the Heartlands: Toa Payoh Town Park
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: Startup shouldn’t pay to pitch to angel investors

The following is an article from the monthly Chinese magazine “Eye Asia”, first appeared in the July 2009 edition. [Thanks Patrick]

THE CURSE OF POLITICS

The word “politics” can have different meanings in different contexts.

The one that I wish to presently discuss concerns the processes of acquisition of power and authority in order to govern a state or a country; or in other words, to rule over a group of persons defined by geographical boundaries.

In this context, politics is widely regarded as something “dirty”, insidious, manipulative, devious, treacherous, often immoral, and sometimes downright evil. To be a successful politician, it is generally believed, one has to be cunning, deceitful, unscrupulous, and preferably with as little conscience as possible. Thus, many people stay away from politics, and discourage their children from being involved in politics. By staying away, it is as if one would avoid dirtying one’s soul or one’s conduct.

That kind of reaction (of distancing oneself from dirty politics) cannot be more mistaken, more dangerous, or more self-deceiving. Nevertheless, it is a viewpoint that is rather prevalent in many parts of the world, Malaysia included.

It is a pervasive practice that I wish to discredit.

It is politics that ultimately controls our lives, our dos and don’ts, our aspirations, and our hopes for our future generations. It is politics that causes poverty, creates discrimination and injustice, and brings wars and oppression to our doorsteps. That being the case, should we want to walk away and have no say in these matters? Do we do the minimum, and leave the rest to others or to chance? By staying clear of politics, and burying our heads entirely in making a living and minding our own business, will politics leave us alone and cease to regulate or govern us? The answers, I would imagine, are rather obvious.

If politics is dirty, it is only because we allow it to become so. It is our inaction and our abandonment that allows dirt to harden, and rust to corrode.

On each occasion when someone complains that politics is dirty, the obvious question that should follow would be to ask that person whether he is prepared to be governed or controlled by something so dirty? If he is, he truly deserves what he gets. If he is not, then he cannot hope to simply wash his hands of the dirt, by turning his back and pretending that he sees not.

Neglect and desertion are not neutral positions that one could take. Inaction and insufficient action may seem passive at first blush, but are in truth an active contributor to the perpetration of wrongs against both oneself and others. Closing a blind eye to a wrong is a betrayal of one’s social responsibilities. Declaring that politics is dirty, and therefore refusing to have anything to do with it (including non-participation in its broad cleansing process), in fact promotes the furtherance and worsening of an already bad situation.

Democracy is self-governance, as opposed to being ruled by an emperor whose word must be obeyed. Democracy is never a system that enables the people from time to time to vote in a group of angelic saviours who would miraculously put things right, provide fair and equal treatments, and let everyone prosper. A democratic system merely allows its inhabitants to vote into (and out of) office their representatives to temporarily perform the job of governing, on their behalf and for their benefit. The multiple tasks of self-governance always remain on the shoulders of the citizenry. What takes place is that the citizens have delegated those tasks to their elected representatives, not indefinitely, but for a (revocable) period of time.

Therefore, the strength of a democracy, and hence the well being of a society, does not, ultimately, depend on the strength and integrity of its elected leaders. Rather, at the end of the day, it depends on the vigilance and constant participation of its ordinary citizens. Democracy cannot rely on a few good men or women; it needs to be cultivated by a large number of ordinary but diligent participants.

Things go horribly wrong in a democracy, usually because the vast majority of voters go into a long slumber in the period between elections, simply expecting their representatives to do the right things while they themselves disown continuous participation in politics. Such prolonged hiatus plays into the hands of those who have acquired power. Hibernation of the governed is such fertile ground for the exponential growth of the greed and self-gratification of the governors. The scourge of inaction is a gift to the corrupt. The crime of silence is sweet sound to the ears of the political robbers of national wealth.

The saying that every people deserve the government they have is only partially correct. In a democracy, even after disregarding the cheating mechanisms, it is still a numbers game. Often it is the majority of the people who deserve any disgraceful government that they have allowed to be in power, while the minority (or some of them at least), despite their persistent struggles, are victims of the follies of those who outnumber them. The fact that many of these outnumbered victims continue at personal risk to educate and empower the majority is a source of both inspiration and admiration for those of us pessimistic about the future of human societies.

In fledgling democracies, politicians in power would do their best to discourage the general masses from political activism, except of course for their own supporters. Even with the latter, what is asked of them is blind loyalty, rather than participation with independent thinking.

There is an endless number of ways in which a population can be hoodwinked, deterred or cowed. Censorship and control of the media are common tools, as is harsh treatment of dissent. Subtler forms include the farcical delineation of politics from other spheres of life, as though political activities can be detached from other aspects of everyday life. In Malaysia, for example, an association of persons is not permitted to be involved in activities touching on politics, unless the association is registered as a political party. This is as absurd as saying that any group of persons who wants to play football must first register themselves as a football club, or that anyone wishing to advocate a healthcare system must be a doctor or a worker in the medical field.

Its absurdity lays bare the real motive of disenfranchising the people.

Politics ought to be a competition of ideals and ideas. It ought to be about the people. Politicians ought to race against one another to see who can better serve the public good. Politics, that which regulates our every breath, ought not to be dirty.

But in reality it is. Most of the time politics is only about winning, by hook or by crook. Acquiring power is an end in itself; its benefits for the corrupt are aplenty. Politics is no more about the people. It is no more about right and wrong. This is the curse that we have come to inherit. Unless we quickly do something about it, this will be the curse we will pass on to our future generations, with our own brand of voodoos added to it.

No lightening is going to come down from heaven to strike our decadent, corrupt, virulent and incorrigible politicians. Only we, the people, can cleanse their dirty politics and free our future generations from its curse.

First, we get rid of the monopoly structure of power.

Yeo Yang Poh

3/11/09

Original article in Chinese after the break.

政治的詛咒

文／楊映波

“政治”這個詞对不同的人来说可能会有不同的意思。

我要討論的是有關经过獲取權勢从而能管治一州一國的课题。換句話說，是關于獲權而統治一群由地理範圍界定的人们的课题。

政治廣泛地被視為是“骯髒”、陰險、欺詐、往往不道德，以及有時邪惡十足的。一般人相信，某人若要成為一名成功的政治家，他就必須狡猾、虛偽、不講道德，和拥有越少良知越好。因此，許多人遠離政治，也不鼓勵下一代參政，仿佛只要是遠離政治就可以避免心靈和行為遭受污染。

背弃骯髒的政治的这种觀念，在世上許多地方（包括大馬）相當盛行。這就是我所要推翻的作风。因为，没有比遠離骯髒的政治来得更為錯誤、更為危險，或者更加自欺欺人的做法。

政治控制著人民的生活的每一部分，管制我们的一举一动、我們的抱负和對未來的期望。基本上，貧窮、歧視和不公都是政治所造成的。戰爭和壓制也是政治所帶來的。政治既然如此重要，我們难道可以弃之不顧嗎？我們应否懒得去理它，把它当作是别人家的事，或者索性聽天由命？难道我們一旦遠離政治，把頭埋在自己的工作和生活里，而自扫门前雪的话，政治就不會来招惹我們，干涉我们，就會停止規範或管治我們嗎？以上几个问题的答案，相信是很明顯的吧。

如果说政治是骯髒的，那是因為我們允許它變成那个模樣。我們的無動於衷和放弃，導致政治的骯髒不断深化、進而腐蝕。

每当有人抱怨政治是骯髒的时候，我們應該接著問那人是否愿意被如此骯髒不堪的東西管治或控制？如果他愿意，那是他活該。如果他不愿意，那麼他就不能对骯髒的政治袖手旁觀，轉過身去裝做什麼污垢也看不到。

一個人不理政治或唾棄政治，并不是在对政治保持中立的立場。对政治無動於衷和無所為，乍看之下似乎是一种被動的行为，但事實上却是一种主动的犯错，是罪恶的帮凶。一個人對政治和社会上的弊端視而无睹已違背了自身的社會責任。一個人若宣稱政治是骯髒的，而因此拒絕和它扯上關係的话（包括不參與其淨化工作），那事實上他已成了导致不良状况变本加厉的帮凶。

帝国管制下，君要臣死臣不得不死。民主是自主，與帝国制度恰恰相反。可是，民主制度從來不是能夠讓人民選出一班圣人或救世天使，奇蹟般地来把社会擺正、提供公正和平等，而讓每個人都幸福的一种系統。天下没有那么美的事。民主機制只不过是能讓人民選出（及革除）一群暫時的代表，来履行管理工作。这些代表只是暫時代替大众效劳而已。所以，自主的多重任務仍然落在人民自身的肩上。

因此，民主的力量，以及其社會的福祉，不是依靠被推選出來的領袖的實力和廉正来实现的。民主的力量，到頭來是要依靠普通民眾的自覺性和他们不断地積極參與民主行动所组成的。民主不能單靠幾個好人；它必須由许许多多普通但勤奮的參與者來加以塑造的。

一個民主社会的堕落，往往是因為大部分選民在選舉过後直到下次選舉之前都處於冬眠狀態，以為他們的代議士一旦被选中了就會自动做好一切， 而人民則大可在这期间安心地與政治保持距離。这种漫長的空窗期正中当權者的下怀。被管治的人冬眠时，便给貪婪和牟取私利的管理人提供了剥削和滥权的大好機會。無所行动者是贪官的护使和帮凶，沉默对攫取國家財富的污吏来说就是最悅耳的聲音。

有句英文俗语，说每群人所擁有的政府正是他们所应得的政府。这话只说對了一半。在民主制度中，即使撇开作弊或不公的选举結構不谈，它仍然是个少数服从多数的數字遊戲。更正确的说法，是大多數的人民罪有應得地获得了他們所允許上台的腐败的政府，而少數人（至少其中一部分人），儘管不斷努力地争取，还是因为數量少而成了受害者。难得的是，許多這些數量不足的受害者，依然不灰心地、奋不顾身地繼續去教育和提升大多數者的醒觉性。這不但令人钦佩，也恰是能够让我們對人類社會的未來保持乐觀的原因。

在剛起步的民主国家中，掌權的政治人物會盡一切能力去阻止大眾積極參政(他們本身的支持者除外)。即使针对后者，当权者也是只會要支持者盲目地跟從和效忠，而并非想讓他們真正参与或善于獨立思考。

政府有數不清的手段可以用來哄騙、恐吓或者威脅民眾。審查制度和媒體管制是很普遍的方法，加上嚴惩持異議者的各种方式。比较狡猾的手段包括把政治划分成另一種世界，好像政治可以與日常生活分开一般。大馬就是一个例子，政府立法不允許所有組織參與政治，除非它注冊為政黨。這就有如强制一班想踼足球的人必須先注冊和加入足球俱樂部后才能踼足球，或者限制只有醫生才有资格倡議社会的保健系統；这何其荒謬！

這種荒謬的程度揭露了其褫奪人民權利的真正目的。

政治本来應該是一场關於理念的競爭。它應該與人民的利益相關才对。政治人物之间的互相競爭，應該是在看誰能夠為人民爭取更大利益的。作為管治我們每一個人每一口气的重要機制，政治不應該是骯髒的。

但在現實中，政治在我们的许可下的确变得很骯髒。很多時候政治只是一场不择手段也必须贏的遊戲。获權变成了其最終目的；因为庞大的利益正等着贪婪的赢家。現實中，政治往往不再是為了人民，更加不是關係正邪對錯。這就是我們从上一代手中所繼承的政治的詛咒。除非我們能儘快醒觉及改革，否則我們也會把這個政治的詛咒加油添酱地傳給后代。

别期望會有來自上天的閃電來擊醒我們那些墮落、腐敗、丧尽天良和无可救藥的政治人物。只有我們，只有人民自己才可以淨化他们那骯髒的政治，並阻止我們的下一代继续被政治所詛咒。

首先，我們必須废除權力架構的壟斷性质。我們不能再维持一党制了。

（譯／張立德，楊映波）

January 6th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL