In Search of Civil Society in Singapore

When I started writing this entry I was sitting in the Singapore National Library and there was a man sitting on my left working on his laptop. He had one of those rubber pads to protect the keyboard, but was struggling to effectively type. The problem is that the protective covering was so thick and non-transparent that it inhibited his ability to see and feel the keys. As he struggled to type, the pad seemed to defeat the purpose for its user, not that it mattered—it was just a pc. For me it symbolized something more severe. Perhaps the pc next to me was using a keyboard pad so that it couldn’t be traced to its user if confiscated. I know this seems rather extreme, but maybe it isn’t. The one thing the Singapore state guarantees is a high-cost for dissent. In Singapore it is illegal to assemble, strike, or protest.

There is a deep-rooted paranoia in Singapore embedded like a splinter under a manicured nail—the pain of removal is feared much more than its consequence. I’ve not seen such a manicured city as Singapore and would even call it utopian. It is a botanical garden turned inside out. Think eco-city architectural rendering, sprinkle some neoliberal fairy dust and poof, there it is. Singapore will do such things as remove a natural forest and replace it with a man-made eco-forest just for people to walk through. Singapore is also heavily surveilled. There are CCTVs everywhere, as well as official signs asking all to report the “suspicious.” What they are looking for, I can’t say. It made me feel uncomfortably odd to know that citizens are empowered to suspicion, to turn each other in—I quickly looked away from the pc and made eye contact with the floor.

Recently at a public event I heard another Singaporean proclaim in Sing-lish, “eh, I know how the government gets our finger-prints…through vending machines-la!” He cracks open a Hansen raspberry soda. The drink looks suspiciously quenching amidst the humid thunderstorm brewing in the distance. The last signs of civil society went under ground in the late eighties after a series of arrests against dissidence. I will be attending one of the first migrant worker bus strike meetings since. I joined the event on Facebook.

Singapore is slightly smaller than Oahu, with a much larger population of 5.8 million residents. Six million is the master plan goal. This type of density requires an efficient degree of planning, or in this case state control. Compared to Honolulu, traffic seems nonexistent in Singapore. Only during a sudden downpour is it challenging to summon a taxi. And even then there are efficient MRT lines and surface bus routes. I did get caught at the City Hall MRT station during rush hour on a Friday evening, but the congestion only lasted 20 minutes and was immediately dispersed when the SMRT sent an empty train to the stop. The state does everything it can to avoid a crowd, but it will do even more to attract outside investors.

Singapore is an authoritarian capitalist city-state. It minimizes dissent through fear mongering such harsh penalties as deportation, imprisonment, asset seizing and the death penalty to create a mirage of political stability. The media is used as a propaganda machine to further minimize dissent and to promote worker productivity slogans and values. The state owns all land, but allows ownership of capital improvements, thus allowing the state to single handedly control development. This is sort of like eminent domain, except not just for public works projects. It is used for private development. The landscape is highly privatized with only one public park where people may assemble, Hong Lim Park. Singapore government makes it easy for foreign investors to set up business and offers appealing tax rates. For these reasons Singapore is attractive for foreign investment and is a global economic competitor.

Singapore has access to cheap migrant labor from China, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. There are 1.23 million low wage migrant workers. The People’s Action Party (PAP), which is the dominant ruling party in Singapore, has deregulated labor rights so far as to allow employers to unionize and not laborers. Private corporations hire workers as temporary contract hires, thus removing them from the realm of state affairs. The state says that labor is a private sector matter, the worker cannot strike and the markets system need not answer the state. In Singapore the worker has no representation against the private sector. The media pits Singaporeans against equal wages for migrants. Inequality of wages ultimately keeps the incomes low for both migrant workers and Singapore citizens.

This was not the always the case. Coincidental to Hawaii's statehood vote in 1959, Lee Kwon Yu founded the Singapore city-state on the backs of labor movements from the 1950s. However, soon thereafter Singapore’s labor unions were skinned and turned inside out through various parliamentary amendments and suspicious conspiracies that resulted in the current authoritarian capitalist regime. In Singapore it may be said that there is no right to the city. There are limited spaces for civil society, it is illegal to assemble, and protest or strike; there is limited ability to form associations and no legal process for challenging corporate contracts or government policy. Urban planning in such an authoritarian-capital regime would very much serve the interests of corporate and state planning agendas. This led me to an important question as a planner—is there civil society in Singapore and if so what does it look like?

SMRT Bus Strike

My first introduction was to the SMRT Bus Strike meeting held in a tiny overly air-conditioned room off of North Ridge Road. The room was packed and entry only given to those that had previously registered for attendance. Four exceptional panelists presented on the political, legal, historical and social significance of the recent bus strikes. To my understanding this labor protest was the first insurgency since Operation Spectrum, squelched the so-called “1987 Marxist Conspiracy.” Twenty-five years later the storm broke. 171 Chinese migrant bus drivers protested against unequal wages, hours and living conditions compared to other migrant workers. City flow was temporarily impeded and six workers were arrested. The state is claiming that this is a violation of the 1955 Criminal Law Temporary Provisions Act, under the Preservation of Public Security Interest that is meant to penalize secret society members. The Singapore government also considers public transportation as an “essential industry” and therefore bus laborers cannot strike without a 14-day notice to negotiate terms. The media quickly covered up the story and said that the conflict was resolved and there would be an increase in bus fares to counterweigh the cost.

What I found at the SMRT Bus Strike meeting was an incredibly organized, articulate and moral dialogue surrounding the deeper implications of the state and powers to unionize. One of the discussants postulated that unions might not even be the appropriate format for organizing today as labor structures have changed in order to diffuse the ability to assemble. The employers have the prerogative to hire and fire—and are free to transfer, promote or re-assign workers without any problems. Hence union’s rights and powers have been reduced and cannot adequately protect the basic rights of workers. So what then is the course of action to bring about change? For one there needs to be a shift in policy through legal amendment. This is being pursued through appeals to international institutions that Singapore is a member and in violation of, such as the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations, the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN). The Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers has created a handbook titled Civil Society Proposal: ASEAN Framework Instrument on the Protection and Rights of Migrant Workers (more info www.workersconnection.org). Still the challenge is engaging a broader audience and making civil society;accessible and sociable beyond small meeting rooms on the fringes of the city. To further explore civil society I attended the second annual Really Free Market held at Hong Lim Park.

Really Free Market

Hong Lim Park is the only public space in the city where people may gather to speak somewhat freely between heavy downpours. One of which nearly cancelled this year’s Really Free Market in which various civil society groups gather to share their missions and raise awareness usually through some creative activity. I was excited to witness such a vibrant society emerge after the rainfall. Slowly yet surely people emerged from various intersections to stake their signs, lay down tarp and material to share. It was convivial in every sense. I was introduced to former detainees of the 1987 Marxist Conspiracy, a representative of the Singapore Democratic Party, a banned playwright, humanitarians and activists galore ranging in age, profession and cultural background.

Really Free Market Singapore from R3IMAGE on Vimeo.

After taking video and talking story I sat down and made clay pieces for efforts to preserve the last remaining traditional climbing-kilns called dragon kilns, in which they aim to fire 3,000 pieces in an event called Awaken the Dragon. I learned about efforts to end the death penalty against victimized offenders of drug trafficking. There were information stands to save the ancient Bukit Brown cemetery and forest from an 8-lane super highway. There were information packets and speakers on the SMRT Bus Strike and labor issues. There were artists, musicians, tarot card readings, button-pin making, free stuff, speak-out boards, families, youth and elder participation. I was pleasantly inspired to find such a vibrant civil society in the heart of an authoritarian state.

There is a civil society!

I had been in Singapore for two weeks and have since returned to Honolulu. When I first arrived in Singapore I was skeptical if there could be a civil society. It seemed to be impossible at worst and unlikely at best. Singapore is imaged as a model city for global economic competitiveness and little else. Chinese statists hoping to emulate the capitalist utopia often tour Singapore in hopes of applying effective authoritarian tactics. Other technocratic corporations and institutions, such as MIT, eye, pitch and sell the appropriated eco-“liveable” city for more private development. Yet amongst it all, in the crevices and shadows, and now in open spaces, there exists an alternative insurgent image. My soul is satisfied to have witnessed this thriving and rising civil society. As much as Singapore is a model for economic competition it may be even more so for civil society. I was truly inspired by the individuals that took the time to include and warmly welcome me. Mahalo nui to these sisters and brothers of civil society. I welcome you all to come and visit Hawai’i. We have a lot we can learn from each other as civic-minded island states. Certainly if civil society can be resurrected in Singapore against all odds, then there is hope for all human flourishing in all city-states.