Mr Wong’s warning about politics is nothing new to any Singaporean who follows the news. Singaporeans have been warned against the dangers of politicising issues for a long, long time. We have been trained to think of political vibrancy not as a desirable trait in our country, but as an inevitable slippery slope to filibustering and paralysed systems, such as can be seen in the United States.
Still, I can’t help but see a mixed message in the Facebook update. While urging Singaporeans not to politicise issues, Mr Wong does not hesitate to hammer home all the things that the PAP government has done for Singapore. What message are we meant to get from this? Right now, it looks as if input from PAP members is well-meant and sincere, whereas input from alternative voices is just dangerous politics. Can that really be the message they intend to send?
By seeing the criticism online as mean-spiritedness and a lack of respect, Mr Wong has not grasped the main grievance of Singaporeans who feel cut off from the political process. By seeing critics as nothing more than people with secret political affiliations who “hide their real identities behind anonymous online profiles”, he is missing out on real opportunities to understand and engage skeptics of the national conversation. Instead, he has simply reinforced beliefs that this national conversation is nothing more than a national conversion for swing voters ahead of the next election. And that’s a real pity. Full story
Related:
Lawrence Wong ‘likes’ extremist ‘Fabrications about PAP’ page on Facebook - The Temasek Times
