The state prunes the banyan tree: calibrated liberalisation in Singapore

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the Singapore state’s varied responses toward dissent and explores the modes of control employed by the state towards varied dissent. We argue that any attempt to understand the politics of control in Singapore is incomplete without understanding how the state calibrates liberalisation as a third primary strategy. This study contributes to a more nuanced comprehension of how hybrid regimes can expand their modes of control. It offers a new framework to understand how tools of dominance are calibrated to adapt to a shifting socio-political landscape and calls for viewing liberalisation as a method of extending control.

KEYWORDS:

• Singapore
• calibrated liberalisation
• spectrum of control
• authoritarianism
• civil society

Previous Publications In

Democratization, International Political Science Review, Government and Opposition, Asian Survey, Asian Studies Review, Journal of Church and State, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, Indonesia and the Malay World, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Small Wars & Insurgencies, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, and Journal of Religious and Political Practice

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Luke O'Sullivan for his invaluable advice, editorial suggestions, and supervision during the research phase. We are also grateful to Bilveer Singh for his mentorship over the years.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 George Yeo, ‘Civic Society- Between the Family and the State’ (speech, NUSS Society Inaugural Lecture in Singapore, June 20, 1991).

2 George, ‘Freedom From the Press’, 99.

3 ‘Good result for PAP but an excellent result for Singapore’: PM Lee’, Channel NewsAsia, September 12, 2015, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/specialreports/sgvotes2015/latest/good-result-for-pap-but/2121698.html.

4 ‘Good result for PAP but an excellent result for Singapore’: PM Lee’, Channel NewsAsia, September 12, 2015, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/specialreports/sgvotes2015/latest/good-result-for-pap-but/2121698.html.

5 Chan Heng Chee, ‘The strategic voter in the “new normal”’, The Straits Times, September 19, 2015.

6 ‘NLB pulls two children’s books that “don’t promote family values”’, Today Newspaper, July 9, 2014.

7 ‘NLB’s decision to withdraw books based on “community norms”: Yaacob’, TODAY Newspaper, July 12, 2014.

8 ‘NLB saddened by Criticism. But it is not changing decision to remove three “unsuitable” children’s books: CEO’, The Sunday Times, July 13, 2014.

9 ‘NLB’s decision to withdraw books based on ‘community norms’: Yaacob’, TODAY Newspaper, July 12, 2014.

10 ‘A novel protest gets read out at the library’, My Paper, July 14, 2014.

11 Interview with protest organizer, 27 October 2015.

12 ‘It's about who decides what's right or wrong’, The Sunday Times, July 20, 2014.

13 ‘MP Hri Kumar disagrees with NLB move to withdraw children’s titles’, TODAY Newspaper, July 17, 2014.

14 Interview with protest organizer, 27 October 2015.

15 The third book, ‘Who’s in My Family’ had already been pulped.

16 Yaacob Ibrahim, Facebook post. July 17, 2014, https://www.facebook.com/yaacobibrahim/posts/800605309973979.

17 ‘News reports wrong about Thaipusam incident, says devotee’, The Online Citizen, February 7, 2015, http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/02/news-reports-wrong-about-thaipusam-incident-says-devotee/.

18 Sangeetha Thanapal’s Facebook post on ‘Thaipusam & the right to cultural and religious expression in Singapore’, accessed on May 30, 2015. See also, ‘Make Thaipusam a religious holiday in Singapore’, Change.org, accessed June 1, 2015, https://www.change.org/p/mdm-halimah-yacob-make-thaipusam-a-religious-holiday-in-singapore.

19 ‘Shanmugam clears the air on Thaipusam’, The Straits Times, February 7, 2015.

20 ‘Street procession rules, including music ban, help keep events safe and peaceful: S. Iswaran’, The Straits Times, February 6, 2015.

21 Interview with protest organiser, 27 October 2015.

22 The relaxation of the ban allowed for live music to be played at three fixed parts of the procession. For more information, refer to: ‘Live music at Thaipusam after 42 years’, The Straits Times, January 19, 2016.

23 ‘Authorities relax rules for this year’s Thaipusam after feedback from Hindu community’, Today Newspaper, January 13, 2019.

24 ‘CPF minimum sum to be raised to S$155,000 from July’, TODAY Newspaper, May 8, 2014. For a simple understanding of the Minimum Sum, kindly refer to ‘What is CPF Minimum Sum? 7 Things to know’, The Straits Times, January 21, 2015.

25 For a clear articulation on the CPF system and the various criticisms it attracted, refer to Lim Pei Ying and Tan Shin Bin, ‘Saving the CPF: restoring public trust in Singapore’s retirement savings system’, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (2015).

26 ‘PM Lee demands apology and compensation from blogger’, The Straits Times, May 22, 2014.

27 Banyan, ‘Opinion in Singapore: A butterfly on a wheel’, The Economist, June 13, 2014, http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/06/opinion-singapore.

28 ‘Speakers at CPF protest call for flexibility, better returns, greater transparency for CPF scheme’ The Straits Times, June 7, 2014.

29 Ibid., Other online sources such as Yahoo News Singapore estimated the turnout at closer to 3000.

30 Interview with source close to CPF protest organisers, 1 November 2015. Other close sources indicated similar opinions.

31 Tan Chuan Jin, ‘The Truth About Our CPF and the Minimum Sum’, The Manpower Blog, May 25, 2014, http://momsingapore.blogspot.sg/2014/05/the-truth-about-our-cpf-and-minimum-sum.html.

32 Tay, Policy and Political Developments, 9.

33 Ibid.

34 ‘CPF proposals: Advisory panel offers more ideas to make retirement fund more flexible’, The Straits Times, February 4, 2015.

35 ‘Questions and more questions on CPF at dialogue session’, The Straits Times, June 15, 2014.

36 Chun Han Wong, ‘Singapore to Revise Parts of Pension Plan Amid Retirement Concerns’, The Wall Street Journal accessed on July 11, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/singapore-to-revise-parts-of-pension-plan-amid-retirement-concerns-1408300084.

37 Interview with source close to CPF protest organisers, 3 November 2015.

38 Interview with source close to CPF protest organisers, 27 October 2015.

39 ‘Hundreds attend protest against CPF and Medishield Life policies’, The Straits Times, July 12, 2014.

40 Interview with protest participant, 23 October 2015.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pravin Prakash

Pravin Prakash is a Doctoral Fellow with the Heidelberg Graduate School for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at Heidelberg University. He works on democratic backsliding, the politics of control in hybrid regimes as well as religious nationalism in India.

Walid Jumblatt Abdullah

Walid Jumblatt Abdullah is an Assistant Professor at the Public Policy and Global Affairs Program, Nanyang Technological University. He completed his PhD under the Joint Degree Program between National University of Singapore and King’s College, London. He works on relationships between Islam and the state, political Islam, and political parties and elections.