The Economist: No progress in democracy in Singapore

There is little progress in democracy in Singapore for the last two years, according to the 2010 Democracy Index released by the Economist’s Economist Intelligence Unit.

Singapore is ranked a pathetic 82th in the world, the same rank it attained two years ago and remains classified as a ‘hybrid regime’ among the likes of Russia, Pakistan and Cambodia.

In contrast, all the developed countries are either ‘full democracies’ or ‘flawed democracies’. The most democratic nation in the world is Norway, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia.

According to EIU’s definition, a ‘hybrid regime’ is one which:

“Elections have substantial irregularities that often prevent them from being both free and fair. Government pressure on opposition parties and candidates may be common. Serious weaknesses are more prevalent than in flawed democracies–in political culture,functioning of government and political participation. Corruption tends to be widespread and the rule of law is weak. Civil society is weak. Typically there is harassment of and pressure on journalists, and the judiciary is not independent.”

EIU is wrong. Singapore’s political system needs a re-classification. There is no independent media in Singapore – journalists need not be harassed as they are the unofficial spin doctors of the ruling party. Civil society is non-existent as all NGOs and grassroots organizations are controlled by the government in one way or another. Political apathy pervades the entire citizenry with little or no participation from the people in the political scene which is completely controlled by the ruling elite.

It will be more apt to describe Singapore as an ‘authoritarian state’:

“In these states political pluralism is absent or heavily circumscribed. Many countries in this category are outright dictatorships. Some formal institutions of democracy may exist, but these have little substance. Elections, if they do occur, are not free and fair. There is disregard for abuses and infringements of civil liberties. Media are typically state-owned or controlled by groups connected to the ruling regime. There is repression of criticism of then government and pervasive censorship. There is no independent judiciary.”

Like Russia, Belarus and Moldova, Singapore’s ‘democracy’ is a farce – its rubber-stamp parliament is dominated by a dominant single party with an ‘approved’ opposition party to give it some resemblance of decency. - temasekreview