Democracy in Singapore - 3495 Words

2. Is there democracy in Singapore? What is Democracy? Singapore has been recognized as a representative democratic state since August 1965. However, to examine if Singapore is in fact democratic, we need to first define the word â€Å"democracy† and its parameters. The word originated from M.Fr democratis in the 1570s, with ‘demo’ referring to common people and ‘cratie’ to rule of strength. Therefore, by definition, Singapore can be classified as a democratic country due to the fair elections which enable her people to choose their government. â€Å"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time†, Churchill words immortalize democracy as the way to go, but there is not one†¦show more content†¦Further, the time period between each General Election in Singapore is also relatively longer than the other democratic states, such as the Unite States, where elections are held consistently every four years. The announcement of the election dates are also only released just before the election itself. This inflexibility in the political system is detrimental to the opposition parties and also place severe restrictions on the citizens in terms of their rights to decide when to have an election. Chief reasons for the PAP’s continued dominance The PAP’s ability to maintain its hegemony till date can be attributed to two main reasons, firstly, the PAP has been introducing schemes in the electorate system to suppress the opposition and secondly, the PAP’s control over the grassroots organizations have established the required link between itself and the citizens. Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) As mentioned earlier, the NMP scheme has been employed by the PAP to function as an institution to prevent potential opposition by taking the talented and qualified individual inside their ranks, thus greatly limiting the pool of talent for the opposition right from the onset. Quoting Bilver Singh,â€Å"by bringing these talents into the political system in a safe and non-threatening manner, the PAP is effectively denying the oppositional forces the possibility of recruiting these talents into their ranks.† AlthoughShow MoreRelatedHow Does the Presence of a Confucian Culture Affect the Operation of Democracy?1083 Words   |  5 PagesValues†. Asian values refers to the strong traditional cultural values such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism which co-exists in East Asian societies. The purpose of this essay is to explore Confucian culture and how it may affect the operation of democracy in East Asia. Confucianism is tradition of political and social thought named after the scholar Kongzi (Confucius 551-479 B.C), it is still widely practiced/ seen in social, legal, theological, ethical and political thought. 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