Civil Society and the State in Singapore

The following sections are included:

• Preface — CIVIL SOCIETY: THE IDEA AND ITS IDEALS
• INTRODUCTION
• CONTENTS

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• NATION AND CIVIL SOCIETY
• IDEALISM AND IDEOLOGY
• CIVILITY AND CONFLICT
• LIBERAL INDIVIDUALISM AND COMMUNITARIANISM
• MORAL PLURALISM AND PUBLIC REASONING
• MORAL REASONING AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
• CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS
• REFERENCES

Look down from the plane as it flies over Singapore on your way home from your trip overseas and there is no better sight that says “welcome home” than the greenery you see below the clouds. It is not for nothing that Singapore is called a “Garden City” and a “City in a Garden”. So when a group of people are up in arms about the “loss of green spaces” and the need to protect our “nature areas”, it is not surprising that there are others who are left somewhat bemused. Are we not already so green? Just look at Singapore’s tree-lined roads, parks in every Housing Development Board (HDB) neighbourhood, the Botanic Gardens, and her latest pride and joy, the Gardens by the Bay.

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• COLLABORATION WITH THE AUDIENCE
• COLLABORATION WITH THE STATE
• COLLABORATION WITH AND WITHIN CIVIL SOCIETY
• COLLABORATION WITH AGENCIES AND CORPORATIONS
• COLLABORATION WITH DIFFERENT CULTURES: INTERCULTURALISM
• FROM CULTURE TO OPTION OF HIERARCHY
• CONCLUSION: COLLABORATION AND TRANSFORMATION
• REFERENCES

I will not attempt to exhaustively define “civil society”, as opposed to “civic society” or “political society”; such an exercise is essentially sterile and often just boils down to a clash of definitions. For the purposes of this chapter I take a pragmatic approach to include within civil society all interest groups in Singapore save for those formally affiliated with a political party. These interest groups may be purely private: for example residents’ associations. They may have some wider public impact: for example, cultural and environmental groups. Some might even have an overtly political nature: groups that lobby for the abolition of the death penalty or migrant workers’ rights, for instance. The common feature is that they are organised by private individuals, although they may have some official backing to a greater or lesser extent.

The term civil society has a range of meanings. The World Bank’s definition is an all-encompassing one — civil society as comprising an “array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others” (World Bank, 2013). Such interests and values occupy a wide spectrum, such as those dealing with ethics, culture, politics, science, religion or philanthropy. Essentially, it refers to a sector where individuals and organisations, independent of the Government, act collectively to pursue a common goal. However, the term “civil society” does not have a universal definition or application. As explained by Lee Hock Guan, the term civil society is contested as it is “complex and open in character, and as such can be readily modified so as to be applicable to a broad variety of intentions and situations” (Lee, 2004, p. 2).

Migration has been an integral part of Singapore’s history and continues to be significant in an era of rapid globalisation. With the movement of people across borders there is a need to protect the well-being of those who leave their countries of origin, often in search of a better future. About two decades ago, Singapore began its rapid pursuit of becoming a global city, and adopted a liberal immigration policy. Immigration is also seen as an economic imperative considering the persistently low total fertility rates since the 1970s which have major ramifications to the country’s economic competitiveness as it faces the spectre of a rapidly ageing workforce (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2012). Welcoming labour migrants, albeit a stop-gap policy, was intended to bolster the strength and the vibrancy of Singapore’s workforce (“S’poreans have to understand need for immigrants: LKY”, 2012).

The following sections are included:

• PHILOSOPHY AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE “MANY HELPING HANDS” APPROACH
• SOCIAL INCLUSION AND SOCIAL SAFETY NET
• ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE MANY HELPING HANDS APPROACH
• WHAT HAS BEEN DONE ABOUT THESE ISSUES?
• WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE?
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES

In the same article that Lien contributed to Ethos (Lien, 2011), a journal published by the Civil Service College of Singapore, he argues that civil society is important for three reasons:

The following sections are included:

• Civil society organisations (CSOs) do things the State cannot do;
• CSOs can do some things better than the State;
• The State should not do everything.

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• CMIO MULTIRACIALISM
• THE EVOLUTION OF SHGS
• THE FUTURE OF ETHNIC-BASED SHGS
• REFERENCES

Singapore’s hegemonic dominant-party system has been credited for the country’s successful development into one of the wealthiest global cities today. The system, described as meritocratic, has focused on creating and sustaining administrative capacity, enabling the Government to act expertly, strategically and effectively to bring tangible benefits to an increasingly affluent people. As problems become more complicated and citizens become more sophisticated with higher expectations of their government, this elite, technocratic and paternalistic model of governance that has worked well in the past will need to adapt in time.

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• DEFINING YOUTH ACTIVISM IN SINGAPORE
• CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUTH ACTIVISM
• NURTURING YOUTH ACTIVISM THROUGH EDUCATION: SKILLS VERSUS IDENTITY
• INCORPORATING EXPERIENCE INTO EDUCATION
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• GROWING CIVIL SOCIETY IN SINGAPORE
• THE ROLE OF LAW
• VOTING AND THE RIGHT TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
• CITIZEN PARTICIPATION THROUGH REFERENDA
• THE RIGHT TO POLITICAL REPRESENTATION
• FREEDOM OF SPEECH, ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
• RESTRICTIONS UNDER ARTICLE 14 AND A “PROPHYLACTIC APPROACH”
• THE REGISTRATION OF SOCIETIES
• POLITICAL DONATIONS ACT
• REGULATION OF NEWS WEBSITES
• THE FILMS ACT
• THE PUBLIC ORDER ACT
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES

The following sections are included:

• ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
• INDEX