Singapore

In 1963, Singapore, together with North Borneo and Sarawak, merged with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia (all were former British colonies). Consequent to deep political and economic differences between the ruling parties, premised on the imbalanced Malay-Chinese population in both countries, communal tensions broke out, resulting in racial violence, which eventually led to the expulsion of Singapore from the union in 1965. The racial categorization of the majority Chinese, and the minority Malays, Indians and Other Ethnicities (CMIO) stem from British colonization and have informed social and education policies built on the notion of multiculturalism. Minority representation in electoral politics was mandated by a 1988 constitutional amendment. The amendment states that each contesting electoral division (group representation constituency) must have one or more candidates who are non-Chinese. Liberal immigration policies have resulted in a significant population of migrants in both high and low paying jobs. Over the last few years, a fault line has emerged between newer immigrants and more established groups, with the latter expressing ‘anti-immigrant’ sentiment.

The People’s Action Party (PAP), which has been in power continuously since 1959, has an extensive hold over state institutions despite the constitutionally guaranteed system of separation of powers. The PAP has the power to manipulate information, drive specific narratives and perpetuate its ideologies in the public sphere. Thus, some of the most concerning issues facing Singapore relate to the freedom of expression and assembly, media freedom, human rights defenders and the treatment of migrants. The freedom of expression has been curtailed to a large extent due to the passing of new laws (for instance, POFMA 2019; FICA 2021), which in both theory and practice violate human rights standards of free speech.

If Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the oldest son of the founder of Singapore and serving since 2004, steps down as planned, it will be the first time the Lee family will be moving away from the highest positions of power since independence. The new PAP leadership will have to garner public support to face both domestic and global challenges.  The next five to ten years could see increasingly competitive elections and a stronger opposition - the 2020 election saw PAP’s worst-ever parliamentary performance, as the opposition pushed for measures to help low-income citizens and to hire locals over foreigners. The government’s crackdown on speech, activism and media may cause public backlash and strengthen support for the opposition, thereby improving the Media Integrity and Freedom of Expression attributes and contributing to institutional reforms to guarantee fairer electoral politics.