How young Singaporeans view political transition in the country

Producer: Yvonne Gomez
First broadcast: 6 August 04, Radio Singapore International

Singapore will have a new leader next week, when Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong takes over the reins from Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Yvonne Gomez finds out how young Singaporeans view this political transition in this report.

Young Singaporeans are sometimes believed to be generally politically apathetic without much interest in who leads the country.

When DPM Lee becomes Prime Minister next week, will young Singaporeans demand more from his leadership? Or will they continue to disassociate themselves from politics and go about their ordinary lives?

Ivan Yeo is a political science graduate, and has just started his career as a civil servant in Singapore. He gave his view in an Opinion forum on NewsRadio 93.8FM.

IY: "I think most people aren’t too concerned exactly who takes over. More so, they’re wondering what it’ll do for them. Young people are always worried about their jobs, worried about whether or not they can afford a home. I think those are more of the specific concerns and it all depends on what DPM Lee is inclined to do when he takes over."

Adding to this, Adrian Hong, who will soon leave Singapore to work in the United Kingdom, summarised the discussions he’s had with his friends on the topic of leadership transition in Singapore.

AH: "There has been some amount of discussion, but it’s not so much on the economy, but more on the kind of Prime Minister Mr Lee will be, in terms of whether he will take the soft approach or the hard approach."

Young Singaporeans have often been described as being politically apathetic but Dr Suzaina Kadir from the National University of Singapore, believes that the issue needs to be put in its proper context.

SK: "It’s not something abnormal. I think we’ve got to put it in its proper context, because if we compare it to somewhere with a similar rate of development in the region, or with the United States or the UK, what you see among the youth will be fairly similar. Among university students, there’s a lot of activism, perhaps on campus, in the United States, but there’s also many, many students who are concerned with basic things like jobs and the changing economy. So in that sense, we‘ve got to contextualise it and I think the concerns that the youth will have would be substantially different.

"Perhaps we’re so used to a level of efficiency and a level of state involvement that we assume everything is going to be taken care of. The reality is no state or society is going to survive long-term, if the state’s running on empty, without its citizen actually being very, very much part of that process."

Dr Antonio Rappa, also from the National University of Singapore, put this issue in another perspective.

AR: "I wouldn’t use the word ‘apathetic”, and I’d probably say that this is not characteristic only of youngsters. I think the older people, across all generational groups, show signs of a similar pattern. I’m not sure if its apathy or indifference towards politics. In Singapore, politics has been marginalised as not so important. The economy is more important and stability is more important. I’m not sure if there’ve been any social science surveys done on this, but I do know that every era and generation has got is own bunch of people who will be dissatisfied. The majority will either be quiet or acquiesce, and of course there are some who go to the extremes."

Touching on the expectations Singapore’s younger generation have of the country’s political leadership, Adrian Hong said.

AH: "I think it’s trendy for young Singaporeans to talk about having a lack of choice and the lack of a strong opposition but therein lies the problem. When you talk about an awakening of political consciousness among the young Singaporeans, I think the problem is that they expect more than their parents’ generation, and they’re probably, in a sense, more vocal. But the thing that’s lacking is the idea that they can actually make a change.

"For all the different opinions, at the end of the day, everyone still votes for the majority party. It’s almost as if they expect more, but if the government doesn’t deliver, or nothing materialises, no one’s going to do much about it. It’s different from, say, the UK, where people expect things and they’re very, very conscious of the power of their vote.

Dr Suzaina Kadir elaborated on the power of the vote and how it affects political engagement.

SK: "It’s about realising the power of the vote, and having choices. I think this is a key point in the sense of the younger generation having much higher expectations. I think nobody disputes that. But I think if there is indeed, a sense that it’s not going anywhere, then I think in the long term, there’s a potential problem, because it will lead to disengagement ultimately, because you’d just say, 'Hey, nothing changes anyway.'"