The 3 Wise Men of Singapore
Before the current crops of MPs and Oppositions parties, Singapore Post Independence, 3 Wise men brought gift of Intelligence, Grit and Courage to our newly born nation. They debated on many agendas and deliberate on many policies for the greater good of all Singaporeans. Indeed we were blessed by the sacrifice of these 3 wise man whom form the bedrock of modern days politics and government in Singapore. Independently, they also handpicked , groomed and mentored their prodigies, many whom are Sec Generals of the various parties across Singapore.
Politics of Singapore - An Overview
The politics of Singapore takes the form of a parliamentary representative democratic republic whereby the President of Singapore is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Singapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet, and to a lesser extent, the President. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament.
Like many countries in the world today, there are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary system.
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Singapore. The legislature is the parliament, which consists of the president as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected, currently 87 seats (81 PAP and 6 WP)
Executive power is vested by the president as the head of state after the amendment of the constitution in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary, Civil Service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. He also exercises powers over civil service appointments and national security matters.
Dr Tony Tan, President, Republic of Singapore
The Judiciary branch oversees the court system. The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch. The chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice; Court of Appeals
Mr Chan Sek Keong. Chief Justice, Republic of Singapore
Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action Party (PAP) since the 1959 general election when Mr Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister (Singapore was then a self-governing state within the British Empire). The PAP has been in government and won every General Election since then. Singapore left the Commonwealth in 1963 to join the Federation of Malaysia, but was expelled from the Federation in 1965 and gain independence as a Sovereign Nation. Besides PAP, several other active opposition parties including the Workers' Party of Singapore and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) does provide alternative voices for the citizens.
The 3 Founding Fathers of Modern Day Singapore Politics
The 3 Founding Parties of Modern Days Singapore - PAP, WP and SDP
PAP was formed on 21 November 1954 by Lee Kuan Yew, an English-educated middle-class professional lawyer who had returned from university education in the United Kingdom. He had a vision of full independence for Singapore, and was joined by Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan despite their ideological differences.
Workers' Party was formed on 3 November 1957 by Singapore's first Chief Minister, David Marshall. Having become a fairly small party by the late-1960s, the Workers' Party was revived by a group of lawyers in 1971, led by J.B. Jeyaretnam, who became the party's Secretary-General and helm the Party for the next 30 years.
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) was founded on 6 August 1980 by lawyer Chiam See Tong, who had previously contested several elections as an independent candidate in the 1970s, together with consultant engineer Fok Tai Loy and businessman Ernest Chew Tian Ern. Mr Chiam helm SDP for over 13 years before he resigned and form SPP in 1994.
The Twin Towers - Different Views, Same Goals
The 3 leaders cross swords regularly in Parliament and have numerous heated debates on extensive range of topics.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Chiam See Tong on Racial Respect and Harmony
Mr JBJ crossing swords with Mr LKY's 2 Prodigies, Mr GCT and LHL on Elected Singapore President
One of the most tense and colorful debate was in 1985 in regards to Ministerial Salaries.
Excerpt from Parliamentary Debate on 22 March 1985:
Their Legacy
Creating and Grooming 2nd and 3rd Generation Party Leaderships
Due to his defamation cases, Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam was ineligible to contest in the 1991 election and thus brought in then, a relatively low profile and unknown WP member, Mr Low Thia Khiang to contest for Hougang as MP. Through their relentless campaigning, Mr Low Thia Khiang successfully won the Hougang Seat, the only seat for WP in the 1991 election. Mr Low subsequently become WP secretary-general and leader and use this single seat victory to expand WP power across the East of Singapore.
After he was discharged from bankruptcy in 2007, Mr JB Jeyaretnam left the WP land founded the Reform Party in June 2008. Sadly, he died of heart failure in September 2008, just 3 months after founding the Reform Party which is now led by his eldest son, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
At the 1991 general elections, besides Mr Low Thia Khiang of the WP, 3 other seats was won by SDP, making a total of four opposition MPs, with Mr Chiam See Tong effectively the leader of the opposition. In 1992, Chiam recruited Chee Soon Juan, a psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore, to be an SDP candidate for a by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency.
Although the SDP was unsuccessful in the by-election, the recruitment of Chee as a candidate generated considerable public interest. However differences between Chiam and Chee soon emerged. Chiam left the SDP at the end of 1996 and accepted an invitation to join the Singapore People's Party (which was formed by a breakaway faction of the SDP in 1994)
As the Sec General of SPP, Mr Chiam brought in Mr Benjamin Pwee whom in his youth, Benjamin Pwee was the chairman of the youth wing of Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) in the Thomson area. Mr Pwee was part of SPP five-member team to contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. SPP's team was defeated by the PAP team. Shortly after the general election, Pwee became the SPP's Second Assistant Secretary-General but left SPP January 2012 and became the Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party (Singapore) which was setup in March 2013.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew personally groomed Mr Goh Chok Tong who became Singapore's second Prime Minister on 28 November 1990, succeeding Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and served in the role until 12 August 2004, when he stepped down and was succeeded by Lee Hsien Loong. Mr Goh subsequently served as Senior Minister until May 2011, and as Chairman of the Monetary Authority Of Singapore (MAS). He continues to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency and currently holds the honorary title of "Emeritus Senior Minister".
Mr Lee Hsien Loong became the Sec-General of PAP and the third and present time Prime Minister of Singapore, and has been in office since 2004. He is the elder son of Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew Prior to becoming Prime Minister in 2004, he served as the Minister for Trade and Industry, Minister for Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. Prior to his election to Parliament, he served as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces, quickly rising to the rank of Brigadier-General.
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