Feedback Unit a forum for S'poreans

By Jacqueline Lee

SINGAPORE (IPS): A Singaporean who disagrees with the government is likely to let off steam in Internet chat groups, in letters to editors or in watering holes where rumors, like mugs of steaming coffee, are passed around, embellished and sometimes accepted as fact.

But there is another venue -- the 'Feedback Unit' -- through which Singaporeans with strong opinions about government policies can speak out. And like almost everything else in this orderly society, gathering feedback on governance is done methodically.

The 'Feedback Unit' is composed of about a thousand citizens who are regularly called on for comments on anything, from bus fares to increases in university tuition fees.

Formed by the government some five years ago, the Unit has served as a sounding board on how Singaporeans feel about matters that concern them.

In the absence of a viable opposition that is a fixture in more raucous democracies and allow the airing of the common man's sentiment, Singapore's Feedback Unit has become the forum where Singaporeans can criticize public policy without fear of government reprisal.

"Don't tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me what you really think," Feedback Unit chairman and minister of state for communications John Chen exhorts participants at the unit's gripe sessions.

The Unit's some 1,000 regular participants have formed themselves into what is now called the Feedback Club. Their views are taken seriously by the government, and are usually kept confidential.

Officials said there are plans to widen the club's membership to include "articulate intellectuals" or those generally attracted to Internet chat groups.

The objective is for the Club to evolve into a think tank where policies are discussed thoroughly, refined and finally handed back to the government as part of their recommendations.

"If government does something and there is no feedback, you will not know how people feel about the implementation of certain policies," Chen told a local paper. "There is the danger that the gap (between State and people) becomes wider."

Just recently, the Unit was locked in discussion over a proposal to raise bus fares because operators posted heavy losses last year.

Participants, including housewives, students, labor leaders and transport officials gave their grudging go-ahead to the increase on condition that bus operators do not make 'too much' profit.

On more delicate matters like the recent row with Malaysia over Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew's unflattering remarks about Johor, not much was heard from the Unit.

Many Western media and institutions find that Singapore is uncomfortable with too much political openness. But others maintain that the island nation, which has transformed itself from a muddy backwater in the 1960s to one of Asia's economic tigers, has its own way of doing things.

For instance, the annual U.S. State Department report on human rights in 1996 says Singapore's Constitution "permits official restrictions on freedom of expression".

"The government restricts freedoms of speech and the press and intimidates journalists into practicing self-censorship ... The Government continued to intimidate opposition parties and their candidates," the report added.

It goes further to say that the government, led by the People's Action Party that has been in power since 1959, "will not tolerate discussions in the press of alleged corruption, nepotism or a compliant judiciary".

But Singapore has its own standards and methods of dealing with criticism which are different from that of most Western countries.

Comments are tolerated if done in a manner that is deferential and inoffensive. Abusive or slanderous language may not be used against races and religions, since this could disturb the multi- cultural harmony the republic has managed to preserve.

Singapore's leaders have always rejected the Western model of politics, saying it is inappropriate for a young republic coming to terms with its multi-ethnic identity.

From time to time, officials argue that Western-style political opposition would only delay efficient governance and could lead to "revolving door governments" common in many countries in the West.

One area that is off limits to criticism in Singapore are the courts. Analyst Simon Tay says any statement that tends to attack the integrity of the courts constitutes contempt and becomes legally punishable. But anything else that has nothing to do with the court is fair game for comment, he adds.

For instance, "criticism that...dogged Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's visit to America was not censored in Singapore," he pointed out. "The Singapore media carried the criticisms as well as the government rebuttals," Tay said in a paper published by Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Despite what some call the Feedback Unit's limited use, lawyer-academic Walter Woon exhorts Singaporeans not to be intimidated by limited elbow room -- and to use their freedoms lest the next generation of leaders "take back the space".

"People should speak up but do so responsibly and honestly," he told college students in a forum.