Singapore’s Economic Success ‘Comes at the Sacrifice of Humans Rights,’ Says Activist <PERSON> · Global Voices
Screenshot of <PERSON> from her YouTube account.
This article by <PERSON> is from Loa, a news website and online radio project of Việt Tân that broadcasts stories about Việt Nam. It is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
<PERSON> is a 26-year-old activist in Singapore. Though young, she has inspired the ire of Singaporean officials over the last four years for her efforts to raise awareness of the stifling political environment in Singapore and restrictions on speech and assembly.
In 2017, <PERSON> was scheduled to attend a human rights conference in Malaysia, but when she arrived she was deported upon the demands of the Singaporean authorities.
She continues to resist the government’s attempts to suppress her right to free expression, by speaking at international forums such as the Internet Freedom Festival in Spain, which she attended for the first time in March 2018.
<PERSON> (KT): This is <PERSON> reporting from the Internet Freedom Festival in Valencia, Spain. I’m here with <PERSON> from Singapore, who is an activist, and who led a session on our first day here. What would you like to tell people about Singapore?
<PERSON> (HHH): I think the only thing that Singapore has is [this] so-called “economic success”, and we do not have any human rights at all. This economic success is actually at the sacrifice of Singaporeans, especially in the public housing, public healthcare, as well as employment. Singapore has an economic success that is being admired by countries all around the world. But, it comes at the sacrifice of humans rights in Singapore. The first thing is public housing. Singapore is the only country in this world that doesn’t spend a single cent from a cash-flow perspective on public housing. Second, is public healthcare. We actually have [a] compulsory insurance scheme, the government forces people to buy, on top of private insurance. With this insurance scheme, the total premium that the government collects is actually more than the total amount of claims that the government actually have to pay out every year. The third thing is the right to retirement. In this scheme the government forces people to set aside about 30 to 40 percent of their salary.
<PERSON>: When I was at your session, I found it very interesting the way that the government has created laws in response to your activities. Could you tell me about some of those laws?
<PERSON>: In Singapore, you can only protest in a park. It’s a very sad scene in Singapore. Just imagine, the government says that you can protest, but it’s only in a park. 637
It’s as good as asking you not to protest at all. You want to protest outside government agencies. You want to be able to express your freedom of assembly anywhere you want, but in Singapore, it’s only at this park.
On September 27, 2014, through a lot of effort that we put in through 2013 all the way to 2014, we managed to get more than 6,000 Singaporeans to protest at this park. On that day, the government actually sent a minister there, and tried to set up all kind[s] of entrapments against us. They provoked the protesters into doing a lot of things. We are thankful the international community spoke up against it and supported us. But, ever since that incident on September 27, 2014, scenes of protest in Singapore actually disappeared. Nobody gathered at this park anymore, lest to say there are any protests. That was the biggest protest ever, since in the 21st century for Singapore. Since this protest, the government investigated about 20 people, and charged six of us. I was one of them. They disqualified me from standing for parliamentary elections because of this protest. Which means in the next elections, I won’t have the ability to stand.
<PERSON>: How were they able to ban you from participating in that election?
<PERSON>: In Singapore, there is this law that says that if you have ever been fined more than 2,000 Singaporian dollars [1,520 US dollars], you would not be able to stand for election. In Singapore before you can protest, you have to tell the government you are going to protest. On their protest website, they have three options. You have to either give a speech, or you’re holding a protest, or you’re singing, which is performance. You can only click one of the options. I always click speech; all of us click speech. But, if you click speech, you will be charged for demonstration. 341