singapore's "democracy"

From Letters to the editor in today's Age.


Ironic complaint

SO, JOSEPH K. H. Koh, Singapore high commissioner to Australia, is feeling badly done by for not having total control over the headline he wanted on his letter to The Age: "Separating fact from fiction". Maybe he should considerwhat it is like to be in opposition to the PAP in Singapore. Dr Chee Soon Juan, the opposition leader, endures a government-controlled press that pillories and sneers at him without restraint. He has been forced to pay in excess of $800,000 in fines for daring to speak out against the ruling party. Unlike the ruling party members, whose salaries are among the highest for politicians anywhere, Dr Chee lives in impoverished circumstances.

Despite being the living embodiment of a modern-day Sisyphus pushing his seemingly futile political boulder, he manages to retain his dignity and composure while working to bring about social change in Singapore. For Mr Koh to accuse The Age of lacking in balance and objectivity is ironic, to say the least.
Susan O'Callaghan, Ivanhoe