http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/10/14/protesters-plan-to-occupy-singapore/
October 14, 2011, 4:13 PM SGT
Protesters Plan to Occupy Singapore
By Shibani Mahtani
AFP/Getty Images
Occupy Wall Street members staged a protest march near Wall Street in New
York earlier this week.When Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party received a
historic low of 60% of the vote –- what would be considered a landslide for any
U.S. president –- in elections earlier this year, political analysts said it
marked the beginning of a more-competitive political system in the city-state.
And when opposition rallies were attended by tens of thousands of people, many
residents were shocked.
Now, in the latest sign of increased political activity in the once-sleepy
island, the Occupy Wall Street protest has inspired Internet-savvy citizens to
organize their own protest in Singapore, more than 9,500 miles away from Wall
Street.
A Facebook page for the protest, named Occupy Raffles Place after the city’s
financial district, first appeared on Oct. 10, calling for Singaporeans to
occupy Singapore’s central business district to “demand accountability and
change.” The page singled out government-owned Temasek Holdings and the
Government of Singapore Investment Corp. for what it described as a lack of
transparency and accountability.
The protest is planned for Saturday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m., in concert with
similar movements around the region. People attending the protest are
encouraged to later march toward the Singapore Exchange center.
In a state where political protests are almost unheard of, Occupy Raffles Place
has raised eyebrows and prompted a flurry of responses from all over the
Twittersphere and blogosphere -– and, inevitably, a warning from the police.
“Police urge members of the public not to be misled and participate in an
unlawful activity,” the Singapore Police Force’s Public Affairs Department said
in a response to media queries, explaining that it had received reports of a
“netizen…instigating the public” to protest at Raffles Place. It remains
unclear who is organizing the event.
The statement also pointed out Singapore’s strict and oft-criticized protest
and public-gathering laws. In Singapore, citizens are free to hold
demonstrations without a permit at the Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park, a
small patch of grass near the city’s center –- provided the gatherings are on
matters unrelated to race or religion. Demonstrations or protests elsewhere
require government-issued permits, which can be rejected for any perceived
threats to “public order and safety.”
The Facebook page urged those planning the event to “make as much noise as
possible,” but also encouraged those attending to be peaceful and relaxed, and
to refrain from bringing political party or trade-union banners, alcohol or
drugs.
The police statement didn’t elaborate on whether authorities will indeed take
action if the protest goes ahead, or whether they planned to investigate the
administrators of the Facebook page.
“The police can certainly act against the participants,” said Eugene Tan, a
professor of law at the Singapore Management University.
Protesters at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration, which inspired the
Singapore event, have reached a hurdle of their own. Protesters have been told
to vacate Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park by 7 a.m. Friday for landlord Brookfield
Properties to clean the area. Protest organizers sent an email to supporters on
Thursday urging them to “defend the occupation from eviction.”
According to the Facebook page in Singapore, organizers and at least a handful
of Singaporeans remain undeterred. A post made after the police issued its
warning against the “unlawful” event was defiant, with the group Occupy
Singapore posting: “#OccupyRafflesPlace is still HAPPENING!” The guest list on
the Facebook page is now disabled, but at last count, at least 75 people had
indicated they would attend. Comments “in solidarity” were also posted around
the region, particularly from Malaysia and Manila, which are holding their own
Occupy protests Saturday.
A vast majority of people on Twitter and Facebook, however, were dismissive of
the action. People criticized the protest for “not being original” and said
they doubted it would be successful in a nation of “armchair critics.” One
Twitter user called the event a “massive joke.”
Observers of politics in Singapore say that the foreign roots of the protest
are partly to blame for the antipathy.
“The movement lacks organic roots,” said Mr. Tan, who has long been an observer
of politics in the city-state. “The foreign roots make it lack traction here.”
He added that a “cloak of anonymity” undermines the credibility of the attempt.
Not all were as skeptical. “I have my own reservations about how… it is being
planned and what the outcome will be,” said Kirsten Han, a Singaporean blogger.
“But it is their right to be doing this… At the very least, let them try.”
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