Comments by "F G" (@PanGalacticGargoyleBlaster) on "PolyMatter" channel.

A lot of the reason Singapore experienced 'good' authoritarianism comes down to the circumstances of its independence (and luck). When we were separated from Malaysia in 1965, Lee Kuan Yew cried, he did not jump for joy thinking about the possibilities of his power now as the head of his own small country. He literally weeped for the struggles he foresaw in such a tiny island with no resources and then went into depressed isolation for a month and a half. So, it was a really strange circumstance, with a strange (that's a compliment), highly intelligent, and non-dictatorship-seeking man, and it produced really strange results.
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@zeccy337 It is irrelevant when the PAP is small step by small step making it harder for themselves to lose, implementing almost dynastic power, reprimanding neighbourhoods that vote opp. (fyi, pretty sure our parliamentary system is pretty standard british-style system, all similar also call the opposition the opposition. It is not self-branding, just a very common facet of bi-partisan systems that branched off the english system. Australia same. Whenever opp party wins the other party is referred to as opp) It doesn't matter if PAP have all the best policies in the world if the People don't actually have any Action over the Party, do you disagree? I dislike the overlooking of the mechanics PAP is putting at work just because we may agree with the policies. They are crowning themselves emperor. No countries prosper under mono rule like that because all it takes is one or a few idiots and the entire country crumbles under them and their inordinate power.
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@zeccy337 I dislike your accusation of circular thinking as you followed it with a very linear explanation of my argument. I think just because we are lucky enough to have good dictators does not mean you should keep gambling, and that is what it is, a gamble. It's great we have been winning, but at some point you can see how volatile that system is, correct? "There's nothing better than a good dictator, and nothing worse than a bad one." What you are saying is you don't support democracy, you think the singaporean public should have no say in singapores future because you are happy with what the government has done SO FAR. What happens when (when, not "if", when) this system comes back to bite us on the butt? What happens when a bad leader secures that all-powerful hold over Singapore? Then what? You will suddenly believe in democracy again then? It's too late then because we all neglected to put any safe-guards in place, or demonstrate our displeasure with the removal of said safe-guards while they were happening. This is a cognitive fallacy akin to the Turkey Illusion. Just because things have been going well does not mean they will continue, because power is and will change hands.
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We need to move on from our extremely dangerous ways of authoritarianism that served us greatly in our infancy but are not suited to the established and growing power and wealth. LKY is gone, his son is not him, and his party is certainly not him. If opposition won an election I wonder what would happen and find myself suspicious that the pap is capable of refusing defeat.
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@kzwky846 Remember that all the media you are shown in sg is carefully censored and loaded with propaganda (same in many places too but still). You have been told opp are incompetent from every angle your whole life - meanwhile pap actively punish place like hougang who vote opp and then they actively inhibit democracy? If PAP so competent why do they continue to use any and all shifty tricks to secure votes, even with threatening you and your family with inconveniences and worsening services? Do you think they will stop employing more and more of these underhanded tactics as time goes on (as they have been doing) or do you think over the next decades they will slowly - with the permission of the singaporean people like yourself who cant see a problem yet - all but enforce themselves as singapores forever-party, handing their jobs down to their sons and friends. Do you like democracy... or prefer truly no say in your governance? If you let them, what choices will PAP take from you? It is a question to think about. Everything is not all peachy on the island, PAP is not performing for its people the way they used to, PAP has changed and if we are too resistant to change ourselves "because it was working before though!" then you will see that extreme conservatism and stagnation that usa has experienced since the 1970s We are living in Singapores Golden Age. It will not continue if we just strive to convince ourselves change is bad. Fear stagnation, not action.
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@eco2hk774 yeah. ppl are stuck thinking that because something worked in a compeltely different situation then it should never be changed
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@zeccy337 My genuine question for you Mr. Tan Currently: PAP continues to secure themselves single-party type rule. Future prospect: PAP secure permanent power without real opposition anymore. Two paths from here remain, one is that we win the lottery again and again and again for all of time and continue to have responsible, non-maniacal, level-headed, and intelligent leadership who care utmost about reflecting and upholding the values of the public. The other is that eventually, someone or a portion of our leadership are some of the following: - Unworthy of the position (inherited it or was chosen through some other nepotism) - Idiotic - Cruel - Careless of the Singaporean public - Corrupt My question therefore is, what should we do to stop the latter from becoming our reality? What safe-guards do YOU believe should be in place to prevent that kind of person or those kinds of people from securing inordinate power, and inacting their own personal agendas over you and your family? What would be your suggestion for a system that prevents this?
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@zeccy337 Sir, I didn't insinuate that a party elected and favoured isnt democratic, I said the steps the PAP has taken and is currently taking to violate democracy are, well, by definition... un-democratic. I may be wrong but I feel a bit deliberately misunderstood by you. It feels like you are making a lot of assumptions about me and my thoughts, I actually have a very high trust in government in general. When it is well set-up, it is a fantastic tool for our collective wellbeing. Please try to read me as I am, not as how you guess I am. Anyway, I am simply looking at a system that moves towards authoritarianism, (authoritarianism that is CHANGING and developing before your eyes while you defend it as the status quo. It IS change, my friend!), and identifying that it is a high-risk high-reward system. High-risk high-reward over and over is not a game we should be playing. A series of idiotic emperors brought Rome to its end, Rome which was seen as infallible. Lastly, your question reads as though it is asked in bad-faith, but I will answer to humour you, I believe in democracy. I do NOT believe things like gerrymandering, using public media control to slander the opposition, and punishing opposition voters are in any way democratic though. Do you believe those things belong as part of a fair democracy? If so, we have differing views - but if not, what would you suggest you and other Singaporeans can do about the steps the PAP is taking to move away from democracy?
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