Entrenching a City-State's Dominant Party System

Summary

The year 1997 was significant for Singapore's domestic politics. In January the People's Action Party (PAP) secured some 65 per cent of the total votes cast in the general election and arrested the erosion of its electoral support, which appeared to be in exorable decline since 1980. A number of structural changes for political contestation, in particular the enlargement of the Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and ensuing reduction in the number of single-member seats, also proved to be important. Other significant developments included the expansion of the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme, the creation of Community Development Councils (CDCs), and the restoration of the mayoralty system. Taken in its entirety, many of the structural and procedural changes associated with domestic political contestation and administration point to two discernible trends. The first of these trends, movement in the direction of decentralized politics and administration, is part of an ongoing process which began with the establishment of the Residents' Committees (RCs) in 1978 and the formation of Town Councils (TCs) in 1988. The second trend is the gradual empowerment of the TCs through an expansion of their scope and the somewhat overlapping jurisdiction of the CDCs, which involves the invocation of politics in the realm of administration since the mayors of these councils are elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from the PAP.

This article is divided into five parts: the first part examines domestic political developments while the next examines economic developments. The third part analyses other significant developments. The fourth examines foreign relations, in particular the tensions with Malaysia, while the final part examines the linkages between seemingly unrelated developments in the city-state.

Domestic Political Developments

The 1997 general election was a much anticipated affair, partly because the government was running on a mandate that was longer than previous ones, partly because a special budgetary appropriation had to be made in the event that the elections were called after March 1997, partly because the six NMPs had their two-year appointments renewed by the President before the elections, and partly because of mounting general anxiety regarding the actual date of the elections.