Political Trust = Institutional Trust = Public

Trust?

To the PAP these three trusts are the same. You trust the
PAP, your also trust the Institutions and so there is a high
public trust. This is the assumption of the PAP which
thinks it always remains in power. And all the major
institutions, including NTUC, in Singapore are equal to the
PAP.

You trust one then you trust all three: the PAP, the public
institutions and high public for the government. There is
no such thing as high public trust, high institutions trust
and low PAP trust. Why not?

It is time we separate the political trust and institutional
trust. The institutions, like the public administration, the
Courts, and even the Presidency have to be independent
and not related to the PAP. Otherwise, a bad PAP will
result to a bad institution and poor public trust.

The trend and development should not follow this
equation. A matured Singapore should see the separation
of political and institutional trust. Public trust of
institutions shouldnt be like the past. A successful model
cannot guarantee the same success, especially when the
economy and reserve grow bigger and bigger.

However, the PAP still insists on this relevancy and wants
to continue to use institutions to push its political agenda:

[.. there are three things policymakers must do to retain public
trust and govern well.
They are: to implement policies well and make sure they work on the
ground; include the public in working out solutions; and invest in
community life and the intangibles that matter to peoples sense of well
being.
On implementation, he said policymakers must consult widely when
crafting policy, and put themselves in the shoes of the ordinary citizen.
They must also pay attention to details, correct mistakes quickly when
they happen, and explain policies in a way that help Singaporeans
understand them.]#1
In his speech to civil servants, DPM Tharman stressed the
importance of political trust = institution trust. The PAP
wants to engage the civil service to push its political cake of
The Pioneer Generation Package as they see this as a live
case in point and a major and complex exercise (to gain
votes). They seem to forget that to provide common good
is the duty of the party. Good policies are the key points to
continue to stay in power. But rights and benefits of senior
citizens have been neglected for so long and only now
because of the coming election, the PAP thinks of this is
complex exercise and live case.

Clearly, the PAP wants to make use of the institutions to
score political points even though it thinks it now enjoys
broad public confidence. Perhaps this illusion only
happens outside Singapore, like the Singapore Day in
London where PM Lee was mobbed#2.

To gain public trust will be a challenging task for the PAP
in years to come. There are more demand to separate the
institutions and politics. However, DPM Tharman sees it in
another way: todays environment is more complex with competing
interests and rising expectations#1.

But what are the competing interests and rising
expectations? These can be more checks and balances,
more transparency, more independent institutions, more
academic freedom, and many more.

The 2011 Presidential Election clearly demonstrated this
demand. Voters have rejected the equation of Political
Trust (PAP) = President Trust (pro-PAP candidate). On
the contrary, voters want an independent Presidency as an
effective institution to check on the ruling party.

The PAP is facing a dilemma. On the one hand, they want
Singaporeans to know the outside world. On the other
hand, they dont want Singaporeans to learn from outside,
for example having the same political demand of checks
and balances, independent institutions. Hence, PM Lee had
this to say in his Facebook: In Singapore, we are usually
caught up with domestic issues, in some sense, I think we
somewhat neglect to notice external trends and global
developments.

Does PM Lee really want Singaporeans to notice external
trends and global developments? Or what type of trends
and developments has he in mind for Singapore youths?
The fact is Singaporeans are moving ahead of the PAP in
noticing outside changes.



#1
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/dpm-tharman-keeping-publics-trust

#2
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/pm-lee-mobbed-singapore-day-london