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Singapore Parapolitical Institutions
After independence, Singapore's rulers perceived the
population
as uncommitted to the new state and as lacking a common
identity.
Accordingly, the government devoted much effort to
fostering
popular identification with the nation and commitment to
the
government's goals. In 1985 the Ministry of Community
Development
was formed by combining the former Ministry of Social
Affairs with
activities previously administered by the Office of the
Prime
Minister and by the Ministry of Culture. The new ministry
coordinated a network of grassroots agencies intended to
promote
community spirit and social cohesion. These were the
People's
Association, the Citizens' Consultative Committees, the
Residents'
Committees, and the Community Center Management
Committees. The
People's Association was a statutory board established in
1960 and
until 1985 a part of the Office of the Prime Minister. Its
primary
activity was to manage a system of 128 community centers,
which
offered recreational and cultural programs, along with
such
services as kindergartens and a limited number of day-care
centers
for children of working parents. The members of the
various
consultative and management committees were volunteers who
received
prestige but no salary. Each parliamentary constituency
had a
Citizens' Consultative Committee, whose members were in
frequent
contact with their member of Parliament. All Housing and
Development Board apartment complexes had Residents'
Committees,
headed by volunteers and intended to promote
neighborliness and
community cohesion. The committees' activities included
organization of neighborhood watch programs and
tree-planting
campaigns, in which the committees were assisted by the
civil
servants of the Residents' Committees Group Secretariat.
In 1986
the government began organizing Town Councils in the
larger housing
estates. Though not official government bodies, the
councils'
immediate purpose was to take over some responsibilities
for
management of the complexes from the HDB. Their larger
purpose was
to promote a greater sense of community and public
involvement in
the residents of the clusters of high-rise apartment
buildings. In
March 1985, the government inaugurated a Feedback Unit, a
body
intended to collect public opinion on proposed government
policies
and to encourage government departments to respond quickly
to
public suggestions or complaints.
The various advisory committees and the Feedback Unit
provided
functions that in many countries are provided by political
parties.
In Singapore the parapolitical institutions, which had the
clearly
political goal of generating public support for government
policies, were presented as apolitical, inclusive,
communityoriented bodies, headed by people motivated by a selfless
desire
for public service. Such an approach reflected a decision
made by
the country's rulers in the 1960s to avoid trying to
organize a
mass political party, in part because many less-educated
citizens
tended to shy away from partisan and overtly political
groups.
Others habitually avoided government offices and officers
but would
participate in community-oriented and attractive programs.
The
ruling elite had had serious problems both with opposition
parties
and with left-wing opposition factions within the PAP and
apparently found the controlled mobilization offered by
the
parapolitical institutions more to its liking. Members of
all the
advisory and consultative boards were appointed by the
government
and were carefully checked by the security services before
appointment. The government closely watched the
performance of the
leaders of the community organizations and considered the
organizations a pool of talent from which promising
individuals
could be identified, promoted to more responsible
positions, and
perhaps recruited to the political leadership.
Data as of December 1989
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