The 1987 ISA Arrests and International Civil Society: Responses to Political Repression in Singapore

Abstract

The penalizing of prominent opposition figures via the Singaporean legal system has made many weary of confronting the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) government on their own turf. Unwilling to take up this challenge, some Singaporeans appear more willing to push for change overseas -beyond the clutches of the PAP government. This article will trace the development of political dissent from abroad and how such actions played a formidable role during the so-called 'Marxist' conspiracy arrests in 1987 and how such alternative political viewpoints will continue to play a large role in shaping criticism and opposition to the present repressive political climate in Singapore.

Temporary Transnationals: Southeast Asian Students in Australia

“…In the past, too, Southeast Asian students in Australia have played important supporting roles in social movement campaigns in their home countries. For instance, Singaporeans involved with the Network of Overseas Students' Collective in Australia (NOSCA) rallied to co-ordinate protest activities in support of a group of Singaporean activists detained under the Internal Security Act in 1987 (Rerceretnam, 2005). Similarly, Indonesian students in Australia were politically active in the mid-1990s, sometimes very radically, with a home country or regional focus -aided not only by the fact that student unionism was then compulsory, so facilities and forums were always available, but also by the Australian government's offering scholarships at that time not only to academics and government officials but also to other qualified applicants, a number of whom worked for NGOs in Indonesia.…”

Rethinking Linkage to the West: What Authoritarian Stability in Singapore Tells Us

“…Members of the New Zealand Parliament expressed public concern in April 1988, as did members of the Japanese Diet, when rearrests were made of those who had been previously released in 1987 (Rerceretnam 2006). These concerns were raised precisely because of the outcry stirred up by human rights activists, Christian churches and ecumenical organisations abroad, along with student bodies that objected to the use of the ISA to crack down on seemingly innocent individuals.…”

Selling Security: The War on Terrorism and the Internal Security Act of Singapore

“…As the Singapore electorate grew more sophisticated, the constant practice of 'self-censorship' became common (Gomez 2000). As a result, some dissenters chose to launch their protests from overseas, while others opted to stay in Singapore and operate within the OB ('out-of-bound') markers that delineated the level of political participation accepted by the Singapore government (Lee 2002: 108-10;Rerceretnam 2006). The Singapore government found it increasingly difficult to justify the retention of the ISA, but that did not imply that it was prepared to abolish the Act (ST 1999b).…”