In Singapore, opposition can be lonely

CHEE Soon Juan is at odds with the Singapore establishment, and it makes him pay. He was jailed in January and February for speaking in public without a permit. (He could not have gotten one.) He was fined US$16,000 for submitting a report to legislators about medical fees that contained a misstatement. (He discovered the error and informed legislators; they still insisted it was deliberate.) When he claimed that he was fired from his teaching post for political reasons, his boss sued him and was awarded $300,000. Chee lost his house and his car, and he does not get much work. Who would refer patients to a neuropsychologist who fights the government?

Chee, who met with an impressive list of American officials on a recent US visit, is secretary-general of the tiny Singapore Democratic Party. He wants to bring an open society to Singaporeans. They are not desperate to have one. They live well, the streets are clean, and public services are good. As long as they get good paychecks and can shop on the weekends, most are content and not overly concerned that they are being watched to make sure that they don't chew gum, forget to flush a toilet or overwater their plants.

But what if the economic miracle ends? Chee says it already has: Growth is slow. The government took a $20 billion bath in a failed project in China's Suzhou province, he says, and made a huge loan to Indonesia, with little hope of repayment, just before President Suharto left office. After a few more moves like that, the public may want its business conducted openly. It may want a true opposition. It may even want a life. Chee thinks long term. He does not expect Singapore's democracy movement to be successful in five years and maybe not even in 10. He is 36; he can be patient.

The 1997 election showed the difficulties for an opposition party. By law, campaigns last only nine days; this one went from December 24 to January 2. Two of the days were not very useful. Chee's party was able to find only 12 candidates for 85 seats.

Under a system used in the Aljunied district, near the airport, Chee needed five candidates to run as a team. On the eve of the campaign, a candidate's wife threatened to jump off a building and take the children with her if he did not drop out. No one doubted her sincerity, or that she had reason to be fearful about her husband's decision, but if he did not run, neither could the others. He was persuaded to stay in. But he did not campaign; he and SDP minders had to watch over his wife.

All the SDP candidates lost, including Chee. Two other opposition parties won one seat each; the government party won all the rest -- 81 of 83. It was satisfied.