One of my kid’s biggest gripes with me is that I don’t make much use of the off button on my iPhone. She constantly reminds me that I need to turn off my phone when I’m not using it. She tells me that turning off my phone when not using it allows me to avoid unpleasant accidents.
I’m bringing this topic up because it seems that I’m part of an elite group of people who are too smart to use the off button on their devices. Our foreign minister, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan was recently forced to apologise to non-constituency member of parliament (NCMP), Mr. Leong Mun Wai during a parliamentary debate. Dr. Balakrishnan was caught on camera making remarks about Mr. Leong being “illiterate,” and how he was surprised that Mr. Leong made it to “RI” (Raffles Institution – one of Singapore’s elite schools) to his colleagues during the debate on CECA (the free trade agreement with India).
The result of this has been an online storm. It’s been pointed out that Dr. Balakrishnan had exposed himself and the party of being what everyone else has been accusing it of being for the last two decades – elitist and out of touch. Dr. Balakrishnan had to issue an apology to Mr. Leong.
Take from the Facebook pages of Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan and Mr. Leong Mun Wai
Unfortunately for Dr. Balakrishnan, his apology to Mr. Leong will not end things. His “private” remarks about “lousy schools,” runs contrary to the government’s recent efforts to down play the need for great academics.
I will leave the discussion on what Dr. Balakrishnan said, as this is something that everyone else is discussing. His remarks were troubling. This was a prominent minister proving the opposition party’s point that the government is out of touch. However, the fact that this mistake was made was also troubling because it showed something even worse – government complacency.
Sure, there’s an argument that Dr. Balakrishnan is only human and bound to make mistakes. However, this isn’t a mistake you’d expect of a politician of Dr. Balakrishnan’s standing. As far as non-politicians are concerned, we believe that politicians generally play things up for an audience. As such, we expect politicians to be very aware of their situation.
Politics, as much as most communication ministries might like to deny, is a game played in the public eye. Politicians who intend to hang onto power are painfully aware that they are always under the spotlight and they actually need to become the public image. People who are aware that they are being scrutinized do not make mistakes like ensuring that the microphones are off.
Politicians who make this basic mistake lose elections. In the UK, two former Prime Ministers were killed by this. There was John Major who described his cabinet colleagues as “bastards” for live radio when he thought the radio was off. He was crushed in a landslide in the 1997 election. Then there was Gordon Brown who talked about a “bigoted old woman” while his microphone was still on. Mr. Brown promptly lost the 2010 election. Both Mr. Major and Mr. Brown had taken over charismatic predecessors and their respective political parties had reached the end of their respective lifespans. Getting caught making uncalled for remarks on air only confirmed what voters suspected – it was time for someone else.
Dr. Balakrishnan and his colleagues are lucky in as much as this incident happened a year after the election. Unlike the UK, Singapore’s government is in an unenviable position in as much as the opposition parties have yet to form any credible challenge. Singapore’s opposition parties’ campaign on the need for more opposition rather than on being an alternative government. So, on this level, it’s unlikely that the ruling party is in any danger of being turfed out in the immediate future.
However, a mistake that is usually made by politicians at the end of their political life was made. This also happened a year after the ruling party had lost more seats. You would imagine that the ruling party that is known for planning decades in advance, would have become even more sensitive to things that would offend voters. This mistake by a senior politician would indicate that the ruling party has taken its position as its position as the champion of a one-horse race is a divine right. This is usually an indication to voters that change is necessary. If the ruling party insist that these signs are to be covered up by laws restricting information, it will be a sign to voters that there is a need to give the vote to a party that is hungry for votes.
This article first appeared here.