People’s Action Party (PAP) 人民行动党

For those who have not stayed in Singapore, the initials PAP may not be familiar.

PAP stands for Peoples Action Party and is the ruling political party in Singapore ever since Singapore’s Independence as a Republic State in 1965.

The book “The PAP Story” is written by Fong Sip Chee (alias Andrew Fong) who was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour during the early days of PAP’s rule in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

There are so many historical facts on Singapore’s early political history packed into this tiny 268-pages book. It is a pity that this topic has somewhat been overshadowed by other authors who were writing on a similar theme during the “The Pioneering Years” of the People’s Action Party’s “dynasty”.

However, Former Prime Minister and founding Father of modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yew has endorsed the book at its back cover as follows:

” … … One major and decisive problem [for Singapore] is how do we produce before the crunch comes, a group of men who will survive the crunch. The last time, in 1959, we won 43 out of 51 seats. In 1961 when the crunch came and we thought the other side was winning, it became 26-25 … … Harrowing days they were.

” … … We won because we gave no hostages to fortune. We govern fairly, honestly and justly.

“… … Singaporeans have been accustomed to high standards of effective government. They deserve nothing but the best. And it is our duty to ensure that they continue to receive the best.”

Wise words from a wise leader.

On the book’s front inside cover, there was a quotation from Dr. Toh Chin Chye, Lee Kuan Yew’s deputy during the formative years of People’s Action Party (PAP) worth repeating here.

“A country big or small can only be great if the spirit of the people is great. That spirit must be devoted to the service of the country and of the people. The People’s Action Party will foster this spirit. We have every confidence that the people are with us.”

Wise words indeed and Dr. Toh had been proven right.

For a country to be successful, that country has to be run and led by more than one man. In fact, it needs a team of dedicated men and women whose one aim is the betterment of its people.

“We have only one resource here in Singapore,” I remember Lee Kuan Yew once said to the returned Government Scholars at the Pyramid Club, “and that is our people resource.” From memory, the words then were that we needed to motivate Singaporeans so that they could think of placing the interest of the country first and foremost in their minds.

Major Fong in his book provides examples of many such Singaporeans who have collectively made positive contributions to Singapore’s early societies and had help bind Singaporeans together. Names like Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee, S. Rajaratnam, Ong Pang Boon and his wife Chan Choy Siong, Yong Nyuk Lin, K. M. Byrne, Chan Chee Seng, Jek Yeun Thong and Rahim Isak come readily to my mind as I recall their magnificent deeds in Education, in Economics (Jurong Township as an example), in News Reporting, in Civil Defence and in the motivations of the Civil Service and of the Army/Navy/Air Force Recruits coming from the compulsory military service. Pool after pool of future talents was nurtured by these groups, almost like the style of ‘multi-level marketing’ with People’s Association and the NTUC (National Trade Union Congress) taking the lead as first-line ‘talent-seeking’ organizations.

What a system! More importantly, what a group of dedicated people aimed at the management of Singaporeans, be it ‘No More Local Dialects’ or ‘Two-child policy’ or even ‘Family values’.

Back to the book by Major Fong. I want to quote just one example of the political hurdles that the earlier Singapore leaders faced, recorded on pages 112 to 116 of the book.

Those were the days of the attempt by the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union to revive violent agitation in Singapore by making the Union’s anniversary celebration on 12 and 13 May 1962 just to coincide with the anniversaries of 1955 May 12 and 13 Hock Lee Bus riots. The PAP Government was tested and a firm “No” was given to the Union. The intention of the Union was to use the celebration event to highlight the ‘protection of Chinese education’ and to call for a boycott of classes by students in Chinese-Language schools like the Chung Cheng High or the Nan Hua Girls.

Later that year, 3 July 1962, one of the PAP members of the PAP Government in the Legislative Assembly Madam Ho Puay Choo (representing Bras Basoh) resigned from the party and remained in the Assembly as an Independent, reducing the Government’s majority to 25 against the total opposition members, including those members of the Barrisan Party of 26 seats.

There are many vividly described behind-the-scene incidents of those turbulent times. Anyone who is interested in these events can borrow the book from the Singapore library to have a good read.

 

The author Fong Sip Chee has been described as a long-standing member of the People’s Action Party and he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Stamford Constituency in 1963. Prior to this, he was the Secretary of the Party’s Rochor Branch after the split of the Party members of the Assembly into PAP and Barrisan Socialists (BS). He took part in the 1959 campaign and hreorganizeded the Branch to fight the Referendum campaign. He was again re-elected for Stamford in 1968 and in 1972. In 1976, he contested and won the Kampong Chai Chee Constituency.