Theme Ia Establishing Political Structures and Legitimacy

Theme Ia: Establishing Political Structures and Legitimacy 1 Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear. Lee Kuan Yew, 12th September 1965, Speech at Sree Narayana Mission “If you can select a population and they’re educated and they’re properly brought up, then you don’t have to use too much of the stick because they would already have been trained. It’s like with dogs. You train it in a proper way from small. It will know that it’s got to leave, go outside to pee and to defecate. No, we are not that kind of society. We had to train adult dogs who even today deliberately urinate in the lifts.” Lee Kuan Yew 1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2017/07/06/20th-anniversary-asian-financial-crisis-clinton-the-imf- and-wall-street-journal-toppled-suharto/

a. Factors for establishing different forms of government ai. Decolonisation Experience 1. Confrontational experiences resulted in a lack of political tutelage. This meant that the country could not fully adopt democracy or completely shut the doors to democracy due to constant fighting and animosity towards bearers of the ideology. a. Dutch Police Actions (1947-1949) and the Battle of Surabaya (1945) evidenced and cemented Indo nationalists’ resentment to Dutch authority and hence the impossibility of any Dutch tutelage. 5 Governments in 5 years + 63 parties in 1 sitting let to a deadlock dysfunctional government, paving the way for Sukarno’s authoritative “Guided Democracy” b. French high handedness led to Vietnamese disillusionment towards democracy. The First Indochina (1946-1954) culminated in the former’s defeat and withdrawal after Dien Bien Phu in 1954 reduced French chances of building a democratic Vietnam to zero was they were forced out of Vietnamese affairs 2. Collaborative experiences resulted in ample political tutelage as colonial powers were able to set up proper political mechanisms to adopt democracies and train local politicians to uphold democracy. a. Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934) granted Philippines full autonomy for internal affairs, forming the Philippine’s Commonwealth and a bicameral congress. This cemented democracy in Philippines as they embraced liberal democracy and had a government structure similar to that of the US. Probe: However, briefly from 1972-1986, Marcos established an authoritarian government and justified it on a NPA terror attack to remain in power as Benigno Aquino Junior threatened his tenure. Also, Marcos has reached his term limits. b. 1953-1959, under British supervision, elections occurred with the number of contested seats and eligible voters slowly expanded (9 to 51 seats), increasing political participation. Singapore has also embodied the spirit of inclusivity and diversity as it introduced NMPs, NCMP and GRC to allow people from all disciplines and backgrounds to be heard. Probe: Albeit boasting democratic features, Singapore still upholds the Internal Security Act (ISA), enabling individuals to be detained without trial in the name of national security. The ISA was used during Operation Coldstore and Operation Spectrum to detain socialists without trial. aii. Role of Political Elites + Masses 1. Authoritarian governments only came into prominence only after the failure of their predecessors during which they were able to capitalise on the weakness and slip ups to force a transition in the government. a. U Nu’s 1961 State Religion Bill made Buddhism the state religion, incensing the pseudo-minorities in Burma. The final straw came when U Nu attempted to alleviate tensions by negotiating with the leaderships of the various groups

seeking ethnic autonomy, prompting an alarmed Ne Wim to seize power to safeguard territorial unity b. Sukarno played a precarious balance between the Communists and Muslims (NASAKOM Government). The military viewed Sukarno’s friendship with the communists with increasing suspicion as he received up to 2 billion in aid by 1965 from USSR and close relations with the PRC. Suharto utilised the May 30 Gestapu Coup to accuse an attempted communist coup to destroy the PKI and remove Sukarno 2. Democratic governments only emerged after earlier authoritarian governments were deposed by popular protests. As the mandate of the people supported democracy, authoritarian governments were unable to stay in power with an overwhelming opposition to their rule a. Thailand 1973’s Day of Great Sorrow saw Thanom used tanks, helicopters, and infantrymen to support the police, killing 77 2 student demonstrators protesting against Thanom’s authoritarian rule. King Bhumibol intervened to order Thanom to resign and invited Thammasak to become PM, restoring civilian democracy. b. 1986 EDSA Revolution saw over a million Philippines forming a human barrier along the EDSA highway in response to the Church’s call for the people to take to the streets to support Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile’s military mutiny against Marcos. Marcos forced to resign, and Aquino installed as the next president. aiii. Cold War Developemtns 1. Cold War dynamics were instrumental to the emergence of authoritarian leaders as the domino theory led the US to support authoritarian governments if they presented themselves as a bulwark against communism with military and economic aid, cementing their grip on power a. Although Ngo Dim Diem’s “Personalism” compromised freedom and public interest due to his pervasive control over the masses (He viewed himself as morally superior and that the public should listen to him) along with blatant nepotism and cronyism (Nhu, a Hitler admirer became leader of the Can Lao Party, commanded private armies and secret police that rule the South), he was supported by the US due to his intense anti-communist stance. Probe: However, the Buddhist crisis (murder of 9 Buddhist protestors and a series of self-immolations) evidenced the alienation and discontent of the people which the Vietcong readily capitalised upon, leading to the US to see him as a liability and overthrow him in a US-backed military coup in 1963. b. Despite being a civilian authoritarian government, Marcos blatant abuse of democracy (using martial law to arrest Aquino Junior) was overlooked by the US who continued supporting him (166 million in 1976)3due to his anti-communist stance and fear of a supposed New People’s Army (NPA). 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Thai_popular_uprising# 3 https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/marcos-declares-martial-law-philippines

2. Cold War was instrumental to the rise of democratic governments as the promises of and calls for independence by communists served as impetus for colonial masters to accelerate the process for independence in exchange for ensuring that democracy was upheld upon it a. During the Malayan Emergency, Briggs and Templer’s plans managed to squash the communist's military prowess and allure. British also removed the MCP’s main justification that “British were greedy imperialist” by introducing the 1951 Member System that served as an experience for power sharing and self- governance for Malay locals. b. Lim Yew Hock won British support as he launched crackdowns on left-wing trade unions and other organisations, duly impressing the British who rejected self government over the basis of internal security during the Rendel Commission. They agreed to full internal self-government for Singapore in 1957, paving the way for a fully elected Legislative Assembly of 51 seats b. Factors for Consolidation of Power bi. Role of Government Leaders 1. Leaders were able to remain in power due to their nationalist credentials that they gained during and after the decolonisation experience in their instrumental role in kicking the colonial powers out to achieve independence. This earned them the continuous support of th