People's Action Party

:This article is about the People's Action Party of Singapore. For other groups with the same name, see People's Action Party (disambiguation).

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The People's Action Party (PAP) is a political party in Singapore. The party was formed in 1954 by English-educated middle-class men who had returned from Britain. PAP first contested the legislative elections (25 of 32 seats were allowed to be elected) of 1955, winning three seats, one by Lee Kuan Yew. PAP has controlled the Singapore government since the party won the first full general elections of 1959, winning all or vast majority seats of every general election.

Related Topics:
Political party - Singapore - 1954 - Britain - Lee Kuan Yew - 1959

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Between 1963 and 1965, Singapore was a part of Malaysia and PAP functioned as a Malaysian party. However, the prospect that PAP might rule Malaysia upset PAP relations with UMNO and the Malay nationalist belief in the Tanah Melayu. The clash of personalities between Lee Kuan Yew and the Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman resulted in an ensuing crisis and led to Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965. Upon independence, PAP ceased operations outside of Singapore.

Related Topics:
1963 - 1965 - UMNO - Tanah Melayu - Tunku Abdul Rahman

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Because almost all professional politicians in Singapore are members of the People's Action Party, PAP has held the overwhelming majority of seats in Parliament since 1966, when the opposition Barisan Sosialis Party (Socialist Front), a left-wing group that split from PAP in 1961, resigned from Parliament, leaving PAP as the sole representative party. In the general elections of 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980, PAP won all of the seats in an expanding parliament. After that, opposition parties could win at least 1 or 2 seats.

Related Topics:
1966 - Barisan Sosialis Party - 1961 - 1968 - 1972 - 1976 - 1980

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Adopting a traditionalist Leninist party organization together with a vanguard cadre from its communist-leaning faction the PAP Executive later expelled the leftist faction, bringing the ideological basis of the party into the centre, and later in the 60s, moving further to the right.

Related Topics:
Leninist - Communist

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For many years the party was led by Lee Kuan Yew, who was prime minister from 1959 to 1990. The current prime minister, and secretary general of PAP, is Lee Hsien Loong who succeeded Goh Chok Tong on 12 August, 2004. Lee Hsien Loong is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew.

Related Topics:
Lee Kuan Yew - 1959 - 1990 - Lee Hsien Loong - Goh Chok Tong - 12 August - 2004

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Even though PAP can be credited with the economic success of Singapore, it rules the country with authoritarianism. It suppress political opposition in ways such as sueing the opposition for libel and seeking high damages, requiring government permits to hold demonstrations, and controlling the press through state monopolies, and the imprisonment of opposition political leaders without trial.

Related Topics:
Authoritarianism - Libel - State monopolies

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One example of such oppression is all demonstrations against the 2003 Iraq war withered due to lack of demonstration permits registered by the demonstrators. The leading newspaper of Singapore, the Straits Times is often perceived as a propaganda newspaper because it rarely criticises of government policy, and covers little about the opposition. The PAP is alleged to commit gerrymandering, the redrawing of electoral districts before general elections to ensure that most of the districts elect PAP candidates. Both the Housing Development Board (in charge of public housing) and Land Transport Authority (in charge of public transit) have based the provision of their services on the voting of individual districts.

Related Topics:
2003 Iraq war - Newspaper - Straits Times - Propaganda - Gerrymandering - Housing Development Board - Land Transport Authority

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