Ex-NMP Calvin Cheng: Singapore needs to do more for your young people

SINGAPORE: Sharing a screenshot of a BBC article about how protests in Germany on Saturday (Oct 31) turned violent, former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng had two takeaways for Singapore.

The city-state “needs to do more for your young people” was the first point made by Mr Cheng, who added that new graduates and young people in entry-level white-collar jobs would be disproportionately impacted by the disruptions brought about by artificial intelligence (AI).

Secondly, he wrote that Singapore should abide by its “strict” laws against street protests.

“They are always ‘largely peaceful,’ but the minority is enough to burn a city,” added Mr Cheng.

Youth-led protests in Europe

Over the past months, there have been a number of protests in various countries across Europe. As the BBC piece from Mr Cheng pointed out, they have been in relation to rising living costs, as well as public education crises, higher housing prices, and, in Germany’s case, government budget cuts amid a rise in military spending.

The protests have been led and fueled by young people, who perhaps have the most at stake in the years to come, as they may face a standard of living that is arguably lower than their parents’.

Secondary-level and university students in Spain, France, Belgium, Austria, and Albania attended the demonstrations by the thousands last month. The protest on Oct 17 in Paris made the news across the globe after it ended in looting, the destruction of public property, and the arrests of thousands.

Last weekend, more than 300,000 young people joined demonstrations in France, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, as well as Germany, where the protests were called “Gen Z’s got it.” While they were relatively peaceful during the day, by evening, shops were looted, and police used water cannons on demonstrators who were throwing stones and firecrackers at them.

In Singapore, it’s illegal to hold a public assembly without a police permit. Even if one person holds up a protest sign or publicises a cause, it might be considered an illegal assembly.

The city-state has a designated area for such assemblies, the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park, but this is only allowable under strict conditions, such as requiring speakers and participants to be Singapore citizens. /TISG

Read related: "No apologies for holding to our own values," — SG Ambassador to the US