Uploaded on 2016-04-12 by leonghua13

Citizen Design Science needs citizen engagement. In one of MOOC (Coursera) courses, “Engaging Citizens: A Game Changer for Development?”, the World Bank Group thinks Government works best when citizens are directly engaged in policymaking and public service delivery. The World Bank Group (WBG) Strategy, adopted in 2013, aims to align all WBG public and private sector interventions to the two goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, in a sustainable and inclusive manner. The strategy incorporates citizen engagement, specifically in its treatment of inclusion. Part of the inclusion entails empowering citizens to participate in the development process and integrating citizen voice in development programs to help accelerate to achieving results. (http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/what-we-do/brief/citizen-engagement) For Citizen Design Science to be relevant and effective, as explained in Week 10 lectures, democracy and transparency are needed. While the Singapore government has stressed that their policies are ‘ground up’ and inclusive. While in practice, we see a different story. Here are 3 examples: [1 Bukit Brown cemetery] You may read the report here: http://thediplomat.com/2013/10/singapore-the-fight-to-save-bukit-brown/ Bukit Brown’s story is a familiar one in Singapore. Small but affluent, the country is a model of rapid development. All over the island one finds impressive displays of modernity: the steel-and-glass of shopping malls and private condominiums alongside brightly colored concrete blocks of public housing. The population density is already one of the highest in the world, and set to grow: the government projects a population of 6.9 million by 2030. To accommodate further growth, the government and its city planners need to build, and build fast. Land is at a premium, and, as the government often says, trade-offs need to be made. These “trade-offs” have triggered controversy. The debate has broadly divided into two camps: on the one hand, some argue for the need for Singapore to accommodate its large population, and sentimentality is framed as an indulgence. On the other, others insist that a nation needs its heritage, and new generations need to be aware of their past to build a better future. Bukit Brown is not the first to fall victim to Singapore’s stubborn march towards progress. The island’s residents are no strangers to re-purposing land previously possessed by the dead. [2 Population White Paper] You may read the reports here: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/large-turnout-at-speakers-corner-for-protest-against-population-white-paper https://sg.news.yahoo.com/huge-turnout-at-speakers--corner-for-population-white-paper-protest-101051153.html http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/15/singapore-crisis-immigration-financial-crisis http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-21485729 The local paper, the Straits Times reports: “A large crowd gathered at Speakers' Corner for a protest against the Population White Paper that was endorsed by Parliament last week. Many came with umbrellas and caps, braving the light drizzle at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. Organisers had lined up a list of 12 speakers, including activists as well as current and former opposition party members. The White Paper had drawn flak largely because of the 6.9 million headline population figure. The Government has strenuously emphasised that this number is a planning parameter, not a target.” [3 Yale_NUS College] https://sg.news.yahoo.com/sdp-criticises-yale-nus-college-ban-on-partisan-politics.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-sleeper/yale-has-gone-to-singapor_b_1476532.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-sleeper/yales-pivot-to-india-offs_b_8400196.html Yahoo Singapore reports: Yale University’s plan to restrict students’ political activities at its new campus in Singapore has drawn flak from a human rights group and an opposition party in the city-state. In a press release issued on Thursday, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the University’s move as showing a “disturbing disregard for free speech, association, and assembly”. “Yale is betraying the spirit of the university as a center of open debate and protest by giving away the rights of its students at its new Singapore campus,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW. “Instead of defending these rights, Yale buckled when faced with Singapore’s draconian laws on demonstrations and policies restricting student groups.” Huffington Post has the following updates: For more than a year now, headlines in Singapore’s government-controlled press and some independent outlets have taken shots at the three-year-old Yale-National University of Singapore College, an experiment in liberal-arts education in Asia that some of us warned would encounter obstacles underestimated by Yale’s globe-trotting trustees and administrators. But even the negative headlines veil the real problem here: Liberal-arts colleges shouldn’t commit their good names and their principles to the care of tightly run, authoritarian regimes. A recent story in Singapore’s Straits Times ballyhooed the impending departures of three of Yale-NUS’ four deans. Another depicted students as dissatisfied with the curriculum, citing “feedback from students about erratic grades and confusing lectures in some science topics.” Singapore’s TODAYonline claimed that “Yale-NUS courses do not match students’ academic expectations” and that “Lack of depth in modules, staffing issues [are] among reasons for students dropping out.” [Agent of change] ![][1] The above three examples clearly show there is a lack of democracy, transparency and accountability in citizen engagement. The Singapore government thinks they have the best solutions in economic planning, urban planning, and other policy plannings. Public debates are restricted. If Citizen Design Science is to be inclusive and engages citizens, the whole mindset of the government has to change. While it is a long journey as far as Singaporeans are blinded by the so-called economic achievements and they fail to see the need of democracy and transparency as the important parts in a livable city. Without some kinds of political change, the real (and full potential of) Citizen Design Science will not take place in Singapore. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14604462313865139.jpg