In a scene out of recent local play “The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ,” a character laments the lack of dynamism in “Generation X, where X stands for nothing”.

More pointedly, it is a reference to the state of political apathy among Singaporean youths perceived to be neither proactive nor reactive to political causes.

Political apathy as an issue is nothing new. Consensus over the years has built the perception that students are politically indifferent.

In a 2001 survey conducted by NUS Political Association, a random sample of 2000 NUS students were polled on issues pertaining to attitudes towards political participation and general political awareness.

The result revealed 77 per cent of 600 respondents were not interested in political participation.

But do numbers speak the truth?

Speaking to The Observer on Sept. 30, playwright of “TCCPS on JBJ” and NUS Faculty of Law professor, Eleanor Wong, thinks it is unfair to label Singaporean students as apolitical. 

“It’s a hard accusation to make because at one level perhaps the conditions are such that there is no call for anything wildly exciting to be done,” she said. 

Wong would have accurately acknowledged the essential differences between the levels of student activism in Singaporean campuses and those in countries like America if excitement was a useful guide. 

Wong said according to her friend who studied in America, “campuses were a volatile place” during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the early 1990s. 

Wong added she was struck by how students in local campuses were not able to tell if an invasion of Kuwait was going on at that time. 

“Maybe it wasn’t our issue, but you do wonder,” Wong said. 

It is this sense of ownership of a political cause would predict whether students want to get involved in the first place. 

Singaporean Rachel Heng, 19, a first-year undergraduate at Columbia University in New York, said Singaporean students are less willing to take a political stand compared to American students based on her experiences there. 

“There are political activist groups here,” Heng said. “And the recent visit (by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) stirred up protests and rallies.” 

President Ahmadinejad’s official visit to Columbia University on Sept. 24 polarised factions of the student population. Some applauded his right to free speech, while others demanded him to be disallowed to address the students and Americans in general. 

Lee Bollinger, Columbia University’s president, displayed zero political impartiality as he called Ahmadinejad ‘a cruel and petty dictator’ during his opening speech introducing the Iranian leader. 

“Singaporeans tend to focus too much on certain things like results and resumes,” explained Heng, who admits to being politically apathetic herself. “Here (American) students are more passionate about everything in general, including politics.” 

However, passing the buck and blaming Singaporean students would be too convenient for the rest of larger society. 

According to Wong, “blame seldom can be laid at just one place,” as students are influenced to act and respond to the “system” and “general circumstances.” 

And when students display their political leanings on occasions, it would reveal how much students are content to accept a system that does not give them much of a voice. 

Wong said, “I can’t imagine that one can be a young person, look around you and not wish to say something or have an opinion on what’s happening.” 

The Burma forum and vigil organised at NUS Faculty of Law on Oct. 04 showed that students do take matters into their own hands. The assembly was their brainchild and they submitted the applications for the event, but only gained approval to assemble after the dean of law faculty intervened on their behalf. 

This incident, although a result of an intervention of a faculty member, reflected that students want to take a stand but still work within limits imposed on them and follow procedure. 

This is a stark contrast to the situation in America, as Heng observed, where “there is more freedom of expression” and “you can basically say anything so it fosters a culture of openness.” 

Although new to NUS, first-year arts and social sciences student, Heather Chi, said she recognised student activism as limited and carried out by selected individuals. 

“It’s not that we’re politically apathetic. We do care,” Chi said. “It’s probably not as widespread. (Student activism) tends to be within the same circle of students.” 

Wong also describes certain student leaders during her time in university in the 1980s as being “little firebrands” that stood out from the rest. They include current member of parliament, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, then president of students’ union. 

“I think that every generation perhaps just needs to find its own confidence and own voice, and to have a certain amount of confidence…that this is a society where what they think will be listened to,” Wong said.

She also said, “Perhaps that is something we have not done very well for a long time, and that is to be open to listening to voices that are not in the power structure.” 

This need to remain legitimate is made more difficult when civil society groups cannot assemble in public without the lawful approval of the police that issue assembly licenses. 

Chi, who considers herself a local activist, said a planned gathering of local activist, called “The Tunnel Party,” was to be held at The Substation but could not proceed as the police did not grant them a permit license to hold the event despite the organisers’ willingness to relocate the event indoors. 

The event was to bring various civil society groups, like Migrant Rights, Women Who Love Women and Cat Welfare Society together, as a form of solidarity and networking. 

However, procedural difficulties like these are widespread and reflected within the microcosm of NUS where a similar Burma forum and vigil was disallowed by the administration because it did not reflect the “academic nature” of the university. 

Incidents like these alienate youths seeking to make a difference in Singapore. Without them, the grouse about indifference among local students may just turn into a definite reality.