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period of just nine days for the opposition parties. Censorship of opposition parties also prevents free and fair elections.

One tactic used to keep the opposition at bay is defamation laws. Government MPs frequently file suit and receive favourable judgments that bankrupt their political opponents (under Singapore electoral law, bankrupts cannot contest elections).

Lack of democracy has contributed to low public awareness of social issues, so ordinary Singaporeans appear to be largely unconcerned with the death penalty. One government minister has claimed that 95% of Singaporeans are in favour of capital punishment.

There are tight controls on public discussion. For example, a permit is required for public speaking. Moreover, the partially state-owned media is probably afraid of government backlash if they report on human rights issues. For those interested in the death penalty, it is difficult to access relevant data as the government restricts the information it releases on executions. Sometimes, even families of the condemned are not told until very late. Such secrecy has been effective in stifling domestic debate and preventing controversy.

What debate there is usually arises from foreign governments protesting when the death penalty is applied to their own citizens. International human rights observers are trying their best to shape internal debate from outside. For example, a non-binding UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty was passed in December 2007. But as the government correctly points out, Singapore is a sovereign nation free to shape its own criminal law. It seems that change can only come from within, but that does not appear likely in the near future.

During 2007, the Singapore government received a report on alternatives to the current sentencing regime from the Law Society of Singapore. The report recommended, inter alia, that the mandatory death penalty be removed for all offences, so that judges have discretion on whether to apply capital punishment. In a healthy multi-party democracy, critics of the government would usually seize upon such a report and use it to start a national debate. Not so in Singapore. The Ministry of Home Affairs acknowledged the report, but there was virtually no debate on the issue. No action has thus far been taken on this report.

Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew has said that the "basic difference in our approach springs from our traditional Asian value system which places the interests of the community

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