Government, Opposition crime talks vital

THE EDITOR: I wholeheartedly support the call by Prof Ramesh Deosaran for private meetings between the Government and the Opposition on the issue of violent crimes. I am glad that both the Government and the Opposition have agreed to have such meetings.

Given the very adversarial nature of our Western/Westminster-styled democracy, it is unwise to hold such meetings in public with access by the news media to live and recorded broadcasts, and attendance by the general public. Unfortunately, even in mature democracies, such public meetings tend to be used as an opportunity for grandstanding and misplaced public relations, rather than properly addressing the concerns/needs of a nation.

Private discussions out of the glare of the public/news media have certain significant benefits. In mature democracies such discussions occur quite routinely and yield desirable outcomes.

When the Government and the Opposition meet in private with open minds in a respectful manner, they can brainstorm ideas/suggestions/proposals, etc, and ultimately discover areas of compromise/lasting solutions to what might originally have seemed to be intractable problems.

Relevant information/data from experts, global best/successful practices can be shared with all concerned, in a non-confrontational environment, to assist in the exercise. If need be a competent mediator, acceptable to all, may be contracted to facilitate the process.

There is a distinct advantage to this approach. It reduces significantly the resort to grandstanding as there is no public audience. Accordingly, it is a face-saving device as, for instance, certain half-baked proposals could be amended or even dropped altogether, after very careful scrutiny, without the public perceiving the person/party that originally tabled the proposal as weak and incompetent.

I have stated in a very recent letter to the editor that we are in a crime crisis. I do not intend to rehash the contents of that letter here.

Suffice it to say our criminal justice system, inclusive of our legislative/administrative infrastructure, is in dire need of a comprehensive and radical overhaul if we are to effectively combat this violent crime menace, and join Singapore as one of the safest countries in the world to live and/or visit.

There were ten murders in Singapore in 2021 in a population of 5.7 million people. We need to get our annual murder rate down to 100 or less within the next three to five years. This target can be achieved if we adopt the Singaporean model.

Much of the legislation needed to achieve the desired objective will require the support of the Opposition, given the requirement for a special majority in Parliament to enact such transformative legislation.

Our very lives are at stake. The general public must hold the parliamentarians to account and not accept partisan bickering and obstructionist behaviour in such an important exercise.

LOUIS W WILLIAMS

St Augustine