Admitting that he is perceived as an eternal optimist, Chee Soon Juan acknowledged that his unwavering resolve had not come without moments of profound struggle.
There were times when he found himself besieged by self-doubt, the weight of setbacks and disappointments, pushing him to the precipice of surrender.
“I’m not going to shed a tear, that kind of thing. But more than just braggadocio, false bravado, I will readily admit that with time, things got so bad that I did contemplate, ‘Is it all worth it?’
“I’ve got a family that I still need to take care of. But I know that my children, having seen me go through the years, my members having seen me go through the years, I just want to take them through the paces sometimes,” said the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general during a recent interview.
Malaysiakini met the 63-year-old opposition politician when he was in Kuala Lumpur to launch his book “Unbroken: The Power of Resilience”.
‘You are not insane’
Emphasising the importance of believing in the struggle, the former lecturer, who holds a doctorate in psychology, reflected on the many hardships he has endured over the decades, from being vilified as a mentally unstable antagonist to facing repeated arrests.
“There was a period before the advent of the internet, social media, and everything that you came across to the public was basically painted by the media, the state media.
“And that was a very grim time. Not only was I facing some of these problems, but the general public also looked at you in a certain way, and to a certain extent, I don’t blame them.
“I’ve had people coming up to me after YouTube came about, Facebook came about. They look me dead in the eye and just very sincerely say, ‘you’re not insane’,” he added.
Chee also remains steadfast in his belief that true human progress transcends material achievements, a principle that has guided his career and one he hopes to instil in the younger generation, whom he sees as the driving force behind Singapore’s future transformation.
“Not everything is measured in dollars and cents. That whole idea of justice and equality, as cheesy as it may come across, is still worth fighting for.
“Because after you strip away everything that you have, we’re still, at the end of the day, human beings. And human beings continue to look for things outside of the material realm.
“And so, to answer a very pertinent question in a long-winded way, that’s how I’ve always seen myself. And I’ve just been in this very privileged position to have gone through academia.
“And if you know what you’re always searching for, the truth, you’d use your education not to better yourself… But use what you know, what you’ve learned, to better the lot for those around you. That is the most important thing that I want to be able to put across,” he said.
‘Look beyond the material’
Elaborating on his view that self-actualisation should not be reduced to material success in Singapore, a nation widely regarded as the poster child of affluence, Chee argued that attitudes are evolving, with younger generations likely to reshape that balance.
“We are all human beings, and as humans, we always look to develop, even psychologically.
“When you’ve got no food and shelter, you look for it. But once you’ve got those in place, you look for something progressively higher. Security, well-being, love, and eventually you end up with self-actualisation, and that’s what human progress has always been.
“If you’re stuck at the level where you’re always just in survival mode, that does something to psychology, both individually and collectively as a society. And that’s where I always tell, encourage Singapore, the government, the people, to look beyond the material.
“Once you’ve developed to a certain level, a certain stage, you actually need to make that progress, and if you don’t, you have problems in terms of psychological well-being, mental health coming into place,” he explained.
Chee argued that when people are unable to progress and develop, a sense of helplessness sets in, and that an exclusive focus on material advancement as measured by GDP would not suffice as the nation moves forward.
“Because you’re really talking about quality of life right now, rather than just standard of living, and the two are not the same,” he pointed out.
Opposition stymied by total govt control
In the 2025 general election, the SDP failed to win any seats.
The opposition Workers’ Party retained its 10 seats, while the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), under the leadership of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, secured a supermajority by winning 87 of the 97 parliamentary seats.
Commenting on the opposition’s limited progress, Chee blamed what he described as a constricted democratic space, citing three main factors - media control, electoral system constraints, and restrictions on the freedom of assembly.
“With our media, every newspaper and every TV station is still in the hands of the government.
“As far as gerrymandering is concerned, that’s a whole new level that we see in Singapore. And then your inability to come together peacefully, that all contributes to the entire matter, where every four or five years, you go to elections.
“It changes nothing, because the government has got everything in control for that whole period, and it gives you all of nine days to campaign. You’re not going to make any inroads… meaningful inroads.
“And that’s why you see the PAP being able to sustain its control on Singapore all these decades. So that plays a huge part of it,” he added.
Change will come
However, Chee remains convinced that change will come, but that patience and resilience are essential, as it will not be linear.
“Nothing happens for the longest time. It’s obscenely slow and everything, but when change comes, it’s very abrupt.
“You look at Malaysia, you look at Indonesia, just around this region or part of the world, as well as around the world.
“But I think in that sense, social media has now afforded at least us to get our message across unfiltered. This has contributed hugely to the whole progress, but we’re still up against a very strong state.
“So to me, it’s very important that we continue to reach out and therein, just to say, hope springs eternal.
“And this is where I just want to continue to focus on our own message. And in this day and age, in Singapore’s stage of development, this message becomes even more important, now more than ever,” he added.
In response to another question, Chee acknowledged that even his party colleagues have questioned what more can be done, saying, “We’ve given up; we’ve sacrificed everything we can sacrifice.”
“And I just keep coming back to this one thing: don’t despair. Because if you position yourself in their shoes, after half a century of just news coming at you in one direction, I’d be surprised if they think otherwise, or be able to.
“And then there’s fear of going up to the ballot box, and wanting to vote for the opposition. But because there’s fear, whether you’re a civil servant… because the government is all-encompassing, people are just fearful of wanting to cast a vote for the opposition.
“But as I said, make sure that you locate our situation right now in history. It’s taken change, and I’m talking about enduring change.
“It has not just taken years, it’s taken decades here in Malaysia too. But this is where I think that whole idea of not just being patient, but to be resilient,” he added.
Chee explained that resilience involves learning from past failures to become stronger over time and to keep striving for improvement.
“Years ago, during our darkest days, at the nadir of our situation, I polled something in the region of about 20 percent.
“But we persevered, and we made sure, and of course, with the help of social media, as I said. In the last election, we celebrated, and I use the word celebrate very deliberately, polling 47 percent.
“And everybody said, ‘Woaahh’. But that’s in the context of Singapore, just to be able to make that headway.
“And that is where I keep telling the younger Singaporeans, my younger members, just make sure that, number one, stay true to yourself. Number two, be authentic, and continue to reason with the people.
“People see through the kind of ‘wayang’ (charade) that you have, that kind of thing, and you go up, you sing a few songs, and shed a few tears, and expect people to come around and buy what you say.
“It takes years, especially from where we are. Persuade people, convince them. But ultimately, it’s going to be worth it,” he added. - Mkini
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