Civil society should work with political parties to address issues

I refer to Mr Pravin Prakash’s commentary “The evolution of modern Singapore’s civil society” (Sept 11).

He pointed out the fundamental shift that has occurred in civil society since the 2011 General Election and how this evolution has captured the interest and participation of the wider public.

I agree that civil society must be strengthened so it has moral authority to debate public issues.

I agree also that political parties must accept this public sphere and find avenues to increasingly engage it, despite the noise and chaos this would bring. But we must not stop there.

For civil society here to evolve and better mature, even if it remains non-partisan, it must not shy away from engaging political parties where there is agreement and alignment about addressing an issue.

Think Centre, for example, worked with the National Solidarity Party in its campaign against the mandatory death penalty. Also, some from the community did not shy away from engaging the Workers’ Party in their campaign for public transport subsidies for people with disabilities.

But such examples are few and far between.

The fear of how the governing party may react to advocacy groups that work on a particular cause with other parties seems to be preventing such collaborations. But perhaps this fear is only self-imposed.

A non-partisan civil society does not mean not working with political parties.