Redwood City, California, April 24, 2007 and Admiral Lui Tuck Yew

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I had asked Singaporeans in the San Francisco Bay Area to boycott the dinner meeting with Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew to protest the unlawful and unjust raising of salaries to unprecedented levels never before seen in any country in this world, and which was against the will of every living Singaporean.

I had pointed out that in every city in the world, overseas Singaporeans by and large have refused to co-cooperate with any function organized by the Singapore government because they all left Singapore because they refused to live in a country which had become totally authoritarian.

I therefore predicted that this meeting especially with the Rear Admiral Minister for Education would have very few takers. I am unable to state with any accuracy as to the number of people who had attended but my reckoning is that not more than 50 or so Singaporeans attended together with other nationalities according to the information I had received. I myself was not there. My calls to Miss Lea Chan, a member of the staff at the Singapore Consulate General went unanswered and my attempt to contact Clara, the Manager at Sofitel also failed. Clara said the organizers did not want any information to be revealed. All this indicates that the function itself was an abysmal failure and as usual, a total waste of your taxpayers money in organizing such an lavish function for Singaporeans when they have shown very clearly that they will not attend.

Lee swaggers around with his pomposity and arrogance, trying to say that he alone knows everything, but why does he not know this? Lee's recent attempt here in San Francisco and last week in New York was to try to get overseas Singaporeans interested in Singapore, hoping perhaps that they will return to live and work in Singapore, as there is now this unstoppable brain drain, resulting very soon in Singapore not having any educated people at all, not counting the mediocre foreign talent.

Let me say this to Lee very clearly. Overseas Singaporeans will not return full stop. They have left in disgust at what Lee has done to their country so much so that it became intolerable for any educated proud self respecting human being to consider that country home. They do not like living in a country governed by you and your son. That is why they left. They are not coming back. So don't waste any more of tax payers money in this effort to make them return. You are looking more silly in their eyes.

Roger Liew, Lee's representative in the San Francisco Bay area commissioned for this work has failed. There is no point in paying him anymore money.

It is like this. There are 3 kinds of Singaporeans. I am not talking of foreigners. Firstly there are those with little education and skills. Not having much education, they are not aware of their rights. They are not aware that Singapore belongs to them as much as Lee and his family. They are unable to see that they can insist on their rights and no one can compel them to accept what they refuse. These will remain in Singapore. They have nowhere to go. They are the security guards, the hawkers, and the bus drivers. These cannot be leaders. They serve a purpose but they are not the brains.

Then there are those with an education but lack principles and high moral ground. These can be bought with money. These are the ministers, the top civil servants, the judiciary, the president of the Law Society, Lee's Indian attack dog to abuse the law to bankrupt political opponents (Lee's turbaned defamation attorney), the Indian head of the Singapore bankruptcy office and other similar dishonest characters. These will stay behind because it is profitable. But they do not have good moral principles and good moral upbringing. They are dishonest. But Lee can only find characters like this to serve him, because only the dishonest like these are prepared to do dirty work for dirty money.

Then there are those who leave. These are the best educated in Singapore. They leave because their education not only gives them wisdom but also makes them into better human being beings. These highly talented educated people are able to live and work anywhere in the world because of their skills and qualifications. And most of these skilled people also have better characters and principles. They see before their very eyes, how the law is abused against Mr. Jeyaretnam to bankrupt and finish him off. They see how Dr. Chee is repeatedly punished and bankrupted totally without any legal basis, simply because he dares to question Lee. They see Mr. Tang Laing Hong chased out of the country with all his money robbed from him, making him penniless by the corruption of the judiciary.

They realize that the law is no longer impartial in Singapore. They see Lee and his family and cronies concealing the millions that they may be siphoning off from government related companies since Lee is not prepared to account for the income of these government listed companies, which he keeps secret.

They see that government supporters are being rewarded while others are left behind. In other words, they see a country where the only way to succeed is to carry a PAP Party membership card and kowtow absolute obedience to Lee. This they are not prepared to do. This they will not do. You see, these educated who leave want to be safe from Lee's arbitrary actions. They want to have a say in the government and not merely leave the governance to Lee and company. They too say that they have a head on their shoulders just like Lee has one. Why should they not be able to have a say in government. They want their children to grow up as proud individuals, not poodles who grow up in fear of Lee and family.

In the west, they feel a sense of importance. They are consulted when the government wishes to build a mall somewhere, a school somewhere, a road somewhere. They are consulted because they are citizens and taxpayers. They too have rights. Their children grow up independent and proud, honest and principled. Not like Lee's son who does not have any. Singaporeans overseas are very happy. They feel that the best thing they ever did was to emigrate. And they will not come back. The proof is in the pudding.

Your Singapore Straits Times may lie and say 6000 Singaporeans attended Singapore Day in New York Central Park. But we know what the truth is. After all your newspaper is the 148th rating, same as North Korea. A handful of Singaporeans did attend. But not more than that.

The Straits Times has grandiose news everyday. Singapore has the best Mass Rapid Transport system. Singapore has the best traffic system. Singapore has the best theme parks. Singapore is a beautiful garden. Singapore has the best standard of living. Singapore has signed a deal with China on technology. With India on aerospace. With Bulgaria on wrestling. With Nepal on mountain climbing. Singapore has trillions of dollars. Singapore has this. Singapore has this. Singapore has that. Singapore has blah blah.

But for the overseas Singaporean, they say still not good enough. You see, man does not live by bread alone. Lee can arrange for all the goodies that he can in that island. But as long as the Singaporean in Sydney cannot decide on what Singapore should and should not have, he will not return. He is not prepared to be a "digit" as Lee once insulted Singaporeans. Lee can do all that he wants and more and enjoy it with the foreigners and the local Singaporeans who are unable or incapable of questioning.

In short, overseas Singaporeans will not return to Singapore as long as Lee and his son strut around in their island like a pair of prize roosters, who think only they know everything and others are no more than peasants. Sorry we are not peasants. We refuse to return. I suggest you should read Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World".

The famous Patrick Henry had said "Is life so dear or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death", March 13, 1755.

Can I make a small change in the last sentence for Singaporeans? They have said instead, "Give me liberty or let me leave Singapore".

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com