Singapore. How Lee manages to stay in power.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is how I see Lee manages to stay in power. First, he completely destroys any credible opposition. This serves a two fold purpose. First, the opposition that opposed him is destroyed eg by defamation actions. Second, this destruction sends a chilling message to all others never to try any challenge against him. This way, anyone with any desire to serve his country is dissuaded. This leaves only Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP ruling the country.

For political office, you need experience. The only ones getting political experience is Lee Kuan Yew, his family and the PAP. No one else can can get any, because Lee destroys them. This leaves any possible opposition, completely without any political experience at all.

When it comes to elections, Singaporeans even though they dislike Lee and his authoritarianism, would still vote for him and the PAP because the PAP has experience in government, and the opposition hasn't. So to protect their security and their future, they are compelled to vote for the PAP even though many have a deep distaste for them. This is like a child respecting a schoolmaster even though the child hates him, since the child knows that the dreaded homework that he has to do is good for him. A love hate relationship, you may say.

And the longer and longer Lee stays in power without any check on his actions, he gets emboldened. He begins, like he does now, to take his people for granted. It can be clearly seen by his actions now. He has reached a stage where he has enslaved the entire population. He is fully confident, now that no matter what he does, how outrageous it may be, there will be no opposition to him at all. To Lee, the peoples wishes have become totally irrelevant now. He can do whatever he wants. The people have been thoroughly neutered.

This is seen very well in his action to raise his, his son's and the ministers salaries to unacceptable levels, despite the fact that he knows, every living Singaporean is opposed to it. He is aware that there will be grumbling in the Internet. But beyond that, he knows that he has so thoroughly, so completely weakened the will of the people that they will not go beyond writing on the Internet. He knows that the people have become so consumed through fear that have lost the ability to protest.

What then happens is that many, who feel outraged by this dictatorial rule, just leave the country. This causes the very able, the skilled, the educated, the very ones who need to be in Singapore to lead, to leave it's shores. But Lee couldn't care less. He brings in foreigners to fill the places. This is a net loss to Singapore. The brain drain.

Of course Lee can say anything he wants and all of it will be published in the state controlled press. So he comes up with complete nonsense. He says that skilled foreigners are coming in to the country because they like Singapore. But we all know the type of foreigners that come. These are not the best. They are people who have already heard what Singapore is. Nothing more than a tiny island where there is no democracy, no freedom, no fundamental rights. But they may come for the money temporarily. And then they too will go home to their own countries. And when they do, they go away with an even worse impression of Singapore, only to warn others in their country about the real Singapore, a tyrannical Signapore. They too know that all that glitters is not necessarily gold.

And after saying all this, I say that the fault is yours. It is you who is being trodden upon. It is you who is afraid. It is you who cowardly accept this dictator without protest. Singapore is being destroyed by this one man, Lee. And if you do nothing to stop it, surely, can we assume that you are prepared to live the submissive lives that you now lead.

So then, if you are not prepared to do anything positive, other than just writing letters on the Internet, you shouldn't be complaining about the slavish lives that you lead.

I have said this before. Lee is as afraid of you as you are of him, if not more. The worst thing he fears is a public protest. He has given you enough ammunition, in the threatening to raise his salary to universally unacceptable levels, for you now to take to the streets and say enough is enough. We will not take this anymore.

If you did that, the world will have some respect for Singaporeans. Now at present, Singaporeans are thought of as nothing more than sheep.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, California 94538 USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914