Singapore is being destroyed by the Lee Administration by authoritarian rule

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I don’t think I am too different from most other people who have a decent amount of education. As education enables people to think, with ideas and opinions beneficial to society; they would want to contribute politically and socially for the betterment of their society; engage in matters of national interest, public debate and controversy. In other words a desire to put their education to good use to make their country a better place. That is what an education is for.

Unfortunately for such people with an education; Singapore is a very distasteful place to live in. Distasteful, because Lee Kuan Yew and his family wish to selfishly hold on to power. Therefore, they find the need to suppress any opinion in the country which threatens their hold on power; even if that contrary opinion was in Singapore's best interests. For Lee Kuan Yew and his family that rule Singapore, all that matters is their personal interests, even if Singapore is destroyed.

And this is what Lee Kuan Yew is doing. Deliberately destroying Singapore.

Education as we know is empowering. With education, one knows that with or without Lee Kuan Yew, you can survive. Your skills will be accepted in any country in the world, and especially because you speak English. Throughout the world from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, the world atlas alphabet, an educated person knows that he is welcome anywhere where his skills are needed.

And education tells us that first world countries are democratic. Where each person is respected. Where each voice counts. Where one can advance by one's ability; and not by one's sycophancy like the case in dictatorial regimes; North Korea where one advances with the patronage of Kim Jong Il, in Burma with the patronage of General Than Swe and in Singapore with the patronage of Lee Kuan Yew. Those who succeed in Singapore with Lee's support live as slaves. You are paid huge salaries to parrot Lee’s orders.

On the other hand, in first world democratic countries, one advances because one has skills and abilities which are in demand, not because George Bush likes them.

Many Singaporeans presently view Singapore’s support, assistance and succor for the brutal Burmese military junta totally unacceptable. They are aware of massive Singapore investments in Burma. They are aware that Singapore sells arms to them. They are aware that it is these very weapons which have been used to shoot at innocent protestors. Yet they can do nothing to compel Lee Kuan Yew and his government to account for their actions.

In the case of Dr. Chee Soon Juan who felt the need to publicly protest, Lee Kuan Yew's answer is to arrest, prosecute and imprison him. The government is not open to contrary opinion. Educated people find this life of submission intolerable. Therefore they pack their bags and leave for more civilized counties where their opinions matter.

Take the fact that Singapore media is owned and controlled by the Lee family. The fact that news in Singapore is censored. The fact that there is no free flow of opinion. One is unable to read the Far Eastern Review because it is banned. You are compelled to read the government propaganda churned out in the government printing presses. An educated man would want to know the truth. Not propaganda. It is not necessary; indeed distasteful and shameful to humbly accept only propaganda. So they leave for countries where they can get the truth. They go to the UK the USA Britain Australia and New Zealand.

The daily working lives of Singapore citizens; if they are educated, is distressing and shameful. A civil servant, no matter how much he personally hates the dictatorial regime of Lee Kuan Yew, has to openly praise the administration in public; lest some government informer informs on him to his superiors, resulting in his career being jeopardized. As he needs the job and the income, he openly praises the government; yet when he goes home to his family he curses the government to high Heaven. In other words; for survival, he has to be a disgusting chameleon, living a double life.

I can take a bet with you that every civil servant, every government lawyer, every worker in government controlled companies, every taxi driver and almost everyone detests Lee Kuan Yew and authoritarian government. Yet they feel they have no choice but to go along with whatever is told to them, because there is nothing else they could do the change the system. They are aware that in Singapore Lee decides what next; and the people just go along with the flow. They feel helpless. They have no choice.

Those in high positions, do it for the money. They are prepared, for the money to trumpet the government’s position, even if they personally find doing what they do distasteful and shameful. A very unsatisfactory situation; not only for them, but for the future of Singapore. You have an entire country of reluctant workers.

This sort of government where it is Lee's laws and nothing else; makes educated people very uncomfortable in Singapore. They are not prepared to live like slaves, because they need not. They can go anywhere in the world they want.

So, the educated leave. They leave in droves. They leave Singapore as I write this blog. There is an ongoing brain drain. This is damaging for Singapore. Singapore needs their educated. But Lee, because of his arrogance, forces them to leave. To replace them, Singapore tries to bring in foreigners to take their places. But their places are not being filled. A highly educated Singapore doctor who goes to Canada is being replaced by a Chinese sausage maker from Hunan who does not even speak English. A skilled native Singaporean born lawyer, who emigrates to Melbourne, is being replaced by a Chinese cook from Guangdong China.

Both the Hunan sausage maker and the Guangdong cook speak only Chinese. No English at all. Before coming to Singapore, they used to live in abject poverty in China. Needless to say, neither of them have read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and neither have they ever heard of such a thing as the Constitution of Singapore. They were almost slaves in China. They have come to Singapore to be Lee's slaves. They are happy that way. Both of them will never see the need to challenge the rule of Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew is happy to have them. But people like them, with very little education or ability are destroying Singapore. Not making Singapore great.

The ones who can make Singapore great are the ones Lee Kuan Yew is chasing from the island. Lee's actions are deliberately causing this massive and continuing brain drain. And this brain drain is destroying Singapore. And Lee is responsible for it.

Lee is aware of this serious brain drain from Singapore. He is aware that those coming into Singapore from the nearby third world Asian countries cannot match the skills and abilities of Singaporeans who are leaving. He is aware that Singapore’s main asset is it's people, and without good and capable people, Singapore is slowly declining to become another Asian backwater. He is aware that he is destroying Singapore.

That is why we see him going to various Australian, US and Canadian cities, speaking to overseas Singaporeans and begging that they return to Singapore. He has set up, at public expense organizations such as the Singapore Overseas Unit trying to make Singaporeans return. But we have seen that all his efforts have come to zero. The fact is that educated people have more capability and self respect and they need not return to Singapore island to be told by Lee Kuan Yew what to think and how they should live their lives.

The sooner he realizes this fact the better.

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