Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The problem with Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

Readers of this blog who are unfamiliar with the goings on in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, may think reading the comments that there are many who think Singapore is a democracy based on the rule of law. The reader is warned that they may be Singapore government employees whose job is to discredit those who criticize Lee Kuan Yew's authoritarian rule. Please use your discretion as to how much weight you will give these comments.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's underlying problem is that Singaporeans are not masters of their destiny. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's dictator, decides what is good for them and what is not. This subservient life is not pleasant. It creates fear; fear of the government. Regardless of what one might feel, it is necessary to accept whatever Lee Kuan Yew and his minions decide for them; because if they complain, they stand to lose lose their liberty, their money, their career, their everything.

This stifling burden compels them to be submissive turning them into a compliant citizenry. It denies independent thinking. Like an obedient slave, they have to accept whatever is thrown at them. If there is change, it comes about through the orders of Lee Kuan Yew and his minions in government. It is they who have the mandate from Heaven, at least that is what they think, and the people's duty is to accept without complaint. It is not a life that any proud young man or woman should want. That is why there is so much unhappiness among Singaporeans. That is why Singaporeans continue to emigrate to Australia and Canada in increasing numbers.

Any foreigner coming to Singapore would undoubtedly be impressed with the Singapore skyline. Tall modern buildings, well paved roads lined with beautiful shrubbery, modern amenities, a clean city. No doubt on the outside very impressive. You cannot fault him if he walks away admiring Singaporeans for their good life.

But you see, man does not live by modern buildings alone. Man needs happiness. Man needs security. Man needs to be able to wake up in the morning knowing the next minute, he will not be thrown in jail because Lee Kuan Yew is displeased. A man needs to know that he can succeed in life through his own ability and hard work, regardless of whether the rulers like him or not.

Success in Singapore comes at an unbearable price; unbearable that is for self respecting upright men and women. It requires not only ability, but one other important qualification; which is total submission to Lee Kuan Yew. One has to publicly endorse every policy and law that Lee Kuan Yew may decide for him. If you are capable and at the same time, are willing to cringe, crawl and flatter, you will see high office, unimaginable wealth. It requires a sheep like character, devoid of any pride, any personal principles of right and wrong, but that of a dumb chameleon willing to change his position on matters that count every minute, in tandem with the latest policies of Lee Kuan Yew.

No one with any self respect, any real ambition to live the life that he wants, to achieve great success though honest hard work and principles, would find it comfortable in Singapore. In short, if you believe in liberty, Singapore is a very unpleasant place to live despite the beautiful buildings, despite the garden city. For those who leave Singapore, tall buildings and modern amenities are not enough. They demand self respect, the most fundamental of human needs, which Lee Kuan Yew denies them.

The most basic rights that anyone in a free society takes for granted are denied in Singapore. The citizen is not given the right to choose the government of his choice. The elections are corrupt and rigged. People who have ability and passion are denied the right to even contest elections, through defamation actions, trumped up criminal charges and vilification in the state controlled press, ordered by Lee Kuan Yew, leaving only those whom he approves eligible to stand for office. Lee Kuan Yew and his government, plainly put, does not represent the people, because they are not the people's choice. Examples of this are many including JB Jeyaretnam, not to be confused with his son Philip Jeyaretnam, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Tang Liang Hong, Francis Seow and the list goes on; men whom the people, had they a choice, would have chosen as their leaders.

Singapore does not have a free press, no freedom of speech or assembly, no way in which independent thinking can see the light of day. What you read is what Lee Kuan Yew wants you to read. You cannot publish a letter which is critical of Lee Kuan Yew or his policies for fear of defamation actions and trumped up criminal charges.

There is of course, the avenue for the citizen to voice his problems to Members of Parliament at the weekly meet the people sessions. But it usually does no good, since Lee Kuan Yew's politician cannot fearlessly defend your cause, as doing so will undoubtedly result in his own downfall. So, in these sessions, Lee Kuan Yew goes through the pretence of advancing the citizen's interest when in actual fact, there is really nothing that happens; and week after week this charade of meet the people goes on, and the people's wants continue being ignored.

Take employment. There are no laws that guarantee fair employment practices. A man can be fired for no reason at all, at the whim of the employer. There are no labor laws to protect against unfair dismissal. Today you may have a job, and tomorrow you are on the street.

There is no social security, that is worth mentioning. Lee Kuan Yew takes pride in Singapore not being a welfare state, or rather relishes the fact that a citizen and his children are left to their fate; a cruel, diabolical and sadistic philosophy of life. A man, a sole breadwinner in the family, with a wife and three young children stand to be thrown into poverty the next minute through job loss, and Lee Kuan Yew does not see any need to protect them. Malay and Indian Singaporeans are heard to complain that they have been thrown out of their jobs, or not even hired because preference is given to Chinese Singaporeans by their Chinese employers. If such discrimination exists, these people have no recourse against their employers. The courts will not hear such cases. They have no choice but to make do as best they can. Any other country worth it's salt, will have laws to prevent such injustice, they will have state welfare benefits to ensure a reasonable living standard for the unemployed. It is not correct to say there is no help from the government at all. The unemployed are paid a few hundred dollars but how does anyone with a wife and three young children survive on $300.00 a month?

The people have completely lost faith in the administration of justice. The courts, with judges like Belinda Ang Saw Ean, about whom I had written earlier in this blog are seen as Lee Kuan Yew's tools to eliminate Lee Kuan Yew's political opponents, as she had shamelessly shown, through her bias in the May 2008 case of Lee Kuan Yew verses Dr. Chee Soon Juan. Every Singaporean full well knows that criticism of Lee Kuan Yew and his government or his unjust courts will inevitably result in his arrest, conviction and imprisonment or his impecuniosity through a defamation of character lawsuit.

In any other society, where you are denied the right to complain against injustice, where the law courts are unwilling to hear your plight, where you are summoned to the courts and sent to jail or impoverished through false cases, where you cannot voice your dissatisfaction to the newspapers, may want to take his grievances to the street, through public protest, as a last resort. But even that is denied in Singapore because even peaceful protest is illegal.

In the end, the Singaporean finds himself trapped in a vice from which there is no escape. He has to submit and accept Lee Kuan Yew's plans for him through his handpicked ministers, who do not represent anyone but Lee Kuan Yew.

This is not a life that a proud upstanding young man or woman would want. That is why, as was reported in the state controlled newspapers, you see the growing phenomenon of citizens punching their members of Parliament, sending death threats to them and even dousing them with gasoline and setting them ablaze, as was the fate of Lee Kuan Yew's Member of Parliament for Yio Chu Kang recently. And that is why increasing numbers of young men and women are joining the growing ranks of activists and publicly protesting knowing that they are breaking the law, an unjust law. And that is why the Australian Embassy and the Canadian Embassy are receiving increasing numbers wanting to settle in their countries. And that is why shops selling suitcases are showing increasing sales.

Let me make one thing clear. The only reason why I can write the way I do is because I live in the United States. Lee Kuan Yew knows he is powerless to act against me here in the US. Had I written this this way in Singapore, I would have long ago been sued charged convicted, impoverished and imprisoned. That is why being outside Singapore enables me to say what I want to say, without having to wake up the next morning in mortal fear of my fate. That is why I am happy and content with my life.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Singapore with the present government will not last long. How long is long? I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure it will do itself in one of these days. I urge everyone who disagree with the tactics of the ruling party to picture in their minds everyday for a few minutes the collapse of it. Dun laugh, mind power works if enough people do it collectively, and it's not a crime.

Anonymous said...

May LKY and his family rule Singapore to its bankruptcy. I hope their continuing lust of power will spell the end of Singapore past success. It's seen its apex now the downturn will follow.

Anonymous said...

Well to get rid of cancer cells the body may need to be substantially weakened.

LKY family is the cancer cells in Singapore. No doubt about that.

Anonymous said...

lky suck.

Anonymous said...

Well, let me ask you something, would we be here today if it weren't for lee kuan yew and PAP? How can you deny all the 41 years of success? We are LUCKY to have Lee Kuan Yew because if he didn't come along, we would have fallen to the communist and never be an independent state.

You said that people's wants continue being ignored. What if those WANTS are necessary good for us because we only want what's best for ourselves! Do you think everyone cares for the safety and success of this country? People are greedy, simple as that.

Social security. Are you even thinking of the consequences if we did provide for them? What happens if you give the people in poverty, let's say, unemployment benefits? This will give them a crunch mentality and they wouldn't even want to try to find work! WHICH is the problem with the US!

Oh and elections. WHAT elections are not corrupt and rigid? Every country always redraws the electoral lines so that the ruling party can WIN. You cant just say that "the elections are corrupt so therefore, singapore doesnt give a shit about freedom of speech."

When i read this type of article, I'm disgusted at the amount of respect and gratitude that Lee Kuan Yew receives. You might be a smart guy but here, You are just an ignorant prick. Even if Lee Kuan Yew is this crazy dictator that you make him out to be, does it negate the fact that we all have a cushy, safe life in singapore BECAUSE of our government?

Thanks. This was fun.

Freeman said...

To the friend of LKY above,

Thanks for the comment. I have to say I have to 'THANK" LKY then since I have lived in poverty for most of my life.

Thank you LKY for creating a Singapore where my parents did not dare see a doctor just because it cost them $20 or more each time to see one. Maybe if my parents didn't have to work so damn physically hard, they might not need to see a doctor.

Thank you LKY for making Singapore so impressively "competitive" that I had to "fight" my way through school and even through the workforce, which resulted in an unimaginable amount of stress and the notion that if I failed, I am a good for nothing? So thank you for creating a judging system where kids are now the slaves of a public educational system that serves them little to no guidance that life is not all about just grades, money, status and recognition.

Thank you LKY for turning the nation into a country hungry for monetary and material gains and one that is only fit for the rich.

Thank you LKY for creating such a "wonderful" working society where my mum had to endure the last 15 years of hard labour without daring to take a day off because her boss threatens to take an extra day for each day off she takes so that she can work harder at a wage that is honestly amusing and pathetically little.

Thank you LKY because my mum who did not have the luxury of an education have to work and cry at night for fears of not being able to support the family, not even with my dad's pay.

Thank you LKY for creating so much fear in my family for so long that everything we do, we have to remember that the government is ALWAYS THERE not to protect, but to persecute you if you do something wrong.

Thank you LKY, for creating a society that cannot tolerate failures and mistakes, that everyone who has made an honest mistake is punished for the rest of their lives.

Thank LKY for actively creating a disparity between parents and kids, forcing them to take matters into their own hands without any support from the one government that was supposed to serve them, not rule them.

Finally, Thank You LKY, for creating such a cushy and safe life in Singapore. You did an awesome job at it that many are now "cushioned potatoes" in their own tiny prison cells and calling you their "sugar daddy" because they've paid their "protection dues" on time every day of the month each year which you've happily accepted.

I am a Canadian Citizen now and I am not just being cynical. I am being cynical only because I've been through the "system."

Thanks, this was really fun.

Anonymous said...

LKY sucks. In Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa is trying to imitate LKY of Singapore. Soon Sri Lanka will lost it's democratic traditions and will become another Singapore. People are so uneducated in Sri Lanka (just like Singaporeans in 60s and 70s), they are ready to pay the price of the promised economic growth with their god given civil rights.

Anonymous said...

from the 60s to 80s, one can argue that lky had to rule with iron fist. now due to his overbearing ways ruthless economic policies to lower costs for foreign businesses, singaporeans are fed up. the brain drain can only get worse. the newly minted citizens from china can return to china anytime and get their citizenship again.does lky and company realise the vast majority young people in their 20 to 30s have no qualms of leaving singapore if they can. weather sucks ns sucks costs going up but salaries hardly increaing.

Its ME said...

Thank you for your effort and opinion on this subject. The underlying of medical reforms are just not curing the public and more doctors trained in the same dying paradigm is just a sick joke, and wish more people get to the root of their healthy wealth too...We are emerging from a long period of such materialism at present and that is why doctor, priest and public are confronted with the task of learning a great deal all over again, and revising the knowledge of their ancestors before they can carry things a step further.

fkthatshyt said...

So what ? No one cares . Lky made Singapore,and ? Tell me more bro. I don't live in that generation. JOBLESS and no one cares . Like what Mr. Gopalan Nair said in his post pack all your things and go

Anonymous said...

Hey,I am from India and I can say that democracy and freedom of speech have it's drawbacks too. I'm not saying that one is generally better than the other, but if this blog can exist then Singapore can't be all that bad, and to a large extent without a certain level of control it becomes really hard to implement policies and decisions that are beneficial to the country's economy etc. Sometimes freedom of speech can be abused by opposition parties to call strikes at every decision the government makes, regardless of whether it is beneficial or not. That's one of the main problems we face. So I can't really take a side because I do believe in everyone's right to speech, but there's two sides to everything.

Gopalan Nair said...

To Anonymous who said

"but if this blog can exist then Singapore can't be all that bad"

I am afraid you know nothing about Singapore. This blog only exists because it is posted through Google which is an American company, and because I am physically in the United States while I write this, and not in Singapore.

If I wrote this from within Singapore I would be immediately arrested, by the cowardly Lee Kuan Yew and his thugs. I suppose you did not know this.

The reason why it is read in Singapore is because the Internet being what it is, it can reach Singapore. The only way your idols in Singapore, the Lee Kuan Yew government can stop it is to demand that Google block it. Which, Singapore government being hypocrites that they are, they won't. You see they want to give an impression to the world that it is an open society when in fact it is only a notch better than North Korea.

You are obviously totally ignorant about Singapore because it seems obvious that you know nothing about the repression that is going on there. For instance have you read any blog emanating from within Singapore similar to mine, or even one where the writer is identified. None.

And then you go on with total rubbish which I ask myself whether I should waste my time to respond. United States the UK, France and all the other democracies in the world including tiny Iceland respect the fundamental human rights of their citizens. But none of them have decided to deny freedom of speech, expression, assembly and rule of law except North Korea, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Are you suggesting that it is good for Singapore to be like Nazi Germany and deny human rights.

And then you say

"Sometimes freedom of speech can be abused by opposition parties to call strikes at every decision the government makes, regardless of whether it is beneficial or not."

You can see strikes in all the free countries in the world, even your own India. Are you suggesting that the government should decide whether a strike to be beneficial before allowing it?

If you don't believe in the Universally accepted human rights treasured by all the free peoples in the world, you have no place in this blog. I suggest that you join Lee's Peoples Action Party and write tributes to them in their newsletter than wasting your time here.

You are not going to convince anyone in this Singapore Dissident community with your views.