Ladies and Gentlemen,
Although JB Jeyaretnam did not live to see the fruits of his struggle, his actions were not in vain. His greatest achievement was to expose this Singapore dictatorship to the people. With Lee Kuan Yew's non stop persecution of Jeyaretnam and Jeyaretnam in turn refusing to give in to the tyrant; he was able to tell not only Singaporeans but the world that Singapore is indeed a dictatorship. That it has no rule of law. That it's judges are instruments for political repression against opponents. This revelation, which Lee Kuan Yew managed to keep under wraps for years through a clever public relations campaign; finally emerged from underneath the woodwork. Jeyaretnam finally managed to tell the world what Singapore really was. A dictatorship no less, run by a petty minded tin pot tyrant, strutting about in his small island, and terrorizing everyone! A government that has lost the respect of the people finds itself in many unexpected way, handicapped.
For instance, when respect for a government is lost, it becomes difficult to find capable people to join them. Capable people leave the country to reside elsewhere. Countries who consider human rights as important, refuse to invest in it. This leaves them to bring in lesser qualified workers from abroad to replace those who left. These foreign human imports not only are lesser qualified, they also lack any loyalty, resulting in the end in the country turning into a revolving door; foreigners leaving only to be replaced by other lesser qualified foreigners. All this weakens Lee Kuan Yew's plan for perpetual dictatorial rule over his people.
Everyone in the past and now, who stand up to this tyranny manages to weaken it. You have heard of the "Marxist Conspirators" 22 young men and women who were arrested by Lee Kuan Yew and jailed for doing social and religious work to help the poor and unfortunate. Lee Kuan Yew falsely brands them "Marxists" when none of them had anything to do with Marxism. He found them a threat to his rule. So he arrests them using his willing police force, and puts them away, labelling them any name he wants. Although the 22 arrested have no doubt suffered by this, Lee Kuan Yew has suffered much more. Singaporeans and the world have seen yet again, how Lee Kuan Yew manages to stay in power; by abusing the law, the law courts and the police force to put away his opponents. The brave actions of the 22 has weakened Lee Kuan Yew and his government; by the people's awareness of the repression.
On March 15, 2008 19 young Singaporeans peacefully stood outside Parliament House with placards and banners to protest against unbearable food prices. All of them have been arrested and have been put on trial. They will all be sent to prison, no doubt. But if these young men and women are inconvenienced, Lee Kuan Yew and his dictatorship suffer many times more. Everyone in Singapore and abroad are told yet again that this is a small minded government that only manages to stay in power by punishing criticism.
Dr. Chee Soon Juan has repeatedly been jailed, sent to prison and bankrupted. Even now, he is on trial for this peaceful protest. No doubt he has suffered but the harm that Lee Kuan Yew suffers is unimaginable. Dr. Chee's punishment has resulted in many foreign governments shunning Singapore; it has resulted in the International Bar Association writing a scathing attack against the lack of rule of law and it continues to cause a flood of talented Singaporeans leaving the small island state. Lee Kuan Yew continues to be seriously weakened by Dr. Chee Soon Juan. And the more he punishes Dr. Chee for no rime or reason, the more Singapore becomes known as a ruthless one party Leninist state.
What Singaporeans should realize is this. This government has lost all credibility both inside and outside Singapore. Larger countries might be able to withstand this but a small island like Singapore cannot. I believe that every single person in that island has lost any respect for the institutions of government. And the credit for this is proudly taken by all of us. We take the punishment when the government unjustly punishes us. But at the same time, we manage to weaken both the dictator and his government. And if we continue the onslaught, in very little time, there will come a point beyond the threshold of tolerance. And that is when this tyranny will come to an end. It is not as difficult as you may think.
So I ask Singaporeans to do whatever you can. In May last year, I did my small contribution to the cause of freedom by being arrested for criticizing Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for her bias in the defamation lawsuit brought on by Lee Kuan Yew against Dr. Chee, by being sent to jail for 3 months. Although I was punished, I managed to hurt the credibility of Lee Kuan Yew and his government by exposing his abuse of the law. My action has also managed to expose Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean as a political judge who uses her position to silence dissent. Her reputation has been completely and permanently destroyed, no matter how many times Lee Kuan Yew will sing praises for her in his state controlled newspapers.
No matter how insignificant or small your actions, it all adds up. It helps in toppling this dictatorship. So distribute leaflets, write blogs, take part in peaceful protests, write to your government, write to foreign governments, write to your friends, do anything you can. Your individual actions combine to become a powerful force, which will bring about change.
Please don't stop.
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.
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13 comments:
Blood. Sweat. Tears. As much as I would like to agree with your call to topple the tin-pot tyrant by peaceful resistance, a quick glance at history will demonstrate all too clearly that no dictator has ever willingly surrendered his grip without the expenditure of the aforementioned pain by his people or an external force.
From Marcos through Suharto through Pinochet and all the monsters that the poor and powerless have been cursed with, it has always taken the rise of a populace that can bear no more abuse to shake the leeches from their feast. To their credit, Dr. Chee and the SDP eventually woke up to realise that they were mugs for playing the game according to the rules set by their nemesis - but that will not be a sufficient condition to bring about change.
Let's not be naive. PAP's unhesitating abuse of law and the Constitution and the unfettered powers of the Singapore police state makes the chance of a peaceful transition of control highly unlikely. It took street protests and the willingness to endure heavy-handed riot poice and jail to bring about the beginnings of a change even in Malaysia with its rather less rigid controls. The control-freak city-state, by virtue of its tiny size which makes it far easier to monitor, will be a much harder nut to crack.
What will it take to rouse the frightened, comatose Singaporean? That remains to be discovered. Evidently the loss of a third of the country's reserves, the yawning gap between haves and havenots, the tsunami of foreign 'talent' taking away jobs and depressing the wages of everyone except the Mandarinate, the sanctimonious legalised corruption, the dead man's shoes model of advancement - none of these is a trigger for open outrage and street-wide defiance.
The truth is, until a large number of Singaporeans are willing to put blood, sweat and tears where their mouth is, their 50 years of serfdom and conditioning will continue to endure. There really is no free lunch.
Gopalan! well done and yes, every little bit adds up. Do you have any statistics as to how many people visits your blog each day?
To mycroft,
Thanks for your observation. I beg to disagree, please. Your comparison with the countries you mention, is not totally accurate. These are larger countries with a market of their own. Dictators can hang on even with difficult circumstances on the ground. Singapore is different. The economy is fragile, dependent totally on exports. Second, it is a tiny island with a small population. Third, it has an English educated population where more an more are becoming educated. Fourth, this makes the population mobile, and able to re-locate. Fifth, the good times of the past has raised the cost of living so high, that unless Singapore manages to find another niche, which is difficult, the books cannot balance. And lastly, you forget psychology. If just a few began peaceful street protests, in these trying circumstances, the masses will follow.
Toppling Singapore's dictator Lee Kuan Yew is easier done than you think. All it takes is a few willing horses. And it looks like we have them.
I hope you guys in Singapore realize that anything is possible if you put your minds to it. I am not trying to makes things easier than it is, but I am optimistic. I usually am, which has always worked out for me.
Before 1953 May, no one had scaled Everest. Since then, many consider climbing it, no mare difficult than a morning stroll.
Lee wants you to think it is difficult. In fact, it may just be the opposite. This is your chance to suprise him.
PAP is trying to control the tide of public opinion, and we must overturn it!!!-Live as a Human Being or die
Thumbs down to all of you Lee Kuan Yew, PAP, SPF, SPH, MediaCorp and Court of Singapore.
The Emperor Lees attend court on a personal capacity w/o even applying for leave??
What integrity is this? 2 sets of laws?
Unless you also do the same thing!
How come they used civil servants/press secretary to make announcements on their behalf when case is a personal suit??
Big Time Liars
The position of Prime Minister of Singapore is hereditary, and you can even exercise the option of choosing your successor from either your own family members or close associates.
-Guaranteed return to power at every ‘General Election’ for the Prime Minister and his party.
QUOTE FROM THE DEAR LATE JBJ'S REFORM PARTY :
Our message to the national press today is similar: you cannot keep your monopoly on the minds of Singaporeans and insult their intelligence at the same time.
Singapore Press Holdings has been given a monopoly of Singapore’s print news market, it is therefore imperative for ST to accurately reflect sentiment on the ground.
The growing sentiment is very very unhappy except for Foreigners!!!
Urgently what is the point of being talented when they merely need to follow orders like a puppet--instead of being allowed to exercise their (super expensive) talents fully and freely?
Rubbish Ministers!!
When Lee Kuan Yew meets his maker,
I will buy a chocolate cake to celebrate.
Agreed wholeheartedly.
To ask Sinkaporean slaves to stand up would be harder than striking toto or 4d. Sinkaporeans simply are afraid, bery afraid, coward and have no backbone at all.
The only hope Sinkapore will change government might be Bin Laden is alive and decides to make his home there. LOL
Hi Gopalan,
My apologies for sounding so negative - I had not intended to sound gloomy but to point out the reality of the current Singapore situation for those who would defy the man. Perhaps it is as you say: you see the glass half full while I on the other hand sometimes see it half empty. It is difficult not to feel some anger and despair when they can pass legislation effectively declaring that a lone peaceful protester could be construed a threat to the State if they so choose - and to do so without so much as a whimper of outrage from citizens.
On the brighter side, it is heartening to remember that history also demonstrates that no tyranny or oppressive model of governance has ever withstood the test of time. Not a one of the ugly regimes that survive today - not your African failed states, not the Middle East religious zealots, not the East Asian dictatorships - is more than 50 or 60 years old at best. They all eventually collapse and wither away, even the most hardline ones like E. Germany, Spain, Iraq, Chile, S. Korea, Taiwan and imminently probably Zimbabwe.
China too (Communist only since 1950, let's not forget), after millennia of harsh treatment of its people under one emperor or another is slowly but surely being forced to concede the human rights ground in order to prosper in the 21st century. Certainly, the writing is on the wall for the PAP but it would be much more satisfying to see it crumble and the fat rats running for their bolt-holes in panic sooner rather than later.
It's said that the darkest hour is just before the dawn and it would be wonderful to see the sun rise upon our beloved free and fair Singapore and not upon the gilded stainless steel cage that it has been made into by a regime that long ago lost its legitimate right to rule.
Hello mycroft,
Please, no apologies necessary. It is a privilege to read posts of yours with substance.
Thanks
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