Singaporeans, wake up to reality, please.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please wake up to reality.

Lee Kuan Yew's son had recently made a long speech in Parliament. The speech was trying to mislead you into believing that his government is trying to bring about more democracy. Towards this, among other nonsense, he says he is going to increase the number of nominated MPs.

I hope you will finally realize the situation you are in. Singapore is a dictatorship controlled by Lee Kuan Yew and his family. He has no intention of ever losing any election. Regardless of how many people vote for the opposition, he will win. So will his son, and so will his relatives such as Wong Kan Seng and his close friends. If the votes do not go his way, he will just stuff the ballot boxes with the number he needs. And if anyone complains, he will have you arrested and sent to prison or sent to the Institute of Mental Health or wherever else he wants to. I want you to realize this.

Second, regardless of how many opposition candidates gets elected, it is he who controls every institution in Singapore. It is he who is the master of the judges, the Police Commissioner, the Army, the Press, everything. Parliament is merely a rubber stamp. Even if Parliament were to decide anything against his wishes, which is most unlikely, his servants in the right places would merely ignore it.

Third he controls the media. He can spin any tale he wants and it will be dutifully published. You have no way of getting your voice across because there is no one to tell it for you. Yes, you can blog. But you can only do it in Singapore under disguise. If you state your name and criticize, you will be sent to Jail or the mental institution. That is why there is no one openly daring to criticize except for a handful such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan who is prepared to go to jail and has gone there many times in the past. Then there is myself who writes from California. There is nothing he can do to me, because I am beyond the reach of his tentacles. Like a bully who only goes after those who are helpless, he leaves me alone.

His son has spun a web of lies in Parliament, which actually mean nothing. His claim of allowing more dissent in parliament by increasing the number of Nominated MPs is nonsense as you know. Nominated MPs do not represent anyone. As the word says, they are nominated. Moreover they are handpicked and pre-approved by him and his son. What happens is worse than you think. All the questions asked by these selected individuals are prepared by him and his government. Like in a movie, they read out these questions and make these comments as if it is their own. It is not. The questions and comments are prepared and drafted by the government. They merely read it out. The intent is to fool you into thinking there is true debate. The whole thing is a shameless spectacle, an opera, a theatre, a make believe and a charade. In any case, since they do not represent the citizens, they have no right to be in Parliament anyway. Please don't forget, the Constitution of Singapore calls for elected representatives. Not these shameless clowns who do the acting to please their pockets and Lee Kuan Yew and his son.

Try to understand this. In this situation there is nothing you can do. Merely voting the opposition into Parliament will not do anything for you, when Lee Kuan Yew and his son are hell bent on keeping power for themselves.

The only way you can do something about it is to Protest. The answer lies in Civil Disobedience, a right which is guaranteed to you under the constitution; the rights of free speech, expression and assembly. Demand justice for yourself. The country is yours and if you do nothing, you will continue as the slaves that you are now.

Remember this. Lee Kuan Yew uses his mercenary Gurkha police to instill fear in you, with the threat that if you oppose in numbers, the Gurkhas will shoot you. Do not be afraid. You have right on your side.

I am, doing what I can by continuing to expose these injustices there. I was born in Singapore and I have not only a right but a duty to do what I can. My recent arrest and imprisonment in Singapore has given much greater exposure to “Singapore Dissident” which is being read widely not only in Singapore but around the world. The Singapore government had hoped that with my arrest, imprisonment and deportation from Singapore, I will disappear into oblivion. Sorry to disappoint Lee Kuan Yew and son, but I have no intention of doing that. “Singapore Dissident” will continue. By writing regularly, I keep alive my message that it is no better than a dictatorship which requires to be kicked out.

Do not be taken in by the gimmicks of Lee Kuan Yew and his son. They have no intention of loosening their grip on power. They intend to put you in jail if you oppose. They rule by the only way they know, fear.

Don't be afraid. They are not as invisible as they think they are. In fact they are hurting in more ways than one. Singapore has finally lost its niche. With manufacturing gone, their only hope is casinos and money laundering, both of which is in doubt. They have lost 2/3 of the assets of the country in bad investment decisions. With a huge public sector workforce with an astronomical payroll, they will not have the money to keep them in work much longer. You are going to see more unemployment than the 200,000 people who have already lost their jobs. Foreign companies will not invest there because it has nothing to offer. And with the country totally dependant on foreign companies, it is the end for them.

At the same time, you know that emigration has increased. To replace them they take on unqualified Chinese from mainland China. Malaysian Chinese are refusing to come. They cannot train new workers by giving scholarships because firstly it takes too long to educate someone and secondly, after getting scholarships, these students break their bonds. Today 8 out of 10 students who are on overseas scholarships refuse to return to Singapore. Of course the state controlled press there has no intention of reporting this.

Realize this. If you protest, you may be arrested. But what choice do you have. By keeping quiet, you are letting this corrupt dictatorship take Singapore to the dogs.

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/

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