Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of Aug 19, 2009has this government announcement "Changes to the Legal Profession. Pupillage system reduced. Easier for lawyers to practice here".
You know, I hope, what is happening to the legal profession in the island. From the past 15 years or so, the profession has steadily reduced in size, not increased, to what it is now. Of a general Singapore population of 4.5 million, there are no more than 3,000 lawyers there. Yes, 3,000 lawyers, and no more! Earlier in this blog, I had written to the profession asking how many lawyers there actually were. As expected they have refused to answer. You can imagine why. Tell me who wouldn't be embarrassed to say this in any country. It is a clear indication the lack of rule of law there is so well known as to stop any self respecting lawyer to go even within a mile of it.
About a month ago, Lee Kuan Yew's Minster for Law has come up with a series of actions he had taken, according to him, to increase this abysmally low number of lawyers. He has made it easier for foreigners to practice here by lessening the training period, he has made law training easier to permit lesser qualified individuals to practice and with this latest report, he is going to allow certain selected individuals to practice law without even passing any bar exams!
Can you not see a touch of desperation here? Even the choice of words in this latest propaganda exercise is misleading. He says "the object is to ensure that Singapore continues to attract high caliber legal talent and to grow as a regional hub for legal services and eduction!" Really? If it has "continued to attract" legal talent, why has the number of lawyers continued to decline instead of increasing?
And has it made any headway into being a regional legal hub? Is this not, yet again, a whole load of government hogwash. And since he last spoke about a month ago, have foreign lawyers been breaking down doors in massive numbers to practice in Singapore? What is it? Or are you once again, putting out this nonsense in your newspapers to please Lee Kuan Yew into thinking you are in fact doing some work and not idling?
I think, any Singaporean who can think knows you are determined to waste the newsprint of your state controlled press by putting out this drivel. The truth is this. The moment any foreign lawyer comes to Singapore mistakenly thinking that it is a democracy, he would be out the next minute through the very door he came, the moment he understands what Singapore truly is. Which is nothing but a small time dictatorship trying to hoodwink others into thinking it is a democracy.
No foreigner would want to have anything to do with Singapore when they know it has no freedom of speech; no freedom of expression; where judges are stooges of Lee Kuan Yew; where the Straits Times publishes any rubbish that the state wants; where lawyers are afraid even to defend their clients for fear their licences would be revoked; where anyone with any contrary opinion is either behind bars or bankrupted and where a man such as this, Shanmugam, is permitted to say this nonsense with impunity.
Singapore is a joke. And the foreign lawyers will find this out the next minute. And when they do, they will leave through the very door they came, before you could even say Wunderbar.
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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5 comments:
Singapore rulers are ruthless, shameless, sadist and psychotic with self grandeur that they are above everything which means everything. So that they can treat anyone with disrespect and dehumanize them.
The country's system is no better than Myanmar and North Korea. The only difference is that Myanmar and North Korea do not cooperate with the US while Singapore does.
Singapore is first and foremost a deceptive nation.
Renaldi
Can you do a piece on key players in Singapore and how they are related to Lee KY. e.g. #1 son is PM. #1 son's wife heads Temasek. #2 son heads F&N ...
Perhaps a graphical tree.
Inquiring minds want to know.
A good example on how corrupt a Singapore court is clearly seen as in the case of David Widjaja.
All forensic evidences suggest that David was attacked and defended himself from knife attacks, one of his leg was twisted such that even if he survived he would be a crippled and it's not due to the fall according to forensic experts. One of his kidney was ruptured due to a powerful blow and this is too not due to the fall according to independent qualified forensic experts. He was dragged to the lower level. He couldn't even climbed to make the jump not even to stand up.
Singapore court just dismissed everything and refused to allow Indonesian forensic experts to testify in their court! David's family only able to gather up about 3 witness while Singapore brought more than 30s with false witnesses and false testimonies.
The country is thoroughly DIRTY!
AND UNASHAMED!
Renaldi
on Singapore penal code : Whoever, being legally bound to state the truth on any subject to any public servant, refuses to answer any question demanded of him touching that subject by such public servant, in the exercise of the legal powers of such public servant, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months, or with fine which may extend to $3,000, or with both.
does it mean if you do not answer a police officer asking who you are through the phone for any reason, you are implicable by the law?
To the Anonymous above me. I quote "Whoever, being LEGALLY BOUND to state the truth"
To my knowledge, the courtroom is the only place that binds you to tell the truth. A phone call with a police officer is completely... Off. But then again, this is Singapore we are talking about =/
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