Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Singapore state controlled newspaper's online edition of August 4, 2009 has this article "Eurasian Pride. Racial Harmony in Singapore". Talk about a wrong choice of words, and worse, an insult to every red blooded Eurasian in Singapore!
Normally when you say "pride" for a section of the community, you normally think of a people downtrodden because of a distasteful or immoral past reputation, such as the "gays". That is why you have "gay pride week" or "reformed criminals pride week". The need to assert their "pride" is to challenge the normally held derogatory view of them, an attempt to rehabilitate from a past bad reputation. I have no problem with that when it comes to gays and others previously disadvantaged, and I am sure neither do you.
But to write an article about "Eurasian pride" is to insult every Eurasian in Singapore or anywhere else. George Yeo, Lee Kuan Yew's Foreign Minister, makes several false assertions in the article which means either he has never lived in Singapore or he is deliberately putting out falsehoods, because with a state controlled press in Singapore, he can say anything however false unchallenged. The latter is of course the case here.
First he says "More than 20 years ago, Eurasians were not treated in a respectable way and therefore many left for Australia." I have lived in Singapore too and I have never come across anyone treating Eurasians in a "less respectable way". In fact, with a European ancestry, albeit only part, Eurasians felt themselves better and higher class than the Asian Chinese in Singapore, like George Yeo. Considering Singapore being a predominantly Chinese island and they feeling European; not wanting to be associated with the Singaporeans Chinese coolies, of which George Yeo's ancestors were one; they preferred to settle in Australia which was principally a white country. Their leaving Singapore was certainly not because anyone in Singapore looked down at them. In fact it was the other way around; the Eurasians looking down on the Asian Chinese; and the Asian Chinese like George Yeo admiring Eurasians for their usually better looks and their European culture. George Yeo's name itself gives this away, since why is he calling himself George Yeo instead of Yeo Heng Hock or whatever Chinese name he was born with since his Mongoloid appearance has nothing to do with a European name like George!
George being a typical English name, I am sure King George V of England, would be turning in his grave to know a Singapore Chinese guy whose parents were Chinese coolies from Southern China, in pigtails kowtowing every five minutes to the Emperor's servants, lest their heads be chopped off; is now running around Singapore island and calling himself George!
George Yeo then says Eurasians now are asking that they be described as Eurasians in the Singapore identity cards. Apart from the fact that they may or may not have asked to be described as "Eurasians" in their ID cards, since with a state controlled paper like the Straits Times you can say any lie you want anytime; the whole concept of marking a person’s race in his ID as Chinese, Indian etc, is totally unacceptable. It smacks of apartheid, since the constitution specifically declares all to be equal; what need is there to mark a persons' race other than to discriminate him? This practice is outlawed in all free civilized nations in the world except for the totalitarian and repressive regimes such as the previous racist S Africa. For instance my California ID carries the name Gopalan Nair. It does not say Gopalan Nair, Indian.
He then says "Everyone in Singapore is given equal treatment". Really? In 1938, Singapore Chinese population was only 51%. Today, despite the decreasing birth rate among the Chinese, which would have meant the Chinese population, would have declined even further, it now stands at 75%, because George Yeo's government in total violation of the Constitution brings in disproportionally large numbers of Chinese from China to ensure they remain the majority. This is a violation of the Constitution as it requires equal treatment among the races. Is George Yeo, Lee Kuan Yew's Foreign Minister not lying through his teeth when he says “everyone is given equal treatment"? Tell me George Yeo, are the Malays and Indians treated "equally"?
George Yeo, who appears to be completely in the dark about Eurasians, should be told one more thing. Eurasians, the educated ones that is, are continuing to leave Singapore in progressively greater numbers to Australia and elsewhere. And they are leaving because there is no democracy in Singapore and also because the Straits Times, Singapore’s state controlled newspaper continues to insult their intelligence and their ethnicity by writing this nonsense such as that put out here by Lee Kuan Yew's foreign Minister George Yeo, this Chinese George.
My name is Gopalan Nair. Not Archibald Adams Nair. And I am proud of it.
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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3 comments:
Not only does he call himself "George Yeo", but in fact, whenever there is a need to have his full name stated, he prefers it to be written as "George Yong Boon YEO" i.e. family name at the end, totally in contradiction to the usual Singapore/Asian practice where the family name is in front i.e. George YEO Yong Boon.
He is so particular about this issue that you see his name written as such on election documents, on election posters pasted in his constituencies, on public buildings that he "opens" (eg "This builiding is officially opened by George Yong Boon YEO on..."), and in fact, everywhere in Singapore, even on the webpage of the government cabinet. i.e. on the government cabinet webpage, you will see names like this: "Tony TAN Keng Yam", "Raymond LIM Siang Keat" etc, but not for george yeo. For george, it is: "George Yong Boon YEO".
No other PAP Ministers and no other Singaporeans behave like him! He is truly the one and only unique George Yong Boon YEO!
By the way, this is the same man who called Dr. Chee Soon Juan a western stooge. That is, until Chee reminded him that while the former is "Soon Juan", he is "George".
His surname deviates slightly from the norm? How dare he! How dare his birth certificate be different from the rest of us! All animals are equal! Four legs good, two legs bad! This is clearly an issue of utmost importance!
By the way, Dr. Chee Soon Juan is clearly an intelligent man, able to discern western-stoogeness on the basis of names. We should all vote for this guy.
Foul stooge, stop typing in English!
To Mr. Gopalan Nair: If you really believe in Freedom of Speech, why do you enable comment moderation or allow others to post such bull.
Of course it's a matter of the utmost public importance what George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, does, however outwardly trivial. George Yeo has chosen a career in high PUBLIC office and all of his personal quirks become significant because his every action could easily affect our lives and well-being. All he need do as Foreign Affairs Minister is make a careless remark offensive to the rulers of a touchy nation and Singapore citizens in that country will suffer the consequences immediately, that's how important his behavioural foibles can be. Witness LKY quickly offering an abject apology for his stupid remark about Johore being "a place that is notorious for shootings, muggings and car-jackings" before matters escalated beyond control.
Georgie clearly didn't do his homework and knows bugger-all about Eurasians but that hasn't stopped him from shooting off his mouth about them. Maybe he ought to ask Eddie Barker (Eurasian Old Guard leader of Singapore, First Law Minister) or his ghost whether he was ever "not treated in a respectable way"? Or maybe Goh Chok Tong's Eurasian grandchildren have nothing to be proud about?
Btw Anon, you ought to know perfectly well that Freedom of Speech is not a licence to shout 'Fire!' and spread panic in a crowd. That applies to the racial-hatred card, lies and cynical black propaganda beloved of government stooges as well.
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