Saturday, September 5, 2009

Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore now wants me disbarred! Should I be concerned?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's state owned and controlled newspaper the Straits Times of Sept 5, 2009, has this article about me, "Law Society acts against Gopalan Nair". Normally such news from any other country (other than Uniquely Singapore) would have made the subject of the impending punishment undoubtedly concerned. Surely after having spent many years studying for the Bar and qualifying as a lawyer, disbarment would have meant a total waste, not forgetting the shame and embarrassment of being known as a disbarred lawyer.

But you see, sadly for Lee Kuan Yew and his Singapore Judiciary, which is nothing but toothless body of terrified and intimidated yes men and women, masquerading as judges to do nothing more than please him; not surprisingly I don't feel any emotion at all, except perhaps humor.

I know as well as everyone else that Singapore is now not much different from a North Korea which periodically goes about making all sorts of threats against its opponents about which no one outside the country really cares. In the case of North Korea, whenever they get upset of something or other, they fire a few missiles into the air, which all immediately drop back to earth with faulty engines. In the case of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, when they get upset about someone or other in the free world whom they are unable to silence; I guess they go about bringing disciplinary actions! I can tell you this much. It is quite clear, these theatrical disciplinary proceedings which will undoubtedly disbar me, is intended more to intimidate the Singapore lawyers, as if they were not already sufficiently intimidated! As for me, I don't care one way or other what Singapore does. Surely even an imbecile can understand that.

Any action in Singapore truly has no effect on me whatsoever. Although technically still on the Rolls of lawyers in Singapore, I had permanently left the island for America in 1991 and ever since then have not renewed my practicing certificate. I am still on the Rolls of the English Bar as well as the Bar of California where I have been in active practice for the last 13 years.

Although ordinarily any attorney discipline of this nature in another respected democratic country such as the UK, Canada or Australia would result in disciplinary proceedings being instituted against the attorney in California; Singapore now has such a bad reputation for lacking any democracy or the rule of law, that any attempt to go after me in California would make them look even more silly than they already are.

Perhaps that explains why despite my string of "crimes", according to the Singapore dictatorship from 1984 till today, they had not made a single attempt to have me disciplined here or in England. United States and California are places which pride in the rule of law. In these circumstances, it would be impossible for Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore to convince them that Gopalan Nair, their political opponent, needs to be punished for among other things declaiming that Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean had prostituted her office as a judge while she sat in judgment over Dr. Chee Soon Juan last year in defamation proceedings on behalf of her boss Lee Kuan Yew.

In fact, if I am disbarred from the Singapore Bar, instead of being disappointed about it; it would in effect be a badge of honor, elevating me to the position of other formidable opponents of Lee Kuan Yew who have been similarly punished for their standing up to injustice.

Dr. Chee Soon Juan lost his job as a lecturer at the NUS and was bankrupted. Mr. Tang Liang Hong lost millions of dollars and went into exile in Australia. Francis Seow had to escape and seek refuge in Boston. JB Jeyaretnam was disbarred and bankrupted but eventually reinstated because he paid the fine. Tan Wah Piow had to run to England. And now Gopalan Nair is disbarred from practicing law in Singapore, even though I had no intention to do it anyway.

But I do concede one thing. The brave men and women above have paid a much greater price than I ever had. Their suffering was much more real than mine. While in Singapore, I was fined $8,000.00 in 1991 for something that I said at an election rally in Bukit Merah by elections. Suspended for 2 years from practice which had no effect on me whatsoever, since I was already in California by that time. Last year, I was not permitted to leave Singapore for 6 months which effected my practice in California financially from which I have already recovered. I was sent to Singapore's Queenstown Jail for 3 months, which turned out to be a tremendous adventure and paid $3,000 fine to the Singapore court when I was falsely accused by Lee's policemen of being disorderly. The trial took 18 days of which I enjoyed every minute grilling the lying Singaporean policemen, who were forced to make the most incredible statements imaginable. On the whole, it has been fun all around. And I am able to live and practice law in California which I enjoy every minute. Truly, Lee Kuan Yew has not managed to hurt me as much as he would have liked; that much is certain.

There should be no doubt about it. Any punishment from the Singapore Bar now, for what I did last year in Singapore and years before, would be another badge of honor on me, proudly worn and proudly proclaimed. Thank you.

Let me make some corrections and clarifications to this article from Singapore's state controlled press. As expected of any state controlled propaganda sheet, Singapore's Straits Times being no different, there are many convenient inaccuracies either to tell downright lies about Gopalan Nair, or to make Lee Kuan Yew's political enemy depicted in bad light. This is nothing new.

The article says he has not worked here for several years. This is partially true but the language is inaccurate. I had not practiced law in Singapore since 1991, which was 18 years ago.

The article states that the 2 man tribunal is looking into whether "I had brought the legal profession into disrepute by my actions as a member of the Singapore Bar". Let me make this very clear. I have all along believed that Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s dictator has brought the legal profession into disrepute by using the Singapore police, the Singapore judiciary and the Attorney General's Chambers for a dishonest purpose; which is to destroy his political opponents to perpetuate himself and his family and political party in power. This is an illegal use of the law and he has to be stopped for the sake of Singapore. I have all along been writing to point this out, that is, Singapore’s judges are corrupt and beholden to the Lee Kuan Yew family. My purpose in writing these blogs is expose this to the world and to encourage and persuade Singaporeans and others to fight against this misuse of power in the interests of Singapore. What I am doing is for the good of Singapore, so that Singapore can sooner than later become a democracy as it should have been all along.

In other words, the Singapore judiciary has brought themselves into disrepute. I am merely trying to point it out.

And then the article says I could be fined $20,000.00, prevented from applying to practice in Singapore for 5 years or suspended all together. Let me tell them this. Frankly it would have made no difference if the Singapore justice system had ordered that I be skinned alive. None at all. I live in California. If they did come up with whatever punishment and expected me to undergo it, they would have to enforce it in California. And as I said, it would be difficult for them to do that, since all my actions are not just permissible in California, they are actually respected. In California, my actions would command respect and admiration. We don’t care how they look at it in Singapore.

The article says that according to sources in Singapore, any action in Singapore against me would have little bearing on my California practice. As I said, this is not true. California just as any other state in the US requires lawyers to uphold the law, not only in California but anywhere else. Any crime or misconduct anywhere in the world would render me liable to discipline in California. But in this case I will not be liable for anything in California simply because whatever I did was not a crime or misconduct. It may be in Singapore but who cares about a country with unjust laws and without the rule of law.

The article accuses me of lowering the Singapore legal profession's esteem in the eyes of the public. I am not trying to "lower" its esteem. Singapore legal profession’s esteem, especially that of the Singapore judiciary, is already rock bottom. I am merely trying to make that widely known.

I have never been in contempt of Singapore’s courts as the article states. Pointing out that Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean, Lee Kuan Yew's judge had shamelessly prostituted her office by her bias for him, was not contempt or an insult. It is an accurate statement which needs to be made for public knowledge and public interest.

As for the allegation of abusing police officers, I never did that and have denied it all along, which I was able to successfully establish after the 18 day trial. Since the court hearing it was biased and beholden to Lee Kuan Yew to destroy his opponents, with Judge James Leong (he has some other Chinese names as well) commissioned to carry out that dirty job, there was no way I could win.

There is an inaccuracy where the article refers to "these judges presided over cases against 3 men who were convicted of mocking the court". If it is referring to the Kangaroo T shirt case involving John Tan, Izrizal and Shafi being sent to jail for 3 months for wearing T shirts with a picture of a Kangaroo, I did not write anything about it while in Singapore as I was about to be deported from the country at that time.

It makes reference to my having apologized unreservedly just before my release from prison. This is what happened. I was in Queenstown Jail and was due for release on the 26th of November 2008. One week before release, the police came to see me in prison and tendered fresh charges, this time for contempt of court. It referred to the earlier disorderly behavior trial before James Leong. During that trial I had made statements in court to the effect that "I had no confidence in the impartiality of the court" which happens to be true. The police now brought contempt charges for my having made statements like this in that court.

Frankly by that time I would have been prepared to say anything they wanted to hear. My practice in California had already suffered very badly and I had to get back. In any case, whatever promise I made to a court such as this, for which I had no respect whatsoever, could easily be withdrawn after I returned to America. In Singapore, I was dealing with a bunch of thugs, Lee Kuan Yew and his friends, and there was no need to stand on niceties there. So the best thing to do not to prolong my unjust incarceration was to say anything they wanted to hear. So I did apologize which I retracted the moment I landed in San Francisco.

And for your assurance these writings will continue.

And finally, I am sure the Singapore authorities will use this blog post to enhance any punishment they had in mind for me. So let me tell this to the very Lee Kuan Yew compliant Chief Justice of Singapore, Chan Sek Kiong. Go ahead; give me 5 life terms in prison without parole and throw away the key! It won’t make the slightest difference to me!

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.

19 comments:

Stanley said...

http://temasekreview.com/?p=13093

This is your legacy, sir.

Anonymous said...

Well said and well done, Mr Gopal Nair sir!

may i suggest you take a photo of yourself in full suit with your middle finger sticking out of your left hand?

Then post copies to LKY, Chief Justice and Mike Hwang, Prez of Law Society?

Hang in there, Sir, there are thousands of us here who empathise with and support you all the way......Regds

Anonymous said...

Excellent commentary.

Reminds me of crazy demented dogs howling at the moon which is unaffected.

Anonymous said...

Dear Gopalan,

You are truly a fighter, 1 in 500,000 brave Singaporean who dare to stand up for the real justice.

Your have live your life more honestly with dignity than any of the PAP millionaire ministers who make me sick to the stomach each time listening to their 'advices' and shallowly crafted speeches to illusionise and marginalize their own people.

I pity the 80% helpless Singaporeans who are oblivious to their freedom of choice, but to be told by their government how to lead their life in every aspects.

Even Japanese have woke up for a change after the Americans. Beyond the causeway, the Malaysian has already make their stand clear voted for the opposition.

When can the 80% Singaporean wake up to the reality and make a change for their political future? It's NOW or NEVER!

Regards,
A SPR

Anonymous said...

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_426214.html

Kim Jong Il documentary

Anonymous said...

Mr Gopalan,

Pls continue to shame them .... make sure that whoever search for singapore in internet gets into yr blog first .... i love my country but hate the people who runs it... thank you sir.

Anonymous said...

You're Joking. Seriously. Why would you pity the 80% of Singaporeans if they were completely oblivious to their "right" of freedom of choice?

There would be no point pitying them if they were oblivious, because that means they are completely ok with being treated the way they are now. They dont feel pain or sadness whenever the government does the things they do. In other words, they're happy with the way they are being treated.

Secondly, to explain why I put right in "", I dont believe that Freedom is a right. It's a privilege one is born into, like the Americans. Or is earned like the Americans of yesterday, who fought for their rights.

If any given country under oppression wants their rights, they should fight for it themselves without outside help. Too apathetic? Then they don't deserve it.

mycroft said...

Terrific stuff, Gopalan, and congratulations. Your blog finally got on the police state's nerves, so much so that they had to be seen to be doing something or risk looking more foolish by the day.

So what clever plan of attack did they come up with, these oh-so-highly-paid cream-of-the-crop scholars? Gawd, it's almost like watching a slo-mo train wreck in process. Could they be deliberately trying to humiliate the Singapore Judiciary before the entire world, like religious penitents scourging their own backs with sharp blades to atone for their sins? Bang goes the cheesy law-hub's credibility.

The PAP Internet fifth column have now been scrambled on all fronts, desperately slapping on damage control in horrible English and bad-mouthing the evil dissident Gopalan Nair ("I hate Nair, he made my goldfish cry", that sort of thing). I almost feel sorry for them. It must be so frustrating having to take the Singapore Dissident's abuse day after day and be grinding your teeth down to stumps in a rage, unable to do a darn thing about it.

Fame at last, GN! You're now a certified thorn in the side of the almighty Lees.

Anonymous said...

GN, you are right: Singapore's legal fraternity does a mighty fine job of dragging the profession into disrepute without any help from you.

But do you think that this might also be retalition for the Blossom article? Again, I am the one who made that initial request from you.

Anonymous said...

Singapore needs to be exposed!

They've a tarnished reputation here among all the middle and upper class families for murdering and conspiring against David Widjaja, a bright Indonesian student who was pursuing his tertiary education in the island of the thugs....Singapore.

He was victim of a fraud as I was. Singapore is a fraud. The world needs to know that and I'm going to shout it out loud. SINGAPORE IS A FRAUD!!!

Renaldi

Karma said...

Well done GN,
CSJ doing his best locally and you doing your best abroad to expose Spore unjust law. The same things in Msia. LKY, instead of going thru his old book of law he should focus on holy book(if he believes god). 86 years old man with the clock ticking. Those 'corrupt' judges, prepare yourselves once LKY 'vanish' from Spore soil.

jamestan said...

Dear Gopalan,

Thanks to what the mongrels ('despicable people' in Aussie-speak) did to ruin your practice, they have made their own lives more difficult for themselves. Perhaps their loss of face and insomina? is the self-inflicted punishment you have given them by writing the truth about them. If only they have shown you some mercy (practiced in British law) I wonder how long they they have tolerated your writing before resorting to this difficult decision to punish you (and in the process, punishing themselves even more).

I am sure your peers in California were shocked by the unfair punishment metted out to you for writing a blog. And these same people would be even more bewildered by the new actions by the highest court in Singapore. This will only serve to confirm the sorry state of the law practice in Singapore and add to the sympathy shown to you.

Why do you want to be associated with the Singapore bar? The entire justice structure smell of the Old Man.

Unfortunately, the lack of dissent in Singapore meant that the mongrels there continue to make more mistakes and still wag their tails in delight that they are doing something to FIX (Loong's favourite word) you. Little do they know that they are writing their own confessions of the crimes they have committed in the process. (more evidence !!)

The more wrongs those smarties find with you, the more they expose how unworthy and unqualified they are to practice law.

Best wishes for you, your health and your practice.

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work Mr Nair. By the way, this Blossom Hing which misuses the law, apparently seems to be rather powerful.

Since you blogged about her, it has stirred up enough controversy to disbar you, not that you would be affected but its sure something to think about.

Blossom Hing, a cheap women and working for a low quality legal profession.

Anonymous said...

Dear Gopalan,

Good to know that you are not affected by such things being done. Keep up the good work :)

If the article in the newspaper has half-truths and some false info about you, why dont you sue the paper for defamation in a California court? I mean, they are effectively tarnishing your reputation as a laywer by stating incorrect information right?

All the best!

fievel said...

Mr. Nair,

Just wanted to let you know that upon reading the newspapers that day, I immediately pointed out to my wife that yet another Singaporean was done yet another injustice. When the kangaroo t-shirt incident happened, I was still very much politically apathetic. But its amazing what the Spore environment here can do to us in a few years.

The fear is very much alive in Singapore but the dissent is growing and it feeds on this very same fear.

Good luck to you and I hope to have the chance to meet you one day when I finally make my way out of here into the States.

In the meanwhile, take care, enjoy the space there and don't get too agitated!

Anonymous said...

This only goes to show that Gopalan Nair is still a thorn in the PAP's flesh - what an honour you have Gopalan!

Keep it up, you kicked some ass while you were here and you can still kick it from where you are too thanks to your writings.

Karma said...

Corrupt PAP will still go after you even you reside at Mars. They forgot Mars has its own orbit and they follow universal law. PAP's brutal law doesn't seem to follow a proper orbit and soon it will be hit by thousands of meteors and create supernova. Slowly a new world will emerge called freedom.

Anonymous said...

it would be nice to have a transcript of how u grilled that police officer.

Anonymous said...

Keep going Gopalan!!! Lee Kuan Yew's bunch of judicial prostitutes reign supreme only in that tiny island.

Elsewhere in the world, they are seen to be nothing but the Despot's cheap judicial prostitutes and low class pariahs.