Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of July 9, 2010 has the story "Law Society Chief steps down". It is about Sydney Michael Hwang, the Singapore Law Society President, who at 67 years of age, perhaps cannot take the shame of it any longer and decides to call it a day.
The official reason given in the story is that he has no time because Dubai has given him a job as an arbitrator.
He claims to have had an education in England and had worked in an establishment law firm in Lee Kuan Yew's one party dictatorship all his life. Looking at his long Singaporean legal career, we see he did well under Lee Kuan Yew's intolerant regime, because it appears, he had no opinion whatsoever about anything; no opinion on Lee Kuan Yew controlling his Law Society; no opinion on the gradual and by today complete erosion of human rights in the island; no opinion on the abuse of the law to silence political dissidents; and now he willingly commences disciplinary proceedings against me in the name of the Singaporean Law Society, an organization which he heads, which will inevitably have me disbarred, merely because I criticized one of his master's judges Belinda Ang Saw Ean.
And what sort of a hot shot lawyer is that, which he claims he is, when he shows not the slightest concern when a dictator of a country hijacks the law for his personal interests and treats the entire population as slaves?
Sydney Michael Hwang claims to be an arbitrator. And how do you respect or even trust an arbitrator who is so afraid of authority that he completely ignores the misuse of the law around him by his rulers. What, has he no shame? What guarantee does one have that he will decide the law fearlessly for the Dubai courts, when in the past, all his life, he has been as afraid as a mouse not to offend the Singaporean supremo Lee Kuan Yew, and in the process enrich himself?
No, this man is not an arbitrator. An arbitrator is one who can be trusted to act fairly even under pressure and disadvantage to oneself. An arbitrator is one the people consider a hero, who would stand selflessly for the truth and justice. This man is far from it. A careful examination of the cases he conducted so far, would very probably show his fear of and bias for his master's government.
The newspaper story claims that he is appointed a judge in Dubai's courts. Such a man can only lower the integrity of those courts, since, if he is unable to show any legal courage in Singapore, how can he do it in the future for Dubai? Will he not now try to please the Emir's government in his cases?
What a judge needs to have in Singapore or anywhere is principally not just the law. Much more important than the law, he needs courage to stand up to the truth, something this man lacks completely. This is a man who will merely stand and watch even if a child is drowning if that is was it takes.
I understand he is going to remain in Singapore and handle Dubai's cases. If I can give some advice to the government of Dubai on these matters it is this. You are much better of finding an English Judge, an Australian or New Zealand judge than this man. He is a shameless pretender who is not fooling anyone about the law, not anyone who knows what he and Singapore truly are. You would be hurting the reputation and integrity not only of the government of Dubai but the credibility of your legal system to have this man anywhere around you.
The reader will see of course that I have made a scathing attack on the reputation and integrity or rather the lack of it in this man Sydney Michael Hwang. I have attacked his impartiality as an arbitrator, an occupation from which he claims to earn a living. If people are to read this blog and believe it to be true, and if in fact untrue, he stands to be seriously affected in his office as arbitrator. If he does believe that what I said is a lie, he should of course sue to protect his reputation. But you know what, he will not sue me in the US simply because what I say about him is true and because California courts are independent, impartial and fearless.
Of course in Singapore under the protection of his kind and loving benefactor Lee Kuan Yew, he will not only win, he will have me crucified.
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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2 comments:
GN, Michael Hwang and other lawyers in Singapore like him can only hope for foreign job postings in places like Dubai which is just as fascist as Singapore.
I will think more highly of his posting if he was appointed to be a judge in South Africa or Sweden.
To Anonymous,
Dubai, with all that money, will improve its law image if it had lawyers from democratic countries like Britain, not Sydney (this man Sydney Michael Hwang), this man, who was a lawyer under Lee Kuan Yew.
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