Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Singapore, an unconstitutional "constitutional" dictatorship

updated Oct 8, 2010
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore strongman 88 year old Lee Kuan Yew has effectively fooled the majority of Singaporeans and indeed quite a portion of the world into thinking Singapore is a "constitutional democracy"; that is up till now.

This is how he has done it. When Singapore became independent as Malaysia and later as Singapore alone, it was created as a constitutional democracy, a constitution similar to most constitutions in the democratic world including the American.

Constitutional provisions as we know are supreme and sacrosanct, and in most democracies impossible or almost impossible to change, because they contain the fundamental rights of the people such as freedom of speech, expression and the other fundamental human rights which we all should be taking for granted.

In order to protect your fundamental rights, all constitutions also include an article which makes illegal and void any law which violates your human rights in the constitution.

For instance, as the constitution protects your freedom of speech, any law which Parliament passes which takes away that right is illegal, because the right to freedom of speech is your inalienable right.

In order to make sure that your fundamental rights are not denied to you, under Singapore's Constitution, any attempt to change Constitutional provisions would require a 2/3 majority vote in Parliament.

Furthermore even if you could get 2/3 of Parliament to vote for constitutional change, there must be a real need (such as an emergency)for such a 2/3 vote to be accepted.

The reason behind this difficulty to change the Constitution is because in democracies people's fundamental rights such as freedom of speech have to protected at all costs. These rights have been enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights.

The idea being that freedom is a good thing, and people work and live better in societies with freedom and liberty.

But Lee Kuan Yew does not believe in democracy. He believes in fascism. So he creates in Singapore a fascist state but outwardly having the trappings of democracy. This is how he does it.

He takes away all the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution that you have, by changing it completely through Parliamentary amendments. In Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore "Constitution", you do not have freedom of speech, because you need a permit, to speak publicly, which by the way, you will not get. He takes away your fundamental right to assemble by placing a requirement that you need a permit. And so on and so forth; each and every right that you should have in the Constitution are taken away.

He does this by "complying" with the Constitution, which is, by getting 2/3 majority vote in Parliament by which he passes these laws. And if you were to ask how he manages to get these 2/3 majority votes in Parliament, the answer is very simple. He simply rigs the elections to make sure that only his supporters win.

And if you ask how he rigs them, it is like this. First he threatens and persecutes any Singaporean with defamation actions and imprisonment if you openly criticize him, his son, his family or his party.

Since every opposition politician has been sued bankrupted and jailed, no one with any ability or political ambition ever stands against him. The only ones who win are his own party members. And even if by chance, someone stood against him despite these dangers, immediately thereafter he is either sued, bankrupted or jailed, dismissed from his job and made a pauper. Today out of a Parliament of 84, 82 members belong to his party. Even the 2 so-called opposition members have been effectively silenced. They are just lame ducks.

And if all else fails, he simply stuffs the ballot boxes.

Singapore is today effectively a one party dictatorship, no different from Communist China, Cuba, North Korea or Burma.

At the same time, he controls the newspapers, the media, the trade unions and everything else. There is a name for this kind of government. It is called fascism.

At the same time, he makes sure that he is surrounded by people who have no leadership qualities or political aspirations whatsoever, being people who have just passed their exams. That way his grip on power is never threatened, since none of them has any political ambitions. They are Members of Parliament and Ministers merely because Lee Kuan Yew put them there, and any time he chooses, he can kick them out.

All his ministers have had scholarships and were educated in foreign institutions. After they graduate, he basically "buys" them over with large salaries and benefits. They, in return for the large salaries they get, do the dirty work for him. They arrest opposition candidates, freedom activists, dismiss opponents from employment, refuse to hire anyone who shows opposition tendencies and generally makes life very miserable for anyone who opposes Lee Kuan Yew and his friends.

And they, as grateful sycophants, blow the trumpet and lick the boots of the 88 year old Lee Kuan Yew and by extension, those of his son.

As someone long time ago had said, these are "running dogs" because they do the errands for Lee Kuan Yew.

At the same time, even though he runs a purely fascist one party state, he tells both locals and foreigners, through his state controlled media, that he has a "Parliamentary democracy" because he holds periodical "elections"; that he has the rule of law even though there is no such thing at all, as the judges are all there to protect him, not the rule of law.

In this way he manages to fool many into thinking Singapore is something which it is not.

Singapore today does not really have a "Constitution" at all. It is simply a one party dictatorship where Lee Kuan Yew can pass any law he wants anytime, with you Singaporeans merely living under his pleasure. No different from Kim Jong Il's North Korea except you cannot escape from North Korea while you can from Singapore.

But sadly for him, the cat has effectively now got out of the bag. Thanks to the Internet, the truth is being told, and the pen is proving to be far mightier than the sword, as the axiom tells us.

The people who have become aware of the truth, which I am glad to say is a growing number, are simply saying bye bye to Singapore itself and choosing to live instead in the West.

With Lee Kuan Yew already 88 years old now, this game has got to end very soon, and we can hopefully see a new beginning. The very foundations are rotting from underneath, and this edifice, based on fraud lies violence and deceit cannot withstand much longer. It must collapse.

For Lee Kuan Yew to continue on his merry ways of a dictator, he has to do something which he has not done so far, which is, close the borders like Cuba and North Korea. But trying to deny every basic right that human beings are entitled to have and still expect Singaporeans to prostrate at his feet, as they have done so far, is simply impossible. Lee Kuan Yew simply cannot have the cake and eat it as well.

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.

15 comments:

Newly minted Kiwi said...

Hi Gopalan,

There are 35,000 who considered LKY the Mother of Singapore. See the Facebook:-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Memory-of-Mrs-Lee-Our-nations-Mother/158477337505428

That is a lot more than 18 followers of your blog (those 18 who are smart enough to know what is really going on in that red dot island.)

I am trying not to laugh or cry here over the "Mother of Singapore" label. But it does remind me that some domestic birds prefer life in the cages even though I feed them leftovers sometimes.

Could Singaporeans be just like North Koreans, people who simply prefer dictatorship?

Gopalan Nair said...

Hello Newly Minted Kiwi,

No I don't hink so at all. 35,000 for a crowded island of 5 million people? Hardly. In North Korea or Cuba I would expect 99% to say so. So, that is not a large number. It is a very small one, especially keeping mind that the majority of them are card carrying fascists singing praises for Lee Kuan Yew.

As for me, I have 18 followers. That is a large number given the fact that everyone in that island, just as in North Korea is dead afraid to be seen even opening their mouths to complain.

No frankly, I am doing very well.

And if you took away the card carrying yes men from the 38,000, you won't have anyone left. Except perhaps the ignorant dummy, of which you find many in Singapore.

Anonymous said...

Dear Gopalan
I read your blog, but I dare not revealed my identity!

Anonymous said...

Imprisoned Chinese democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo on Friday won the Nobel Peace Prize

Ru Shengtao, 38, a migrant worker with several large bags of cement strapped on his motorbike, stopped to see what the group was shouting about. He said he'd never heard of Liu and didn't believe anyone jailed for a crime in China should be receiving an international award for peace.

---
Mr. Ru Shengtao is the ideal Confucian department store dummy. The PAP has begun getting the paperwork ready to give him citizenship.

He is an FT, after all.

Anonymous said...

We admire Mr. Liu Xiaobo, and commend the Nobel committee for their wise selection.

In awarding the prize to the imprisoned pro-democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Committee delivered a stinging rebuke of China’s growing intolerance for domestic dissent.

But, not everyone agrees with us.

- Headlines about the award were nowhere to be found in the Chinese-language state media or on the country’s main Internet portals.
- Broadcasts about Liu Xiaobo on CNN, which reach only luxury compounds and hotels in China, were blacked out throughout the evening.
- Many mobile phone users reported not being able to transmit text messages containing his name in Chinese.

Typical but of commies.

Anonymous said...

“For all these years, Liu Xiaobo has persevered in telling the truth about China and because of this, for the fourth time, he has lost his personal freedom,” his wife said in an interview on Wednesday.
----

Why is this relevant to Singapore?

Let's substitute some words:

For all these years, Mr Chia Thye Poh, Dr Lim Hock Siew, Mr Said Zahari, Mr. Vincent Cheng, and other patriots have persevered in telling the truth about Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore and because of this, they lost their freedom.


Gopalan,
Let's nominate these gentlemen for the next Nobel Peace Prize.

Anonymous said...

Gopalan, you have far more than 18 followers. Try creating a counter on you blog and you will be able to view the number of people who view your site everyday.

Anonymous said...

Citizens of Singapore, remember that:

They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.
He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security.
He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.
People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.
If we restrict liberty to attain security we will lose them both.
Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither.
Those who would trade in their freedom for their protection deserve neither.
Those who give up their liberty for more security neither deserve liberty nor security.

Gopalan Nair said...

To Anonymous Oct 08, 1201,

Thanks, I know that. Blogspot.com has fixed a device which records each time how many readers read the posts, and which posts; immediate, daily weekly, monthly and since May 2010. I have readers from all over the world, including such far off places as Latvia and Argentina. But the most are from of course Singapore, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, the UK, India and New Zealand. The readership is growing thanks. For instance at this present moment, other than the usual countries I mentioned, there are readers from the Netherlands, Finland and Hong Kong.

Thank you very much.

Anonymous said...

Great Blog -- Salutation to you and your blog.

Anonymous said...

http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=SINGAPORE#Summary

If you refer to this link above which shows that Singapore has more than 40% foreigners (which DOES NOT include the numbers of "NEW SINGAPOREANS) , if you read between the lines of this figure, you will notice that SIngaporeans are in a real danger of becoming a minority in a country which they, their parents and grandparents have struggled for.

With a population growth rate of 0.998% ; refer to the link
http://www.indexmundi.com/singapore/population_growth_rate.html

a year and with the coming huge influx of fts, yes we will soon be a minority in our own country.

The new citizens will definitely be loyal to ruling order so our votes will be effectively cancelled out by them , not to mention our fellow people who prefer to complain and whine but not willing to vote for a change. So the best solution is, get out!

Anonymous said...

This was taken from a post from "Good Citizen" from
http://www.temasekreview.com/

A Fourteenth Century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji, for example, outlines
this neglected understanding of political power quite well.
In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keeping
monkeys in his service. The people of Chu called him “ju
gong” (monkey master).
Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeys
in his courtyard, and order the eldest one to lead the others
to the mountains to gather fruits from bushes and trees.
It was the rule that each monkey had to give one-tenth of
his collection to the old man. Those who failed to do so
would be ruthlessly flogged. All the monkeys suffered
bitterly, but dared not complain.
One day, a small monkey asked the other monkeys: “Did
the old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes?” The others
said: “No, they grew naturally.” The small monkey
further asked: “Can’t we take the fruits without the old
man’s permission?” The others replied: “Yes, we all can.”
The small monkey continued: “Then, why should we depend
on the old man; why must we all serve him?”
Before the small monkey was able to finish his statement,
all the monkeys suddenly became enlightened and awakened.
On the same night, watching that the old man had fallen
asleep, the monkeys tore down all the barricades of the
stockade in which they were confined, and destroyed the
stockade entirely. They also took the fruits the old man had
in storage, brought all with them to the woods, and never
returned. The old man finally died of starvation.
Yu-li-zi says, “Some men in the world rule their people by
tricks and not by righteous principles. Aren’t they just like
the monkey master? They are not aware of their muddle headedness.
As soon as their people become enlightened,
their tricks no longer work.”

Anonymous said...

Refer to

http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/10/08/singaporeans-have-second-highest-average-wealth-but-median-wages-remain-stagnant/


I recall my lessons in primary school by math teacher that average simply means total divided by the number of units which yield the variables.

In a recent wealth management seminar that i attended , the average monthly income of Singaporeans was stated as 5000 Singapore dollars a month which means Singaporeans earn 60K on average a year while in this ST article it is US$250, 000.

I wonder where this big chunk of income is from?

Businesses in flatted factories are moving out, there is a very high percentage of aged people working on the streets? I dont recall any of my graduate friends earning more than 5k a month.

Anonymous said...

Dear Gopalan.Thank you! If not for this blog, I would have never googled the Singapore Constitution. I never knew it existed as I've never seen it before. I can see from the numerous amendments, that we Singaporeans have no liberty. LKY bulldozers his rules through his fake parliament. I am currently working overseas and this is just the push for me to stay here permanently.

Anonymous said...

I stumbled across this because I was studying about Amendments and wondered how one would go about doing the same back home. Surprise, surprise, all they need is the parliament to do it, not our approval. I wonder who framed the Constitution in the first place and who decided to pass it? Did we the people get to vote on it? Or was this an "inside job"? If a Constitution is so easily amended, doesn't it defeat the purpose of having one? Sigh.