Australia's (Singapore's) James Gomez, slipping into the night

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Reliable lookouts secreted inside Singapore's Changi Airport have accurately reported sightings of James Gomez, a self proclaimed future opposition Member of Parliament in Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew's Parliament, having boarded another night flight for his home in Melbourne where he lives and works permanently.

Unlike any other political opposition hopeful in Singapore's entire history, Gomez does not live in Singapore, but at his new found home in Australia where he lives and works as an Australian permanent resident. However this scenario has one twist in it, Gomez unlike his other fellow Australians in his country, is not an Australian citizen, he technically is still a Singapore citizen.

It is this fact, his Singapore passport, regardless of the fact that he has no desire to reside in his country of nationality, preferring the West instead, that has enabled him to visit Singapore for a few days lately, persuade Dr. Chee Soon Juan to give him the Singapore Democratic Party membership and even suggesting that he may contest the next general elections in Singapore, to represent Singaporeans (not Australians) among whom he has not lived for decades now, and for whom it is impossible to render any assistance since he is physically in Australia.

It is this fact, the Singapore passport alone, never mind he only visits Singapore occasionally after a 6 hour flight North West across the China sea to Singapore, that has enabled him to make fiery passionate speeches at the only place allowed for such activity by Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's Hong Lim park, about how bad Lee Kuan Yew is and about how good he was and how he is going to change Singapore and rid the island completely of the tyrant.

It is this fact alone, the Singapore passport, that has enabled him from the rostrum to make his unusual signature greeting of sorts, by raising his right hand straight towards the sky and pointing all fingers upwards, a gesture that he did repeatedly from the Workers Party rostrums in 2006 electioneering (a party which he has since abandoned), a gesture which I have not been able to establish the origin despite every diligent effort.

I enquired whether this outstretching of his right hand vertically upwards, is some sort sort of Australian aboriginal gesture or greeting but that has not proven to be so. Since Australians themselves do not stretch out their right hand vertically to the sky for any reason, I decided to give my own interpretation to this extraordinary physical movement. I reckon, Gomez is pointing to the Heavens and reminding us that one day he wants to move from Australia to the Heavens, and secondly he is telling us that the Heavens is indeed a particularly desirable place to emigrate to, besides Australia.

It is to be noted that stealth is one of Gomez's strong points, perhaps a prowess he got by studying the Aborigines in Kakadoo Kangaroo National Park at Alice Springs, waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting wallaby for their supper. He was able to almost stealthily unnoticed enter Singapore without even the permanent lookouts at Changi observing anything, and now he has left with the rest of us Singaporeans not being any the wiser.

Surely this is not what Singaporeans, his future constituents, in the unlikely event that he wins the elections, should be asked to expect from a future Singapore Democratic Party representative in Lee Kuan Yew's Parliament. Is all that we Singaporeans can expect from this Australian is a few fiery speeches, an unusual hand raising to the sky, a few photo ops, and that's it! Is he not going to be with us, among us, and working for us permanently in Singapore, rather than in Australia? Or is all we can expect is a few lightning flash visits of a few days, a bit of hand raising, and is that all!

Had I been a resident of Toa Payoh Lorong One, 15th floor, Block 25, Apartment number 12345, Singapore 45678, in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, facing East to Changi airport, at Runway 02, from my balcony, should I not be feeling a little let down by this man who has just abandoned me after a few speeches and returned to his Australia permanently, to his house with a lawn and a Yorkshire Terrier and a Barbecue, and crates of 3 Arrows Melbourne beer?

What sort of an Singapore Democratic Party politician is that, I am going to say, a man who just abandons me whenever it suits him and goes home to Australia, and flies in on Qantas QX1, to Changi for a few speeches and media interviews and photo ops, as and when it suits him.

Am I a Singaporean worth nothing more than this from this Australian, is that all I can expect from an Australian permanent residence who comes in from the cold and slips out stealthily under the cover of night from Changi?

Singapore Democratic Party has Dr. Chee, Siok chin, Gandhi Ambalam, Wijeyasinga, John Tan and every other committee member and activist. All of them are not only honest hardworking politicians who represent their constituents interests, all of them of course live permanently in Singapore and work full time for the interests of their residents who can approach them at anytime and anywhere for help which they are ready and capable of rendering.

And while these admirable Singapore democratic Party members are working hard on the ground for their fellow Singaporeans, Gomez for whom living in Singapore is not good enough, works in his Melbourne university, and goes home to his house with a lawn and a dog and a barbecue to gulp his 3X beer under the Australian sunshine totally oblivious and indifferent to the pains of his fellow Singaporeans 6 jet hours away in Singapore North West across the China Sea by Qantas, at flight level 41, magnetic heading 280, for Darwin VOR, then on to Cupang, Bali, Senang and cleared for landing on Runway Changi 02R.

If the Singapore Democratic Party is determined to have Gomez PhD, as their man, surely Singaporeans including myself have a right to know his itinerary, when is he scheduled to grace us with another of his flash visits, like a flash flood, when is he going to give us another of his luminary speeches worth their weight in gold on how he will demolish Lee Kuan Yew single handedly, and when is he going to do his classic salute of stretching out his right hand to the Heavens, and last but not least, when will he leave us again, until his next precious visit.

Surely the Singapore Democratic Party , whose member Gomez has become by virtue of his magic document, the Singapore passport, has a duty to keep us informed of such nice things.

And perhaps Gomez could enlighten us about the way of his new found countrymen, the Australian Aborigine, and give us a rendition after having stripped naked to his loincloth, singing the Kakadoo Forever, their unofficial national anthem, with warrior paint on his body and a rendition of the Didgeridoo, their primitive wind instrument at the junction of Serangoon Road Little India in Singapore and Norris Road.

Now that is what Gomez should be doing instead of trying to represent a people among whom he does not even live.

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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