Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many know that in Singapore, reality is not always what meets the eye. Research on the country would show a Constitution, grossly mutilated and hacked by numerous amendments literally taking away the rights immediately after they are given.
Article 14 of the Constitution says you have freedom of speech, while another part of it limits that right by some other law; while that other statute, takes away that right completely by requiring a government permit. In the end you notice you have no right to free speech at all. It is the same with every other right in that constitution. You can live in Singapore as long as you don't challenge Lee's power, while if you do, you will be punished by imaginary offenses and completely destroyed. You are a sort of a modern day slave. It is this double game which Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore plays on you which makes you realise that this piece of paper they call the Constitution, is simply worthless. You suddenly realize that, you might as well be in North Korea or Burma because it would have made no difference at all. In fact the North Koreans are at least more sincere, since they don't claim to be a democracy.
And then you have the elections which are required under the Constitution every 5 years. Also Singapore, according to it, is a democracy with different political parties eligible to form the government. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are 84 members of Parliament in the unicameral house. 82 of this number belong to Lee Kuan Yew's PAP, while 2 are from a perceived disguised opposition, because in truth Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong, the 2, are supporters of Lee Kuan Yew, but parading as something else. In fact this one party state has gone on ever since Singapore got it's self government in 1959, making it no different from the other dictatorships of the world. The only difference between Singapore and North Korea is the fact that you cannot escape from North Korea, while you can from Singapore, something many are doing in ever increasing numbers.
Lee Kuan Yew wins all the seats at elections not because he has better politicians, it is because it is simply arranged that way.
This is how Lee Kuan Yew does it every 5 years or so. First, he controls the entire media, which means his men are given full coverage in the press and extolled as the greatest men who ever lived while opposition politicians are labelled cheats and criminals, leaving them unable to rebut any of these lies and defamations.
Second, as he controls the judges, opposition politicians are punished and bankrupted in the courts. Since Singaporeans are aware of this and since voting an opposition candidate, if he wins, will likely attract the wrath and displeasure of the mighty Lee Kuan Yew, they decide voluntarily to vote only for PAP candidates since to do otherwise would be tantamount to hurting themselves.
As for PAP politicians, they are always someone whom no one has ever heard before. In Singapore unlike in other democracies, PAP candidates do not have to gain the support of their electorate. This is how it is done. Lee Kuan Yew, sends out his agents to scout the island for people with good educational qualifications. They are then invited to his palace where they are put through rigorous testing, both psychological and for social aptitudes. The main requirement is their willingness to do anything for Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP without question. In other words, it does not matter if someone had no interest whatsoever in politics, as along as they are greedy enough to do anything to please Lee Kuan Yew for money and career advancement.
These chosen PAP candidates are then fielded in elections and are invariably elected due to the advantage to the PAP in the unfair system, and secondly because the people themselves after long years of conditioning vote for them anyway, seeing no advantage in an opposition politician. If Lee Kuan Yew wanted to keep anyone out, he always succeeds. All he has to do is to state publicly that a certain Mr. X is a bad guy for that person to have no chance at all. The people are told that to have a prosperous life, it is essential to vote for Lee's choice of candidate.
Many of these PAP politicians, which I call "instant politicians" because they sprout out from the blue, have no interest in politics or even their society. They accept Lee's offer because there is profit in it, mind boggling unimaginably high salaries. Singaporeans do not respect them at all, but because they have no voice in saying it, with all the newspapers under Lee's control, apathy and indifference is the order of the day.
Singapore is not a participatory democracy, the people have no say in what the government does, just as the former Soviet Union or present day China. Lee Kuan Yew and his minions decide what is to be done, what roads to build, how many schools to build and how many hospitals and whatever else they think need be done after which his ministers and men simply implement it. Lee's philosophy is this; I will decide what is good for you, and you can stuff it. A good Singaporean in Lee Kuan Yew's books is one who appreciates what he does for you, showing both obedience and gratitude and above all silence.
Then there are a handful of Singaporeans, who are not prepared to live this, who believe that the Constitution gives them better. These are Lee's enemies. They refuse to be part of the quiet obedient lot, like Dr. Chee Soon Juan. He detests them and will do anything to silence them, using his wide array of dirty tricks in his bag. Chee has been sued repeatedly and bankrupted to the tune of several hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving him a bankrupt and disqualified from running for elections. So is his sister, Chee Siok Chin, also disqualified.
Just as Dr. Chee there are several other real politicians fighting for democracy in Singapore and who continue to suffer debilitating punishments and impoverishment, but yet continue to remain defiant in the cause of freedom. None of them have ever succeeded in winning any election. In fact it seems unlikely that they would ever win any elections in Singapore, unlike Lee Kuan Yew's "instant politicians".
It peeves me to see such ignoble and spineless gutless men and women win elections with ease licking Lee Kuan Yew's boots, while the true defenders of the people like Dr. Chee, have no chance at all. You can see the shame in the faces of men such K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law arguing bald lies such as, Singapore is so unique that even peaceful protests should be denied, that any attempt to criticize their judges should be punished, that Singapore is not suitable to have free press like other countries; statements which I am sure he himself knows are lies, but says it anyway.
And what is finally disappointing is the fact that despite the opposition knowing everything that I have written here and more, yet they are willing to go along with this ruse that Lee Kuan Yew is throwing at them as his "democracy". Why do they put up with it? Why do they even contest the elections when they know they are going to lose?
It must be quite obvious to anyone that Lee is not prepared to hand over his government to anyone. If elections did not go his way, he will simply stuff the ballot boxes. The opposition simply have no chance.
Anyone such as Gandhi would have called Lee's bluff and taken the fight elsewhere, to the streets. And I hope my call for civil disobedience will be heard.
Singapore is not made up entirely of such shameless boot licking "instant politicians" as the PAP ministers and a cowardly mass of people who are both ignorant and afraid to stand by principle. The Singapore diaspora, a very large one despite Singapore's small size, is made up today of hundreds of thousands even millions of capable men and women with pride who will not live under such a dictator, comprising of thousands of lawyers and professionals in all the English speaking capitals of the world who left and wish to have nothing to do with their former home. Mostly they simply vanish from the scene entirely not wanting to be heard at all. But mind you, they are there, even if you can't see them, a great loss to Singapore.
If Singaporeans are asked to state honestly who would protect them and stand by them, in times of calamity, PAP politicians or the opposition; I am sure the answer would be overwhelmingly for the opposition. If they were asked who would you trust more, Dr. Chee Soon Juan or PAP's K Shanmugam, I am sure the latter would not have got a single vote. But the tragic irony is that in Singapore's unfair electioneering system, a shameless bootlicker like K Shanmugam wins and Dr. Chee loses.
In the meantime, my advice to the next American tourist who pops in for a 4 day vacation is this, don't be fooled by the glass buildings on the waterfront. North Korea has them too.
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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11 comments:
The pathetic state of LKY's recruits for politicians is the destiny of decades of political oppression of the opposition. Everybody now "boh chap" just earn their keeps because lining the pockets is paramount. You reap what you sow. The PAP cadres of old are mostly dead just like LKY is going soon. John Maxwell Taylor on leadership is useful to recap. Sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act,reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a lifestyle, sow a lifestyle reap your destiny.
No more challenge being a politician, no issues of social justice in the ruling party's perception that is of importance. The laggards of Redhill can moan and complain about the cost of living but no one seems to be listening. the focus is now on the top 10% of the social hierachy.
Gone are the days of having to campaign because the whole election is just a road show.
If I am not mistaken Singapore Press Holdings now only have 3 directors on the Board. The old faithfuls are all gone.
Nair,
You shd go back and be part of Chee regime in Singapore than to hide in US. No pain no gain.
To Anonymous of Dec 03, 0128,
I am not allowed to return to Singapore without a visa. Even if I could I will be arrested for what is in this blog. I am not hiding in the US. This is my home. I am American citizen.
Hat's off, Gopalan. Telling it like it is in words of one syllable. This has to be one of your best pieces of writing yet.
A real politician is someone like Dr Lim Hock Siew. See link to video which is banned in Singapore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aia_lZ7ccdI
Years of untold suffering at the behest of LKY. Solitary confinement for those with a political view that differs from LKY's personal view.
Singapore is Asia's 8th most empensive city to live in, thanks to LKY and his beleaguered self-centred policies for only the top 10% of the population while 90% are suffering. Excerpts from the Business Times as follow:
(SINGAPORE) The strengthening Singapore dollar and rising prices have made Singapore the 42nd most expensive city in the world to live in, up from 79th place last year, according to survey results by ECA International, a management and assignment solutions company.
Singapore is now the eighth most expensive city in Asia, up from ninth last year.
Last year was the first time Singapore entered the Asian top 10 in ECA International's biannual Cost of Living survey of 400 cities. The survey helps multinational companies calculate assignment salaries.
ECA International's regional director for Asia, Lee Quane, calls Singapore's rising costliness as a city a 'double-edged sword'.
'For companies bringing senior talent into Singapore, the cost of an assignment will increase as higher allowances are required to maintain employees' purchasing power,' said Mr Quane.
'On the other hand, companies sending employees out of Singapore can apply lower cost of living allowances and still provide sufficient remuneration to maintain a good standard of living,' said Mr Quane.
Showing the pace of rising costs quite clearly, ECA International pointed out that the cost of living here and in Hong Kong has narrowed greatly over the years.
Two years ago, living costs here trailed that of Hong Kong by 15 per cent. That discrepancy fell to 7 per cent last year, and further still this year to 2 per cent.
On ECA International's rankings, Hong Kong is the sixth most expensive city in Asia and 32nd worldwide.
Assignee remuneration packages are typically influenced by inflation, availability of goods, and exchange rates.
ECA International said that exchange rate fluctuations have been the major influence on cost of living movements over the past year.
As a result, Japan's ever-strengthening yen has landed four of its cities in the top five most expensive cities in ECA International's global ranking.
Stronger currencies in 'typically low-cost locations' like Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia have also catapulted their business capitals up the ranks.
Kuala Lumpur is now 185th instead of 207th globally; Bangkok rose 37 spots to 138th; and Jakarta soared 70 spots to 104th.
The starkly higher costs of living in these locations has made HR managers alter their remuneration package policies.
'They are having to consider introducing cost of living allowances in locations such as Bangkok and Jakarta, not only increasing such allowances to assignees in locations like Seoul and Tokyo,' Mr Quane said.
"You shd go back and be part of Chee regime in Singapore than to hide in US. No pain no gain."
Whoever made this comment must be a PAP crony.
Please respect Mr. Nair blog, otherwise don't waste our time. Mr. Nair is a true political warrior. I am a Singapore born US citizen living in the USA for the last twenty-five and very proud and honored to be one.
Keep the good work, sir. The truth always hurts.
nair,
most of the first generation of pap mps were real politicians.
but after that they are messengers or mere office boys for the old man regime.
Mr. Nair, I am a Singapore citizen who is contemplating emigration to Canada. As much as I would love to believe what you said is true, I would, if I may, wonder if I may raise a few questions:
1. (...Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong, ...are supporters of Lee Kuan Yew, but parading as something else.)
Is there any evidence of this, whether online or anywhere else?
2.(...while another part of it limits that right by some other law; while that other statute, takes away that right completely by requiring a government permit.)
Which Article is this under?
To Wild Dog,
Whether you are contemplating or otherwise on emigration to Canada or some other place is not my concern, and neither is it the concern of any other reader I am sure.
Now as for your questions, it is really not my business to educate you. You have to do that yourself.
But briefly, for the first question, the fact that these 2 invariably stay away from the real questions such as the lack of human rights, and do nothing about it, should be evidence enough to anyone understanding even basic politics. It appears not to you.
Second, I would suggest you read the Consitution before you ask these questiions. The answer is looking straight at you.
Finally, I would suggest you stay in Singapoe. Canada needs thinking discerning individuals.
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