Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am not one to dampen your spirits and the euphoria for political change but let me tell you my fears. Frankly I don't think there is going to be any real change whether you have 80 opposition seats or 800.
This is what it is. Power lies in the organs of state, not individual members of Parliament. Lee Kuan Yew now controls Singapore, as well as the judiciary, as well as the press, as well as the media, as well as everything, period.
I think Lee Kuan Yew has realised that whether you like it or not, there are going to be some opposition candidates. If so, how else to continue ruling over Singapore by having a few PAP men disguised as opposition candidates. This way, they could not only give the impression of a multi party state; they could still continue their absolute control over Singapore just as they done for the past 40 years!
Let me tell you my suspicions on these people. Look at Tan Jee Say who has suddenly cropped up from the woodwork, the star of the Singapore Democratic Party. A former PAP man all his life and the trusted right hand man of PAP's Cabinet Minister Goh Chock Tong as well as serving in numerous important positions under the PAP. Now suddenly he claims to be a defender of the people's rights! What I want to ask him is this. Did he not realise that everything was wrong under the PAP during all those years when he slavishly licked his master's (Lee Kuan Yew's) boots?
The same goes for the other major discovery of the SDP, Dr. Ang Yong Guan, another British educated erstwhile lackey of the PAP who has suddenly realised that PAP is not so good after all. Where was he during the last 40 years of PAP dictatorial rule, licking his master's boots?
And I understand that all of them are working for the same goals, which is giving Singaporeans more jobs, lowering the cost of living, and making life for everyone better, thank you very much.
But have you forgotten that Singapore today does not have a free press. It does not have an independent judiciary. It does not have the right of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression or any damn freedoms whatsoever. And as long as you don't have any of these freedoms, regardless of who is voted in as an opposition politician and how many are voted in, you will still be Lee Kuan Yew's slaves, completely at his mercy at anytime and anyplace.
And have you noticed that none of these opposition marvels have ever spoken of the need to introduce human rights into Singapore as the Constitution demands. All they want to do is to bring down the cost of living. But what good is a lower cost of living if Lee Kuan Yew can put you in jail the next minute on trumped up charges.
Frankly I have no proof of any of this, but this is what I believe anyway. Each one of these political marvels would enter Parliament and further the political ends of the PAP without rocking the foundations of the dictatorial regime.
That is why, I am not holding my breath on these elections. Indeed I fear that after these former PAP men and women are elected into Parliament, they would themselves kick Chee Soon Juan out because that is, I believe, the ultimate goal of the Lee Kuan Yew regime. Another way to put it is regime change. In Lee Kaun Yew's eyes, an SDP without Chee Soon Juan is a desired goal for the good of the PAP, just as JB Jeyaretnam was ousted out of the Workers Party when he got troublesome.
If I was Chee Soon Juan, I would be more wary of these surprise entrants from the PAP into the opposition. There is more to it than meets the eye.
To Dr. Chee I will say this. I told you so. As for me, I would advocate the need for changing the foundations of state before anything else. Demand an independent judiciary. Demand your rights. And don't stop until you get it. And elections and such things should follow only thereafter.
Dr. Lee Siew Cho once told me that he had many Barisan Socialist members in Lee's Parliament. But no matter what they said or did, nothing happened. This was because Lee Kuan Yew controlled everything, the courts, the police, and everything. That is why Dr. Lee Siew Cho took to the streets. Can anyone blame him?
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
I was hoping that LKY gets shocked at the overwhelming results for opposition and suffers a heart attack and it's the end. Besides he doesn't have many years left, I hope.
On the other hand would you rather Tan Jee Say and Ang Yong Guan continue licking PAP's boots for obscene salaries? At least they are retaliating the soft way, since the hard way will land you and CSJ in such difficult troubles. It's a difficult decision IMO.
This time the opposition has attracted better quality candidates and the reverse true for PAP. I can feel overwhelming support for opposition online. Change is coming, so just wait a little longer.
Francis Seow Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOLJE2ysNw
Singapore is still a one-man show. Everyone is scared of Lee Kuan Yew, except Francis Seow.
Hi Gopal. The reason why the opposition cannot campaign on the issue of human rights is that Singaporeans are unable to grasp such a concept after living in LKY's Singapore for so many decades. Singaporeans only understand cost of living, jobs, HDB prices, etc. Hopefully, by addressing these concerns, the opposition can be voted into parliament to advocate the necessary changes to bring about a just and egalitarian society.
With regards to Dr Ang and Tan Jee Say, I doubt that they are PAP moles. What LHL has done over the past 5 years has divided the nation, including ministers within his own cabinet. Wait and see what happens when your good friend kicks the bucket.
GN "Let me tell you my suspicions on these people."
You might be onto something here.
Perhaps, LKY has promised them a bounty for taking part in the election.
It is a win-win situation for LKY and these 'ex-PAP' types.
If these 'ex-PAP' types win, they get a $15,000/month job, LKY gets a mole in the opposition, and he can tell the world that the elections were free and fair.
Hmmm!
It can only happen in Singapore.
1. Dr Chia Shi Lu parachute into Tg Pagar GRC as MP because Steve removed to spare PAP embarrassment of his womanising.
2. PAP declare as caretaker govt only after there is no election walkover and thus no return to power.
3. PAP will be returned to power without a loss of a single seat. I bet.
Seeing how the Singaporeans are "thinking", there is no hope. Compartmentalised thinking means that whatever PAP do is still OK, but if others do the same, it is not OK. Benefit of doubt on PAP action.
4. Lee Kuan Yew is really the only guy around that matters. I think he will die in office. But Lee family is already controlling Singapore - what is there left for other Singaporeans.
Lee Kuan Yew will kick the bucket within the next term of Parliament. What makes him so confident when he said he will look after his consituents for the next 5 years.
It is timely to remind of what Lee Kuan Yew did to Tang Liang Hong post-elections 1997.
See http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/opinion/the-misrule-of-law.html?ref=leekuanyew
The Misrule of Law to kill the opposition. I hope Lee Kuan Yew read this again and die of heart seizfure.
We can only use our vote to show displeasure Gopal. Many of us can't and won't survive prison, and don't want a criminal record. Call this selfish, but it's reasonable for one NOT to be criminalised. So what exactly do you want us to do if we want change? ALL we have is our vote. And I pray to God that the right results happen this time around and that Singaporeans open their eyes. I can't do anything, except to hope a higher power helps at this stage.
To Pink Movie,
I see a sense of despertion and helplessness in you and when compared to others such as those in the Middle East who give their lives for a cause, it even becomes disagreeable.
Come on, it is your country, not Lee Kuan Yew's. If you want to stay, stand and fight. If not pack up and leave. Either way, you win and Lee loses. But don't remain there and say you can do nothing.
I am really sorry for you. Which is why Lee will rule over you, this time as well as next.
To Pink Movie,
Someone said, you can live without bread. You cannot live without honor. This is true.
Dear Gopalan,
Sadly, the Lee Kuan Yew fear factor is still present in Singapore.
We NEED to live with honour. Consider this case for 'Pink Movie', and think what a Singapore minister would have done.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/9268983/visa-joy-for-doctor-and-dying-wife/
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has granted permanent visas to a Filipino doctor and his family who had been told they could not stay in Australia unless he divorced his dying wife.
Cesar Sofocado, who initially moved to rural WA to help fill a skills shortage, said he was surprised and overwhelmed by the minister's move after the family's plight was highlighted in The West Australian on Monday.
Dr Sofocado, who works at Ellenbrook Medical Centre, had applied for permanent residency in 2008, the year before his wife Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer which has since become terminal.
Last year, the Department for Immigration and Citizenship began considering the family's visa application and Dr Sofocado was told it would be rejected because of Mrs Sofocado's terminal illness.
Dr Sofocado was told the only way he and his two daughters, aged 10 and 13, could get permanent residency would be if he divorced or legally separated from Mrs Sofocado, forcing her to leave the country and die alone in the Philippines.
"The minister thinks there are compelling circumstances in the case of Dr Cesar Sofocado and believes he and his family should be helped," the spokesman said.
The 176 visa category did not allow the right to appeal against a rejection related to health matters.
Maybe it is a conspiracy to drive up the costs of living so that the people daily activity is mainly to struggle to take care of their basic living expenses needs. This keep them occupied with making more money and so they are contained and not create troubles for the ruling party.
To Anonymous April 29 0155,
Yours is an accurate observation.
A phone call to Singapore confirmed my suspicion.
1. The govt bribing voters with cold hard cash again.
2. The threat of lower housing asset prices under a non PAP government.
I also chatted with the same person who regretted returning to Singapore after migrating to Australia.
He joked about a different "freak" election results. - how an opposition government will have to report to Lee family for basic telephone service and beg the Old man himself to unlock the treasury money for the government to function.
He seems to prefer Aussie politics now, the lesser of 2 evils. He had rubbished the Aussie messy politics as one of the reasons (besides high taxes) for returning to Lee's island.
Did PAP Lee Kempeitai just arrested a Singapore internet user for his remarks on chat. Scary.
Post a Comment