Singapore. Double lives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The amazing dexterity of Singaporeans to live double lives is unparalleled. Many Singaporeans are upset about the repressive laws in the island; the lack of a free press, the lack of human rights or the inability to organize protests upset many.

They are bitter about being completely helpless, at the total mercy of the Lee Kuan Yew family that run the island. Yet up till now, there is hardly anyone who has publicly stood up to complain, to protest or to scream to high Heaven demanding justice, except of course Chee Soon Juan who has paid dearly for his actions.

The other Singaporeans (other than Chee Soon Juan) all live their double lives, publicly pretending that all is well, out of fear or opportunity serving Lee Kuan Yew, but inside bursting for justice and change.

You have a judicial system without jury trials and with judges appointed by the government, hand-picked for their willingness to be compliant.

As a victim of a judicial decision which is clearly unjust, in any other country, if all else fails, you can at least show your displeasure by standing outside the court with a placard reading "Unfair". It may not be much but at least you are allowed that.

But in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore even that is disallowed because even a single peaceful protester is liable to arrest and imprisonment under his law, even though you have not even harmed a fly.

Although a Singapore judge clearly and publicly abuses the law, any criticism also renders you liable to arrest and imprisonment. In Lee's island you respect the judge no matter what, even if they openly punish you for nothing.

On a daily basis every single government agency abuses their rules to prefer the Chinese over others, government cronies over others, Chinese students over others with total impunity. You face the same injustice in jobs, careers and opportunities, all denied you but given to the select few. Yet the poor victim is left with no recourse whatsoever. Any legal action against the government is bound to fail without more not to mention being prohibitively expensive because Lee and his friends always win in Lee's Singapore.

In any other country he could have turned to the newspapers to tell his story but not in Singapore because all newspapers are state controlled. They are under specific orders not to write anything averse to the government or which shows them in bad light.

In the end poor victim is completely powerless. Government agencies discriminate against him, the courts deny him justice, the newspapers deny him publicity and he is even prevented from telling the world of the injustice by arresting him under the Public Order Act if he just stood at a street corner completely peacefully holding a small harmless placard!

Living in Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew is to wake up everyday and realize there is nothing you can do about anything. You have no choice but to simply accept anything dished out at you, right or wrong, because Lee Kuan Yew is in every sense boss and you are his slave. In his perverted way of thinking, you should consider yourself lucky as you are not in Zimbabwe.

Frankly I am surprised that up till now Singaporeans have accepted this disgraceful life of a slave. But I don't think this calm is going to last much longer.

Singaporeans have an advantage over others. They can travel wherever they want, and Lee is unable to lock them up in their island as are North Koreans.

Passports are readily available, young Singaporeans unlike unlike in other repressive countries, are able to travel abroad as and when they please and observe alternative lifestyles and thinking; the Singapore passport being welcome almost anywhere.

They can see the Occupy Wall street protesters and protesters elsewhere. They can see there is nothing morally wrong with it, although Lee Kuan Yew, for his own personal benefit may declare this illegal. One becomes wiser through observation. No matter what laws Lee continues to enact which he does at will, when common sense tells you that some thing is not a crime, even a million legal enactments will not make it so.

Many young Singaporeans are constrained from publicly protesting because their parents are beholden to Lee Kuan Yew and therefore they fear, protests by their children would harm their careers.

Even though this may be true in many cases, you cannot deny that there are 5 million Singaporeans out of which about a half of them are native born. Even if the foreigners and recent immigrants could care less about these things as long as they make a buck, the native born or at least some of them would see the need to rebel and would sooner or later publicly demand change.

Although there is the Speakers Corner in a area where there are hardly any passers by, which is legal for peaceful protest, no one in their right mind would even consider using it for protests because firstly it is at a location which no one takes any notice, and secondly, if you had an issue with Lee Kuan Yew who lives at Oxley Road, it makes no sense to stand 10 miles away at Speakers Corner to complain.

Protests are going to happen sooner if not later, I am sure, and when that happens Lee Kuan Yew is in a very dangerous position. Singapore is one of the most crowded places in the world and a protest anywhere is likely to create more protests throughout the island, since every single action you take is observed by a thousand other people that instant. And the island being so tiny, news of it would spread across its length and breath in half an hour.

Lee Kuan Yew knows the grave danger his government faces in the face of protests which is why, only a year ago, he passed an amendment to the Public Order Act which makes even a single peaceful protester liable to arrest. That fact alone tells me that Lee Kuan Yew has a mortal visceral fear of it, which he knows would be his end, because he has laws in the island which do not stand up to muster, either moral or common sense.

For the moment Singaporeans live their double chameleon lives, but looking at them and the way they are, educated and well travelled, I don't think they would continue this way for much longer. So Lee better brace up. His time of running the island his merry way may be up sooner than later.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary.
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

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