Ladies and Gentlemen,
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister stated categorically that it was propaganda that they relied upon to advance Nazi Germany. To do this end, every newspaper, every radio station, every magazine, and every other means of dissemination of information was brought under the firm control of the state. Every word, every sentence was decided by the government and nothing adverse was allowed.
In North Korea, the same applies today.
And Singapore is exactly the same. Every newspapers is owned and controlled by the state organ, Singapore Press Holdings and every TV or radio station is similarly state controlled. Every single word that is said in Singapore is first censored by the state employed journalists who are daily told what to publish and what not to publish. TV radio stations are again directly and firmly controlled and what is said is intended to further the interests of the Singapore government.
Just as Hitler's Germany went to great lengths to photograph and film their country in the best light to sell it to the world, so does Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore which goes to great lengths to show it as something which it is not, hoping this way, to fool everyone.
Chee Soon Juan, a Lee Kuan Yew critic, the late JB Jeyaretnam and myself are carefully reported as thoroughly bad individuals, thereby attempting a negative public opinion whereas Lee Kuan Yew, his family and party members are put up on a pedestal as if they were saints incapable of any human failing. Frankly I am not sure whether anyone in Singapore believes anything that is said about us, which is why this sort of propaganda actually does them more harm than good.
In this manner, Hitler did manage to not only maintain control over his people, he in fact managed to achieve great success initially. Similarly in North Korea today, a closed society, it seems to continue it's control over it's people despite international sanctions and every manner of obstacles placed in their way.
The question is, will Singapore also manage to continue hoodwinking it's citizens and the world to it's advantage. I think not. There is a very big difference between North Korea of today and the Hitler's Third Reich of the 1930s, as compared to Singapore of today, which is this.
Today's North Korea is a closed society and it's people are kept completely in the dark as to the outside world. A North Korean citizen has no idea whatsoever about anything that happens outside his country. There are no foreign newspapers, the TV and radio does not report anything foreign and there is no way you can find out anything about the world. Whatever you are told is what the state wants you to hear. Therefore the state's ability to brainwash their people is easily achieved. Today I understand the vast majority of North Koreans actually believe that theirs is the best country in the world.
Yesterday I met a South Korean who told me that North Korea is actually preventing many of it's citizens who were working in Libya from returning because they do not want them to be telling their fellow citizens about the overthrow of Gadaffi lest they think of doing the same to their leader; imagine that.
Similarly the Third Reich was also in fact a closed society, since it was much more difficult to travel internationally in the 1930s and even without travel restrictions, you still never knew anything much about what was happening outside your country.
Singapore on the other hand today 2012, is entirely different. Even if Lee Kuan Yew controls his media in the island, you still can purchase foreign newspapers, you still can read the Internet, and you can still travel abroad whenever you want. And with a growing sophisticated English speaking population, it is simply impossible for Lee Kuan Yew to try to hoodwink anyone else. If he is, he is only doing it to himself.
For instance consider this silly propaganda put out today in his state controlled newspaper the Straits Times. In it, there is an article which states that some obscure French survey had found Singapore's Orchard Road to be the best shopping street in the world. Come on, who are you kidding? Has no one gone to Barcelona's La Rambla, a thousand times more lively and interesting a place. What about Paris's Champs Elysee's? Are you telling me that Orchard Road is better than that? What about Oxford Street or Reagents Street in London? You can see how stupid such a claim about Orchard Road is.
You see Singapore can only come up with such nonsense because there is no way that anyone could argue with them, since they control the press. But this sort of nonsense does not have the effect it could have had in say 1930 or some earlier time.
Take another bit of nonsense put out in Lee's state controlled Singapore newspapers today. The Straits Times reports that some Singapore Chinese girl had won the world Optimist Class sailing title. If you are a sailor you would know what an Optimist sailboat is. It is about 8 feet long, more like a bath tub than a boat. It is intended for small children. My son sailed it when he was 6 in Singapore adn later the similar class of boat the El Toro after he came to America till he was about 12. And if a 16year old girl sails a boat like that (this Singapore girl), well, it does not say much for her or her choice of boat. And this isolated incident of a 16 year old girl in a little boat does not make Singapore a world class sailing country. If you want to see world class sailors look to Australia, New Zealand or the US; not to Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. Many of them are even afraid of the water.
See picture of Optimist dinghy:
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=819&bih=446&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=2zSp4Ppk5SNskM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimist_(dinghy)&docid=kBTN69roScTP0M&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Optimist_on_the_beach.jpg/200px-Optimist_on_the_beach.jpg&w=200&h=300&ei=7AsOT-iwDeWiiQKtlLyhDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=97&vpy=56&dur=2657&hovh=240&hovw=160&tx=95&ty=187&sig=105795672657261791550&page=1&tbnh=114&tbnw=77&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
In 2008 when I was arrested in Singapore for criticizing Lee Kuan Yew's corrupt judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for punishing Chee Soon Juan for going against Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew, I recall several court documents filed by the government in my case which claimed that they had the best legal system in the world!
I want to put this message out to Lee Kuan Yew. You are running out of ideas. You really cannot control the way people think by writing such rubbish in your state controlled press. You are making yourself look very silly. Read my lips. Orchard Road is not best shopping Mall in the world. It is best in nothing.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
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).
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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3 comments:
Fully agree with every word but the last paragraph. Everyone knows that Orchard Road is the best in the flash floods.
Even the shopping districts in KL and Bangkok are better than Orchard Road. That's why throngs of Singaporeans go there on budget airlines. Orchard Rd is just full of tourists as there's really nothing much else to see in Singapore.
LKY is a frail old fool who go around "cutting buds from shrubs" and then wonder why his "garden has no flowers".
So, he bring in all these top pre-selected artifical flowers at high prices. After a while he wonder why his "garden is so boring".
It turns out that he has selected green flowers because that is the only colour he agrees with, and all these green flowers coming from his cronies are even greener and shinier.
Being top flowers and plastic, they are too glaring and overshadow the real plants growing in the garden. So, the real plants wilt and LKY has to put in more fake expensive plants that do nothing but give the impression that a democractic garden has flowers.
The resident butterflies and birds left the garden for real greener pastures because there are no real flowers left in LKY garden.
Next, he notices the plastic flowers collecting water, causing ponding because the plant stands are made of concrete and water has nowhere to flow out of his garden.
Finally, mosquitoes from the north take the place of the absent birds and butterfies, at the same time, algae start growing on the fake plants of the artifical garden. One of them is Tin Pei Ling.
LKY stops visiting his garden. On occasions that he visits, he does not stay long, leaving after his algae start to talk.
His garden is made in his image, but it is deprived of a healthy ecology. LKY blames the neighbours for the mosquitoes and ponding.
But sadly, he reflects the days when he inherits a potentially beautiful English garden and if only he has done some basic tender loving care and leave the buds alone, his garden would be full of life. Even the frogs will come to live and the birds build nests.
The blood sucking mosquitoes from the north will not have turn his garden into a swamp.
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With budget airlines at the cost of a bus trip, Singaporeans are hopping overseas for day and weekend trips.
Orchard Road should be recast into Orchard River casino with canal transport.
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