Ladies and Gentlemen,
Although Singapore started off as an intended democracy replete with Constitutional rights of free speech expression assembly and the rule of law, it has been transformed over the entire 50 years of its history to a total dictatorship run by the Lee family and their PAP assisted by highly paid willing collaborators. Today it has no free speech, expression or assembly or the rule of law with the rulers totally corrupt paying themselves millions which they conveniently call a salary.
As a result there is a mounting brain drain which was reported as much as 1000 per year of the most highly educated and skilled among it's population all making a bee line to the West. This report of a 1000 was some years ago. Today we can expect the number to be several times that. With the results of the recent elections which gave the ruling dictators an even greater majority of votes, those yearning to be free have given up all hope and we can expect the brain drain to multiply several fold.
It is natural that with an increasingly educated English speaking population, they would want to have more freedom and a right to self determination and freedom of thought and action. No one would want to live in a society which totally controls their lives where in order to survive, one has to totally submit to the powers above.
As a result of the ongoing brain drain, the government is left with no option but to bringing in increasing numbers from the nearby impoverished countries to take up the slack. As a result of the increasing rate of immigration the society is being transformed into entirely something else. As the largest number of these recent immigrants are from China, the society is being transformed into a society where the ethos, norms and culture of the island is that of any city in China, no longer Singaporean. And as even more foreigners come in to live among native Singaporeans, they find this uncomfortable thereby pushing even more to escape to the West.
This dissatisfaction resulting from the lack of freedom and democracy is manifest in other ways too. The island has the lowest birth rate in the world, 1.2%, which means that births do not even replace those dying. The rate of marriage is extremely low too. The state's answer to this is simply to increase immigration into the country thereby alienating even more of the educated population.
As more people leave they bring in even more and the vicious cycle continues.
And then the elections are a complete farce. With the electorate prevented from organizing, forming individual opinions and ideas and engaging in any form of political activity, the government conducts elections once ever 5 years. Naturally the government will win all the seats since the electorate has been denied any chance to engage in political activity.
On top of that the government has a wide intelligence apparatus, to rival even the Soviet KGB or the East German Stasi, watching every move of its citizens resulting a blanket of fear in the society to engage in any activity seen contrary to that of the government. As the people live in fear of their government, there is no means for them to redress any of their grievances while the government continues to win every single elections every 5 years.
Another reason for the abysmally lack of childbirth or marriages is the fact that there is absolutely no safety net provided by the government for the disadvantaged. There are no minimum wage laws, no social security and those in financial straits are simply left to fend for themselves. One can in a large agricultural country at least move to the country side and live off the land. This is not possible in a tiny island with only concrete buildings.
The result of this sort of control over the entire island would mean, even more people would leave, the birth rate would continue to decline and the government's only option would be to do the same, which is to bring even more foreigners to replace those who keep leaving.
Today even the most loyal and patriotic among Singaporeans see no other alternative but to leave. Remaining would be to continue living under the yoke of this totalitarian regime. The 70% victory at the recent polls would mean that the local Singaporeans who want to live in a democracy have simply no hope of achieving it. The Internet which was rife and awash with criticism of the government has become totally silent after the PAP's victory as they know that it is simply a waste of time to clamor for democracy, an aim which is virtually unattainable.
Today it is reported that as much as 40% of the population are made up of recent arrivals who were the main cause of this high election support for the government, since new immigrants in any society, not having any stake in the country would naturally support whichever government is in power. With even more immigrants in the society, who would vote for the PAP, it is certain that the island would be turned into another Communist China where the entire country supports one political party in power.
With the local citizens finding themselves without any recourse to redress of grievances, one could possibly imagine serious upheaval and violent protests as a means to redress their plight. In the not too distant past there have been numerous instances of young Singaporeans vandalizing government property with graffiti and property damage and the government's response has always been a harsh suppression. There may come a time when the minority demanding political space would be pushed to a mass riot or mass violence. This is the natural reaction in any society where the state does not provide any grievance procedure for those disadvantaged.
Swiftly you are going to see an entire island of foreign Chinese displacing every single local while locals are all living in Australia and the West. This would also mean the losing of the island's competitive advantage with an island populated entirely with mindless conformists who trade their freedom for survival under Lee's PAP.
The recent elections should make the fact that it is impossible to introduce democracy through the ballot box. The only way to achieve it is through massive civil unrest, peaceful protests and demonstrations. The path to democracy in Singapore is through the streets, not through the ballot box. For those out there who yearn for freedom, this fact should be crystal clear by now. Waiting for 2020 for the next elections is hopeless; you would not only lose but thanks to the overwhelming majority of foreigners in the island who have no stake in their country, the vote for this totalitarian one party state would be 90%, not 70% as now.
My opinion for those who wish to live in a democracy and who wish to save their island or what is left of it, you have no choice but to take the bit between your teeth now. You have to engage in massive peaceful protests, even if it means being arrested and jailed. If you are not prepared to do that, the only other option is to pack up and leave Singapore. Either way the island is headed to self destruction.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
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1 comment:
well said and well written
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