Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times of Aug 30, 2013 has the story "Indian community concerned about job discrimination". Please see http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/friday/breaking-news/singapore/story/indian-community-concerned-about-job-discrimination-20130830
Singapore's multi millionaire Minister for Environment and Water Works, Vivian Balakrishnan (by the way they are all multi millionaires. Each of them get paid five times what the President of United States is paid) has said "employment discrimination was a key concern raised by (Singapore's) Indian community" and "I think it's a perception that we must address head-on"
But so far, despite the island's claim to glitter and glamour and first world status, it is actually worse than even the worst sub-Saharan African country. Believe it or not, the island does not have any minimum wage laws and neither does it have any anti racial discrimination laws.
And let me say this one more time if it hasn't sunk in. Singapore does not have any laws against racial discrimination!
In Singapore island, where the population is deliberately maintained at least 75% Chinese by deliberately bringing in Chinese immigrants from China, because Lee Kuan Yew the island dictator prefers Chinese over others, Chinese businesses, which by the way are naturally the majority can lawfully deny a job to an Indian or Malay for no other reason other than his race. And this racial discrimination can be practiced not only by private employers but also by the government.
And even if they are compelled, in the unlikely event, to employ an Indian because no Chinese person had applied, he would be passed over for promotions and at the earliest opportunity fired from his job to give it to an available Chinese applicant.
In developed countries, where there are laws in place prohibiting such discrimination, the aggrieved person has a recourse and can seek redress in the courts under race relations laws. But in Singapore where there are no such laws, what does a person such as this do? I tell you what they will do. When the kettle reaches the boil, he will explode. And he would beat the brains out of the Chinese person who has treated him this way. That is what any human being in this situation would do.
It is the same with an Indian or a Malay who has been denied a job, fired from his job for a Chinese, denied a HDB flat because he was an Indian or in any other situation, where he cannot seek redress under the law which clearly requires a set of rules, they would simply explode. I would. It is only human to seek redress for this injustice.
The reason why the Singapore government, bent on being business friendly at all costs, refuses to have minimum wage laws or race relations laws, is the fear that such legislation would adversely affect business or the rights of employers. You see, it is all about protecting employers in that Alice in Wonderland island, never mind the stupid worker.
But this is a stupid reason not to legislate in such areas where laws are clearly required for peaceful co-existence among different races. There is not a single developed nation in the world that does not have such laws. And their failure to realize this would inevitably result in far more racial violence than is already happening there, which the state controlled newspapers refuse to report.
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew's son who runs the island should take note that unless he does something to really address the situation, by which I mean enforceable legislation to criminalize racial discrimination, the Malays and the Indians are going to beat the Hell out of the nearest ethnic Chinese person.
It is only human. Unless of course they are all Mahatma Gandhis and sworn adherents and proponents of the principle of non violence or Satyagraha. I am not and I don't think most Indians and Malays are either.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Asylum for Singapore lawyers in USA
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If you are a Singapore lawyer and want to move to the US through asylum, I could help you.
As lawyers you are aware, or should be, that the Singapore dictatorship always punishes those who exercise their human rights to criticize them. The right to free speech, expression and assembly are universal and strictly recognized and enforced in the US. When the Singapore government arrests those who criticize or peacefully protest, this is a violation of these rights which enables the person to seek asylum in the US.
As a lawyer, you are aware that the Constitution of Singapore does provide these guarantees, which the government unlawfully subverts with laws criminalizing such acts through subsequent legislation. Constitutional law clearly makes such disenabling provisions clearly illegal and unenforceable unless the state can make out an argument that it's interests would be gravely compromised unless such laws are enacted. Such an argument cannot be made making such laws clearly ultra vires and unenforceable.
The US is a great place to practice law and the wide range and spectrum of legal specialization makes success at the Bar readily available for those willing to work hard and exercise their imagination. Also everyone can own a drive a car. Even two cars or as many as you want.
I live in the San Francisco area and there is a good deal of work here and the other major cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego. Besides work, the weather alone is reason enough to work and live in California.
There is no better climate anywhere in the world, I can vouch for that, beside the most important fact of all, which is, it does not have an idiot like Lee Kuan Yew or his son to strut around like the prize rooster in the chicken cage bullying everyone in sight.
This is how it can be done.
First you have to break the law such as the one that requires you to have a permit to protest. Such a law is unenforceable anywhere in the world other than Singapore. So make a placard or a poster with the words such as " We want freedom" or "Stop further immigration and job loss" or "Singaporeans first, foreigner second" or other words to your preference. With this poster stand along the Raffles Place pedestrian walk or busy Orchard Road pedestrian walkway on a busy afternoon.
If possible have someone to take a video of you doing this and when you get arrested. I am sure within a few minutes, Lee Kuan Yew's goon police would turn up and have you arrested and confiscate your poster or placard.
When you are in detention and being interrogated don't give in. Refuse to confess and demand a trial. They would have no choice but to put you on trial and put your picture and the news of your arrest in their state controlled press. They do this to deter others from doing what you did. They are overcome with fear of protests by their citizens.
In court demand a trial. Do not plead guilty. In the end, they would give you a fine or a short prison sentence. Pay the fine if you want. The Law Society of Singapore (the island State Bar) would probably commence some action to punish you. Fight the charge. You will be found guilty anyway.
If you can do so, after this case, do this one more time. They will arrest you again. Fight the case again. Another guilty verdict. Another fine. If you don't have the money or don't wish to pay, then don't. You will be once again sent to jail. And the same process aforementioned. You don't have to do this again, but it doesn't hurt if you can.
Keep the newspaper cuttings of your arrest and the video if possible. You could use it at your asylum hearing.
After this fly to San Francisco on your Singapore passport. You don't need a visa as Singapore is a Visa Waiver country. All you need is a return ticket and a little money.
When you arrive at San Francisco Airport, you don't have to disclose to US Immigration that you intend to apply for asylum. That way they won't detain you for their mandatory credible fear interview at the airport. Just say you are coming for a short visit. Once in the US come to see me at my office in Fremont, which is a suburb of San Francisco. Or call me and I will come to pick you up.
You have a good chance of success on these facts. By arresting you and jailing you they are clearly denying your right to hold and exercise your political opinion and your right to free speech and expression. They are also clearly denying your right to practice your profession and earn a livelihood since we all know how their system works once someone is targeted as a political opponent.
I will file your asylum application. I am the best possible lawyer in this case as I know the Singapore political system more than any other lawyer in the US, and an added benefit of personal experience. The asylum case will be heard within a month or so. The important thing is there is no danger from doing this. If in the unlikely event you don't get asylum for some reason, you simply revert to your visitor status and no information is passed to the Singapore government. You could then simply fly back if unsuccessful and no one will know.
My fees are US$3,500.00 payable in advance. You can Email me at nair.gopalan@yahoo.com. Or you can call me at 510 491 4375. Please remember when calling that Singapore time is 16 hours ahead of California. The best time for you to call is during morning hours in Singapore.
Once you get asylum, you would get work authorization. You can legally work, find out from the State Bar of California in San Francisco the requirements needed to be licensed in California and once that is done, start a life here at the Bar. I have no regrets in coming.
Once a few of you come over, there will be more coming. Singapore's acute shortage of lawyers would become even more intense. The freedom loving people are winning the war against the Lee Kuan Yew regime. Already now, the Singapore government is struggling with a shortage of lawyers. When even more come over like you, you would not only be helping yourself, you will be lending a hand towards crippling the dictatorship.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
If you are a Singapore lawyer and want to move to the US through asylum, I could help you.
As lawyers you are aware, or should be, that the Singapore dictatorship always punishes those who exercise their human rights to criticize them. The right to free speech, expression and assembly are universal and strictly recognized and enforced in the US. When the Singapore government arrests those who criticize or peacefully protest, this is a violation of these rights which enables the person to seek asylum in the US.
As a lawyer, you are aware that the Constitution of Singapore does provide these guarantees, which the government unlawfully subverts with laws criminalizing such acts through subsequent legislation. Constitutional law clearly makes such disenabling provisions clearly illegal and unenforceable unless the state can make out an argument that it's interests would be gravely compromised unless such laws are enacted. Such an argument cannot be made making such laws clearly ultra vires and unenforceable.
The US is a great place to practice law and the wide range and spectrum of legal specialization makes success at the Bar readily available for those willing to work hard and exercise their imagination. Also everyone can own a drive a car. Even two cars or as many as you want.
I live in the San Francisco area and there is a good deal of work here and the other major cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego. Besides work, the weather alone is reason enough to work and live in California.
There is no better climate anywhere in the world, I can vouch for that, beside the most important fact of all, which is, it does not have an idiot like Lee Kuan Yew or his son to strut around like the prize rooster in the chicken cage bullying everyone in sight.
This is how it can be done.
First you have to break the law such as the one that requires you to have a permit to protest. Such a law is unenforceable anywhere in the world other than Singapore. So make a placard or a poster with the words such as " We want freedom" or "Stop further immigration and job loss" or "Singaporeans first, foreigner second" or other words to your preference. With this poster stand along the Raffles Place pedestrian walk or busy Orchard Road pedestrian walkway on a busy afternoon.
If possible have someone to take a video of you doing this and when you get arrested. I am sure within a few minutes, Lee Kuan Yew's goon police would turn up and have you arrested and confiscate your poster or placard.
When you are in detention and being interrogated don't give in. Refuse to confess and demand a trial. They would have no choice but to put you on trial and put your picture and the news of your arrest in their state controlled press. They do this to deter others from doing what you did. They are overcome with fear of protests by their citizens.
In court demand a trial. Do not plead guilty. In the end, they would give you a fine or a short prison sentence. Pay the fine if you want. The Law Society of Singapore (the island State Bar) would probably commence some action to punish you. Fight the charge. You will be found guilty anyway.
If you can do so, after this case, do this one more time. They will arrest you again. Fight the case again. Another guilty verdict. Another fine. If you don't have the money or don't wish to pay, then don't. You will be once again sent to jail. And the same process aforementioned. You don't have to do this again, but it doesn't hurt if you can.
Keep the newspaper cuttings of your arrest and the video if possible. You could use it at your asylum hearing.
After this fly to San Francisco on your Singapore passport. You don't need a visa as Singapore is a Visa Waiver country. All you need is a return ticket and a little money.
When you arrive at San Francisco Airport, you don't have to disclose to US Immigration that you intend to apply for asylum. That way they won't detain you for their mandatory credible fear interview at the airport. Just say you are coming for a short visit. Once in the US come to see me at my office in Fremont, which is a suburb of San Francisco. Or call me and I will come to pick you up.
You have a good chance of success on these facts. By arresting you and jailing you they are clearly denying your right to hold and exercise your political opinion and your right to free speech and expression. They are also clearly denying your right to practice your profession and earn a livelihood since we all know how their system works once someone is targeted as a political opponent.
I will file your asylum application. I am the best possible lawyer in this case as I know the Singapore political system more than any other lawyer in the US, and an added benefit of personal experience. The asylum case will be heard within a month or so. The important thing is there is no danger from doing this. If in the unlikely event you don't get asylum for some reason, you simply revert to your visitor status and no information is passed to the Singapore government. You could then simply fly back if unsuccessful and no one will know.
My fees are US$3,500.00 payable in advance. You can Email me at nair.gopalan@yahoo.com. Or you can call me at 510 491 4375. Please remember when calling that Singapore time is 16 hours ahead of California. The best time for you to call is during morning hours in Singapore.
Once you get asylum, you would get work authorization. You can legally work, find out from the State Bar of California in San Francisco the requirements needed to be licensed in California and once that is done, start a life here at the Bar. I have no regrets in coming.
Once a few of you come over, there will be more coming. Singapore's acute shortage of lawyers would become even more intense. The freedom loving people are winning the war against the Lee Kuan Yew regime. Already now, the Singapore government is struggling with a shortage of lawyers. When even more come over like you, you would not only be helping yourself, you will be lending a hand towards crippling the dictatorship.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
With no human rights, or real Constitution, Singaporeans drift from dictatorship to dictatorship
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite all the glitter in the Singapore city skyline, the skyscrapers and the glass, the city state is literally a dictatorship. It's people have no human rights, a constitution ignored, the last 50 years under Lee Kuan Yew and recently under his son.
The government is run by Lee's son, assisted by handpicked government scholarship funded scholars who are fielded at elections every five years where the outcome is predetermined. They always win. The detractors are all destroyed through defamation lawsuits and contempt of court charges. The fear running down their spine of every islander in criticizing the dictatorship is real resulting in effectively shutting out any debate and dialogue on government by their people.
Government agencies such as Resident's Committees and Consultative Committees stage manage public debate. Recently a government organized project put forward various perceived ideas on the future of the country called OSC (Our Singapore Conversation). This is a fraud. Known government sympathizers were handpicked to take part and naturally gave predictable answers to questions. The state controlled media then publishes this nonsense as public feedback and the dictatorship go out and claim to redress the failings. Utter stupidity.
The majority of the population have no voice. They can write their grievances anonymously in the hope that the dictatorship will not know who they are. Beyond this, there is nothing more they can do. Every form of civil society debate or discussion is illegal. Free speech is illegal. Protests are illegal. Forming a society without a government license is illegal.
In the end we have in Singapore island, a dictatorship under Lee's son who do what they think is right. Since they feel they know everything, there is no need for any people consultation. They pay themselves any amount they want. And do what they want with the help of their corrupt multi million dollar ministers, the highest paid in the world. The people have no part in deciding how their country is run.
What you see in the island today, the skyscrapers, the schools, the roads, the telephones are entirely the doing of this dictatorship. As for the people, they simply sit back waiting for what more their dictatorship will do for them next.
As a result the people's only hope is to live from one dictatorship to the next. Now it is Lee Kuan Yew's son's turn. When or how long he will remain as dictator, no one knows. It is entirely up to him. Afterall he can do anything he wants. He may decide some time in the future to leave and appoint another dictator who will in turn select his ministers and assistants to run the island. Of course they will all be elected by destroying the opposition through their Kangaroo Courts.
Unfortunately for Singaporeans this sort of living from one dictatorship to another where they have no rights at all and are entirely at the mercy of any dictator that happens to be around is not just undesirable, it is dangerous. For stability and peaceful transition of governments, the people have to be empowered. There has to be elected representatives, the rule of law not Kangaroo
courts, and free and fair elections and last but not least human rights. They have to have a stake in their country. All these requirement of civil society is absent in the island.
If Singaporeans really wanted to save their island, the only thing they can do is to publicly protest and demand of this dictatorship for their rights to be restored which they have not known for 50 years. If they don't they are destined to live from one dictatorship to another and hope that their dictatorship will build the roads, ensure safe drinking water and the skyscrapers. The people unfortunately have no control over whether this will be done.
Singaporeans are nothing but "digits" as Lee Kuan Yew once called them. They are told to be silent and obey. The Allmighty Lee Kuan Yew's son knows what is best.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Despite all the glitter in the Singapore city skyline, the skyscrapers and the glass, the city state is literally a dictatorship. It's people have no human rights, a constitution ignored, the last 50 years under Lee Kuan Yew and recently under his son.
The government is run by Lee's son, assisted by handpicked government scholarship funded scholars who are fielded at elections every five years where the outcome is predetermined. They always win. The detractors are all destroyed through defamation lawsuits and contempt of court charges. The fear running down their spine of every islander in criticizing the dictatorship is real resulting in effectively shutting out any debate and dialogue on government by their people.
Government agencies such as Resident's Committees and Consultative Committees stage manage public debate. Recently a government organized project put forward various perceived ideas on the future of the country called OSC (Our Singapore Conversation). This is a fraud. Known government sympathizers were handpicked to take part and naturally gave predictable answers to questions. The state controlled media then publishes this nonsense as public feedback and the dictatorship go out and claim to redress the failings. Utter stupidity.
The majority of the population have no voice. They can write their grievances anonymously in the hope that the dictatorship will not know who they are. Beyond this, there is nothing more they can do. Every form of civil society debate or discussion is illegal. Free speech is illegal. Protests are illegal. Forming a society without a government license is illegal.
In the end we have in Singapore island, a dictatorship under Lee's son who do what they think is right. Since they feel they know everything, there is no need for any people consultation. They pay themselves any amount they want. And do what they want with the help of their corrupt multi million dollar ministers, the highest paid in the world. The people have no part in deciding how their country is run.
What you see in the island today, the skyscrapers, the schools, the roads, the telephones are entirely the doing of this dictatorship. As for the people, they simply sit back waiting for what more their dictatorship will do for them next.
As a result the people's only hope is to live from one dictatorship to the next. Now it is Lee Kuan Yew's son's turn. When or how long he will remain as dictator, no one knows. It is entirely up to him. Afterall he can do anything he wants. He may decide some time in the future to leave and appoint another dictator who will in turn select his ministers and assistants to run the island. Of course they will all be elected by destroying the opposition through their Kangaroo Courts.
Unfortunately for Singaporeans this sort of living from one dictatorship to another where they have no rights at all and are entirely at the mercy of any dictator that happens to be around is not just undesirable, it is dangerous. For stability and peaceful transition of governments, the people have to be empowered. There has to be elected representatives, the rule of law not Kangaroo
courts, and free and fair elections and last but not least human rights. They have to have a stake in their country. All these requirement of civil society is absent in the island.
If Singaporeans really wanted to save their island, the only thing they can do is to publicly protest and demand of this dictatorship for their rights to be restored which they have not known for 50 years. If they don't they are destined to live from one dictatorship to another and hope that their dictatorship will build the roads, ensure safe drinking water and the skyscrapers. The people unfortunately have no control over whether this will be done.
Singaporeans are nothing but "digits" as Lee Kuan Yew once called them. They are told to be silent and obey. The Allmighty Lee Kuan Yew's son knows what is best.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Monday, August 26, 2013
Singapore's dictatorial government and an uncertain future
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the last 50 years of Singapore's history under Lee Kuan Yew, his idea was to replace the intended Constitutional parliamentary democracy which the island inherited from the British to a total dictatorship to enable him to rule any way he wants with the help of handpicked ministers and civil servants.
This he managed handsomely. Although in paper the island was a parliamentary democracy, every single human right, that one would expect in a democracy was swiftly removed with legislation. Today the right to freedom of speech has another law which says it is a crime to speak publicly without a permit. Assembly needs a permit. Newspapers need permits. Union leaders need permits.
Lee had no intention of relying on parliamentary elections. He picks who his ministers will be and he makes sure they win at elections. This is done by suing real opposition candidates with libel lawsuits which he will always win before his Kangaroo courts. His judges do what he wants.
In this way the island has been run as if it was a company. Lee Kuan Yew owns the company. In his company, he decides who will be given directorships and who will manage it; who will get more and who less. Usually his family members are the ones who get the lion share. The ordinary Singaporean is only a worker. If he doesn't perform or turns out to be troublemaker, he is punished by the Kangaroo courts.
As a result the ordinary citizen lives in mortal fear of Lee Kuan Yew and his government. It can be trouble if he is displeased. Most ordinary Singaporeans therefore simply toe the line and do as they are told. It made sense to keep a low profile and be obedient. If your ideas do not correspond with his, he can cause you a lot of trouble.
What this meant was that there wasn't any established template for government as democracies do. In a democracy, the people elect their representatives who then govern in their name. If you don't like them you can vote them out. A free press ensures that the population is informed as to what is happening.
No politician can last long in a democracy without the support of his people. In a democracy unlike Singapore, the legal system is trusted and upholds the law and integrity. The average man in a democracy, unlike Singapore, can expect justice in it's courts. In democracies, multitude viewpoints are allowed to be aired and debated. With the combined effort and contribution of it's people democracies advance far better and in new directions each passing day.
So far for the last 50 years, Singapore's dictatorship has carried on without much opposition. This was because the people were not so aware of what was happening before the advent of the Internet. Today it is different. More and more citizens are becoming aware that this is a government without legitimacy. A government that has hijacked the Constitution and governs by dictate instead of law. The people have no faith in the government.
90 year old Lee Kuan Yew will die very soon. He has admitted he is dying. It will be a watershed in Singapore's' history. Question is, how is his son whom he appointed Prime Minister going to govern henceforth. Is he going to become another Lee Kuan Yew. Is he going to govern like his father by jailing and bankrupting his critics and appointing handpicked ministers to government by making sure they win at elections by destroying the opposition?
Is he going to continue ruling by denying his people their constitutional rights by jailing anyone who spoke publicly without a permit? Is he going to carry on like this for another fifty years and will his handpicked successor rule for another fifty by jailing the opposition and denying human rights through Kangaroo courts?
You can see why such a system of government is weak. It is fragile. It is not based on any law because there is none. It is based entirely on dictates of one man, formerly Lee Kuan Yew and henceforth his son. We don't know what he will do next. It is entirely up to him. Unless you are one of his party, you have no say whatsoever in the running of your country. And with the passing of each dictator, you don't know what will happen next.
The difficulty that Lee's son faces today as well as all other dictators around the world is the advent of the Internet. It has educated and informed the population far too much. It becomes increasingly difficult to justify this sort of government.
Which is why you see increasing numbers of educated and skilled Singaporeans leaving it's shore for settlement abroad. Another consequence of this sort of misrule is the world's lowest birth rate. Regardless of how much you pay women to have children, they simply refuse.
CIA fact book records Singapore as having the lowest birth rate in the world. With the local Singapore population almost disappearing, the island has no choice but to bring in increasing numbers of Chinese who not only have no clue about the island, they don't even speak English.
90 year old Lee Kuan Yew has left the island completely in tatters and an uncertain future by denying Singaporeans the well tested time honored democracy and replacing it with a dictatorship. He has left Singapore as nothing but a fraud. Singapore is a fraud because it claims to be pretend to be a democracy but it is not. It claims to have a constitution but it does not. It claims to have human rights but it does not. Singapore is nothing but a tiny island with skyscrapers run by a dictatorship.
It would have been better for Lee's son now to come out with the truth and lay the cards on the table, not only for it's own citizens but the rest of the world. He should admit it is not a democracy. He should take down all the highfalutin Latin words extolling the rule of law in his courts and replace them which pictures of kangaroos in judicial robes.
He should change it's constitution to reflect the fact that it is dictatorship. It should state that his party alone will have the right to rule in perpetuity, like the Chinese Communist party. He should do away with elections and choose ministers and civil servants of his liking to govern the island with him.
Instead of abusing the law to destroy political opponents, he should make if illegal to criticize him or his government. This way, the people and the world will know what Singapore really is. At least they can give him credit for being honest. Instead of this, he as well as his island is nothing but a fraud. It is a fraud on his people and the world to claim to be a democracy and run it as a dictatorship.
This arbitrary dictatorial rule leaves the future of Singapore very uncertain. Singapore's future literally lies in uncharted waters. No one knows what he will do next or what will happen next or who will rule over the people.
This is the greatest harm Lee Kuan Yew has done to his country, leaving it without a respectable representative government, to the vagaries of whoever happens to seize power or be handed it. Skyscrapers are of no use if the people have no guarantee if they would be turned into slaves the next day. Perhaps they have already become slaves.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
For the last 50 years of Singapore's history under Lee Kuan Yew, his idea was to replace the intended Constitutional parliamentary democracy which the island inherited from the British to a total dictatorship to enable him to rule any way he wants with the help of handpicked ministers and civil servants.
This he managed handsomely. Although in paper the island was a parliamentary democracy, every single human right, that one would expect in a democracy was swiftly removed with legislation. Today the right to freedom of speech has another law which says it is a crime to speak publicly without a permit. Assembly needs a permit. Newspapers need permits. Union leaders need permits.
Lee had no intention of relying on parliamentary elections. He picks who his ministers will be and he makes sure they win at elections. This is done by suing real opposition candidates with libel lawsuits which he will always win before his Kangaroo courts. His judges do what he wants.
In this way the island has been run as if it was a company. Lee Kuan Yew owns the company. In his company, he decides who will be given directorships and who will manage it; who will get more and who less. Usually his family members are the ones who get the lion share. The ordinary Singaporean is only a worker. If he doesn't perform or turns out to be troublemaker, he is punished by the Kangaroo courts.
As a result the ordinary citizen lives in mortal fear of Lee Kuan Yew and his government. It can be trouble if he is displeased. Most ordinary Singaporeans therefore simply toe the line and do as they are told. It made sense to keep a low profile and be obedient. If your ideas do not correspond with his, he can cause you a lot of trouble.
What this meant was that there wasn't any established template for government as democracies do. In a democracy, the people elect their representatives who then govern in their name. If you don't like them you can vote them out. A free press ensures that the population is informed as to what is happening.
No politician can last long in a democracy without the support of his people. In a democracy unlike Singapore, the legal system is trusted and upholds the law and integrity. The average man in a democracy, unlike Singapore, can expect justice in it's courts. In democracies, multitude viewpoints are allowed to be aired and debated. With the combined effort and contribution of it's people democracies advance far better and in new directions each passing day.
So far for the last 50 years, Singapore's dictatorship has carried on without much opposition. This was because the people were not so aware of what was happening before the advent of the Internet. Today it is different. More and more citizens are becoming aware that this is a government without legitimacy. A government that has hijacked the Constitution and governs by dictate instead of law. The people have no faith in the government.
90 year old Lee Kuan Yew will die very soon. He has admitted he is dying. It will be a watershed in Singapore's' history. Question is, how is his son whom he appointed Prime Minister going to govern henceforth. Is he going to become another Lee Kuan Yew. Is he going to govern like his father by jailing and bankrupting his critics and appointing handpicked ministers to government by making sure they win at elections by destroying the opposition?
Is he going to continue ruling by denying his people their constitutional rights by jailing anyone who spoke publicly without a permit? Is he going to carry on like this for another fifty years and will his handpicked successor rule for another fifty by jailing the opposition and denying human rights through Kangaroo courts?
You can see why such a system of government is weak. It is fragile. It is not based on any law because there is none. It is based entirely on dictates of one man, formerly Lee Kuan Yew and henceforth his son. We don't know what he will do next. It is entirely up to him. Unless you are one of his party, you have no say whatsoever in the running of your country. And with the passing of each dictator, you don't know what will happen next.
The difficulty that Lee's son faces today as well as all other dictators around the world is the advent of the Internet. It has educated and informed the population far too much. It becomes increasingly difficult to justify this sort of government.
Which is why you see increasing numbers of educated and skilled Singaporeans leaving it's shore for settlement abroad. Another consequence of this sort of misrule is the world's lowest birth rate. Regardless of how much you pay women to have children, they simply refuse.
CIA fact book records Singapore as having the lowest birth rate in the world. With the local Singapore population almost disappearing, the island has no choice but to bring in increasing numbers of Chinese who not only have no clue about the island, they don't even speak English.
90 year old Lee Kuan Yew has left the island completely in tatters and an uncertain future by denying Singaporeans the well tested time honored democracy and replacing it with a dictatorship. He has left Singapore as nothing but a fraud. Singapore is a fraud because it claims to be pretend to be a democracy but it is not. It claims to have a constitution but it does not. It claims to have human rights but it does not. Singapore is nothing but a tiny island with skyscrapers run by a dictatorship.
It would have been better for Lee's son now to come out with the truth and lay the cards on the table, not only for it's own citizens but the rest of the world. He should admit it is not a democracy. He should take down all the highfalutin Latin words extolling the rule of law in his courts and replace them which pictures of kangaroos in judicial robes.
He should change it's constitution to reflect the fact that it is dictatorship. It should state that his party alone will have the right to rule in perpetuity, like the Chinese Communist party. He should do away with elections and choose ministers and civil servants of his liking to govern the island with him.
Instead of abusing the law to destroy political opponents, he should make if illegal to criticize him or his government. This way, the people and the world will know what Singapore really is. At least they can give him credit for being honest. Instead of this, he as well as his island is nothing but a fraud. It is a fraud on his people and the world to claim to be a democracy and run it as a dictatorship.
This arbitrary dictatorial rule leaves the future of Singapore very uncertain. Singapore's future literally lies in uncharted waters. No one knows what he will do next or what will happen next or who will rule over the people.
This is the greatest harm Lee Kuan Yew has done to his country, leaving it without a respectable representative government, to the vagaries of whoever happens to seize power or be handed it. Skyscrapers are of no use if the people have no guarantee if they would be turned into slaves the next day. Perhaps they have already become slaves.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Singapore's false sense of calm extracted through threats intimidation and repression
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times of Aug 23, 2013 has the story "PM Lee describes being unashamed and thick skinned as elements key to online resilience".
He says "one must not be ashamed of doing what is right and one must be thick skinned". Please see http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/friday/breaking-news/singapore/story/pm-lee-describes-being-unashamed-and-thick-skinned-elements-key-online
Very wise words indeed, but Lee Kuan Yew's son is once again not telling the whole truth, is he?
For one thing, the newspaper here, like all others in his island, are all state controlled. Which means of course he can order them to come running to him anytime he wants and write anything he wants. This report is not so much a news report but rather more like a notice put out in a company news bulletin board intended to inform it's workers.
Second, he conveniently fails to mention that criticism of him, within his island is not only muted, it is entirely anonymous. No one in his right mind would dare to openly criticize him, his father, his government or anyone associated with him simply because any such criticism is illegal and the offender liable to arrest.
The only reason I, Gopalan Nair, can do this is because I am writing from California, and obviously he is not so confident in winning a lawsuit against me here.
Throughout it's history, anyone who criticizes him is immediately either sued for defamation, brought before his Kangaroo courts whose job is to destroy his critics. The victim is promptly found liable and slapped with million dollar damages and bankrupted. Alternatively he is arrested, charged and convicted of sedition or some other law and imprisoned.
Despite the great danger of open criticism, the fact that Lee's son still concedes in this report that there is a sizeable number of people who want him out, is clear evidence that opposition to his rule is far more widespread than appears.
If despite the terrible dangers one still finds so many of it's citizens willing to criticize, can you imagine how many more would openly vent their anger if they could do so without fear of arrest?
Lee Kuan Yew's son is deluding himself if he thinks his island is peaceful and calm. If there is peace and calm, it's peace and calm not because it's citizens are happy but because they are not allowed to openly protest. Singapore uses defamation laws, contempt of court laws, sedition laws and a litany of other laws to prevent any open criticism against their rule.
As the old adage goes, just because the water is calm, does not mean there are no crocodiles.
Singaporeans have a great deal to be unhappy about. About their lack of freedoms. About their lack of a free press. About their inability to criticize. About their unattainable housing needs which has become simply unaffordable. About racial discrimination. No possibility of car ownership. Jobs going to foreigners. The island being flooded by foreigners.
You have a groundswell of dissatisfaction only waiting for the right moment to explode, and that moment is soon to come.
Singaporeans will not be content to live under Lee's son when 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew, in failing health, dies. Singapore is not Syria where Bashar al Assad takes over when his father Hafiz al Assad dies. Syria never had a British constitutional parliamentary tradition unlike Singapore.
Neither is it a Chinese dynasty where the job of emperor goes to his son when he dies.
Lee Kuan Yew's son should realize very clearly that his government is simply illegitimate. He came to power, not by free and fair elections but through his father rigging it by disqualifying and destroying all political opponents and subsequently appointing him Prime Minister. He lacks not only moral but also legal authority to rule.
If Singaporeans are simply going to accept his government upon his father's death, this would mean their accepting an illegitimate government to carry on passing over control from one dictator to another. I don't think Singaporeans are going to allow this.
I think not only Lee Kuan Yew's son the prime Minister but the entire island should brace themselves for some very unsettling times the moment Lee senior dies, which is going to be very soon. If Lee's son feels complacent and confident now, he should realize he is on thin ice. Island wide dissatisfaction against his government and policies is only waiting for the right time to explode into more open and sustained protests and demonstrations. You are going to see thousands who have been denied jobs by the recently arrived foreign workers taking to the streets. And many others with their grievances are going to join in.
If Singapore is calm today, it is a false calm extracted through threats, intimidation and repression. It cannot last. Once Lee Kuan Yew dies, Singaporeans would no longer be constrained to take this repression lying down. Then you are going to see the real fireworks. And with the fireworks this small tiny island with a miniscule population reliant on foreign investment may entirely unravel. This is a real scenario very likely to happen.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times of Aug 23, 2013 has the story "PM Lee describes being unashamed and thick skinned as elements key to online resilience".
He says "one must not be ashamed of doing what is right and one must be thick skinned". Please see http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/friday/breaking-news/singapore/story/pm-lee-describes-being-unashamed-and-thick-skinned-elements-key-online
Very wise words indeed, but Lee Kuan Yew's son is once again not telling the whole truth, is he?
For one thing, the newspaper here, like all others in his island, are all state controlled. Which means of course he can order them to come running to him anytime he wants and write anything he wants. This report is not so much a news report but rather more like a notice put out in a company news bulletin board intended to inform it's workers.
Second, he conveniently fails to mention that criticism of him, within his island is not only muted, it is entirely anonymous. No one in his right mind would dare to openly criticize him, his father, his government or anyone associated with him simply because any such criticism is illegal and the offender liable to arrest.
The only reason I, Gopalan Nair, can do this is because I am writing from California, and obviously he is not so confident in winning a lawsuit against me here.
Throughout it's history, anyone who criticizes him is immediately either sued for defamation, brought before his Kangaroo courts whose job is to destroy his critics. The victim is promptly found liable and slapped with million dollar damages and bankrupted. Alternatively he is arrested, charged and convicted of sedition or some other law and imprisoned.
Despite the great danger of open criticism, the fact that Lee's son still concedes in this report that there is a sizeable number of people who want him out, is clear evidence that opposition to his rule is far more widespread than appears.
If despite the terrible dangers one still finds so many of it's citizens willing to criticize, can you imagine how many more would openly vent their anger if they could do so without fear of arrest?
Lee Kuan Yew's son is deluding himself if he thinks his island is peaceful and calm. If there is peace and calm, it's peace and calm not because it's citizens are happy but because they are not allowed to openly protest. Singapore uses defamation laws, contempt of court laws, sedition laws and a litany of other laws to prevent any open criticism against their rule.
As the old adage goes, just because the water is calm, does not mean there are no crocodiles.
Singaporeans have a great deal to be unhappy about. About their lack of freedoms. About their lack of a free press. About their inability to criticize. About their unattainable housing needs which has become simply unaffordable. About racial discrimination. No possibility of car ownership. Jobs going to foreigners. The island being flooded by foreigners.
You have a groundswell of dissatisfaction only waiting for the right moment to explode, and that moment is soon to come.
Singaporeans will not be content to live under Lee's son when 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew, in failing health, dies. Singapore is not Syria where Bashar al Assad takes over when his father Hafiz al Assad dies. Syria never had a British constitutional parliamentary tradition unlike Singapore.
Neither is it a Chinese dynasty where the job of emperor goes to his son when he dies.
Lee Kuan Yew's son should realize very clearly that his government is simply illegitimate. He came to power, not by free and fair elections but through his father rigging it by disqualifying and destroying all political opponents and subsequently appointing him Prime Minister. He lacks not only moral but also legal authority to rule.
If Singaporeans are simply going to accept his government upon his father's death, this would mean their accepting an illegitimate government to carry on passing over control from one dictator to another. I don't think Singaporeans are going to allow this.
I think not only Lee Kuan Yew's son the prime Minister but the entire island should brace themselves for some very unsettling times the moment Lee senior dies, which is going to be very soon. If Lee's son feels complacent and confident now, he should realize he is on thin ice. Island wide dissatisfaction against his government and policies is only waiting for the right time to explode into more open and sustained protests and demonstrations. You are going to see thousands who have been denied jobs by the recently arrived foreign workers taking to the streets. And many others with their grievances are going to join in.
If Singapore is calm today, it is a false calm extracted through threats, intimidation and repression. It cannot last. Once Lee Kuan Yew dies, Singaporeans would no longer be constrained to take this repression lying down. Then you are going to see the real fireworks. And with the fireworks this small tiny island with a miniscule population reliant on foreign investment may entirely unravel. This is a real scenario very likely to happen.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Lee Kuan Yew's death. Singapore's time for hope or a time for despair
Ladies and Gentlemen,
An occurrence which is sure to happen by the law of nature, and by the subject's own admission, (Lee confessed in his recent book that he is dying) is that 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew is about to die any moment now.
Being in essence a dictatorship Singapore's unique problem, unlike any democracy with an established political system allowing for peaceful political change to happen without revolutions and coups d'état is that he alone single handedly was responsible for running the place and everyone else, whom he considered far inferior to him, was a mere handpicked minion as well as his son the Prime Minister whom he appointed to that position.
Singapore has no leaders except for one, Lee Kuan Yew himself.
And what usually happens in dictatorships once the reigning dictator dies is that there is the inevitable jockeying for power by the political aspirants, very often bloodshed, total economic ruin and from the rubble a new dictator rises and life goes on in the miserable boring way it did all along under the previous dictatorship.
The question is, when the present dictator Lee Kuan Yew dies, will Singaporeans be content merely to obey Lee's son, the Prime Minister, and life goes on in it's present boring manner under the son's dictatorship , or will there be the aforementioned unavoidable chaos and instability from which hopefully a democracy emerges? Only time will tell.
Knowing Singaporeans very well, they are more educated and demanding than you may think. True, they have quietly accepted life under Lee Kuan Yew thus far without complaining but I am not so sure that with his demise, they are going to accept the nonsense under his son lying down. I don't think it is going to be business as usual.
Singaporeans for the first time will demand real representative government, not a mere handpicked errand boy as Lee Kuan Yew's son is. I don't believe any Singaporean has any faith in him, let alone any respect and if they haven't risen up in revolt up till now, it has to be because his father is still around to call the shots. I believe once Lee senior is dead, his son will be history, very ancient history.
I really don't know what will be the new Singapore be but it will certainly be interesting to see. I am holding my breath for the moment of Lee Kuan Yew's death, and I am sure thousands of other Singaporeans are doing the same and waiting for that epic monumental event to happen.
There are many Singaporeans who had to go into exile to escape Lee's punishment for having stood up to him. Many of them may come back to lead the new Singapore after the dictator is gone. Former Singaporeans such as Francis Seow who lives in the US, Tang Liang Hong who lives in Australia, Tan Wah Piow who lives in England and many others both known and unknown may return to work or help in the new Singapore. Of course, since it may have been a long time when some left the island and having sunk roots in their new countries may not find it so easy to return but hopefully they may assist in other ways possible.
I am eagerly looking forward to the death of the Singapore dictator Lee Kuan Yew so that there can be a chance for a new Singapore, not based on totalitarianism but on democracy, and freedom for all.
Of course the faster Lee Kuan Yew dies, the sooner change can happen. For the present moment, we will just have to wait a little.
I personally don't think it is too early to put the champagne bottle in the ice.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
An occurrence which is sure to happen by the law of nature, and by the subject's own admission, (Lee confessed in his recent book that he is dying) is that 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew is about to die any moment now.
Being in essence a dictatorship Singapore's unique problem, unlike any democracy with an established political system allowing for peaceful political change to happen without revolutions and coups d'état is that he alone single handedly was responsible for running the place and everyone else, whom he considered far inferior to him, was a mere handpicked minion as well as his son the Prime Minister whom he appointed to that position.
Singapore has no leaders except for one, Lee Kuan Yew himself.
And what usually happens in dictatorships once the reigning dictator dies is that there is the inevitable jockeying for power by the political aspirants, very often bloodshed, total economic ruin and from the rubble a new dictator rises and life goes on in the miserable boring way it did all along under the previous dictatorship.
The question is, when the present dictator Lee Kuan Yew dies, will Singaporeans be content merely to obey Lee's son, the Prime Minister, and life goes on in it's present boring manner under the son's dictatorship , or will there be the aforementioned unavoidable chaos and instability from which hopefully a democracy emerges? Only time will tell.
Knowing Singaporeans very well, they are more educated and demanding than you may think. True, they have quietly accepted life under Lee Kuan Yew thus far without complaining but I am not so sure that with his demise, they are going to accept the nonsense under his son lying down. I don't think it is going to be business as usual.
Singaporeans for the first time will demand real representative government, not a mere handpicked errand boy as Lee Kuan Yew's son is. I don't believe any Singaporean has any faith in him, let alone any respect and if they haven't risen up in revolt up till now, it has to be because his father is still around to call the shots. I believe once Lee senior is dead, his son will be history, very ancient history.
I really don't know what will be the new Singapore be but it will certainly be interesting to see. I am holding my breath for the moment of Lee Kuan Yew's death, and I am sure thousands of other Singaporeans are doing the same and waiting for that epic monumental event to happen.
There are many Singaporeans who had to go into exile to escape Lee's punishment for having stood up to him. Many of them may come back to lead the new Singapore after the dictator is gone. Former Singaporeans such as Francis Seow who lives in the US, Tang Liang Hong who lives in Australia, Tan Wah Piow who lives in England and many others both known and unknown may return to work or help in the new Singapore. Of course, since it may have been a long time when some left the island and having sunk roots in their new countries may not find it so easy to return but hopefully they may assist in other ways possible.
I am eagerly looking forward to the death of the Singapore dictator Lee Kuan Yew so that there can be a chance for a new Singapore, not based on totalitarianism but on democracy, and freedom for all.
Of course the faster Lee Kuan Yew dies, the sooner change can happen. For the present moment, we will just have to wait a little.
I personally don't think it is too early to put the champagne bottle in the ice.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Singapore's best kept secret. Is Lee Kuan Yew still breathing
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For a country that has boasted daily for the last 50 years of their Lee Kuan Yew, the miracle man, who had done Singapore single handedly everything it is now, appears suddenly to be eerily silent on the subject.
Had not the 92 year old man recently written a book in which he confessed that "he is weakening daily" and that "no matter how much exercise he takes, it does him no good" and that if bedridden and turned into a cabbage, he "would rather die quickly" and had not the international media picked up on it, we would never have known that he in fact already has one foot firmly in his grave, and by all reckoning, it is only matter of days for the end.
But you notice that for such an important personage, made larger than life by his state propaganda team during the last 50 years while he has been perfecting his one party state no-nonsense, you-listen-to-me- or- else Stalinist police state plus the skyscrapers, it is surprising all of a sudden for them to be so quiet.
They are suddenly behaving as if Lee's health was the number one state secret. Except for one report which they were compelled to write since the foreign press had already broken the story, there has been nothing at all about how the old man is faring, especially since it has already been reported that he is in no less than a dying state.
Why the need to keep Lee's state of health secret?
I reckon, Lee's minions at the top are now no longer confident that their island with no more than 2 million local born citizens, with the lowest birth rate and the highest brain drain in the world, will outlast the superman who will soon die.
Perhaps they are not very sure whether the island will now smoothly rally around his son and carry on as if this were normal.
Perhaps Singaporeans who look at his son only as the son of the father with no other redeeming qualities will evict him from his palace which his father gave him.
Perhaps Teo Chee Hean the half sleepy looking deputy to the son, whose qualifications are successfully passing his exams in school, and an expert in licking the asses of both father and son, may no longer be acceptable to Singaporeans upon his master's demise.
Perhaps they will look upon the Tamil Minister for Law K Shanmugam good enough only for tossing Indian pancakes in Singapore's Little India after the departure of his master, we will never know either.
I think a creeping crippling fear has come upon the entire bunch of scholar bootlickers and minions who form Lee's government, that they are now genuinely afraid whether the entire island will descend into another Dubai during the recent economic depression with banks leaving, money outflowing and persons leaving in a mass exodus over the uncertainly which will certainly loom over the future of the island, upon Lee's death, one does not know.
In fact I think they are not sure if the island will in effect literally disintegrate, unravel and collapse entirely.
Which is why I think it is important to put forward a confident face and not look nervous before the world, or they may give the cat away. Which is why they behave as if everything is fine in their house of cards as the Sun rises in the East in their island every morning.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
For a country that has boasted daily for the last 50 years of their Lee Kuan Yew, the miracle man, who had done Singapore single handedly everything it is now, appears suddenly to be eerily silent on the subject.
Had not the 92 year old man recently written a book in which he confessed that "he is weakening daily" and that "no matter how much exercise he takes, it does him no good" and that if bedridden and turned into a cabbage, he "would rather die quickly" and had not the international media picked up on it, we would never have known that he in fact already has one foot firmly in his grave, and by all reckoning, it is only matter of days for the end.
But you notice that for such an important personage, made larger than life by his state propaganda team during the last 50 years while he has been perfecting his one party state no-nonsense, you-listen-to-me- or- else Stalinist police state plus the skyscrapers, it is surprising all of a sudden for them to be so quiet.
They are suddenly behaving as if Lee's health was the number one state secret. Except for one report which they were compelled to write since the foreign press had already broken the story, there has been nothing at all about how the old man is faring, especially since it has already been reported that he is in no less than a dying state.
Why the need to keep Lee's state of health secret?
I reckon, Lee's minions at the top are now no longer confident that their island with no more than 2 million local born citizens, with the lowest birth rate and the highest brain drain in the world, will outlast the superman who will soon die.
Perhaps they are not very sure whether the island will now smoothly rally around his son and carry on as if this were normal.
Perhaps Singaporeans who look at his son only as the son of the father with no other redeeming qualities will evict him from his palace which his father gave him.
Perhaps Teo Chee Hean the half sleepy looking deputy to the son, whose qualifications are successfully passing his exams in school, and an expert in licking the asses of both father and son, may no longer be acceptable to Singaporeans upon his master's demise.
Perhaps they will look upon the Tamil Minister for Law K Shanmugam good enough only for tossing Indian pancakes in Singapore's Little India after the departure of his master, we will never know either.
I think a creeping crippling fear has come upon the entire bunch of scholar bootlickers and minions who form Lee's government, that they are now genuinely afraid whether the entire island will descend into another Dubai during the recent economic depression with banks leaving, money outflowing and persons leaving in a mass exodus over the uncertainly which will certainly loom over the future of the island, upon Lee's death, one does not know.
In fact I think they are not sure if the island will in effect literally disintegrate, unravel and collapse entirely.
Which is why I think it is important to put forward a confident face and not look nervous before the world, or they may give the cat away. Which is why they behave as if everything is fine in their house of cards as the Sun rises in the East in their island every morning.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email:nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
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