Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you are aware, approximately 20 peaceful protesters had gathered in front of Parliament House Singapore on March 15, 2008 to protest against the government's consumer goods price hikes and lack of human rights. Despite the fact that the Constitution specifically allows for peaceful assembly, the government had denied their request for a permit to conduct it, and had used force to disperse and arrest these peaceful men and women in circumstances no different than that of Nazi Germany.
The following account of the incident is that of Mr. Chia Ti Lik, a lawyer whose address and contact is as follows, Chia Ngee Thuang & Co, 24 Peck Seah Street #05-09/11 Nehsons Building, S(079314); Tel:62259983; Fax:62237856; Email: mailto:62237856ngeethuangc@hotmail.com
Mr. Chia is one of the growing number of Singaporeans, a true patriot, who sees the need for democratic change for him and his family; a realization that business as normal according to the terms of Lee Kuan Yew will not do; and he is prepared as one true citizen to say his piece because it his his right to do it.
I had been honored to meet Mr. Chia Ti Lik, Attorney at Law, personally in Singapore during my last trip there in November 2006.
I was deeply moved to read his account and so I post it here. Mr. Chia, I admire you and with your courage, I truly believe that others will see the need for action and with increased speed, we will see a true Singapore; a Singapore that my father believed in as well as I.
Thank you.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
A personal account of Mr. Chia Ti Lik, Attorney at Law,
posted on http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=68978.1 on 15/03/2008 12:56 ET by Mata catch SDP but let go of JI (TiLik)
My thoughts at this moment at 2341hrs on the events of the day.
I had started out feeling enthusiastic about the protest which i was about to take part today. Early awakening in the morning and thereafter straight for a breakfast with a couple of friends.
We found ourselves under cloudy weather when we arrived near the venue. After a while of speaking around, we proceeded towards Parliament House. There were probably about 25 to 30 of us. Excluding the children that were brought by their parents.
Straightaway, the seasoned eye of an activist spots a total of about 8 plain clothes policemen lurking around to do surveillance. The police and the administration were clearly rattled by the intention to protest in front of parliament house.
To me this was a symbolic gesture. As Parliament has failed Singapore in failing to keep the Cabinet in check, a protest by people from all walks of life in Singapore would bring them down a peg or two and for them to start listening to the people. I prided myself for being able to pluck up the courage to join in this protest.
After photos and interviews were taken by the local and foreign press on the paraphernalia and purpose of the protest, placards included. ASP William Goh, fearful of being identified as a police officer, failed to appear in his uniform. ASP William Goh made a hasty introduction of himself and asked for us to disperse from the the Parliament House. Dr. Chee Soon Juan and Gandhi Ambalam agreed and started walking across the road towards Funan Centre.
There in front of Funan Centre, we were accosted again by a sweaty and panicky ASP William Goh who now demanded that the placards to be surrendered and if the placards were not surrendered, arrests would be made.
Uncle Yap challenged the police to state which law the protesters broke and why was it that they had to hand over the placards. Uncle Yap was covering the event with a camera of his. Kaixiong and Dr. Chee tried to reason with the ASP and was getting nowhere. The ASP began uttering gibberish - about something about the Parliament being gazetted as a protected area and about the placards which must be surrendered. The police officers blocked our way for a good 10 minutes or so ironically preventing us from dispersing from the vicinity of the Parliament.
I asked the ASP to see reason as the protest was an entirely peaceful one and that there were many Singaporeans affected by price hikes which the ruling party has indirectly and directly caused and that it was totally unremorseful about. I told the ASP that given the number of reporters around, it would be a public relations debacle for the Government Administration if Mas Selamat Kastari remained on the loose and Police resources were freely used to stifle dissenting voices for the benefit of the ruling PAP. This argument won no ground.
After a couple of minutes more, when the police reinforcements arrived, they acted. ASP William Goh ignored our pleas that the protest was a peaceful one and that it was concerned with the welfare of all Singaporeans. ASP William Goh ordered the arrest of Uncle Yap. Uncle Yap passed his camera to me. The Police tried to grab it and i passed it to someone else. We locked arms. One by one using police officers, they tried to pry as apart. The regime has in fact resorted to softening its hardline approach by using non uniformed police officers and non uniformed women to do the dirty job of arresting protesters. None of them were in uniform.
From the corner of my eye, i saw that the police vans were ready to take us away. Our grip became tighter. So were the number of hands and arms on us pulling our grip apart.
I had probably 4 or 5 female officers pulling my arms apart from I think was SDP’s Ghandi. I ended up facing away from Dr. Chee but yet locked arms with him. I was on Dr. Chee’s left. John Tan was on his right. Soon we were overpowered. I was led to one van only to find Siok Chin being manhandled into the van. For some reason or the other then they then decided to put me in another van. I ended up being trussed by two policewomen into a police van with Dr. Chee, Kaixiong, Sylvester, Seelan. It was only inside the van that the officers were uniformed. There were 3 officers, all Staff Sergeants - seasoned men. Seelan was dragged all the way in, dragged face down onto the van floor. The debacle was seen by hundreds of onlookers. This was happening in Singapore.
Inside the van, i sat opposite an officer. He forbade me from using my phone be it to call or to receive calls. The reporters were still outside the van, there were many people watching. There was also a traffic police on a motorbike who had stopped the traffic. It was a real spectacle. Amidst all these, i found tears welling in my eyes.
I was surprised, was it the humiliation? Was there any shame? For a lawyer to be trussed up into a police van watched by hundreds and with cameras rolling? I searched myself. Yes it was shame. But it was not mine.
The shame i felt was Singapore’s shame. Of a situation and plight where people can no longer speak and assemble freely in their own country. How has our island whom we are taught to live love and die for become a place where the citizens who are expected to carry the burden are treated lesser than the foreigners who come in and who are deemed to have no reason to be speaking up against their own government?
We have a place which can no longer be called a country. Singapore has been twisted into a macabre contortion by the People’s Action Party. To live life and pay up AND shut up. I held back the tears, there was no reason for the tears to fall in a regime’s police van for the word Police, its emblem and its uniforms no longer held any meaning. This was a police force which allows the PAP’s subsidiaries e.g. CASE conduct similar protests with impunity. This was a police force that showed restraint against protesting foreigners. This was the same police force that let Mas Selamat Kastari loose. This was the same police force that accosted and bundled up Singaporean activists into police vans.
My tears were too sacred for them to have contact with the defiling instruments of the regime . I held back my emotions. Dr. Chee joked abit as we backed out into Coleman Street before heading towards Police Cantonment Complex. Kaixiong broke into a song along the way.
I thought about the state of which this country was in and the position a citizen was in vis-a-vis a foreigner and the State. The verdict was depressing. We were mere digits. To be enslaved. To be taxed. To be bled. AND to be silenced.
The time is 0040hrs 16th March 2008. It has been a long day. I will recite the events at the Police Station in Part 2.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Hurrah for human rights activists on March 15, 2008 2 pm in front of Parliament house Singapore. My admiration and congratulations go out to you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Firstly my congratulations to the peaceful protestors of March 15, 2008 on World Consumer Rights day in front of Parliament House Singapore. An excellent job. Well done. By your action, you have just caused Lee Kuan Yew and the government of his son even more problems than they already have. In this war that goes on in Singapore, the forces of democracy are advancing bit by bit, moving ahead while the Lee family who run Singapore are losing day by day.
The state owned and controlled media, Channellnewsasia, just as all the other news media is owned and controlled by the Singapore government carried a story, "Chee Soon Juan and 20 others stage protest outside Parliament", 15th March 2008. This Singapore government newspaper whose principle activity is to disseminate propaganda favorable to the government reports that 20 persons including Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party staged a protest outside Parliament House on Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2008. At this point, we have to stop and correct the misinformation. It was not 20 people. It was 50! So you have got a lie right there for you!
The reporter for this state controlled newspaper Hasnita A Majid, who works for this newspaper as a purveyor of propaganda, perhaps because she can't find any other job, writes that Dr. Chee and others ignored repeated warnings to stop the "unlawful assembly".
Wait a minute. Another blatant lie. The assembly was not unlawful at all. The Constitution of Singapore specifically guarantees the right of assembly. It is the government trying to disperse it that is illegal. Not Dr. Chee and his friends who are in the legitimate exercise of their constitutional rights.
She writes that "police officers faced resistance from some of the members of the group who struggled and locked their arms together. Police equipment including a police radio set was damaged". I am not surprised at this at all. Surely these peaceful protestors are only exercising their rights to defend themselves against police brutality and illegal acts. The police should expect their equipment to be damaged since they can expect peaceful citizens to resist the illegal actions of this police force acting to protect Lee Kuan Yew and his illegal regime.
In fact, it is the government that should compensate these peaceful protestors for any damage they had suffered and Mr. M Ravi, Attorney at Law, who is reported to be legal counsel for these protestors; should take up the challenge and file a lawsuit for compensation for his clients.
This reporter or rather propaganda disseminator, for want of a better term, Hasnita A Majid reports that Miss Chee Siok Chin, a committee member of the Singapore Democratic Party and the sister of Dr. Chee "tried to bite a female officer when the latter tried to arrest her". Now tell me who wouldn’t when one is falsely being arrested and detained! A man would have hit the female officer. A woman bites. But the reaction is not only expected, it is also justified. I would have hit her, no doubt about it.
This reporter Majid goes on to say that Dr. Chee has held "unlawful demonstrations" in the past and that this is not the first time; whereas in this instance Dr. Chee and the others had escalated their defiance and had begun to use standard militant protest methods by locking arms. I am pleased that Dr. Chee and his friends have become more defiant and have deliberately resisted arrest. There is nothing wrong in resisting an unlawful arrest as in this case. Such resistance is not only justified; it is honorable.
This propaganda agent says that the attack by Ms. Chee Siok Chin will be investigated. I think we all expect that of this government. Ms. Chee, I and almost everyone else who understands Singapore knows that the government will investigate, and file charges. How much good it will do them is uncertain.
And now comes a blatant unashamed lie by Hasnita A Majid. I will reproduce the entire sentences here. She says "Police said Chee had earlier applied for a police permit to hold a protest rally. But this "was an empty gesture, as a subsequent posting on SDP's website indicated that SDP intended to proceed with the rally on March 15, at 2 pm even though the permit was not obtained."
Anyone with any understanding of Singapore law as well as the English language full well knows that Hasnita A Majid is unashamedly telling a shameless lie here. The facts are clear. There was no "empty gesture" on the part of Dr. Chee at all.
Dr. Chee did apply for a permit to hold the rally, even though Dr. Chee as well as I know that both the requirement of a permit and the law itself is illegal. Dr. Chee could have, if he wanted to, gone ahead with the rally without even applying at all. Singapore is governed, or at least it is supposed to be, governed by the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law. Any law that violates the constitution is illegal unless a compelling reason can be shown for the law. Dr. Chee had applied, even though he did not have to, for a permit under the Public Order Act. His application was illegally denied. There was no legal basis for denying it.
In 2007, CASE, an organ of the Lee Administration had held a protest at that very location. Furthermore Dr. Chee’s was a peaceful protest. There was not a single possibility that anyone could have been harmed by this peaceful protest.
Since this government has abused the law by denying this permit, as they routinely do, Dr. Chee subsequent to this, announced that he will go ahead anyway, without the permit. In these circumstances why was Dr. Chee's application for a permit an empty gesture? Dr. Chee was trying to comply even with an unjust law. Since he was disallowed his lawful right to protest, he went ahead anyway. Not an "empty gesture" at all.
She then finishes with this sentence" Police reiterated that no one is above the law." I totally agree with her, by pointing out that this Lee Kuan Administration is also not above the law, and I hope that the police will understand that. The Constitution of Singapore applies to them as well as Dr. Chee. It gives Dr. Chee the right to peaceful assembly. Please respect that right keeping in mind that Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore government are not above the law.
The good news is this. In this clash between these civic minded protestors and this government trying to impose unacceptable repressive laws, the loser each time is Lee Kuan Yew and his son's government.
Singapore is a small country with 3 million people or so. It is reliant on an educated workforce, in the English language. It is not a rice growing country of peasants. By now Singaporeans, especially the educated ones, are becoming more and more aware of how people in other western countries live, such as in Australia. They too want the same freedoms that others have. They know there is nothing wrong with peaceful protests. It happens all the time in Sydney, Melbourne or London. Why then should they not be allowed the same freedoms, they ask?
Singaporeans are already fed up with Lee Kuan Yew and his son's arrogance. They have decided to leave. Emigrate. As you are aware, massive emigration is hurting Singapore, emigration of the most educated and capable. With the news of the arrests of these peaceful protestors, another 1000 educated and capable people will join the line for Australia. This hurts Singapore.
Singapore’s lawyer population has remained stagnant for the last 10 years. 10 years ago, there were 3,200 lawyers. Today we have the same number. No one wants to enter the law. The reason is the lack of the rule of law. With the news of these arrests of these innocent people, a further hundred will immediately leave the profession. No matter what; whether it is more money, scholarships, working from home, working part time and all manner of desperate attempts to stem the decline in numbers, lawyers are leaving the profession and no one is joining. This latest news of the arrests will only increase the resignations even further.
The Civil Service does not have manpower. The army barracks are empty because no children are being born for national service. Good honest reporters are leaving the news media in Singapore leaving behind dishonest ones such as this Hasnita A Majid.
I hope Dr. Chee will continue to hold protests. One for UN Day, one for Children’s Day, for Christmas Day, for May Day, for Dr. Chee’s birth day, one for my birthday, whatever. And provoke this government to make more and more mistakes until their government becomes untenable when they will have no choice but to see reason.
From the government position, I can only see 2 alternatives. Either they arrest Dr. Chee and shoot him like Lee Kuan Yew's friends do in other dictatorships or they should stop this stupidity and come to their senses. They should realize that Dr. Chee and the movement for change are unstoppable. These arrests and releasing them a week later will not do any good. It will only embolden them, whereas at the same time the government suffers from the converse effects of their actions.
With the continuing decline of educated people from Singapore resultant on this government’s stupidity, you will find that almost everyone with any brains have left. Leaving behind the likes of this reporter Hasnita A Majid and recent immigrants from Communist China who neither speak nor write English. And of course we cannot forget the Peidu Mama with their infant children from Communist China who are educated in Singapore at government expense while these mothers, on condition they are good looking, work in massage parlors or other places of disrepute!
I hope I am not being too presumptuous, or too arrogant to say that I believe the large turn out was partly due to my writing in this blog urging both Singaporeans and foreigners alike to show their solidarity and protest to exercise their constitutional right of free assembly.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Firstly my congratulations to the peaceful protestors of March 15, 2008 on World Consumer Rights day in front of Parliament House Singapore. An excellent job. Well done. By your action, you have just caused Lee Kuan Yew and the government of his son even more problems than they already have. In this war that goes on in Singapore, the forces of democracy are advancing bit by bit, moving ahead while the Lee family who run Singapore are losing day by day.
The state owned and controlled media, Channellnewsasia, just as all the other news media is owned and controlled by the Singapore government carried a story, "Chee Soon Juan and 20 others stage protest outside Parliament", 15th March 2008. This Singapore government newspaper whose principle activity is to disseminate propaganda favorable to the government reports that 20 persons including Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party staged a protest outside Parliament House on Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2008. At this point, we have to stop and correct the misinformation. It was not 20 people. It was 50! So you have got a lie right there for you!
The reporter for this state controlled newspaper Hasnita A Majid, who works for this newspaper as a purveyor of propaganda, perhaps because she can't find any other job, writes that Dr. Chee and others ignored repeated warnings to stop the "unlawful assembly".
Wait a minute. Another blatant lie. The assembly was not unlawful at all. The Constitution of Singapore specifically guarantees the right of assembly. It is the government trying to disperse it that is illegal. Not Dr. Chee and his friends who are in the legitimate exercise of their constitutional rights.
She writes that "police officers faced resistance from some of the members of the group who struggled and locked their arms together. Police equipment including a police radio set was damaged". I am not surprised at this at all. Surely these peaceful protestors are only exercising their rights to defend themselves against police brutality and illegal acts. The police should expect their equipment to be damaged since they can expect peaceful citizens to resist the illegal actions of this police force acting to protect Lee Kuan Yew and his illegal regime.
In fact, it is the government that should compensate these peaceful protestors for any damage they had suffered and Mr. M Ravi, Attorney at Law, who is reported to be legal counsel for these protestors; should take up the challenge and file a lawsuit for compensation for his clients.
This reporter or rather propaganda disseminator, for want of a better term, Hasnita A Majid reports that Miss Chee Siok Chin, a committee member of the Singapore Democratic Party and the sister of Dr. Chee "tried to bite a female officer when the latter tried to arrest her". Now tell me who wouldn’t when one is falsely being arrested and detained! A man would have hit the female officer. A woman bites. But the reaction is not only expected, it is also justified. I would have hit her, no doubt about it.
This reporter Majid goes on to say that Dr. Chee has held "unlawful demonstrations" in the past and that this is not the first time; whereas in this instance Dr. Chee and the others had escalated their defiance and had begun to use standard militant protest methods by locking arms. I am pleased that Dr. Chee and his friends have become more defiant and have deliberately resisted arrest. There is nothing wrong in resisting an unlawful arrest as in this case. Such resistance is not only justified; it is honorable.
This propaganda agent says that the attack by Ms. Chee Siok Chin will be investigated. I think we all expect that of this government. Ms. Chee, I and almost everyone else who understands Singapore knows that the government will investigate, and file charges. How much good it will do them is uncertain.
And now comes a blatant unashamed lie by Hasnita A Majid. I will reproduce the entire sentences here. She says "Police said Chee had earlier applied for a police permit to hold a protest rally. But this "was an empty gesture, as a subsequent posting on SDP's website indicated that SDP intended to proceed with the rally on March 15, at 2 pm even though the permit was not obtained."
Anyone with any understanding of Singapore law as well as the English language full well knows that Hasnita A Majid is unashamedly telling a shameless lie here. The facts are clear. There was no "empty gesture" on the part of Dr. Chee at all.
Dr. Chee did apply for a permit to hold the rally, even though Dr. Chee as well as I know that both the requirement of a permit and the law itself is illegal. Dr. Chee could have, if he wanted to, gone ahead with the rally without even applying at all. Singapore is governed, or at least it is supposed to be, governed by the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law. Any law that violates the constitution is illegal unless a compelling reason can be shown for the law. Dr. Chee had applied, even though he did not have to, for a permit under the Public Order Act. His application was illegally denied. There was no legal basis for denying it.
In 2007, CASE, an organ of the Lee Administration had held a protest at that very location. Furthermore Dr. Chee’s was a peaceful protest. There was not a single possibility that anyone could have been harmed by this peaceful protest.
Since this government has abused the law by denying this permit, as they routinely do, Dr. Chee subsequent to this, announced that he will go ahead anyway, without the permit. In these circumstances why was Dr. Chee's application for a permit an empty gesture? Dr. Chee was trying to comply even with an unjust law. Since he was disallowed his lawful right to protest, he went ahead anyway. Not an "empty gesture" at all.
She then finishes with this sentence" Police reiterated that no one is above the law." I totally agree with her, by pointing out that this Lee Kuan Administration is also not above the law, and I hope that the police will understand that. The Constitution of Singapore applies to them as well as Dr. Chee. It gives Dr. Chee the right to peaceful assembly. Please respect that right keeping in mind that Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore government are not above the law.
The good news is this. In this clash between these civic minded protestors and this government trying to impose unacceptable repressive laws, the loser each time is Lee Kuan Yew and his son's government.
Singapore is a small country with 3 million people or so. It is reliant on an educated workforce, in the English language. It is not a rice growing country of peasants. By now Singaporeans, especially the educated ones, are becoming more and more aware of how people in other western countries live, such as in Australia. They too want the same freedoms that others have. They know there is nothing wrong with peaceful protests. It happens all the time in Sydney, Melbourne or London. Why then should they not be allowed the same freedoms, they ask?
Singaporeans are already fed up with Lee Kuan Yew and his son's arrogance. They have decided to leave. Emigrate. As you are aware, massive emigration is hurting Singapore, emigration of the most educated and capable. With the news of the arrests of these peaceful protestors, another 1000 educated and capable people will join the line for Australia. This hurts Singapore.
Singapore’s lawyer population has remained stagnant for the last 10 years. 10 years ago, there were 3,200 lawyers. Today we have the same number. No one wants to enter the law. The reason is the lack of the rule of law. With the news of these arrests of these innocent people, a further hundred will immediately leave the profession. No matter what; whether it is more money, scholarships, working from home, working part time and all manner of desperate attempts to stem the decline in numbers, lawyers are leaving the profession and no one is joining. This latest news of the arrests will only increase the resignations even further.
The Civil Service does not have manpower. The army barracks are empty because no children are being born for national service. Good honest reporters are leaving the news media in Singapore leaving behind dishonest ones such as this Hasnita A Majid.
I hope Dr. Chee will continue to hold protests. One for UN Day, one for Children’s Day, for Christmas Day, for May Day, for Dr. Chee’s birth day, one for my birthday, whatever. And provoke this government to make more and more mistakes until their government becomes untenable when they will have no choice but to see reason.
From the government position, I can only see 2 alternatives. Either they arrest Dr. Chee and shoot him like Lee Kuan Yew's friends do in other dictatorships or they should stop this stupidity and come to their senses. They should realize that Dr. Chee and the movement for change are unstoppable. These arrests and releasing them a week later will not do any good. It will only embolden them, whereas at the same time the government suffers from the converse effects of their actions.
With the continuing decline of educated people from Singapore resultant on this government’s stupidity, you will find that almost everyone with any brains have left. Leaving behind the likes of this reporter Hasnita A Majid and recent immigrants from Communist China who neither speak nor write English. And of course we cannot forget the Peidu Mama with their infant children from Communist China who are educated in Singapore at government expense while these mothers, on condition they are good looking, work in massage parlors or other places of disrepute!
I hope I am not being too presumptuous, or too arrogant to say that I believe the large turn out was partly due to my writing in this blog urging both Singaporeans and foreigners alike to show their solidarity and protest to exercise their constitutional right of free assembly.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Announcement. Singapore Dissident will not accept anymore comments from anonymous or fictitious readers.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore Dissident will not accept anymore comments from readers unprepared to identify themselves. The author of Singapore Dissident, Gopalan Nair, is prepared to say who he is, state his full name and all contact particulars including phone number, fax and Email. Singapore Dissident believes that writing about Singapore politics is a serious matter, and not a joke, and not something you go about doing from behind a mask because you are afraid.
Stating ones political beliefs is a serious matter, something one should be proud to do. The aim is to spread the message to as large an audience as possible, pointing to the disastrous political situation in Singapore; so as to urge the public to rise, challenge and change the government for the better. This is not something one does while hiding one's identity. People who are so afraid should in fact not engage in politics of change. Such men and women are not suited for such honorable pursuits and should instead concentrate in going about their lives in submission to authority as they do now.
Therefore I urge any readers if they have at least the courage to read this blog; in fact in Singapore you would be surprised to know that many fear doing even that; to read it and spread the message to others if they so desire and upon condition that they have the courage to do it. The author would appreciate that.
However if you plan to write a comment to this blog, it will not be accepted for publication unless it carries with it, a true and complete name, a full address, an Email address and a contact telephone number where you can be reached. The author will verify your identity and your comment will be published with your correct name and address. If you are not agreeable to these terms, you will be wasting your time writing to this blog because it will not be published.
As you are aware, there are many blogs that will accept such anonymous and disguised postings. In fact many blogs do not even identify the author. Singapore Dissident is however is not such a blog.
We had in the past accepted anonymous postings but as we are evolving and re-thinking what we do all the time, the time has now come to put a stop to this sort of shameful behaviour. It is both cowardly and pathetic. Therefore my advice to the Singaporean population is this. If you are so afraid, then accept Lee Kuan Yew's rule. Don't waste everyone's time writing criticism while hiding out of fear at the same time.
Thank you.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Singapore Dissident will not accept anymore comments from readers unprepared to identify themselves. The author of Singapore Dissident, Gopalan Nair, is prepared to say who he is, state his full name and all contact particulars including phone number, fax and Email. Singapore Dissident believes that writing about Singapore politics is a serious matter, and not a joke, and not something you go about doing from behind a mask because you are afraid.
Stating ones political beliefs is a serious matter, something one should be proud to do. The aim is to spread the message to as large an audience as possible, pointing to the disastrous political situation in Singapore; so as to urge the public to rise, challenge and change the government for the better. This is not something one does while hiding one's identity. People who are so afraid should in fact not engage in politics of change. Such men and women are not suited for such honorable pursuits and should instead concentrate in going about their lives in submission to authority as they do now.
Therefore I urge any readers if they have at least the courage to read this blog; in fact in Singapore you would be surprised to know that many fear doing even that; to read it and spread the message to others if they so desire and upon condition that they have the courage to do it. The author would appreciate that.
However if you plan to write a comment to this blog, it will not be accepted for publication unless it carries with it, a true and complete name, a full address, an Email address and a contact telephone number where you can be reached. The author will verify your identity and your comment will be published with your correct name and address. If you are not agreeable to these terms, you will be wasting your time writing to this blog because it will not be published.
As you are aware, there are many blogs that will accept such anonymous and disguised postings. In fact many blogs do not even identify the author. Singapore Dissident is however is not such a blog.
We had in the past accepted anonymous postings but as we are evolving and re-thinking what we do all the time, the time has now come to put a stop to this sort of shameful behaviour. It is both cowardly and pathetic. Therefore my advice to the Singaporean population is this. If you are so afraid, then accept Lee Kuan Yew's rule. Don't waste everyone's time writing criticism while hiding out of fear at the same time.
Thank you.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Why such fear and cowardice?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am not sure if Singapore has the largest number of Internet critics of the government; I will not be surprised. But it will still not bring about any political change as long as they continue to be afraid to show themselves.
You are aware that they all criticise anonymously. They are afraid of what their government will do if they were found out. Only a handful dare to show their faces. Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the SDP is one. Yap Keng Hoe is another. Gandhi Ambalam is yet another. Robert Ho is one more. Other than them, I do not know of anyone else.
And as long as Singaporeans continue to complain in fear, these Internet critics are wasting their time writing and writing, when Lee Kuan Yew knows one thing. And that is, you are afraid of him. And as long as you are afraid of him, he will do anything he wants. You are nothing more to him than dust.
You can see this even in this blog of mine. There are people who write long letters. Very long letters profuse with wisdom and knowledge and ideas. Only one problem with that. They are all anonymous. Are they not frustrated by having so much wisdom to share but yet are unable to say who they are?
Then there are those who use false names, by just picking up any name like Joe Blokes. We know they are someone else. They are afraid. Like rabbits.
And because Lee knows that the people who keep him in power at a salary of $3.7 million a year are so afraid of him, he continues to do anything he wants regardless of how wrong it is. Tell me one country in the world where the leaders can openly declare that they will take $3.7 million a year as salary without having to face mass civil protest and condemnation, if not riots?
Tell me one country in the world where a prisoner can escape from a top security jail 3 weeks ago, and yet the government has not given a single answer for the escape?
Tell me one country in the world where the government can tell their people that they will not get any retirement benefits until they die or reach the age of 85 whichever comes earlier, without having to face nationwide civil unrest?
In this blog, I routinely post these comments from these anonymous people but I have only have scorn and pity for them. I pity them for having to live in such fear of this government. And disrespect for being such cowards.
And my reckoning is this. If they have no courage to even show themselves, these Internet critics can carry on writing until their hands drop with fatigue. It is not going to do any good. Lee is not interested. He will do as he pleases, because he has an entire nation of timid souls over whom he can trample over as he pleases.
My openly writing these criticisms is not without any disadvantage. For instance, if I need any assistance from this Administration, I am unlikely to get it. I am a known critic of this regime, and not afraid to be identified as one. If they want to disadvantage me for it, so be it. But I am prepared for it. It should be the same with you. Unless and until you are prepared to show your face and accept the disadvantages that comes with your exposure, you cannot expect Mr. Lee to have any respect for you. And as long as he has no respect for you, he will continue to trample over you and shove his boot at your face as and when he pleases.
So this is my advice to you. If you are so afraid, stop wasting your time writing all this stuff, calling yourself stingray, bellhop, cyberboy and other stupid names like that and writing. It is falling on Lee's deaf ears.
You can continue to keep sending me these erudite comments filled with wisdom. But behind these writings, I can only only imagine a writer who is probably afraid of his own shadow.
What sort of cowards are you? And tell me, how did Singapore manage to produce so many fearful souls anyway? Even a woman has more courage.
Listen to this and listen carefully. No one takes any interest in anonymous Internet critics like you as long as you continue in fear and hide yourselves. If you wish to be taken seriously, then write your true name, your true address, your phone number. When you are prepared to do that, you can expect some change because then you would have publicly stated your ground. Otherwise why waste your time. Neither I nor Mr. Lee Kuan Yew will take you seriously.
You are not only a bunch of miserable souls who live in fear; you are a country of irresponsible citizens who are prepared to see their country ruined before their very eyes through corruption and nepotism, because they are afraid.
At this moment Mr. Lee is only afraid of Dr. Chee and the handful that I mentioned. He is not bothered by any of you pathetic anonymous souls and ghost writers.
I am sorry to put it bluntly, but it has to be said.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
I am not sure if Singapore has the largest number of Internet critics of the government; I will not be surprised. But it will still not bring about any political change as long as they continue to be afraid to show themselves.
You are aware that they all criticise anonymously. They are afraid of what their government will do if they were found out. Only a handful dare to show their faces. Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the SDP is one. Yap Keng Hoe is another. Gandhi Ambalam is yet another. Robert Ho is one more. Other than them, I do not know of anyone else.
And as long as Singaporeans continue to complain in fear, these Internet critics are wasting their time writing and writing, when Lee Kuan Yew knows one thing. And that is, you are afraid of him. And as long as you are afraid of him, he will do anything he wants. You are nothing more to him than dust.
You can see this even in this blog of mine. There are people who write long letters. Very long letters profuse with wisdom and knowledge and ideas. Only one problem with that. They are all anonymous. Are they not frustrated by having so much wisdom to share but yet are unable to say who they are?
Then there are those who use false names, by just picking up any name like Joe Blokes. We know they are someone else. They are afraid. Like rabbits.
And because Lee knows that the people who keep him in power at a salary of $3.7 million a year are so afraid of him, he continues to do anything he wants regardless of how wrong it is. Tell me one country in the world where the leaders can openly declare that they will take $3.7 million a year as salary without having to face mass civil protest and condemnation, if not riots?
Tell me one country in the world where a prisoner can escape from a top security jail 3 weeks ago, and yet the government has not given a single answer for the escape?
Tell me one country in the world where the government can tell their people that they will not get any retirement benefits until they die or reach the age of 85 whichever comes earlier, without having to face nationwide civil unrest?
In this blog, I routinely post these comments from these anonymous people but I have only have scorn and pity for them. I pity them for having to live in such fear of this government. And disrespect for being such cowards.
And my reckoning is this. If they have no courage to even show themselves, these Internet critics can carry on writing until their hands drop with fatigue. It is not going to do any good. Lee is not interested. He will do as he pleases, because he has an entire nation of timid souls over whom he can trample over as he pleases.
My openly writing these criticisms is not without any disadvantage. For instance, if I need any assistance from this Administration, I am unlikely to get it. I am a known critic of this regime, and not afraid to be identified as one. If they want to disadvantage me for it, so be it. But I am prepared for it. It should be the same with you. Unless and until you are prepared to show your face and accept the disadvantages that comes with your exposure, you cannot expect Mr. Lee to have any respect for you. And as long as he has no respect for you, he will continue to trample over you and shove his boot at your face as and when he pleases.
So this is my advice to you. If you are so afraid, stop wasting your time writing all this stuff, calling yourself stingray, bellhop, cyberboy and other stupid names like that and writing. It is falling on Lee's deaf ears.
You can continue to keep sending me these erudite comments filled with wisdom. But behind these writings, I can only only imagine a writer who is probably afraid of his own shadow.
What sort of cowards are you? And tell me, how did Singapore manage to produce so many fearful souls anyway? Even a woman has more courage.
Listen to this and listen carefully. No one takes any interest in anonymous Internet critics like you as long as you continue in fear and hide yourselves. If you wish to be taken seriously, then write your true name, your true address, your phone number. When you are prepared to do that, you can expect some change because then you would have publicly stated your ground. Otherwise why waste your time. Neither I nor Mr. Lee Kuan Yew will take you seriously.
You are not only a bunch of miserable souls who live in fear; you are a country of irresponsible citizens who are prepared to see their country ruined before their very eyes through corruption and nepotism, because they are afraid.
At this moment Mr. Lee is only afraid of Dr. Chee and the handful that I mentioned. He is not bothered by any of you pathetic anonymous souls and ghost writers.
I am sorry to put it bluntly, but it has to be said.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The disinterested Singaporean.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Anyone having spent any amount of time in Singapore would have discovered a startling characteristic of the Singaporean psyche. They have no interest at all in politics or public affairs whatsoever. Period.
They have no interest at all in how their tax money is spent. No interest in what new public projects are intended. None in how the train system functions. They couldn't care less how much the ministers are paid or indeed what they are even doing. No interest in whether the education system is working. No interest in listening to the next speech given by the Prime Minister. Nor for that matter by the Minister Mentor, his father.
The public have stated publicly, by their actions; if not in so many words; that as far as they are concerned the government, their ministers and the whole establishment can go to Hell for all they care. They are not interested.
A foreigner being confronted with this total indifference in the Singaporean about his country's affairs may ask, why? Why this universal indifference, disinterest, in their own futures; for their own country. The answer is quite simple. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew cares two hoots about what the people think.
Its like this, you see. The Minister Mentor has managed, according to him, to employ the most capable among Singaporeans, and paid them the highest salaries for any job anywhere in the world. Since he has these highly talented people, this illuminating brilliance; what need is there for the ordinary people to think and question government policies?
According to Lee Kuan Yew, the people's input in opinions, suggestions is unnecessary. Since the government has all the thinkers they need, what need is there for the man in the street to even think? It would have made no difference if they had no heads at all!
Therefore the people, have decided, naturally, that since his government is not interested in his views, it is useless for him to try to voice them. It will after all, fall on deaf ears anyway. So
understandably, over a period of time, Singaporeans have become what they are today. An entire society which has disengaged from any involvement in public affairs. They have removed their thinking caps. Today, Singaporeans go to work, they do their shopping if they can afford it, go home to watch television, they sleep, wake up the next day and follow the same routine, day after day.
Singaporeans do not know that they have a constitution. They do not know their laws. They do not know who their local MP is. They do not know what the HDB policy is. They do not know what the tax system is. They do not know if it is illegal to speak in public. They do not know whether it is illegal to criticise the Minister Mentor. They do not know if it is legal to complain against CPF policies. In other words the average Singaporean does not know very much about his own country. He or she lives for the next day waiting to be told what he has to do next.
And what is worse, they couldn't care less!
Such a country with an entire population who are unable or unwilling to question government policy; figuratively speaking, a country of children waiting for Lee Kuan Yew to tell them what to do next, is a country doomed to failure; doomed because it lacks a self correcting mechanism provided by the people engaging the government in decision making.
You have seen this country stumble from one mistake after another. You will recall many years ago, people were told not to have too many children. Today, there are no children being born.
The government introduced national service. This speeded up the brain drain with educated Singaporeans taking their children overseas to avoid it.
English was introduced as the main language. But it also facilitated the brain drain with people leaving Singapore for English speaking Australia.
The government legislated to own and control all newspapers and news media. What is left in the newspapers is just government propaganda. Today, the people have no faith in the newspapers. If you need the truth, look elsewhere. Look to the Internet. This is causes to heighten the brain drain to Australia among the educated.
The government controls the legal profession appointing their puppets in the Law Society. The government placed their puppets as judges. This has entirely eroded public confidence in the administration of justice. Resulting in lawyers leaving the profession and the country. And resulting in the people not resorting to the law courts and settling disputes privately.
This fact, that the people of Singapore are being led by this government; that there is no rule of law; that it is a country run by dictate; this knowledge has spread far and wide. Today foreigners are becoming increasingly reluctant to use Singapore for any purpose other than as a stopover tourist destination.
And while this country falters along under its own fiction of grandeur and opulence put out in the state controlled propaganda sheets or the Straits Times, the people remain completely disinterested in what ever is going on. This combination of a government which thinks it knows best and a people completely disinterested in whatever the government does; to put it mildly; is a recipe for disaster.
It is an explosive situation. An untenable situation. An unhealthy country.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Anyone having spent any amount of time in Singapore would have discovered a startling characteristic of the Singaporean psyche. They have no interest at all in politics or public affairs whatsoever. Period.
They have no interest at all in how their tax money is spent. No interest in what new public projects are intended. None in how the train system functions. They couldn't care less how much the ministers are paid or indeed what they are even doing. No interest in whether the education system is working. No interest in listening to the next speech given by the Prime Minister. Nor for that matter by the Minister Mentor, his father.
The public have stated publicly, by their actions; if not in so many words; that as far as they are concerned the government, their ministers and the whole establishment can go to Hell for all they care. They are not interested.
A foreigner being confronted with this total indifference in the Singaporean about his country's affairs may ask, why? Why this universal indifference, disinterest, in their own futures; for their own country. The answer is quite simple. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew cares two hoots about what the people think.
Its like this, you see. The Minister Mentor has managed, according to him, to employ the most capable among Singaporeans, and paid them the highest salaries for any job anywhere in the world. Since he has these highly talented people, this illuminating brilliance; what need is there for the ordinary people to think and question government policies?
According to Lee Kuan Yew, the people's input in opinions, suggestions is unnecessary. Since the government has all the thinkers they need, what need is there for the man in the street to even think? It would have made no difference if they had no heads at all!
Therefore the people, have decided, naturally, that since his government is not interested in his views, it is useless for him to try to voice them. It will after all, fall on deaf ears anyway. So
understandably, over a period of time, Singaporeans have become what they are today. An entire society which has disengaged from any involvement in public affairs. They have removed their thinking caps. Today, Singaporeans go to work, they do their shopping if they can afford it, go home to watch television, they sleep, wake up the next day and follow the same routine, day after day.
Singaporeans do not know that they have a constitution. They do not know their laws. They do not know who their local MP is. They do not know what the HDB policy is. They do not know what the tax system is. They do not know if it is illegal to speak in public. They do not know whether it is illegal to criticise the Minister Mentor. They do not know if it is legal to complain against CPF policies. In other words the average Singaporean does not know very much about his own country. He or she lives for the next day waiting to be told what he has to do next.
And what is worse, they couldn't care less!
Such a country with an entire population who are unable or unwilling to question government policy; figuratively speaking, a country of children waiting for Lee Kuan Yew to tell them what to do next, is a country doomed to failure; doomed because it lacks a self correcting mechanism provided by the people engaging the government in decision making.
You have seen this country stumble from one mistake after another. You will recall many years ago, people were told not to have too many children. Today, there are no children being born.
The government introduced national service. This speeded up the brain drain with educated Singaporeans taking their children overseas to avoid it.
English was introduced as the main language. But it also facilitated the brain drain with people leaving Singapore for English speaking Australia.
The government legislated to own and control all newspapers and news media. What is left in the newspapers is just government propaganda. Today, the people have no faith in the newspapers. If you need the truth, look elsewhere. Look to the Internet. This is causes to heighten the brain drain to Australia among the educated.
The government controls the legal profession appointing their puppets in the Law Society. The government placed their puppets as judges. This has entirely eroded public confidence in the administration of justice. Resulting in lawyers leaving the profession and the country. And resulting in the people not resorting to the law courts and settling disputes privately.
This fact, that the people of Singapore are being led by this government; that there is no rule of law; that it is a country run by dictate; this knowledge has spread far and wide. Today foreigners are becoming increasingly reluctant to use Singapore for any purpose other than as a stopover tourist destination.
And while this country falters along under its own fiction of grandeur and opulence put out in the state controlled propaganda sheets or the Straits Times, the people remain completely disinterested in what ever is going on. This combination of a government which thinks it knows best and a people completely disinterested in whatever the government does; to put it mildly; is a recipe for disaster.
It is an explosive situation. An untenable situation. An unhealthy country.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Remember to protest on Saturday March 15, 2008 outside Parliment House
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party has thrown down the gauntlet to the Lee Kuan Yew Administration. He is going to hold a protest in front of Parliament House on March 15, 2008 to honor of World Consumer Rights Day, despite the fact he has no permit to do it.
As the refusal to grant the permit is unlawful, Dr. Chee is going to defy Lee and his minions to arrest him. In his defiance, Dr. Chee continues to hold the high moral ground as against this dictatorial regime.
In this action which is both honorable and just, I call upon all other Singaporeans who see the injustice of this regime, to join in the protest in solidarity with Dr. Chee; to tell this dictatorial undemocratic government that enough is enough. We will not take this injustice lying down anymore. We will protest come what may. This I hope is the message that you will send to this government by joining Dr. Chee and others in this proposed task of honor and conscience.
Please refer to the Singapore Democratic Party website for the article on this protest dated 10 Mar 08 headed "Wong Kan Seng says no to rally against price hikes but SDP to proceed". Dr. Chee explains why the Singapore Government's denial of the requested permit is both unjust and unlawful. I weighing in on what Dr. Chee has said.
The Singapore government claims that political protests in Singapore are disallowed. Therefore the permit is denied. Wong Kan Seng, Minister for Home Affairs should know that it is not enough merely to make up your own rules to suit yourself. The Singapore Constitution specifically gives the people the right to protest. Therefore Mr. Wong has no power to restrict or deny this right.
Second, the law which requires a permit to assemble in larger than 5 people is itself a direct violation of this constitutional right. So this law can be and should be ignored. It is a law with no effect. It is null and void.
Mr. Wong says Parliament House is a high security installation, therefore no protests in the vicinity should be allowed. Parliament may well be high security. So what? A peaceful protest outside Parliament House poses no danger to anyone either inside or outside it. So here again, we have to tell Mr. Wong not to tell us fairy tales.
Another provision in the constitution is equal protection. Everyone has to be treated alike. No special favors are permitted. In 2006, the Singapore government agency, CASE held a protest outside this same Parliament House, which was well publicised. Pictures of it appeared in the CASE website. If indeed CASE was permitted to do it, why is Dr. Chee and the Singapore Democratic Party disallowed from that very same activity?
This clearly smacks of discrimination, favoritism for government agencies and discrimination against political opposition. This is a violation of the constitutional requirement of equal protection. The refusal to grant the permit is both unjust and unlawful. The protest should go on without the permit.
Permits in violation of the constitutional provision of the right of assembly can only be justified where the government can clearly articulate a grave and serious harm if the protest took place. Where is the grave and serious harm here? Who is likely to be injured and maimed if Dr. Chee held his protest? None! A compelling reason for the denial of the permit, not being shown, therefore requires Dr. Chee to go ahead and break this unjust ruling.
Wong Kan Seng is trying to make Singapore look like it is a country owned by Lee Kuan Yew and himself together with his other relatives and friends. No it is not! It is a constitutional democracy. People have rights. And in this case, they are going to exercise it.
This government is weak and ineffective. It's power is long gone. It's writs no longer mean anything. Dr. Chee has repeatedly broken these unjust laws. Foreign housewives have demonstrated in public in support of Burmese dissidents with impunity. Burmese have marched with impunity. The SDP supporters have demonstrated outside the Istana with impunity. Protesters have marched along Orchard Road with impunity. In all these case the government had tried to misuse their policemen to harass and intimidate these brave protesters but have failed miserably. Instead of the people being made to look as criminals, Singapore policemen themselves have been seen as the biggest thugs.
The ball is ion the other court now. The shoe is in the other foot.
Please don't let this arrogant government get away with this abuse. Contact Dr. Chee of the Singapore Democratic Party and protest outside Parliament House on March 15, 2008. Justice is on your side. Not theirs.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party has thrown down the gauntlet to the Lee Kuan Yew Administration. He is going to hold a protest in front of Parliament House on March 15, 2008 to honor of World Consumer Rights Day, despite the fact he has no permit to do it.
As the refusal to grant the permit is unlawful, Dr. Chee is going to defy Lee and his minions to arrest him. In his defiance, Dr. Chee continues to hold the high moral ground as against this dictatorial regime.
In this action which is both honorable and just, I call upon all other Singaporeans who see the injustice of this regime, to join in the protest in solidarity with Dr. Chee; to tell this dictatorial undemocratic government that enough is enough. We will not take this injustice lying down anymore. We will protest come what may. This I hope is the message that you will send to this government by joining Dr. Chee and others in this proposed task of honor and conscience.
Please refer to the Singapore Democratic Party website for the article on this protest dated 10 Mar 08 headed "Wong Kan Seng says no to rally against price hikes but SDP to proceed". Dr. Chee explains why the Singapore Government's denial of the requested permit is both unjust and unlawful. I weighing in on what Dr. Chee has said.
The Singapore government claims that political protests in Singapore are disallowed. Therefore the permit is denied. Wong Kan Seng, Minister for Home Affairs should know that it is not enough merely to make up your own rules to suit yourself. The Singapore Constitution specifically gives the people the right to protest. Therefore Mr. Wong has no power to restrict or deny this right.
Second, the law which requires a permit to assemble in larger than 5 people is itself a direct violation of this constitutional right. So this law can be and should be ignored. It is a law with no effect. It is null and void.
Mr. Wong says Parliament House is a high security installation, therefore no protests in the vicinity should be allowed. Parliament may well be high security. So what? A peaceful protest outside Parliament House poses no danger to anyone either inside or outside it. So here again, we have to tell Mr. Wong not to tell us fairy tales.
Another provision in the constitution is equal protection. Everyone has to be treated alike. No special favors are permitted. In 2006, the Singapore government agency, CASE held a protest outside this same Parliament House, which was well publicised. Pictures of it appeared in the CASE website. If indeed CASE was permitted to do it, why is Dr. Chee and the Singapore Democratic Party disallowed from that very same activity?
This clearly smacks of discrimination, favoritism for government agencies and discrimination against political opposition. This is a violation of the constitutional requirement of equal protection. The refusal to grant the permit is both unjust and unlawful. The protest should go on without the permit.
Permits in violation of the constitutional provision of the right of assembly can only be justified where the government can clearly articulate a grave and serious harm if the protest took place. Where is the grave and serious harm here? Who is likely to be injured and maimed if Dr. Chee held his protest? None! A compelling reason for the denial of the permit, not being shown, therefore requires Dr. Chee to go ahead and break this unjust ruling.
Wong Kan Seng is trying to make Singapore look like it is a country owned by Lee Kuan Yew and himself together with his other relatives and friends. No it is not! It is a constitutional democracy. People have rights. And in this case, they are going to exercise it.
This government is weak and ineffective. It's power is long gone. It's writs no longer mean anything. Dr. Chee has repeatedly broken these unjust laws. Foreign housewives have demonstrated in public in support of Burmese dissidents with impunity. Burmese have marched with impunity. The SDP supporters have demonstrated outside the Istana with impunity. Protesters have marched along Orchard Road with impunity. In all these case the government had tried to misuse their policemen to harass and intimidate these brave protesters but have failed miserably. Instead of the people being made to look as criminals, Singapore policemen themselves have been seen as the biggest thugs.
The ball is ion the other court now. The shoe is in the other foot.
Please don't let this arrogant government get away with this abuse. Contact Dr. Chee of the Singapore Democratic Party and protest outside Parliament House on March 15, 2008. Justice is on your side. Not theirs.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Singapore's draft dodgers, adding to it's brain drain.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore, a tiny county with a small population has been over the last few decades suffering from a serious impediment to its ambition of becoming a first world international city state. This is the problem of massive on going emigration to more developed countries by the educated and skilled of Singapore.
The reasons for Singaporeans wanting to leave are many, such as the search for better paid jobs; the political uncertainly of it's future since it is nothing more than a dictatorship with an ageing dictator; the uncertainty of whether Singaporeans will receive their retirement benefits since the government is repeatedly extending the age limit before which retirement savings can be withdrawn; and due to the lack of political freedom and human rights.
The Minister Mentor or the dictator Lee Kuan Yew has himself referred to this problem on several occasions locally and with him traveling abroad; appealing and begging overseas Singaporeans to return to Singapore, confessing that this exodus of Singaporeans leaving the country is beginning to hurt the very foundation of Singapore. On one occasion, out of desperation in Melbourne Australia when speaking to a group of Singaporeans who were determined not to return to Singapore, come Hell or high water; he began to passionately appeal to their consciences, reminding them that it was Singapore that educated them; enabling them to immigrate to Australia.
In their desperation, wrestling with this problem; the government of Singapore spends thousands of dollars, setting up Singapore clubs all over the world, throwing lavish parties and functions where free food and drinks are provided to overseas Singaporeans to somehow entice them to return to live and work in Singapore, in return for the free food and drink, at government expense.
We have also had government ministers traveling to these international locations at tax payer’s expense for this purpose. All this has come to naught. Not a single Singaporean has agreed to return. Their dislike for Singapore appears quite clear and they have made up their minds.
As if this is not enough, we have another problem. This time the involuntary draft dodgers who leave, never to return. I say involuntary because they were too young when they left to have any intent to become draft dodgers.
I am referring to young male teenagers, born in Singapore, who left Singapore, merely accompanying their parents who emigrated. These young teenagers, upon reaching 18, even though they are already settled overseas, are still required to return to Singapore to enlist and undergo national service for 2 years in the Army.
Since it makes no sense to be spending 2 years in the Army of a country where they have no intention of living, invariably these young men fail to surrender themselves for this purpose. And from that point of time, under the Enlistment Act, they become criminals or draft dodgers, who are liable to arrested on sight the moment they step foot on Singapore soil. And since imprisonment and a fine is their only reward if they return; they turn themselves into permanent exiles from Singapore with no prospect of ever returning to their country of birth. This adds to the already huge numbers of educated Singaporeans leaving.
This group of young men who are in essence in permanent banishment status, are the very ones which Singapore can least afford to lose; being the most educated capable skilled with international experience, all qualities that Singapore most desperately needs if it wants to achieve its aim of first world status.
Singapore's Enlistment Act requires all males born in Singapore to endure 2 years of national service upon reaching 18. Failure to report and submit to national survive requirements renders the offender to both fine and jail at Queenstown Prison. Only men have this requirement. Women do not have this liability.
With the present uncertain political situation in the country, the lack of social graces among its people, the lack of courtesy and manners, and not only that; the lack of human rights, a dictatorial government, the lack of an independent judiciary and the recent refusal of the government to give their citizens their retirement benefits held in the CPF, all make Singapore an unattractive place for those with means, education and skills.
Since these qualified people are accepted for emigration to Australia and other more developed societies, they leave Singapore taking their families with them including their sons who are born in Singapore.
These boys who accompany their parents to Australia are not the ones who decided on emigration since they are minors, less than 18 years and merely accompanying their parents to their adopted country to live. But it is these boys who will automatically become criminals under Singapore law if they did not return to Singapore to spend 2 years of their lives in the Army for national service.
Punishing these boys who turn 18, who happen to be living in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and other places around the world, simply because they refuse to return to Singapore to serve in the Army, is completely illogical and harebrained. Firstly, it was not the boy who decided to leave Singapore to settle in Australia. It was his parents. By punishing the boy when he turns 18 is to punish the wrong person!
Second, since it is clear that having left Singapore the boy has indicated that he wants nothing more to do with that island, what is the point of insisting that he return to a country to spend 2 years in the Army, a country to which he has no desire to live at all?
Singapore is already suffering from a serious shortage of births. Not only that all attempts by the government to encourage people to marry have failed; the birth rate is so low, it is insufficient to replace the numbers dying. This is already causing a severe shortage in manpower for the 3 military arms of Army Air Force and Navy; it is also turning into a national security problem because of insufficient recruits.
As if all this is not enough, the government by their misconceived policies exasperates the already worsening situation by adding another class of disgruntled young men, who are now forced to become permanent exiles because through no fault of their own they have been turned into criminals and fugitives subject to being arrested on sight if they ever step foot in Singapore.
This not only causes very capable educated young men to be lost permanently to Singapore, it also causes extreme bitterness and hatred towards Singapore in the minds of these young men; circumstances where not only are these men lost to Singapore, they also turn out to become ambassadors of hate against Singapore.
If the Singapore government had any wisdom, which I doubt very much; they will reverse this self destructive and self defeating policy of requiring these men to serve national service in Singapore; where circumstances clearly show that they have no desire to return to the country.
So as not to lose their talents forever, since one day they may want to return to Singapore; the government should rescind the requirement for national service in this case; permitting them to retain their citizenship if they desire, devise some other mechanism whereby these overseas Singaporeans can discharge their duty to remain overseas Singaporeans; and to permit dual nationality such as the case in the UK, where citizens of Singapore can remain Singaporeans regardless of their accepting some other nationality.
Under the UK, British Nationality Act, a UK citizen remains a citizen regardless of his having acquired American or any other nationality. Just like the thousands of colonial Englishmen who settled in Singapore acquiring Singapore citizenship. In the end, they all returned to England. And England accepts them. This, I think, is the answer to the severely people strapped tiny island of Singapore.
If only they will listen.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Singapore, a tiny county with a small population has been over the last few decades suffering from a serious impediment to its ambition of becoming a first world international city state. This is the problem of massive on going emigration to more developed countries by the educated and skilled of Singapore.
The reasons for Singaporeans wanting to leave are many, such as the search for better paid jobs; the political uncertainly of it's future since it is nothing more than a dictatorship with an ageing dictator; the uncertainty of whether Singaporeans will receive their retirement benefits since the government is repeatedly extending the age limit before which retirement savings can be withdrawn; and due to the lack of political freedom and human rights.
The Minister Mentor or the dictator Lee Kuan Yew has himself referred to this problem on several occasions locally and with him traveling abroad; appealing and begging overseas Singaporeans to return to Singapore, confessing that this exodus of Singaporeans leaving the country is beginning to hurt the very foundation of Singapore. On one occasion, out of desperation in Melbourne Australia when speaking to a group of Singaporeans who were determined not to return to Singapore, come Hell or high water; he began to passionately appeal to their consciences, reminding them that it was Singapore that educated them; enabling them to immigrate to Australia.
In their desperation, wrestling with this problem; the government of Singapore spends thousands of dollars, setting up Singapore clubs all over the world, throwing lavish parties and functions where free food and drinks are provided to overseas Singaporeans to somehow entice them to return to live and work in Singapore, in return for the free food and drink, at government expense.
We have also had government ministers traveling to these international locations at tax payer’s expense for this purpose. All this has come to naught. Not a single Singaporean has agreed to return. Their dislike for Singapore appears quite clear and they have made up their minds.
As if this is not enough, we have another problem. This time the involuntary draft dodgers who leave, never to return. I say involuntary because they were too young when they left to have any intent to become draft dodgers.
I am referring to young male teenagers, born in Singapore, who left Singapore, merely accompanying their parents who emigrated. These young teenagers, upon reaching 18, even though they are already settled overseas, are still required to return to Singapore to enlist and undergo national service for 2 years in the Army.
Since it makes no sense to be spending 2 years in the Army of a country where they have no intention of living, invariably these young men fail to surrender themselves for this purpose. And from that point of time, under the Enlistment Act, they become criminals or draft dodgers, who are liable to arrested on sight the moment they step foot on Singapore soil. And since imprisonment and a fine is their only reward if they return; they turn themselves into permanent exiles from Singapore with no prospect of ever returning to their country of birth. This adds to the already huge numbers of educated Singaporeans leaving.
This group of young men who are in essence in permanent banishment status, are the very ones which Singapore can least afford to lose; being the most educated capable skilled with international experience, all qualities that Singapore most desperately needs if it wants to achieve its aim of first world status.
Singapore's Enlistment Act requires all males born in Singapore to endure 2 years of national service upon reaching 18. Failure to report and submit to national survive requirements renders the offender to both fine and jail at Queenstown Prison. Only men have this requirement. Women do not have this liability.
With the present uncertain political situation in the country, the lack of social graces among its people, the lack of courtesy and manners, and not only that; the lack of human rights, a dictatorial government, the lack of an independent judiciary and the recent refusal of the government to give their citizens their retirement benefits held in the CPF, all make Singapore an unattractive place for those with means, education and skills.
Since these qualified people are accepted for emigration to Australia and other more developed societies, they leave Singapore taking their families with them including their sons who are born in Singapore.
These boys who accompany their parents to Australia are not the ones who decided on emigration since they are minors, less than 18 years and merely accompanying their parents to their adopted country to live. But it is these boys who will automatically become criminals under Singapore law if they did not return to Singapore to spend 2 years of their lives in the Army for national service.
Punishing these boys who turn 18, who happen to be living in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and other places around the world, simply because they refuse to return to Singapore to serve in the Army, is completely illogical and harebrained. Firstly, it was not the boy who decided to leave Singapore to settle in Australia. It was his parents. By punishing the boy when he turns 18 is to punish the wrong person!
Second, since it is clear that having left Singapore the boy has indicated that he wants nothing more to do with that island, what is the point of insisting that he return to a country to spend 2 years in the Army, a country to which he has no desire to live at all?
Singapore is already suffering from a serious shortage of births. Not only that all attempts by the government to encourage people to marry have failed; the birth rate is so low, it is insufficient to replace the numbers dying. This is already causing a severe shortage in manpower for the 3 military arms of Army Air Force and Navy; it is also turning into a national security problem because of insufficient recruits.
As if all this is not enough, the government by their misconceived policies exasperates the already worsening situation by adding another class of disgruntled young men, who are now forced to become permanent exiles because through no fault of their own they have been turned into criminals and fugitives subject to being arrested on sight if they ever step foot in Singapore.
This not only causes very capable educated young men to be lost permanently to Singapore, it also causes extreme bitterness and hatred towards Singapore in the minds of these young men; circumstances where not only are these men lost to Singapore, they also turn out to become ambassadors of hate against Singapore.
If the Singapore government had any wisdom, which I doubt very much; they will reverse this self destructive and self defeating policy of requiring these men to serve national service in Singapore; where circumstances clearly show that they have no desire to return to the country.
So as not to lose their talents forever, since one day they may want to return to Singapore; the government should rescind the requirement for national service in this case; permitting them to retain their citizenship if they desire, devise some other mechanism whereby these overseas Singaporeans can discharge their duty to remain overseas Singaporeans; and to permit dual nationality such as the case in the UK, where citizens of Singapore can remain Singaporeans regardless of their accepting some other nationality.
Under the UK, British Nationality Act, a UK citizen remains a citizen regardless of his having acquired American or any other nationality. Just like the thousands of colonial Englishmen who settled in Singapore acquiring Singapore citizenship. In the end, they all returned to England. And England accepts them. This, I think, is the answer to the severely people strapped tiny island of Singapore.
If only they will listen.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. This blog not only gives information, it dispels the government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
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