Ladies and Gentlemen,
I had written a hoax in this blog recently claiming the Singapore strongman 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew had a massive heart attack, curious of the consequence of it in his tiny island where everything depends on him.
Not surprisingly the hoax caused a storm. The stock market which I heard dropped, was followed immediately by the state controlled press with a report claiming it rose, an obvious attempt to assuage the fears of the business community. One writer wrote that he nearly dumped all his shares to avoid their losing value.
Lee Kuan Yew's son, whom he appointed Prime Minister is not of consequence at all, as most people know. He can be safely ignored. There is nothing he has or can do without his father.
So, as we are very certain of business and political mayhem in Singapore with his death, it is time to warn all those foreign banks and investors in Singapore that it is not safe. Not safe for their investments in an island where everything depends on the old man.
Which reminds me that since the last several months, we have never seen the 87 year old tottering Lee Kuan Yew in public at all. At the time of my hoax, the Prime Ministers' office conveniently reported that he had gone to London, but unlike in the past, there not even a single news report from the state controlled press of his London trip. No pictures of him in London. No pictures of interviews with London luminaries. No nothing.
We all know that when he travels abroad, he is accompanied by several journalists from his Singapore state controlled press who report every word that he utters. In this case, total silence.
You know what I think? His trip to London was a lie. He never left Singapore. He was probably in Singapore all along, dead worried about what would happen to him and his son if the public fell for my story.
I hate to say this, but I beginning to wonder whether in fact he is actually dead! In other dictatorial countries such as North Korea and Soviet Union, since they also control the press like in Singapore, they do not report the death of the dictator sometimes for several months so as not to alarm the public.
In Singapore we know the economy is bound to collapse with his death since the entire island is run by this man.
So my question is, is he dead? And is the Singapore state controlled media deliberately hiding the inevitable fact from us?
If we do not hear anything from the Singapore state controlled press anytime soon, it would have been several months since we last had any news whether the man was breathing.
Remember he is 87.
Perhaps it is time for even more Singaporeans to pack up for New Zealand now, the recent hot favorite for Singapore emigres, and for foreign businessmen and crooks to take their money and get out.
Leaving now is a prudent decision. The Singapore ship will sink with the old man. There is no doubt about it. Better now than too late.
If the brain drain today from Singapore is bad enough now, it will turn into an unstoppable flood the moment news breaks out the man has gone to his Maker.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Davinder Singh, Lee Kuan Yew's lawyer should not be allowed to escape his wrongdoing.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Davinder Singh of the firm of Drew and Napier of Singapore has blood in his hands. Since his admission to the Singapore Bar in 1982, he has represented Lee Kuan Yew and his family in a shameful long career of misusing the law to bankrupt impoverish and imprison his fellow citizens through the shameless collaboration of Singapore's corrupt judges.
JB Jeyaretnam, one of his principle victims has suffered terribly at his hands ever since Singh was admitted to the Singapore Bar, repeatedly suing Jeyaretnam where it was clear to anyone with eyes, let alone lawyers, that Jeyaretnam was innocent of any wrongdoing.
He saw to it that Jeyaretnam's licence to practice was revoked; he made sure that Jeyaretnam was repeatedly bankrupted, even jailed; he made sure that Jeyaretnam's practice was destroyed, he did all of of this for money, lots of it, thanks to his generous client, the Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew.
Although eventually Jeyaretnam was able to pay off these totally illegal amounts demanded of him, thereby releasing him from bankruptcy, he died soon thereafter in 2008.
I came to know of his death while I was incarcerated in a Singapore prison because of my criticism of one of Lee's judges in this blog.
Another helpless victim of this Sikh turbaned lawyer, who would do anything for Lee Kuan Yew's money, was of course Tang Liang Hong.
Tang's only crime was making a public speech, informing his audience in 1997 elections that he had lodged a police report against Lee Kuan Yew. Davinder Singh shamelessly abused the legal system and argued successfully, with the help of Lee's compliant judges, that by this act alone, Tang Liang Hong had defamed Lee Kuan Yew.
Of course that was the end for poor Tang Liang Hong in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.
Fearing for his life, Tang Liang Hong and his family fled to Australia. In the meantime, Singh successfully managed to freeze all of Tang's assets amounting to several millions of dollars which was promptly paid over to Lee Kuan Yew. Tang Liang Hong now lives in exile in Australia.
More recently we have the series of defamation cases against Dr. Chee Soon Juan where it is clear to anyone that Dr. Chee was merely exercising legitimate criticism of his political opponent Lee Kuan Yew. Yet Lee Kuan Yew, with the use of this lawyer, manages to successfully argue that Dr. Chee defamed Lee Kuan Yew, managed to extract several millions of dollars against him, resulting in him losing his job as a Professor in the Singapore University, promply impoverished and bankrupted.
Davinder Singh stands guilty of misusing the law for his personal gain throughout his entire career since 1982; therefore he is responsible under the criminal law for suborning the cause of justice and stands liable for punishment and imprisonment. It is a crime for someone to deliberately bend the law for personal gain, which he has clearly done repeatedly.
Davinder Singh also stands guilty of civil law under the cause of action of unjust enrichment. The law requires that when a man enriches himself in circumstances where he is not entitled to it, he is required to account for it to his victims.
Davinder Singh also stands liable under legal ethics rules for unethical conduct as a lawyer. It is unethical for a lawyer to pursue a cause of action in circumstances where he knows that it has no merit either in law or in fact. Here we have Singh arguing before the court repeatedly that JB Jeyaretnam defamed Lee Kuan Yew, that Tang Liang Hong defamed Lee Kuan Yew and that Dr. Chee Soon Juan defamed Lee Kuan Yew. He did it not just once but repeatedly; where the facts show, not only that there was no defamation, but even more importantly, he knew there was none.
Recently I had written a hoax in this blog about Lee Kuan Yew's heart attack, and you know the result of it. There was uncertainty throughout the island, there was chaos; had the hoax continued a little longer there would have been a total shutdown of Singapore. By now, the message should be clear to you. If 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew dies, which I expect to happen next week if not sooner, you will see chaos.
I expect a change in government very soon in Singapore. And the new government is not going to take kindly to these criminals such as Singh, who abuse the law under the protection of a dictator. I expect a new Singapore government to hold Davinder Singh to account for his deliberate actions to destroy and demolish his fellow Singaporeans such as JB Jeyaretnam, Tang Liang Hong and Dr. Chee Soon Juan.
I would demand criminal proceedings to be commenced against Davinder Singh under the law for subornation of justice. I would also expect legal proceedings to be brought by the victims of his crimes under civil law amounting to several millions of dollars, every penny that JB Jeyaretnam had to pay, every penny that Tang Liang Hong had to pay and every penny that Dr. Chee had to pay as well as everyone else whose rights he abused under the protection of Lee Kuan Yew.
Since Davinder Singh must be well paid by his master Lee Kuan Yew for all the dirty work he does, he should be able to cough out a fair amount towards the sums lost by his victims. In the event of his being unable to satisfy the entire debt, his law firm, Drew and Napier and every lawyer in it should be made to pay since they too are accomplices in the crimes committed by him.
With 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew's death, which I expect anytime; in any action against Singh, he would be expected to argue that he was only following the laws of Singapore and since it was the judges who decided the cases, he is not to blame.
We should tell him right now that such a defense must fail. Lee Kuan Yew through the abuse of the law and the election system managed to gain one party rule from 1959 till date thereby transforming a democratic island into a Fascist one, with Fascist laws. These laws are unjust under common law, they are not binding in a free and fair democracy.
Davinder Singh, himself very well knew these laws were illegal and unenforcible, and therefore he cannot be permitted to benefit from collaborating with an unjust system.
That is precisely why Hitler's laws never gave any defense to his criminals after his fall. Simply an unjust law is not a basis for any defence at all.
Most recently, a few days ago, Davinder Singh again misused his authority for personal gain by collecting damages of $160,000.00 for his client Lee Kuan Yew from International Herald Tribune in circumstances where, once again, there was no defamation at all.
Unlike very often in the past, I have not seen Davinder Singh's picture recently splashed accross Singapore's state controlled newspapers lately, with descriptions of "best lawyer" and such like.
Is he keeping a low profile as of late? Has it has finally dawned on him that his benefactor is indeed 87 years old? Has he has finally begun to worry about what may happen to him after his master dies?
And what is more, we have not seen Lee Kuan Yew in public lately. Perhaps he is already dead but not wanting the island to breakdown into disorder, the government is not telling us. Or perhaps he is in fact sick and had a heart attack after all.
But whatever may be the case, one thing is certain. 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew's clock is ticking. And when that happens next week if not the next, there is going to be unrest and upheaval in the island. Singaporeans are not going to simply take things quietly. I expect them to want their pound of flesh. And it would be Davinder Singh's that they would be after.
Frankly I don't think there is anything that Singh could do to save himself now. He has hurt too many innocent fellow Singaporeans to please Lee Kuan Yew for far too long. His fate is sealed. I don't think it is going to be very pleasant for him.
There is nothing I can say other than to feel sorry for him. I am sure Lee Kuan Yew who asked Singh to represent him in a shameful career of misusing the law, knew that one day Singh could find himself on the receiving end of the stick. But knowing Lee Kuan Yew demonstrably all these years, he won't have batted an eyelid if Davinder Singh was hung by the same turban around his head.
And that is why, we can all thank our stars that we are not in Davinder Singh's shoes. As the saying goes, we reap what we sow.
I am sure next week or the next, when the 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew dies, Davinder Singh with his wife and children, may try to abscond from Singapore to save himself from the clutches of his fellow angry Singaporeans. He should be stopped from leaving the island.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
Davinder Singh of the firm of Drew and Napier of Singapore has blood in his hands. Since his admission to the Singapore Bar in 1982, he has represented Lee Kuan Yew and his family in a shameful long career of misusing the law to bankrupt impoverish and imprison his fellow citizens through the shameless collaboration of Singapore's corrupt judges.
JB Jeyaretnam, one of his principle victims has suffered terribly at his hands ever since Singh was admitted to the Singapore Bar, repeatedly suing Jeyaretnam where it was clear to anyone with eyes, let alone lawyers, that Jeyaretnam was innocent of any wrongdoing.
He saw to it that Jeyaretnam's licence to practice was revoked; he made sure that Jeyaretnam was repeatedly bankrupted, even jailed; he made sure that Jeyaretnam's practice was destroyed, he did all of of this for money, lots of it, thanks to his generous client, the Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew.
Although eventually Jeyaretnam was able to pay off these totally illegal amounts demanded of him, thereby releasing him from bankruptcy, he died soon thereafter in 2008.
I came to know of his death while I was incarcerated in a Singapore prison because of my criticism of one of Lee's judges in this blog.
Another helpless victim of this Sikh turbaned lawyer, who would do anything for Lee Kuan Yew's money, was of course Tang Liang Hong.
Tang's only crime was making a public speech, informing his audience in 1997 elections that he had lodged a police report against Lee Kuan Yew. Davinder Singh shamelessly abused the legal system and argued successfully, with the help of Lee's compliant judges, that by this act alone, Tang Liang Hong had defamed Lee Kuan Yew.
Of course that was the end for poor Tang Liang Hong in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.
Fearing for his life, Tang Liang Hong and his family fled to Australia. In the meantime, Singh successfully managed to freeze all of Tang's assets amounting to several millions of dollars which was promptly paid over to Lee Kuan Yew. Tang Liang Hong now lives in exile in Australia.
More recently we have the series of defamation cases against Dr. Chee Soon Juan where it is clear to anyone that Dr. Chee was merely exercising legitimate criticism of his political opponent Lee Kuan Yew. Yet Lee Kuan Yew, with the use of this lawyer, manages to successfully argue that Dr. Chee defamed Lee Kuan Yew, managed to extract several millions of dollars against him, resulting in him losing his job as a Professor in the Singapore University, promply impoverished and bankrupted.
Davinder Singh stands guilty of misusing the law for his personal gain throughout his entire career since 1982; therefore he is responsible under the criminal law for suborning the cause of justice and stands liable for punishment and imprisonment. It is a crime for someone to deliberately bend the law for personal gain, which he has clearly done repeatedly.
Davinder Singh also stands guilty of civil law under the cause of action of unjust enrichment. The law requires that when a man enriches himself in circumstances where he is not entitled to it, he is required to account for it to his victims.
Davinder Singh also stands liable under legal ethics rules for unethical conduct as a lawyer. It is unethical for a lawyer to pursue a cause of action in circumstances where he knows that it has no merit either in law or in fact. Here we have Singh arguing before the court repeatedly that JB Jeyaretnam defamed Lee Kuan Yew, that Tang Liang Hong defamed Lee Kuan Yew and that Dr. Chee Soon Juan defamed Lee Kuan Yew. He did it not just once but repeatedly; where the facts show, not only that there was no defamation, but even more importantly, he knew there was none.
Recently I had written a hoax in this blog about Lee Kuan Yew's heart attack, and you know the result of it. There was uncertainty throughout the island, there was chaos; had the hoax continued a little longer there would have been a total shutdown of Singapore. By now, the message should be clear to you. If 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew dies, which I expect to happen next week if not sooner, you will see chaos.
I expect a change in government very soon in Singapore. And the new government is not going to take kindly to these criminals such as Singh, who abuse the law under the protection of a dictator. I expect a new Singapore government to hold Davinder Singh to account for his deliberate actions to destroy and demolish his fellow Singaporeans such as JB Jeyaretnam, Tang Liang Hong and Dr. Chee Soon Juan.
I would demand criminal proceedings to be commenced against Davinder Singh under the law for subornation of justice. I would also expect legal proceedings to be brought by the victims of his crimes under civil law amounting to several millions of dollars, every penny that JB Jeyaretnam had to pay, every penny that Tang Liang Hong had to pay and every penny that Dr. Chee had to pay as well as everyone else whose rights he abused under the protection of Lee Kuan Yew.
Since Davinder Singh must be well paid by his master Lee Kuan Yew for all the dirty work he does, he should be able to cough out a fair amount towards the sums lost by his victims. In the event of his being unable to satisfy the entire debt, his law firm, Drew and Napier and every lawyer in it should be made to pay since they too are accomplices in the crimes committed by him.
With 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew's death, which I expect anytime; in any action against Singh, he would be expected to argue that he was only following the laws of Singapore and since it was the judges who decided the cases, he is not to blame.
We should tell him right now that such a defense must fail. Lee Kuan Yew through the abuse of the law and the election system managed to gain one party rule from 1959 till date thereby transforming a democratic island into a Fascist one, with Fascist laws. These laws are unjust under common law, they are not binding in a free and fair democracy.
Davinder Singh, himself very well knew these laws were illegal and unenforcible, and therefore he cannot be permitted to benefit from collaborating with an unjust system.
That is precisely why Hitler's laws never gave any defense to his criminals after his fall. Simply an unjust law is not a basis for any defence at all.
Most recently, a few days ago, Davinder Singh again misused his authority for personal gain by collecting damages of $160,000.00 for his client Lee Kuan Yew from International Herald Tribune in circumstances where, once again, there was no defamation at all.
Unlike very often in the past, I have not seen Davinder Singh's picture recently splashed accross Singapore's state controlled newspapers lately, with descriptions of "best lawyer" and such like.
Is he keeping a low profile as of late? Has it has finally dawned on him that his benefactor is indeed 87 years old? Has he has finally begun to worry about what may happen to him after his master dies?
And what is more, we have not seen Lee Kuan Yew in public lately. Perhaps he is already dead but not wanting the island to breakdown into disorder, the government is not telling us. Or perhaps he is in fact sick and had a heart attack after all.
But whatever may be the case, one thing is certain. 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew's clock is ticking. And when that happens next week if not the next, there is going to be unrest and upheaval in the island. Singaporeans are not going to simply take things quietly. I expect them to want their pound of flesh. And it would be Davinder Singh's that they would be after.
Frankly I don't think there is anything that Singh could do to save himself now. He has hurt too many innocent fellow Singaporeans to please Lee Kuan Yew for far too long. His fate is sealed. I don't think it is going to be very pleasant for him.
There is nothing I can say other than to feel sorry for him. I am sure Lee Kuan Yew who asked Singh to represent him in a shameful career of misusing the law, knew that one day Singh could find himself on the receiving end of the stick. But knowing Lee Kuan Yew demonstrably all these years, he won't have batted an eyelid if Davinder Singh was hung by the same turban around his head.
And that is why, we can all thank our stars that we are not in Davinder Singh's shoes. As the saying goes, we reap what we sow.
I am sure next week or the next, when the 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew dies, Davinder Singh with his wife and children, may try to abscond from Singapore to save himself from the clutches of his fellow angry Singaporeans. He should be stopped from leaving the island.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Singapore's cowardly father and son duo strike again.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times Online edition of March 25, 2010 has the agonizingly predictable story "IHT apology over article".
Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore strongman and his son have this time, something which father and son do almost on a routine basis, collected $160,000.00 from the International Herald Tribune, an international newspaper owned by the New York Times, for allegedly defaming them in an op-ed article that Lee Hsien Loong the Prime Minister is his father's son, an article entitled "All in the family".
Lee Kuan Yew's charge was, that by stating Lee Hsien Loong is his father's son, the writer was implying the son did not become Prime Minister through his merits!
Here Lee Kuan Yew's lawyer Davinder Singh did not even have to file a lawsuit. A threat from Lee Kuan Yew of legal action was enough to cause New York Times to buckle under and pay up, in this case $160,000.00.
Which reminds me of Galileo Galilee, the medieval Italian scientist and astronomer at the Italian Inquisition. It seems it was enough for the clergy to show him the instruments of torture for him to admit that the world was flat after all!
This is what Lee Kuan Yew does throughout his career as Singapore's dictator. He regularly sues, sometimes even up to 3 times a year, anyone or anybody who would dare raise even the slightest criticism of his rule; legal actions which he invariably wins because he picks his judges who shamelessly do whatever he wants of them.
In fact, it does not even matter whether or not there was any criticism of him at all. As long as however remotely one can imagine the article to be unflattering, that alone is sufficient for his orders to go out to his lawyer, Davinder Singh to put the paperwork in order, and a similar instruction to his judges, for the predictable result.
And anyone can see that these numerous law suits to punish his victims is hardly helping his reputation, if that was his purpose in these futile legal exercises; instead it is making both father and son look very silly.
Firstly anyone who had any merits would not have bothered about what anyone said of them. I have been called many things, but as I know who I am, it should not bother me. And so should you.
Leaders of countries, even more than others, receive criticism everyday, sometimes in the harshest of terms, but they don't jump to suing their critics, because they know their worth. Respect has to be earned, not forced by court actions.
Second, one would have expected a statesman to have some common sense and understand what the public may think about these court cases.
Anyone reading the IHT article can see there was no defamation at all, let alone an actionable one.
And furthermore, politicians who are in the public eye, are expected to endure much more criticism than an ordinary layman. This is a cardinal principle in a democracy.
That is why President Obama does not sue me even if I was to call him a thief, because he knows he is not, and if he sued me, it is he who going to look silly much more than I.
That is why people around the world take leaders such as President Obama of the United States, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd seriously.
As for this duo, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and son; by suing anyone anytime for the slightest thing, they make themselves look silly, a couple of clowns in fact, men who have no merit whatsoever and who are able to remain in power only by abusing the law through corrupt judges.
Both father and son appear not to understand that extracting respect through force is impossible; no matter how much he sues anyone.
And lastly the height of idiocy is this. OK they have successfully sued and collected damages and an apology from New York Times for the IHT article. But what use is that when I have repeated it and said the same thing here. And what about the thousands or even millions out there who are now calling him and his son cowards? Is he going to sue me and everyone else who has said the same thing?
I guess not.
That is why Lee Kuan Yew and his son are not only cowards who hide behind corrupt judges to remain in office, they are also seen as men who lack both ability or wisdom because if they did, they would have seen the futility of this exercise.
For the benefit of those who have not read the International Herald Tribune Article, I am attaching it below. Will someone please tell me why the article is defamatory of Lee Kuan Yew and his son?
And by the way, under the law which Lee Kuan Yew knows, reproducing a libellous article is libel as well.
Therefore since I am repeating the article here, can I expect Lee Kuan Yew to sue me, like he did the New York Times, and the thousands of others who have reproduced it?
Or are Lee Kuan Yew and his son determined to confirm to the world that he will strut around like a prize rooster in his tiny island protected by his Kangaroo judges, whereas outside his island, he is nothing but a weak senile old man with his incompetent son tugging his coattails?
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
All in the Family
By PHILIP BOWRING
HONG KONG — Are political dynasties good or bad?
Election time in the Philippines is a regular reminder of the roles that feudal instincts and the family name play in that nation's politics. Benigno Aquino, son of the late President Corazon Aquino, is the front runner to succeed President Gloria Arroyo, daughter of Diosdado Macapagal, a president in the 1960s.
Senate and Congressional contests will see family names of other former presidents and those long prominent in provincial politics and land-owning.
But the Philippines is not unique. Dynastic politics thrives across Asia to an extent found in no other region apart from the Arabian peninsula monarchies.
The list of Asian countries with governments headed by the offspring or spouses of former leaders is striking: Pakistan has Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, herself the daughter of the executed former leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bangladesh has Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the murdered first prime minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak is the son of the second prime minister, Abdul Razak. Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong is Lee Kuan Yew's son. In North Korea, Kim Il-sung's son Kim Jong-il commands party, army and country and waiting in the wings is his son Kim Jong-un.
In India, the widow Sonia Gandhi is the power behind the technocrat prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and her son Rahul is showing political promise and being groomed in the hope of leading the Congress party and eventually filling the post of prime minister, first occupied by his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru.
In Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is the scion of a Kennedy-like political dynasty: His father was a foreign minister, and his grandfather was a prime minister.
Indonesia's last president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, is the daughter of its first, and family ties could well play in the next presidential election when the incumbent, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, must retire. In Myanmar, the durability of the opposition to the military owes much to the name of Aung San Suu Kyi's independence-hero father as well as to her stoicism.
Thailand lacks obvious political dynasties but that is likely because there is already a monarch. South Korea's rough and tumble democracy would seem to leave little scope for dynasties but even there, the political career of Park Chung Hee's daughter, Park Geun Hye, has benefited much from her father's reputation.
With the exception of North Korea, Asian dynasties are a phenomenon of countries that are more or less democratic.
In China, family connections help immensely but the party is still a relatively meritocratic hierarchy. Vietnam is similar. In the Philippines, it is easy to blame dynastic tendencies for the nation's stark economic failures. But its problems go much deeper into the social structure and the way the political system entrenches a selfish elite. It is a symptom not the cause of the malaise.
In India, the Gandhi name has been an important element in ensuring that Congress remains a major national force at a time when the growth of regional, caste and language based parties have added to the problems of governing such a diverse country. In Bangladesh, years of fierce rivalry between Sheikh Hasina, daughter of one murdered president and widow of another, have been a debilitating factor in democratic politics. But their parties needed their family names to provide cohesion and without them there could have been much more overt military intervention. Ms. Megawati was a poor leader but just by being there helped the consolidation of the post-Suharto democracy.
Dynasties can be stultifying too. In Malaysia, the ruling party was once a grassroots organization where upstarts like former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad could flourish but over time it has become a self-perpetuating patronage machine. Too many of the key players are the offspring or relatives of former leaders.
There are more fundamental problems, too. Most current Asian dynasties trace themselves to the post-1945 political transformation. In that sense they have become a crutch, reflecting a failure to devise systems for the transfer of power to new names, faces and ideas.
Dynasties are a poor commentary on the depth of democracy in their countries. Without parties with a coherent organization and a set of ideas, politics becomes about personalities alone and name recognition more important than competence. Parties run by the elite offspring of past heroes easily degenerate into self-serving patronage systems.
So dynastic leadership in Asia's quasi-democracies can provide a focus for nations, a glue for parties, an identity substitute in countries that used to be run by kings and sultans. But it is more a symptom of underlying problems than an example to be followed.
Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times Online edition of March 25, 2010 has the agonizingly predictable story "IHT apology over article".
Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore strongman and his son have this time, something which father and son do almost on a routine basis, collected $160,000.00 from the International Herald Tribune, an international newspaper owned by the New York Times, for allegedly defaming them in an op-ed article that Lee Hsien Loong the Prime Minister is his father's son, an article entitled "All in the family".
Lee Kuan Yew's charge was, that by stating Lee Hsien Loong is his father's son, the writer was implying the son did not become Prime Minister through his merits!
Here Lee Kuan Yew's lawyer Davinder Singh did not even have to file a lawsuit. A threat from Lee Kuan Yew of legal action was enough to cause New York Times to buckle under and pay up, in this case $160,000.00.
Which reminds me of Galileo Galilee, the medieval Italian scientist and astronomer at the Italian Inquisition. It seems it was enough for the clergy to show him the instruments of torture for him to admit that the world was flat after all!
This is what Lee Kuan Yew does throughout his career as Singapore's dictator. He regularly sues, sometimes even up to 3 times a year, anyone or anybody who would dare raise even the slightest criticism of his rule; legal actions which he invariably wins because he picks his judges who shamelessly do whatever he wants of them.
In fact, it does not even matter whether or not there was any criticism of him at all. As long as however remotely one can imagine the article to be unflattering, that alone is sufficient for his orders to go out to his lawyer, Davinder Singh to put the paperwork in order, and a similar instruction to his judges, for the predictable result.
And anyone can see that these numerous law suits to punish his victims is hardly helping his reputation, if that was his purpose in these futile legal exercises; instead it is making both father and son look very silly.
Firstly anyone who had any merits would not have bothered about what anyone said of them. I have been called many things, but as I know who I am, it should not bother me. And so should you.
Leaders of countries, even more than others, receive criticism everyday, sometimes in the harshest of terms, but they don't jump to suing their critics, because they know their worth. Respect has to be earned, not forced by court actions.
Second, one would have expected a statesman to have some common sense and understand what the public may think about these court cases.
Anyone reading the IHT article can see there was no defamation at all, let alone an actionable one.
And furthermore, politicians who are in the public eye, are expected to endure much more criticism than an ordinary layman. This is a cardinal principle in a democracy.
That is why President Obama does not sue me even if I was to call him a thief, because he knows he is not, and if he sued me, it is he who going to look silly much more than I.
That is why people around the world take leaders such as President Obama of the United States, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd seriously.
As for this duo, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and son; by suing anyone anytime for the slightest thing, they make themselves look silly, a couple of clowns in fact, men who have no merit whatsoever and who are able to remain in power only by abusing the law through corrupt judges.
Both father and son appear not to understand that extracting respect through force is impossible; no matter how much he sues anyone.
And lastly the height of idiocy is this. OK they have successfully sued and collected damages and an apology from New York Times for the IHT article. But what use is that when I have repeated it and said the same thing here. And what about the thousands or even millions out there who are now calling him and his son cowards? Is he going to sue me and everyone else who has said the same thing?
I guess not.
That is why Lee Kuan Yew and his son are not only cowards who hide behind corrupt judges to remain in office, they are also seen as men who lack both ability or wisdom because if they did, they would have seen the futility of this exercise.
For the benefit of those who have not read the International Herald Tribune Article, I am attaching it below. Will someone please tell me why the article is defamatory of Lee Kuan Yew and his son?
And by the way, under the law which Lee Kuan Yew knows, reproducing a libellous article is libel as well.
Therefore since I am repeating the article here, can I expect Lee Kuan Yew to sue me, like he did the New York Times, and the thousands of others who have reproduced it?
Or are Lee Kuan Yew and his son determined to confirm to the world that he will strut around like a prize rooster in his tiny island protected by his Kangaroo judges, whereas outside his island, he is nothing but a weak senile old man with his incompetent son tugging his coattails?
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
All in the Family
By PHILIP BOWRING
HONG KONG — Are political dynasties good or bad?
Election time in the Philippines is a regular reminder of the roles that feudal instincts and the family name play in that nation's politics. Benigno Aquino, son of the late President Corazon Aquino, is the front runner to succeed President Gloria Arroyo, daughter of Diosdado Macapagal, a president in the 1960s.
Senate and Congressional contests will see family names of other former presidents and those long prominent in provincial politics and land-owning.
But the Philippines is not unique. Dynastic politics thrives across Asia to an extent found in no other region apart from the Arabian peninsula monarchies.
The list of Asian countries with governments headed by the offspring or spouses of former leaders is striking: Pakistan has Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, herself the daughter of the executed former leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bangladesh has Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the murdered first prime minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak is the son of the second prime minister, Abdul Razak. Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong is Lee Kuan Yew's son. In North Korea, Kim Il-sung's son Kim Jong-il commands party, army and country and waiting in the wings is his son Kim Jong-un.
In India, the widow Sonia Gandhi is the power behind the technocrat prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and her son Rahul is showing political promise and being groomed in the hope of leading the Congress party and eventually filling the post of prime minister, first occupied by his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru.
In Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is the scion of a Kennedy-like political dynasty: His father was a foreign minister, and his grandfather was a prime minister.
Indonesia's last president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, is the daughter of its first, and family ties could well play in the next presidential election when the incumbent, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, must retire. In Myanmar, the durability of the opposition to the military owes much to the name of Aung San Suu Kyi's independence-hero father as well as to her stoicism.
Thailand lacks obvious political dynasties but that is likely because there is already a monarch. South Korea's rough and tumble democracy would seem to leave little scope for dynasties but even there, the political career of Park Chung Hee's daughter, Park Geun Hye, has benefited much from her father's reputation.
With the exception of North Korea, Asian dynasties are a phenomenon of countries that are more or less democratic.
In China, family connections help immensely but the party is still a relatively meritocratic hierarchy. Vietnam is similar. In the Philippines, it is easy to blame dynastic tendencies for the nation's stark economic failures. But its problems go much deeper into the social structure and the way the political system entrenches a selfish elite. It is a symptom not the cause of the malaise.
In India, the Gandhi name has been an important element in ensuring that Congress remains a major national force at a time when the growth of regional, caste and language based parties have added to the problems of governing such a diverse country. In Bangladesh, years of fierce rivalry between Sheikh Hasina, daughter of one murdered president and widow of another, have been a debilitating factor in democratic politics. But their parties needed their family names to provide cohesion and without them there could have been much more overt military intervention. Ms. Megawati was a poor leader but just by being there helped the consolidation of the post-Suharto democracy.
Dynasties can be stultifying too. In Malaysia, the ruling party was once a grassroots organization where upstarts like former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad could flourish but over time it has become a self-perpetuating patronage machine. Too many of the key players are the offspring or relatives of former leaders.
There are more fundamental problems, too. Most current Asian dynasties trace themselves to the post-1945 political transformation. In that sense they have become a crutch, reflecting a failure to devise systems for the transfer of power to new names, faces and ideas.
Dynasties are a poor commentary on the depth of democracy in their countries. Without parties with a coherent organization and a set of ideas, politics becomes about personalities alone and name recognition more important than competence. Parties run by the elite offspring of past heroes easily degenerate into self-serving patronage systems.
So dynastic leadership in Asia's quasi-democracies can provide a focus for nations, a glue for parties, an identity substitute in countries that used to be run by kings and sultans. But it is more a symptom of underlying problems than an example to be followed.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
On second thoughts
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In my last post "My Dear Singaporeans" of March 21, 2010, I had in fact said goodbye to writing here. On second thoughts, perhaps I should not.
As for my reasons, firstly blogging is addictive, and I mean it positively. Once you start writing, it is difficult to stop. There becomes an urge for you to tell your story, and there is the need of those who demand to read it.
Second I had wittingly or otherwise thrust myself into the public eye, particularly the Singaporean one, by my bold style, by getting arrested in Singapore for criticism of the Singapore judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for shamelessly prostituting her office as judge to please her master Lee Kuan Yew, and so on.
She still today sits as a judge in Singapore without any shame whatsoever for her actions, protected by Lee Kuan Yew's police, safe in her knowledge that as long as her master is alive, she is free to abuse the law at will.
Had I not invited the wrath of Lee Kuan Yew and his men to the extent of they arresting me, with my picture flashed across their state controlled press on a daily basis between May and September 2008, and recently being
called "malicious", "evil", and a "person of bad character" by Lee's Minister of Information Liu Tuck Yew, for my suggesting that his master had a heart attack, thereby increasing my popularity or notoriety, depending on which way you look at it, a thousand fold; had I not done any of this, I think I could have just faded away and no one would have bat an eyelid.
By the force of events, overtaking Gopalan Nair, thanks to Lee Kuan Yew and his government, Singaporeans have over time, become accustomed to the Singapore Dissident and have begun to expect my writing.
In fact even if there was a single human being out there who was looking forward to what I had to say, it would be unfair on my part to just disappear.
Adding to all this, at a time when the ground in Singapore appears slipping from the dictator's grip, as I had been clearly advised by a commenter, any effort spent in precipitating it, however small must and should be an unshirkable duty.
On all accounts, it would appear that I must continue. I am therefore withdrawing my threat to disappear.
Singapore Dissident will therefore continue. My writings may not be that frequent, but it will continue to exist.
Unlike Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore Dissident refuses to die simply because it should not.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
In my last post "My Dear Singaporeans" of March 21, 2010, I had in fact said goodbye to writing here. On second thoughts, perhaps I should not.
As for my reasons, firstly blogging is addictive, and I mean it positively. Once you start writing, it is difficult to stop. There becomes an urge for you to tell your story, and there is the need of those who demand to read it.
Second I had wittingly or otherwise thrust myself into the public eye, particularly the Singaporean one, by my bold style, by getting arrested in Singapore for criticism of the Singapore judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for shamelessly prostituting her office as judge to please her master Lee Kuan Yew, and so on.
She still today sits as a judge in Singapore without any shame whatsoever for her actions, protected by Lee Kuan Yew's police, safe in her knowledge that as long as her master is alive, she is free to abuse the law at will.
Had I not invited the wrath of Lee Kuan Yew and his men to the extent of they arresting me, with my picture flashed across their state controlled press on a daily basis between May and September 2008, and recently being
called "malicious", "evil", and a "person of bad character" by Lee's Minister of Information Liu Tuck Yew, for my suggesting that his master had a heart attack, thereby increasing my popularity or notoriety, depending on which way you look at it, a thousand fold; had I not done any of this, I think I could have just faded away and no one would have bat an eyelid.
By the force of events, overtaking Gopalan Nair, thanks to Lee Kuan Yew and his government, Singaporeans have over time, become accustomed to the Singapore Dissident and have begun to expect my writing.
In fact even if there was a single human being out there who was looking forward to what I had to say, it would be unfair on my part to just disappear.
Adding to all this, at a time when the ground in Singapore appears slipping from the dictator's grip, as I had been clearly advised by a commenter, any effort spent in precipitating it, however small must and should be an unshirkable duty.
On all accounts, it would appear that I must continue. I am therefore withdrawing my threat to disappear.
Singapore Dissident will therefore continue. My writings may not be that frequent, but it will continue to exist.
Unlike Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore Dissident refuses to die simply because it should not.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels
Sunday, March 21, 2010
My dear Singaporeans
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With my last post "The Singapore we knew is dead" of March 18, 2010, this blog will not be posting anymore blog posts for the foreseeable future.
My purpose has been served. I had wanted to highlight the lack of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Singapore and the need for change for betterment of the island.
Being personally aware of the injustices there, and having suffered at the hands of the regime myself; coupled with my present safety from the long arm of the Singapore dictator, being in California; it would have been unforgivable had I remained silent.
With my numerous blog posts commencing December 2006, I think I have said what I have to say. My message should be clear by now. My story had to be told, and I told it.
And by my recent false claim about Lee Kuan Yew's health, which was deliberately done to test the consequences of the fall of the dictator, my prognosis of the dire consequences of his impending death has been roundly proven.
I have said my part. It is the Singapore opposition politicians such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan on whose shoulders the future of Singapore has always lied, not mine. At best I can only provide a minor supportive role at best.
I have no doubt in my mind that the future of Singapore lies in men such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan. I am sure of a new dawn in Singapore very soon.
I want to tell you an anecdote. Being of traditional Indian upbringing, fortune tellers being a part of our society, as a young boy walking along in Serangoon Road Singapore, an old wizardly looking Pakistani man had read my palm and correctly predicted that I will travel over a fair part of the world and be away from Singapore for many long years. But when asked where will I die, he said without hesitation Singapore.
So to Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore Immigration Department that refuses my entry to Singapore, let me use the words of General Douglas MacArthur when he evacuated the Philippines, "I shall return".
Yes, my friends I have no doubt about it, I shall return, simply because Lee Kuan Yew will be dead.
I will also not be posting anymore comments, as this would oftentimes require my response. As I do not intend to be blogging until further notice, this would become inconvenient.
And to those who are pondering over it, let me tell you this, political activism, as well as being an honorable act, both gratifying and rewarding; it can also be fun. I enjoyed every minute of it.
And with that, calling from California, which was captured from Mexico, I would end by saying
Adios Amigo.
Hayward Tower: Cessna 767 Victor XRay, you are cleared for take off Runway 28 Left, right cross wind departure, maintain below 1000 over field, Wind 270 at 8 and gusts 15, Have a nice day.
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, California
March 21, 2010
With my last post "The Singapore we knew is dead" of March 18, 2010, this blog will not be posting anymore blog posts for the foreseeable future.
My purpose has been served. I had wanted to highlight the lack of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Singapore and the need for change for betterment of the island.
Being personally aware of the injustices there, and having suffered at the hands of the regime myself; coupled with my present safety from the long arm of the Singapore dictator, being in California; it would have been unforgivable had I remained silent.
With my numerous blog posts commencing December 2006, I think I have said what I have to say. My message should be clear by now. My story had to be told, and I told it.
And by my recent false claim about Lee Kuan Yew's health, which was deliberately done to test the consequences of the fall of the dictator, my prognosis of the dire consequences of his impending death has been roundly proven.
I have said my part. It is the Singapore opposition politicians such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan on whose shoulders the future of Singapore has always lied, not mine. At best I can only provide a minor supportive role at best.
I have no doubt in my mind that the future of Singapore lies in men such as Dr. Chee Soon Juan. I am sure of a new dawn in Singapore very soon.
I want to tell you an anecdote. Being of traditional Indian upbringing, fortune tellers being a part of our society, as a young boy walking along in Serangoon Road Singapore, an old wizardly looking Pakistani man had read my palm and correctly predicted that I will travel over a fair part of the world and be away from Singapore for many long years. But when asked where will I die, he said without hesitation Singapore.
So to Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore Immigration Department that refuses my entry to Singapore, let me use the words of General Douglas MacArthur when he evacuated the Philippines, "I shall return".
Yes, my friends I have no doubt about it, I shall return, simply because Lee Kuan Yew will be dead.
I will also not be posting anymore comments, as this would oftentimes require my response. As I do not intend to be blogging until further notice, this would become inconvenient.
And to those who are pondering over it, let me tell you this, political activism, as well as being an honorable act, both gratifying and rewarding; it can also be fun. I enjoyed every minute of it.
And with that, calling from California, which was captured from Mexico, I would end by saying
Adios Amigo.
Hayward Tower: Cessna 767 Victor XRay, you are cleared for take off Runway 28 Left, right cross wind departure, maintain below 1000 over field, Wind 270 at 8 and gusts 15, Have a nice day.
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, California
March 21, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Singapore we knew is dead.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The character of Singapore is changing rapidly. Singapore today is some other Singapore. Very soon it will be totally unrecognizable.
Earlier my deliberate false alarm that Lee Kuan Yew was ill ,as expected, caused an uproar, with reactions both welcoming and condemning.
Even so, we have not seen Lee Kuan Yew in public lately at all.
Since everything that matters in that island depends on the old 87 year old octogenarian, who has his finger in every pie, I reckon the city state will collapse and cease to function, the moment he dies.
If that happens I believe we will have a new free and democratic Singapore.
My confidence in this happening has been proven by history repeatedly.
Whenever dictators die, the country usually collapses, because the dictator never allows anyone else any power or political experience, and as a result there comes a political vacuum.
Since no one else has the respect of the people or the experience to go with it, it becomes a free for all, with peoples' pent up anger and grievances suddenly seeing the light of day.
For a while, there will be chaos and upheaval, which eventually settles and change takes place.
History has also shown that you don't need the masses to bring about change.
All you need is a couple of determined men and women with a cause and the rest is history. The population which until now has been dead will suddenly come alive.
My reckoning is Dr. Chee Soon Juan will be the man to look out for when that happens.
His cause is just and the people know it. The government in its attempt to paint him in bad light is finding the going increasingly difficult because it is almost impossible to make a man look bad when it is clear he is not.
This is what I am looking forward to. And it will happen very soon, thank God, since the dictator is 87 after all. And he cannot stop growing older by the day!
But if that change, unfortunately, does not happen and we still have to live under the grip of the dictator's son, Singapore's character, which has already changed will change completely and it will eventually collapse.
And this total collapse will similarly happen very soon.
Several forces working together will ensure this happening.
For one, you have a increasingly growing number of Singaporeans emigrating, for reasons which are both glaring and obvious.
Lack of freedoms, lack of jobs, lack of social welfare, racial discrimination against Malays and Indians, and the list goes on.
Secondly, being English educated, Singaporeans are well suited for migration overseas to the favored English speaking Western countries.
Also Singaporeans even if they do not appear to show much interests in human rights now, they will demand it time since it was part of their British colonial heritage, while it is difficult for a Chinese man in Communist China to understand this since he was never exposed to it at all.
Overseas Singaporeans once they appreciate the freedom and opportunities abroad, will persuade their friends and relatives left behind, to follow suit.
This vicious cycle of Singaporeans leaving permanently will continue, with overseas Singaporeans pulling more and more locals to join them.
I suspect this is already happening as shown by a recent Singapore survey which showed that almost all young Singaporeans expressed a desire to leave Singapore permanently if possible.
Except for the Malay population who are behind in education and skills, and other poorly qualified Chinese and Indians, who will be left behind; the vast majority will leave Singapore, and with Lee Kuan Yew's present policy of bringing in unprecedented numbers of Communist Chinese, Vietnamese, and Burmese; even though they may look like Singaporean Chinese, they are simply not the same.
These human imports will lack the skills that native Singaporeans had no matter how much Lee tries and more importantly it will take several generations for them before they have any real loyalty to their adopted city state, unlike the now absent native Singaporeans.
All these disadvantages will converge to to make Singapore simply less competitive than what little competitiveness it had in the past with the native Singaporeans.
As if all this was not bad enough, Singapore's fertility rate is far below replacement level, which means Lee will have to continue bringing in increasing numbers of foreigners, not only for unskilled work but also for managerial positions in both the public and government sectors.
Singapore may end up, if it has not already, with government ministers and politicians from Communist China, Burma or Vietnam and various other places.
These new immigrant high officials will have to paid enormous amounts in the hope that they will not abandon the city state, since they cannot be expected to have the loyalty and ties you would expect of a true third generation Singaporean.
All this is very bad news. The result of course will be an unrecognizable free for all island city state; unstable, immoral and dictatorial, like a ship which has lost it's heading, and simply drifting blind.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
The character of Singapore is changing rapidly. Singapore today is some other Singapore. Very soon it will be totally unrecognizable.
Earlier my deliberate false alarm that Lee Kuan Yew was ill ,as expected, caused an uproar, with reactions both welcoming and condemning.
Even so, we have not seen Lee Kuan Yew in public lately at all.
Since everything that matters in that island depends on the old 87 year old octogenarian, who has his finger in every pie, I reckon the city state will collapse and cease to function, the moment he dies.
If that happens I believe we will have a new free and democratic Singapore.
My confidence in this happening has been proven by history repeatedly.
Whenever dictators die, the country usually collapses, because the dictator never allows anyone else any power or political experience, and as a result there comes a political vacuum.
Since no one else has the respect of the people or the experience to go with it, it becomes a free for all, with peoples' pent up anger and grievances suddenly seeing the light of day.
For a while, there will be chaos and upheaval, which eventually settles and change takes place.
History has also shown that you don't need the masses to bring about change.
All you need is a couple of determined men and women with a cause and the rest is history. The population which until now has been dead will suddenly come alive.
My reckoning is Dr. Chee Soon Juan will be the man to look out for when that happens.
His cause is just and the people know it. The government in its attempt to paint him in bad light is finding the going increasingly difficult because it is almost impossible to make a man look bad when it is clear he is not.
This is what I am looking forward to. And it will happen very soon, thank God, since the dictator is 87 after all. And he cannot stop growing older by the day!
But if that change, unfortunately, does not happen and we still have to live under the grip of the dictator's son, Singapore's character, which has already changed will change completely and it will eventually collapse.
And this total collapse will similarly happen very soon.
Several forces working together will ensure this happening.
For one, you have a increasingly growing number of Singaporeans emigrating, for reasons which are both glaring and obvious.
Lack of freedoms, lack of jobs, lack of social welfare, racial discrimination against Malays and Indians, and the list goes on.
Secondly, being English educated, Singaporeans are well suited for migration overseas to the favored English speaking Western countries.
Also Singaporeans even if they do not appear to show much interests in human rights now, they will demand it time since it was part of their British colonial heritage, while it is difficult for a Chinese man in Communist China to understand this since he was never exposed to it at all.
Overseas Singaporeans once they appreciate the freedom and opportunities abroad, will persuade their friends and relatives left behind, to follow suit.
This vicious cycle of Singaporeans leaving permanently will continue, with overseas Singaporeans pulling more and more locals to join them.
I suspect this is already happening as shown by a recent Singapore survey which showed that almost all young Singaporeans expressed a desire to leave Singapore permanently if possible.
Except for the Malay population who are behind in education and skills, and other poorly qualified Chinese and Indians, who will be left behind; the vast majority will leave Singapore, and with Lee Kuan Yew's present policy of bringing in unprecedented numbers of Communist Chinese, Vietnamese, and Burmese; even though they may look like Singaporean Chinese, they are simply not the same.
These human imports will lack the skills that native Singaporeans had no matter how much Lee tries and more importantly it will take several generations for them before they have any real loyalty to their adopted city state, unlike the now absent native Singaporeans.
All these disadvantages will converge to to make Singapore simply less competitive than what little competitiveness it had in the past with the native Singaporeans.
As if all this was not bad enough, Singapore's fertility rate is far below replacement level, which means Lee will have to continue bringing in increasing numbers of foreigners, not only for unskilled work but also for managerial positions in both the public and government sectors.
Singapore may end up, if it has not already, with government ministers and politicians from Communist China, Burma or Vietnam and various other places.
These new immigrant high officials will have to paid enormous amounts in the hope that they will not abandon the city state, since they cannot be expected to have the loyalty and ties you would expect of a true third generation Singaporean.
All this is very bad news. The result of course will be an unrecognizable free for all island city state; unstable, immoral and dictatorial, like a ship which has lost it's heading, and simply drifting blind.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, running out of ideas.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As if the the non stop series of bad news for the Singapore strongman from multiple fronts is not enough.
In the latest in bad news for him, the Singapore state controlled newspaper online edition of March 17, 2010 has the story "S'poreans heeding call of NZ".
It was referring to news that an unprecedented number of Singaporeans had applied to move to New Zealand, as many as 4,500, which made up 78% of worldwide inquiries from Jan 15 to March 1, 2010.
For a tiny island city state this number is alarming and destructive.
No small island city state as small as Singapore can withstand such a deep seated widespread desire among its people to leave Lee Kuan Yew's Alice in wonderland island; which has the highest execution rate in the world; which brutally beats its prisoners as lawful punishment (caning); that sends a political dissident Dr. Chee Soon Juan to jail a week at a time almost on a monthly basis just for public speaking; and a city that bans the chewing of gum.
If Lee Kuan Yew thinks he can carry on the way he does, he is simply not looking straight. Things are not working for him and however much they dont like it, sooner than later, his state controlled newspapers will have no choice but to tell it as it is.
There is a massive shortage of skilled workers and professionals. Lee Kuan Yew has given the country such a bad name that Singaporeans simply are resigning en masse from government jobs.
The police force is crying out for recruits and left with thoroughly unread and uneducated Malays who have never heard of the Constitution and only know how to carry out any order, quickly and blindly.
As a result, very poorly educated Malays such as the gentleman who arrested me for criticizing Lee's Judge, Abdul Razak bin Zakaria of the Central Police Station are promoted to senior positions. This gentlemen has been made an Assistant Superintendent of Police, a rank equivalent to that of Captain in the Army, even though he did not appear to know much more than a 8th grade teenager!
As knowledge of English is a requirement for government positions, Malaysian Chinese used to fill these positions left vacant by Singaporeans but now even they are not coming.
Singaporeans are so unhappy that they don't want to have any children. The native born population is shrinking and the government simply can't do a thing about it. Instead to keep up the numbers they bring in large numbers of poorly skilled Chinese from Communist China and elsewhere, upsetting the native population even more.
With the Internet and the younger Singaporeans getting emboldened, they are increasingly turning away from this government. Unlike in the past, they have so many opportunities in Singapore and abroad, it is no longer necessary for them to go about as Lee Kuan Yew's dogs.
Singapore scholars on government scholarships studying at universities abroad are breaking their bonds and refusing to return, even though they suffer severe penalties for it.
Prospective students are refusing government scholarships not wanting to serve a government which has lost their respect and it credibility.
I am continuing to do my part in hurting the bully boy Lee. I have been suspended from practicing law, fined and recently even imprisoned in circumstances where anyone with eyes can see it's injustice.
This results in even more people getting very angry and acting in a manner prejudicial to Lee's government.
So has Dr. Chee's actions, so has the actions of the late JB Jeyaretnam and so has the actions of all of us who do what we can to expose the injustices of this despot.
Lee Kuan Yew, to top all the bad news, already has one leg in the grave. He is 87. Recently when I pulled a deliberate hoax of his having a heart attack, my prediction of it's dire effect came true, the island was almost in chaos. This has proved the one thing that everyone fears, his death will cause Singapore untold damage. And what is worse of all, his death is expected anytime.
This causes an ever increasing fear in those among Singaporeans who stand to lose with his death, those with money and high positions through his patronage. These people no longer feel it safe to remain in Singapore and are pulling themselves and their money out of the island now, before it is too late.
If I were Lee Kuan Yew, the best thing to do is to admit that his government is facing serious uncertainly and they cannot continue as they do now. They have to admit that these repressive policies might work in Russia, Cuba or North Korea but it simply is counter productive and detrimental in a country such as Singapore.
Repeatedly jailing Dr. Chee Soon Juan, sending me to jail and disbarring me are simply bad ideas. It hurts Lee's government much more than it hurts us.
Soon I will be disbarred from the Singapore Roll of Lawyers, which will give me another golden opportunity to highlight the dishonesty of such a ruling. And this means that people all over the world, foreign embassies and diplomatic posts in Singapore, universities and human rights organizations will know one more instance of the judicial abuse in that island.
With the Internet, Lee Kuan Yew cannot get away with anything he wants anymore. There is a price to pay and he can no longer afford it. The sooner he realizes it the better. But honestly I think it is too late for him and his government, no matter what he does now.
That has been the fate of one too many despots and those who profit by them.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
As if the the non stop series of bad news for the Singapore strongman from multiple fronts is not enough.
In the latest in bad news for him, the Singapore state controlled newspaper online edition of March 17, 2010 has the story "S'poreans heeding call of NZ".
It was referring to news that an unprecedented number of Singaporeans had applied to move to New Zealand, as many as 4,500, which made up 78% of worldwide inquiries from Jan 15 to March 1, 2010.
For a tiny island city state this number is alarming and destructive.
No small island city state as small as Singapore can withstand such a deep seated widespread desire among its people to leave Lee Kuan Yew's Alice in wonderland island; which has the highest execution rate in the world; which brutally beats its prisoners as lawful punishment (caning); that sends a political dissident Dr. Chee Soon Juan to jail a week at a time almost on a monthly basis just for public speaking; and a city that bans the chewing of gum.
If Lee Kuan Yew thinks he can carry on the way he does, he is simply not looking straight. Things are not working for him and however much they dont like it, sooner than later, his state controlled newspapers will have no choice but to tell it as it is.
There is a massive shortage of skilled workers and professionals. Lee Kuan Yew has given the country such a bad name that Singaporeans simply are resigning en masse from government jobs.
The police force is crying out for recruits and left with thoroughly unread and uneducated Malays who have never heard of the Constitution and only know how to carry out any order, quickly and blindly.
As a result, very poorly educated Malays such as the gentleman who arrested me for criticizing Lee's Judge, Abdul Razak bin Zakaria of the Central Police Station are promoted to senior positions. This gentlemen has been made an Assistant Superintendent of Police, a rank equivalent to that of Captain in the Army, even though he did not appear to know much more than a 8th grade teenager!
As knowledge of English is a requirement for government positions, Malaysian Chinese used to fill these positions left vacant by Singaporeans but now even they are not coming.
Singaporeans are so unhappy that they don't want to have any children. The native born population is shrinking and the government simply can't do a thing about it. Instead to keep up the numbers they bring in large numbers of poorly skilled Chinese from Communist China and elsewhere, upsetting the native population even more.
With the Internet and the younger Singaporeans getting emboldened, they are increasingly turning away from this government. Unlike in the past, they have so many opportunities in Singapore and abroad, it is no longer necessary for them to go about as Lee Kuan Yew's dogs.
Singapore scholars on government scholarships studying at universities abroad are breaking their bonds and refusing to return, even though they suffer severe penalties for it.
Prospective students are refusing government scholarships not wanting to serve a government which has lost their respect and it credibility.
I am continuing to do my part in hurting the bully boy Lee. I have been suspended from practicing law, fined and recently even imprisoned in circumstances where anyone with eyes can see it's injustice.
This results in even more people getting very angry and acting in a manner prejudicial to Lee's government.
So has Dr. Chee's actions, so has the actions of the late JB Jeyaretnam and so has the actions of all of us who do what we can to expose the injustices of this despot.
Lee Kuan Yew, to top all the bad news, already has one leg in the grave. He is 87. Recently when I pulled a deliberate hoax of his having a heart attack, my prediction of it's dire effect came true, the island was almost in chaos. This has proved the one thing that everyone fears, his death will cause Singapore untold damage. And what is worse of all, his death is expected anytime.
This causes an ever increasing fear in those among Singaporeans who stand to lose with his death, those with money and high positions through his patronage. These people no longer feel it safe to remain in Singapore and are pulling themselves and their money out of the island now, before it is too late.
If I were Lee Kuan Yew, the best thing to do is to admit that his government is facing serious uncertainly and they cannot continue as they do now. They have to admit that these repressive policies might work in Russia, Cuba or North Korea but it simply is counter productive and detrimental in a country such as Singapore.
Repeatedly jailing Dr. Chee Soon Juan, sending me to jail and disbarring me are simply bad ideas. It hurts Lee's government much more than it hurts us.
Soon I will be disbarred from the Singapore Roll of Lawyers, which will give me another golden opportunity to highlight the dishonesty of such a ruling. And this means that people all over the world, foreign embassies and diplomatic posts in Singapore, universities and human rights organizations will know one more instance of the judicial abuse in that island.
With the Internet, Lee Kuan Yew cannot get away with anything he wants anymore. There is a price to pay and he can no longer afford it. The sooner he realizes it the better. But honestly I think it is too late for him and his government, no matter what he does now.
That has been the fate of one too many despots and those who profit by them.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
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