Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore Dissident is taking a break momentarily. I will continue blogging soon. Please check out this blog periodically.
Best Regards
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
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Singapore. The discrimination in Singapore against the Singapore worker in favor of foreigners!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If the leaders of the opposition in Singapore will not ensure that this grave and unacceptable injustice by employers in Singapore against their own Singaporeans in favor of foreigners is not corrected, then I must say, categorically that they are not doing their job. By sitting idly by, while this unashamed blatant widespread employment discrimination against their own by migrant foreigners goes on daily before their very eyes, these Singapore opposition leaders are themselves responsible and answerable to the Singaporeans workers who suffer, due to their inaction. By assuming the mantle of opposition politicians, it becomes incumbent upon them to do something now to stop this. All the talk and blogging and complaining is all fine. But they must take action to stop this injustice now.
I have heard from reliable sources that the following thoroughly unacceptable discrimination against Singapore men and women is happening daily. Let me tell you this particular sordid tale first hand. The facts are accurate. The employer needs an IT Helpdesk engineer. Singapore as you know, has universities that produce excellent engineers, like the NUS. Instead, without any attempt by this particular Singapore employer to fill the position through Singapore born engineers, he goes straight to a company, let us call it for namesake X, a Singapore Recruitment Agency. Company X then contacts their recruitment sources in China who then find a Chinese national who has qualifications far inferior to a particular Singapore born engineer who had earlier been refused this very job by this employer. The Chinese national engineer's qualifications were obtained only through distance learning from a very inferior college, let us say for namesake Y. This Chinese national engineer is promptly selected for the position, company X then processes the paperwork for an employment pass through Singapore Manpower department and the next day, he is en route to Singapore to take up the job. While all this has happened, the particular Singapore engineer, with a 2nd Class engineering degree, from NUS , a degree earned through attendance at classes unlike the Chinese national's degree which he got though mail order, making it a far superior qualification, remains unemployed, still desperately looking for a job. It transpired subsequently that the reason why the job went to the Chinese national was because the employer wanted someone without national service obligations. If this is not wrong, tell me what is?
The above narration is a factually accurate story where a local born Singaporean who did his national service was unfairly discriminated in his own country in favor of a foreigner. The particular informant tells me that he is not the only one. It appears this disgraceful discrimination against Singaporeans citizens in their own country is a daily occurrence.
I have said this before in my blogs. This indiscriminate import of foreign labor has to stop. I am not against foreign labor per se. What I am saying, and any other rational person will agree is that Singaporeans should come first before any foreigner. The job should first be made available for Singaporeans and only if it cannot be filled should foreigners be given the job. This is the principle in every other country in the world. Obviously. Since in every country, their own citizens should come first before letting in foreigners.
I have said this before and will say it again. The policy should be to have a system in place where the employer requests the Singapore government for permission to allow a foreigner to be given employment in his company only if he can show that despite using all reasonable diligent efforts, he cannot find a Singaporean to fill the position. He has to show this with documentary proof such as through newspaper advertisements and other recruitment efforts.
The employer should then provide credible proof that all attempts were taken in this recruitment effort, for a duration of perhaps 6 months and if the vacancy still remains, he should be granted it. In this way the Singapore employer will be forced to try make serious attempts at local recruitment first ensuring that Singaporeans are given first preference.
Singapore jobs should belong to Singapore born Singaporeans first before others. Surely this is fair.
The other important point is not to permit employers to reject Singaporeans in favor of foreigners, merely because the Singaporean demands a higher pay. The government must be aware that Singaporeans have decidedly higher living costs which already exists in Singapore. It is totally unfair to Singaporeans to bring in an impoverished Bangladeshi who is prepared to accept pittance for the same work, just throwing the Singaporean out of his job in favor of the impoverished Bangladeshi or denying him one entirely.
The way to increase profitability is not suppress wages. It is to increase productivity. It is to mechanize and improvise so that even with higher wages the profits still remain. In California construction unionized workers earn as much as $25 an hour. Yet construction remains profitable. It would have been easy for the US to bring in Mexican workers to do it at $6 per hour. But they do not. As it is not only wrong in principle, it does not make good business sense. In this way, you see the US building construction industry highly mechanized, efficient and productive, with one American worker able to do the job of 6 unskilled Bangladeshis if need be. This is how it should be.
I therefore ask the reader and the opposition leaders to take note. Merely making speeches and for Sylvia Lim to give her seminars on the Singapore Penal Code are insufficient. What is happening is inexcusable injustice. Mr. Lee and his son plainly and simply refuse to listen. They are determined to continue to perpetrate this injustice upon their own Singaporeans. You, the Singapore opposition politicians and leaders, are yourself guilty if you remain silent in the face of this injustice before your very eyes. Making speeches is simply not enough. You have to take the law into your own hands. You have to protest and demonstrate against this injustice against Singaporeans in their own country in favor of Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi and Burmese nationals. Now is the time. Enough is enough. You have to act. And if you do not, it is your conscience to whom you have to answer.
This message is to the opposition politicians Mr. Low, Mr. Chiam, Miss Lim and Dr. Chee.
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
If the leaders of the opposition in Singapore will not ensure that this grave and unacceptable injustice by employers in Singapore against their own Singaporeans in favor of foreigners is not corrected, then I must say, categorically that they are not doing their job. By sitting idly by, while this unashamed blatant widespread employment discrimination against their own by migrant foreigners goes on daily before their very eyes, these Singapore opposition leaders are themselves responsible and answerable to the Singaporeans workers who suffer, due to their inaction. By assuming the mantle of opposition politicians, it becomes incumbent upon them to do something now to stop this. All the talk and blogging and complaining is all fine. But they must take action to stop this injustice now.
I have heard from reliable sources that the following thoroughly unacceptable discrimination against Singapore men and women is happening daily. Let me tell you this particular sordid tale first hand. The facts are accurate. The employer needs an IT Helpdesk engineer. Singapore as you know, has universities that produce excellent engineers, like the NUS. Instead, without any attempt by this particular Singapore employer to fill the position through Singapore born engineers, he goes straight to a company, let us call it for namesake X, a Singapore Recruitment Agency. Company X then contacts their recruitment sources in China who then find a Chinese national who has qualifications far inferior to a particular Singapore born engineer who had earlier been refused this very job by this employer. The Chinese national engineer's qualifications were obtained only through distance learning from a very inferior college, let us say for namesake Y. This Chinese national engineer is promptly selected for the position, company X then processes the paperwork for an employment pass through Singapore Manpower department and the next day, he is en route to Singapore to take up the job. While all this has happened, the particular Singapore engineer, with a 2nd Class engineering degree, from NUS , a degree earned through attendance at classes unlike the Chinese national's degree which he got though mail order, making it a far superior qualification, remains unemployed, still desperately looking for a job. It transpired subsequently that the reason why the job went to the Chinese national was because the employer wanted someone without national service obligations. If this is not wrong, tell me what is?
The above narration is a factually accurate story where a local born Singaporean who did his national service was unfairly discriminated in his own country in favor of a foreigner. The particular informant tells me that he is not the only one. It appears this disgraceful discrimination against Singaporeans citizens in their own country is a daily occurrence.
I have said this before in my blogs. This indiscriminate import of foreign labor has to stop. I am not against foreign labor per se. What I am saying, and any other rational person will agree is that Singaporeans should come first before any foreigner. The job should first be made available for Singaporeans and only if it cannot be filled should foreigners be given the job. This is the principle in every other country in the world. Obviously. Since in every country, their own citizens should come first before letting in foreigners.
I have said this before and will say it again. The policy should be to have a system in place where the employer requests the Singapore government for permission to allow a foreigner to be given employment in his company only if he can show that despite using all reasonable diligent efforts, he cannot find a Singaporean to fill the position. He has to show this with documentary proof such as through newspaper advertisements and other recruitment efforts.
The employer should then provide credible proof that all attempts were taken in this recruitment effort, for a duration of perhaps 6 months and if the vacancy still remains, he should be granted it. In this way the Singapore employer will be forced to try make serious attempts at local recruitment first ensuring that Singaporeans are given first preference.
Singapore jobs should belong to Singapore born Singaporeans first before others. Surely this is fair.
The other important point is not to permit employers to reject Singaporeans in favor of foreigners, merely because the Singaporean demands a higher pay. The government must be aware that Singaporeans have decidedly higher living costs which already exists in Singapore. It is totally unfair to Singaporeans to bring in an impoverished Bangladeshi who is prepared to accept pittance for the same work, just throwing the Singaporean out of his job in favor of the impoverished Bangladeshi or denying him one entirely.
The way to increase profitability is not suppress wages. It is to increase productivity. It is to mechanize and improvise so that even with higher wages the profits still remain. In California construction unionized workers earn as much as $25 an hour. Yet construction remains profitable. It would have been easy for the US to bring in Mexican workers to do it at $6 per hour. But they do not. As it is not only wrong in principle, it does not make good business sense. In this way, you see the US building construction industry highly mechanized, efficient and productive, with one American worker able to do the job of 6 unskilled Bangladeshis if need be. This is how it should be.
I therefore ask the reader and the opposition leaders to take note. Merely making speeches and for Sylvia Lim to give her seminars on the Singapore Penal Code are insufficient. What is happening is inexcusable injustice. Mr. Lee and his son plainly and simply refuse to listen. They are determined to continue to perpetrate this injustice upon their own Singaporeans. You, the Singapore opposition politicians and leaders, are yourself guilty if you remain silent in the face of this injustice before your very eyes. Making speeches is simply not enough. You have to take the law into your own hands. You have to protest and demonstrate against this injustice against Singaporeans in their own country in favor of Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi and Burmese nationals. Now is the time. Enough is enough. You have to act. And if you do not, it is your conscience to whom you have to answer.
This message is to the opposition politicians Mr. Low, Mr. Chiam, Miss Lim and Dr. Chee.
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
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Singapore's character has fundamentally changed since what it was in 1950s. The first question, is, better or worse? Second, who is responsible?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Look around you and you will agree Singapore’s character has changed fundamentally since it started. It is no longer the country that it once was. I do not mean the skyscrapers and the MRT. I mean its character, it’s people, it’s direction and it’s conscience. Question is, is it better or worse? And secondly, who is responsible?
The first issue is emigration. Mr. Lee since 1959 clearly misunderstood the effects and consequence of his arrogance. You have seen the intimidation and persecution of political opponents over the years. JB Jeyaretnam, Tang Liang Hong etc. These actions to suppress political opposition to him backfired. It did of course make the population submissive and compliant. But at the same time, this arrogance on his part caused massive and irreversible migration of the educated and capable from Singapore to western countries, which still goes on.
This serious brain drain, caused entirely by Lee Kuan Yew's failure to anticipate the consequences of his haughtiness and high handedness on his part has seriously stymied it's progress which could otherwise have been many times better. You see, Singapore’s needs it’s best educated. But Lee’s arrogance chases them away. What you have left in Singapore are the yes-men. These yes-men are not the ones who can progress the country.
On the issue of emigration, it is odd that he failed to realize that those emigrating, because they disliked his style of government of talking down at his people, would be the very best and most capable in the society. Those with skills, courage and a sense of adventure. These are the very people that Singapore needs. Yet it is these, whom he alienates by his pompous arrogance. Like saying it is my way or the highway.
On last checking the figures on CIA Worldfactbook on country conditions of Singapore, they are 9.12 persons emigrating from Singapore per 1,000 people. For a small country like Singapore, this is a huge untenable figure. Singapore is losing it's best. At the same time, due to this massive emigration from it's shores of it's brightest especially to Australia, the government decides to bring in unlimited numbers of persons from the People’s Republic of China and India, unilaterally, without any debate, and even if there was any, it is only among the PAP MPs themselves, who of course always agree to whatever Lee says.
You see, an immigrant from Communist China is totally different, completely, in character from a local born Singaporean. Singaporeans do not go to schools where Communist doctrine and total obedience to the Communist Party is taught. Therefore Singaporeans youths, tend to be more open minded, open to contrary opinion as compared to these mainland Chinese. Therefore the import of large numbers of these mainland Chinese completely changes the very character of Singapore’s population, and changes it in a detrimental way. What you need is debate. Not conformity. And conformity is what these mainland Chinese only know.
True blue Singaporeans whose parents came from China and India, who were part of the birth of modern Singapore are no longer there. Instead, massive numbers of people who know nothing of Singapore or what it stands for and it's character are brought in to live and work there. The character of the population entirely changes. These imports from China do not understand the country and neither will they be able to move Singapore ahead in the direction that the original Singaporeans born and raised there could do.
You see, Singapore’s population make up has completely changed. This is a fundamental change that goes to the root of what Singapore should have been. Mr. Lee is responsible for this in not consulting his people whether such a drastic action should or should not be taken. At the same time, it is the fault of the Singaporeans themselves for refusing to insist that Singapore is theirs and they demand to be consulted, regardless of whether or not Lee Kuan Yew has Gurkha police murderers at hand to kill any Singaporean protester.
Issue no 2. Confrontation with both it's neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. You know already that Indonesia refuses to sell sand to Singapore, seriously hurting Singapore’s construction industry. Malaysia wants to sever the cause way to permit ocean going vessels to pass along the straits from South China Sea to Malacca Straits to Tanjong Pelapas, which Singapore refuses, and therefore the animosity. Singapore’s underhand dealing with Thai telecommunications company has caused animosity from that quarter, causing both father Lee and son’s effigies to be burnt.
All these actions, that have caused so many disadvantages, have all been taken without any consultation with the people of Singapore. Again it is all been done by Lee's dictates with approval from his rubber stamp PAP MPs in Parliament, whom as expected will give their approval in unison to anything Lee wants. It is Lee's fault in causing these problems to Singapore’s interests and at the same time, it is the fault of Singaporeans who have sat idly by in fear to challenge Lee, lest Lee orders his Gurkha policemen to shoot at them at will. Fear is not an excuse for inaction. It is your own fault in sitting idly by, while Lee ruins the very fabric of Singapore.
Issue No. 3. All public institutions are effectively under Lee's orders. None of them are independent. The courts function under Lee's orders. The civil service is used to stifle Dr. Chee's legitimate lawful efforts to bring about change. The entire country is at the mercy of Lee's whims as and when it pleases him. It is Lee's fault in destroying the civic institutions of civil society. It is also the fault of the Singaporeans who timidly, out of fear of Lee's Gurkha police murdering them, quietly accept anything thrown at them.
Issue no 3. The building of the casinos. Gambling. To the early immigrants from China and India, it was unacceptable. Children were educated to enter the professions. Succeed through book learning. Doing good to society. And not to gamble, drink and engage in prostitution. This is the same under Taoism, Hinduism and Islam. There principles are universal. What right then has Lee to violate these fundamentals principles by building casinos? He has done it. He has never asked the people. Singapore is going to depend on gamblers, pimps and prostitutes for a living, like Macau is. Our parents never wanted Singapore to be Macau. It is Lee's fault. But not only that, it is the Singaporeans fault, because they fear to question Lee Kuan Yew. Just as the fault is Lee's, so too it is yours. The character of Singapore has fundamentally changed and it is your fault in standing idly by.
Issue No 4. Thousands of people in the lower economic rung such as the less educated and the old are unemployed and suffering and in unprecedented numbers throwing themselves out of their HDB high rise flats and on to oncoming trains to take their own lives. This is caused mainly be the uncontrolled imports of cheap labor because Lee and his son erroneously believe that the only way to compete is to lower wages regardless of standards of living plummeting for everyone. This is Lee's fault, both father and son. At the same time, it is your fault by remaining silently by, while this damage is being done to your country.
Let there be no mistake. It is Lee's arrogance and his threats to shoot his people if they misbehave that is the cause of the deleterious change for the worse in the character of the country. But at the same time, is it not also your fault, when you sit, in fear, in submission, timid and quiet while all this damage to your country goes on? You see, it is one thing to blame Lee and Company for whatever has happened and continues to happen for the worse. It is quite another for you to sit uncomplaining while all this is happening before your very eyes, and then say, that Lee is unjust and a tyrant.
Dr. Chee has repeatedly called upon the people of Singapore to protest, because it is your country. Just as I was coming back in my car from having bought a Jack in the Box sandwich just now, I heard on the BBC that the people of Hong Kong have protested against the China appointed premier and want someone else who is more pro democratic. Come on now. If the people of Hong Kong have some guts, don't you have any? Do it now. Take your country back.
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
Look around you and you will agree Singapore’s character has changed fundamentally since it started. It is no longer the country that it once was. I do not mean the skyscrapers and the MRT. I mean its character, it’s people, it’s direction and it’s conscience. Question is, is it better or worse? And secondly, who is responsible?
The first issue is emigration. Mr. Lee since 1959 clearly misunderstood the effects and consequence of his arrogance. You have seen the intimidation and persecution of political opponents over the years. JB Jeyaretnam, Tang Liang Hong etc. These actions to suppress political opposition to him backfired. It did of course make the population submissive and compliant. But at the same time, this arrogance on his part caused massive and irreversible migration of the educated and capable from Singapore to western countries, which still goes on.
This serious brain drain, caused entirely by Lee Kuan Yew's failure to anticipate the consequences of his haughtiness and high handedness on his part has seriously stymied it's progress which could otherwise have been many times better. You see, Singapore’s needs it’s best educated. But Lee’s arrogance chases them away. What you have left in Singapore are the yes-men. These yes-men are not the ones who can progress the country.
On the issue of emigration, it is odd that he failed to realize that those emigrating, because they disliked his style of government of talking down at his people, would be the very best and most capable in the society. Those with skills, courage and a sense of adventure. These are the very people that Singapore needs. Yet it is these, whom he alienates by his pompous arrogance. Like saying it is my way or the highway.
On last checking the figures on CIA Worldfactbook on country conditions of Singapore, they are 9.12 persons emigrating from Singapore per 1,000 people. For a small country like Singapore, this is a huge untenable figure. Singapore is losing it's best. At the same time, due to this massive emigration from it's shores of it's brightest especially to Australia, the government decides to bring in unlimited numbers of persons from the People’s Republic of China and India, unilaterally, without any debate, and even if there was any, it is only among the PAP MPs themselves, who of course always agree to whatever Lee says.
You see, an immigrant from Communist China is totally different, completely, in character from a local born Singaporean. Singaporeans do not go to schools where Communist doctrine and total obedience to the Communist Party is taught. Therefore Singaporeans youths, tend to be more open minded, open to contrary opinion as compared to these mainland Chinese. Therefore the import of large numbers of these mainland Chinese completely changes the very character of Singapore’s population, and changes it in a detrimental way. What you need is debate. Not conformity. And conformity is what these mainland Chinese only know.
True blue Singaporeans whose parents came from China and India, who were part of the birth of modern Singapore are no longer there. Instead, massive numbers of people who know nothing of Singapore or what it stands for and it's character are brought in to live and work there. The character of the population entirely changes. These imports from China do not understand the country and neither will they be able to move Singapore ahead in the direction that the original Singaporeans born and raised there could do.
You see, Singapore’s population make up has completely changed. This is a fundamental change that goes to the root of what Singapore should have been. Mr. Lee is responsible for this in not consulting his people whether such a drastic action should or should not be taken. At the same time, it is the fault of the Singaporeans themselves for refusing to insist that Singapore is theirs and they demand to be consulted, regardless of whether or not Lee Kuan Yew has Gurkha police murderers at hand to kill any Singaporean protester.
Issue no 2. Confrontation with both it's neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. You know already that Indonesia refuses to sell sand to Singapore, seriously hurting Singapore’s construction industry. Malaysia wants to sever the cause way to permit ocean going vessels to pass along the straits from South China Sea to Malacca Straits to Tanjong Pelapas, which Singapore refuses, and therefore the animosity. Singapore’s underhand dealing with Thai telecommunications company has caused animosity from that quarter, causing both father Lee and son’s effigies to be burnt.
All these actions, that have caused so many disadvantages, have all been taken without any consultation with the people of Singapore. Again it is all been done by Lee's dictates with approval from his rubber stamp PAP MPs in Parliament, whom as expected will give their approval in unison to anything Lee wants. It is Lee's fault in causing these problems to Singapore’s interests and at the same time, it is the fault of Singaporeans who have sat idly by in fear to challenge Lee, lest Lee orders his Gurkha policemen to shoot at them at will. Fear is not an excuse for inaction. It is your own fault in sitting idly by, while Lee ruins the very fabric of Singapore.
Issue No. 3. All public institutions are effectively under Lee's orders. None of them are independent. The courts function under Lee's orders. The civil service is used to stifle Dr. Chee's legitimate lawful efforts to bring about change. The entire country is at the mercy of Lee's whims as and when it pleases him. It is Lee's fault in destroying the civic institutions of civil society. It is also the fault of the Singaporeans who timidly, out of fear of Lee's Gurkha police murdering them, quietly accept anything thrown at them.
Issue no 3. The building of the casinos. Gambling. To the early immigrants from China and India, it was unacceptable. Children were educated to enter the professions. Succeed through book learning. Doing good to society. And not to gamble, drink and engage in prostitution. This is the same under Taoism, Hinduism and Islam. There principles are universal. What right then has Lee to violate these fundamentals principles by building casinos? He has done it. He has never asked the people. Singapore is going to depend on gamblers, pimps and prostitutes for a living, like Macau is. Our parents never wanted Singapore to be Macau. It is Lee's fault. But not only that, it is the Singaporeans fault, because they fear to question Lee Kuan Yew. Just as the fault is Lee's, so too it is yours. The character of Singapore has fundamentally changed and it is your fault in standing idly by.
Issue No 4. Thousands of people in the lower economic rung such as the less educated and the old are unemployed and suffering and in unprecedented numbers throwing themselves out of their HDB high rise flats and on to oncoming trains to take their own lives. This is caused mainly be the uncontrolled imports of cheap labor because Lee and his son erroneously believe that the only way to compete is to lower wages regardless of standards of living plummeting for everyone. This is Lee's fault, both father and son. At the same time, it is your fault by remaining silently by, while this damage is being done to your country.
Let there be no mistake. It is Lee's arrogance and his threats to shoot his people if they misbehave that is the cause of the deleterious change for the worse in the character of the country. But at the same time, is it not also your fault, when you sit, in fear, in submission, timid and quiet while all this damage to your country goes on? You see, it is one thing to blame Lee and Company for whatever has happened and continues to happen for the worse. It is quite another for you to sit uncomplaining while all this is happening before your very eyes, and then say, that Lee is unjust and a tyrant.
Dr. Chee has repeatedly called upon the people of Singapore to protest, because it is your country. Just as I was coming back in my car from having bought a Jack in the Box sandwich just now, I heard on the BBC that the people of Hong Kong have protested against the China appointed premier and want someone else who is more pro democratic. Come on now. If the people of Hong Kong have some guts, don't you have any? Do it now. Take your country back.
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
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Singapore Prime Minister refuses to assist senior citizens. Part 2.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All of us in Singapore have seen the disturbing and depressing sight at food stalls in Singapore. Very old people in their 70s and 80s working as cleaners and tidiers of tables at food centers like Toa Payoh food center outside Toa Payoh Lorong 1. You can see these elderly people, shuffling along to your table to clean it and clear the plates after you have finished eating. I am sure they do it not because it was their ambition since they were 6 years old to one day become food stall cleaners! It is because they are so desperate that they are prepared to do anything, even though they find working at their age hard, due to their fragility and an insult to their dignity, they must do it, to survive. Surely you young men and women, if you had any human feelings of compassion, must feel hurt and ashamed, to see these people, old enough to be your parents, struggle to survive. Any other civilized society, or first world country, that Mr. Lee calls it, would surely provide some assistance to these elderly citizens so they can live out their old age in comfort and dignity. Regrettably not so in Mr. Lee's Singapore. He will allow nothing of the sort.
Lee claims, as in most of his other harebrained ideas, that it is unwise to help these people because otherwise they will become lazy and rely too much on welfare, which according to his contorted way of thinking, will cause the decline and fall of Singapore, something in the lines of Gibbon's six volume Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I suppose Mr. Lee does not want to be a Nero fiddling, while Rome fell!
Let me tell Mr. Lee this. Decline and fall or otherwise, look here Mr. Lee. It is your duty to help elderly citizens of Singapore. There is no 2 ways about it now. I am serious. We Singaporeans will not tolerate it. Do it immediately. We hold you responsible.
Now as for your failure to date in providing assistance to the aged and making them work, Singaporeans are holding you responsible. You have to be punished.
I can suggest a punishment for both Mr. Lee and his son. To order them to listen to the fat lady sing for 3 hours. I personally hate to listen to operatic performances where a fat lady sings. I find the singing terrible and so are the songs, not to mention the fat lady. For me having to listen to opera would be the most painful punishment one could ever have. If the Lees are similar in dislike of opera music, that is appropriate punishment.
We could restrain both father and son on chairs at a suitable location to prevent escape. Locate a suitably large fat lady. And make her sing to both father and son for 3 continuous hours without interruption. The other alternative is to polish them off. Just as troops of the 2nd Battalion Blue Kangaroo, Australian regiment, had polished off the Boer prisoners at Pietermaritzberg, Natal, South Africa in the 2nd Boer War in 1901 after their capture, we could do the same to father and son. Give them a right good polishing with No.1 Kiwi Black Boot Polish until their entire bodies shines and sparkles to high heaven. This is the other alternative punishment in the event the first fails.
In the meantime, all old people, 70 years and over, still alive and breathing, able to walk with or without walking sticks, trollers and other devises for walking, together with their supporters should descend forthwith from their HDB flats with placards in hand and printed leaflets outlining their plight and parade down Orchard Road, accompanied by drums, flutes and piccolo players, with their noses in the air, determined no matter what comes, from the intersection of Selegie Road, past the Istana, past Centerpoint and Mandarin Hotel to end at the junction of Ming Court Hotel and Tanglin Road, at which point the protest will officially and peacefully disperse.
We have to get cracking immediately in organizing this. Let me know when it is and I will come.
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
All of us in Singapore have seen the disturbing and depressing sight at food stalls in Singapore. Very old people in their 70s and 80s working as cleaners and tidiers of tables at food centers like Toa Payoh food center outside Toa Payoh Lorong 1. You can see these elderly people, shuffling along to your table to clean it and clear the plates after you have finished eating. I am sure they do it not because it was their ambition since they were 6 years old to one day become food stall cleaners! It is because they are so desperate that they are prepared to do anything, even though they find working at their age hard, due to their fragility and an insult to their dignity, they must do it, to survive. Surely you young men and women, if you had any human feelings of compassion, must feel hurt and ashamed, to see these people, old enough to be your parents, struggle to survive. Any other civilized society, or first world country, that Mr. Lee calls it, would surely provide some assistance to these elderly citizens so they can live out their old age in comfort and dignity. Regrettably not so in Mr. Lee's Singapore. He will allow nothing of the sort.
Lee claims, as in most of his other harebrained ideas, that it is unwise to help these people because otherwise they will become lazy and rely too much on welfare, which according to his contorted way of thinking, will cause the decline and fall of Singapore, something in the lines of Gibbon's six volume Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I suppose Mr. Lee does not want to be a Nero fiddling, while Rome fell!
Let me tell Mr. Lee this. Decline and fall or otherwise, look here Mr. Lee. It is your duty to help elderly citizens of Singapore. There is no 2 ways about it now. I am serious. We Singaporeans will not tolerate it. Do it immediately. We hold you responsible.
Now as for your failure to date in providing assistance to the aged and making them work, Singaporeans are holding you responsible. You have to be punished.
I can suggest a punishment for both Mr. Lee and his son. To order them to listen to the fat lady sing for 3 hours. I personally hate to listen to operatic performances where a fat lady sings. I find the singing terrible and so are the songs, not to mention the fat lady. For me having to listen to opera would be the most painful punishment one could ever have. If the Lees are similar in dislike of opera music, that is appropriate punishment.
We could restrain both father and son on chairs at a suitable location to prevent escape. Locate a suitably large fat lady. And make her sing to both father and son for 3 continuous hours without interruption. The other alternative is to polish them off. Just as troops of the 2nd Battalion Blue Kangaroo, Australian regiment, had polished off the Boer prisoners at Pietermaritzberg, Natal, South Africa in the 2nd Boer War in 1901 after their capture, we could do the same to father and son. Give them a right good polishing with No.1 Kiwi Black Boot Polish until their entire bodies shines and sparkles to high heaven. This is the other alternative punishment in the event the first fails.
In the meantime, all old people, 70 years and over, still alive and breathing, able to walk with or without walking sticks, trollers and other devises for walking, together with their supporters should descend forthwith from their HDB flats with placards in hand and printed leaflets outlining their plight and parade down Orchard Road, accompanied by drums, flutes and piccolo players, with their noses in the air, determined no matter what comes, from the intersection of Selegie Road, past the Istana, past Centerpoint and Mandarin Hotel to end at the junction of Ming Court Hotel and Tanglin Road, at which point the protest will officially and peacefully disperse.
We have to get cracking immediately in organizing this. Let me know when it is and I will come.
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
Friday, March 16, 2007
The root cause of Singapore's difficulties.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me tell you the bad news.
Singapore now is faced with a massive brain drain. It is having minus growth in population. 53% of young people in a recent survey claimed they wanted to emigrate. Suicides are at it's highest with videos of of it in MRT rail stations being circulated in the Internet. In a survey recently, it was found that Singaporeans are among the least happy people in the world. 95% of the Internet postings have a negative view of Singapore, resulting in the government admitting that they have employed agents, moles, to attack those critical of Singapore by using false identities. It has one of the world's widest gaps in income distribution between rich and poor, with Lee Kuan Yew and his son, paying themselves millions, while the bottom poor cannot afford 3 meals a day for their children.
It should be obvious to anyone why Singapore is facing these difficulties.
In a country such as Singapore, without natural resources except for it's sea port and central location on the sea and air routes, it's only real asset is it's people. Even Lee Kuan Yew repeatedly admits this. Therefore Singapore would do well to support and nurture it's people, give them confidence in their government, ensure that the pillars of society such as the courts remain strong and independent. With such an honest and principled government, Singaporeans would support and respect their country and die for it if necessary. Therefore the one thing that a country like Singapore requires is integrity, integrity, integrity.
Unfortunately the truth is that Singaporeans no longer trust their leadership anymore. They have lost faith in their courts, they have lost faith in their police force, in their civil servants. There is an overall indifference among their people to what happens in their country. Lee Kuan Yew is seen openly interfering in the administration of justice, in the impartial running of the civil service, the police force, to advantage his supporters and disadvantage his opponents. The people no longer trust the impartially of the courts and they begin to worry about theirs and their children's futures. Lee, his government is now subject to public ridicule, odium and contempt.
As far as the courts are concerned, everyone will agree that there can be no living human with a head on his shoulders who could ever win a case in court against Lee Kuan Yew or his son. That, I think, explains the situation best.
This is the reason why people emigrate, why people have nothing good to say about their country, where loyalty is lacking and there is general indifference among the populace. And this indifference and general dislike of their government results in people not wanting to give their best in their jobs and in whatever they do. Why should they, when they feel that their efforts will go to paying two million dollars each to the Lees and their cronies and large salaries to Lee's sycophants and trumpeters in the civil service and while they are thrown "peanuts".
Merit is no longer the criterion for success. Loyalty to Lee Kuan Yew is. This is not how it should be. As a result, you have mediocre officers in the civil service and the government being promoted with large incomes only because they are prepared to tow the line. These are not the material that can move the country to success.
Take the PAP Members of Parliament who have been recently elected. Not one person in his right mind would believe that any of those selected has the interests of Singapore at heart. The general perception is that these have joined the PAP and entered Parliament because it is profitable. They can now look forward to a comfortable future with high salaries and even in retirement, continued income from government linked company directorships as long as they continue to sing the PAP song, which we all know they will sing as long as it is profitable. These PAP MPs are detested. They are seen as dishonest people, having entered politics not because of altruism but selfish gain. Yet in the Singapore style of society, it is these dishonest people who reach the highest levels of income and success. Such a system becomes abhorrent to good people, who therefore either withdraw from supporting this regime, or leave the country altogether. What is left are dishonest people such as these PAP members of Parliament, who have no love for their country but only for their purses.
People feel cheated by their leaders paying themselves millions of dollars, which they naturally feel is unjust enrichment. There is no justification whatsoever for such astronomical salaries to be paid and this creates resentment against Lee and his cronies. They feel even more resentment since they have no power to democratically challenge these injustices since Lee rules by dictate and will not tolerate any opposition. They feel helpless and detach themselves completely from politics.
Parliament is discredited with minions such as these. The law is discredited with the courts being openly used to punish political opponents, therefore the courts lose respect. The civil service loses respect when the Official Assignee is asked by Lee, and he obeys to use his office as a political weapon against the opposition. Even though the Constitution calls for equality between the races, companies are openly permitted to discriminate against the Malays, causing them to lose respect for their government.
You see, on the whole, the Lee government has lost the respect of it's people. As a result, as I said, they have nothing good to say about their country, they emigrate, they say bad things on the Internet, they don't give their best at work, they lose interest, zest, hope and any desire to see their country move ahead. Almost all of them detest Lee Kuan Yew and not a single one has any confidence in the abilities of his son, whom he appointed the Prime Minister.
Such a situation means that Singapore cannot achieve any greatness. It may plod along but we do not know for how long. Can it be remedied? Once the leadership loses respect it is almost impossible to recover. There can only be decline.
One way to test whether Lee and Company has any respect could be like this. Let me ask you, if Lee Kuan Yew were to announce that he was going to give a speech today, would you take time off to hear it? Perhaps a few, just to hear what tales he may tell, out of curiosity. Would you go if his son were to speak? I think no one will go, unless they were paid. Would anyone go to hear one of his members of Parliament. None, unless you were prepared to pay a great deal of money before anyone will agree to waste his time. I think this test explains the pathetic state of government of Lee Kuan Yew and his son.
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
Let me tell you the bad news.
Singapore now is faced with a massive brain drain. It is having minus growth in population. 53% of young people in a recent survey claimed they wanted to emigrate. Suicides are at it's highest with videos of of it in MRT rail stations being circulated in the Internet. In a survey recently, it was found that Singaporeans are among the least happy people in the world. 95% of the Internet postings have a negative view of Singapore, resulting in the government admitting that they have employed agents, moles, to attack those critical of Singapore by using false identities. It has one of the world's widest gaps in income distribution between rich and poor, with Lee Kuan Yew and his son, paying themselves millions, while the bottom poor cannot afford 3 meals a day for their children.
It should be obvious to anyone why Singapore is facing these difficulties.
In a country such as Singapore, without natural resources except for it's sea port and central location on the sea and air routes, it's only real asset is it's people. Even Lee Kuan Yew repeatedly admits this. Therefore Singapore would do well to support and nurture it's people, give them confidence in their government, ensure that the pillars of society such as the courts remain strong and independent. With such an honest and principled government, Singaporeans would support and respect their country and die for it if necessary. Therefore the one thing that a country like Singapore requires is integrity, integrity, integrity.
Unfortunately the truth is that Singaporeans no longer trust their leadership anymore. They have lost faith in their courts, they have lost faith in their police force, in their civil servants. There is an overall indifference among their people to what happens in their country. Lee Kuan Yew is seen openly interfering in the administration of justice, in the impartial running of the civil service, the police force, to advantage his supporters and disadvantage his opponents. The people no longer trust the impartially of the courts and they begin to worry about theirs and their children's futures. Lee, his government is now subject to public ridicule, odium and contempt.
As far as the courts are concerned, everyone will agree that there can be no living human with a head on his shoulders who could ever win a case in court against Lee Kuan Yew or his son. That, I think, explains the situation best.
This is the reason why people emigrate, why people have nothing good to say about their country, where loyalty is lacking and there is general indifference among the populace. And this indifference and general dislike of their government results in people not wanting to give their best in their jobs and in whatever they do. Why should they, when they feel that their efforts will go to paying two million dollars each to the Lees and their cronies and large salaries to Lee's sycophants and trumpeters in the civil service and while they are thrown "peanuts".
Merit is no longer the criterion for success. Loyalty to Lee Kuan Yew is. This is not how it should be. As a result, you have mediocre officers in the civil service and the government being promoted with large incomes only because they are prepared to tow the line. These are not the material that can move the country to success.
Take the PAP Members of Parliament who have been recently elected. Not one person in his right mind would believe that any of those selected has the interests of Singapore at heart. The general perception is that these have joined the PAP and entered Parliament because it is profitable. They can now look forward to a comfortable future with high salaries and even in retirement, continued income from government linked company directorships as long as they continue to sing the PAP song, which we all know they will sing as long as it is profitable. These PAP MPs are detested. They are seen as dishonest people, having entered politics not because of altruism but selfish gain. Yet in the Singapore style of society, it is these dishonest people who reach the highest levels of income and success. Such a system becomes abhorrent to good people, who therefore either withdraw from supporting this regime, or leave the country altogether. What is left are dishonest people such as these PAP members of Parliament, who have no love for their country but only for their purses.
People feel cheated by their leaders paying themselves millions of dollars, which they naturally feel is unjust enrichment. There is no justification whatsoever for such astronomical salaries to be paid and this creates resentment against Lee and his cronies. They feel even more resentment since they have no power to democratically challenge these injustices since Lee rules by dictate and will not tolerate any opposition. They feel helpless and detach themselves completely from politics.
Parliament is discredited with minions such as these. The law is discredited with the courts being openly used to punish political opponents, therefore the courts lose respect. The civil service loses respect when the Official Assignee is asked by Lee, and he obeys to use his office as a political weapon against the opposition. Even though the Constitution calls for equality between the races, companies are openly permitted to discriminate against the Malays, causing them to lose respect for their government.
You see, on the whole, the Lee government has lost the respect of it's people. As a result, as I said, they have nothing good to say about their country, they emigrate, they say bad things on the Internet, they don't give their best at work, they lose interest, zest, hope and any desire to see their country move ahead. Almost all of them detest Lee Kuan Yew and not a single one has any confidence in the abilities of his son, whom he appointed the Prime Minister.
Such a situation means that Singapore cannot achieve any greatness. It may plod along but we do not know for how long. Can it be remedied? Once the leadership loses respect it is almost impossible to recover. There can only be decline.
One way to test whether Lee and Company has any respect could be like this. Let me ask you, if Lee Kuan Yew were to announce that he was going to give a speech today, would you take time off to hear it? Perhaps a few, just to hear what tales he may tell, out of curiosity. Would you go if his son were to speak? I think no one will go, unless they were paid. Would anyone go to hear one of his members of Parliament. None, unless you were prepared to pay a great deal of money before anyone will agree to waste his time. I think this test explains the pathetic state of government of Lee Kuan Yew and his son.
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
Announcement Misspelling in my EMail address
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My EMail address is gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com. Sorry for the error in the posts. Thank you. I am correcting the Email errors in all my posts. Apologies to those who tried to connect but could not.
Best.
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
My EMail address is gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com. Sorry for the error in the posts. Thank you. I am correcting the Email errors in all my posts. Apologies to those who tried to connect but could not.
Best.
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
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Singapore is leaking talent admits Goh Chok Tong and right he is.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Goh Chok Tong was absolutely right when he said Singapore is suffering a serious brain drain which is hurting the economy according to "Today" dated March 15, 2007 "Singapore is leaking talent: SM Goh". We had known this all along but this admission by the government confirms the brain drain beyond any doubt. He however forgot to mention that this loss of human capital from Singapore has been growing over the years to the point now that it is beyond remedy.
The tragic irony is that Singapore educates their young, only to lose them in the end to Western countries that benefit without having to pay anything. A total loss for Singapore and all gain for the recipient countries. In fact, Goh had underestimated the brain drain. Not just among the highest level of Singaporeans, but even the middle rungs and skilled workers of all levels are leaving.
Presently countries like Australia are looking for all levels of workers as long as they are skilled. Any Australian migration lawyer will tell you that even for occupations such as hairdressing, there is great demand. And therefore emigration has become easy as not too much effort and ability is needed to qualify as a hairdresser. And this is causing people, so eager to immigrate, to get training for these particular occupations, so making them eligible. Singaporeans are seeking out even the non traditional countries such as Germany to immigrate to.
Goh Chok Tong is absolutely right in confirming the brain drain from Singapore. What he has not explained are the reasons. There are multiple valid reasons why people want to leave taking their families and young children with them to live elsewhere.
The main reason is not economic. Most of these who emigrate are well educated and can easily find high paying jobs in Singapore. No, money is not the reason. It is the arrogance of the Lees. It is the high handedness of the PAP. It is their loss of respect for the legal system in Singapore when the courts are routinely used to punish political opponents. It is the lack of a free press where Singaporeans are provided only state controlled propaganda by their newspapers, where people have to turn to the Internet and blogs like this to find contrary opinion. It is the lack of academic independence in the colleges of higher education in Singapore. It is the overall dislike of having to live in submission to Lee's dictates.
It is the demanding of civil servants to act unconscionably when called upon by Lee to punish political opponents. It is the desire for people and their families to live honest decent lives which they cannot obtain if living under Lee's dictates. In other words, it is the desire to be free that makes people leave Singapore in droves.
Mr. Goh refers to having to raise salaries of civil servants and Ministers in order to induce them to stay. I would like to tell Mr. Goh that it is not going to work. The reason why people leave is that the best human beings, the educated and able, usually also have some pride. They usually also have a conscience. These will not be bought with money. Paying more money will only result in the sort that presently work in public establishments in Singapore. The unconscionable. People who I call dishonest opportunists. Money may make them stay, but they will never be the best of the human race.
The Official Assignee is a civil servant. His job is to bankrupt individuals who are unable to pay their debts. But a large chunk of his work involves bankrupting Lee's opponents after they have lost their cases in Lee's courts, where mind boggling eye popping judgments of millions of dollars are awarded against the hapless political opponent. The Official Assignee's job now is to make life as miserable as possible for that opposition politician during his bankruptcy, denying him a right to travel, to speak in public, to take part in elections and every possible obstruction and difficulty placed in his path.
The Official Assignee is supposed to be an educated man. He knows that the court's judgment in such cases are all wrong. It is politically motivated. He could, had he been an honest man, tell Lee that he refuses to do his dirty work and that Lee should do it himself. Yet he is prepared to carry out this cruelty daily as part of his duties as a civil servant. You see, it is this sort of thing, that makes people want to leave Singapore. When this sort of thing happens the integrity of the civil service, if it ever had any, is completely destroyed. It loses it's respect. So a right minded and upright Singaporean parent would begin to ask whether it is this sort of a discredited civil service that his child would join after his education.
Outraged by the open misuse of power by these dishonest civil servants, parents prefer to take their families and children to countries which they can respect. Where they and their children can live under the rule of law, which Singapore lacks. Where their children will not be required to act dishonestly like this Indian civil servant, the Official Assignee.
Mr. Goh does not seem to appreciate that there is a difference between where we work and where we live and bring up families. I may be prepared to work a few years in Yemen if the pay is right. But I may not want to live and bring up my family there. Instead I may prefer to live with my family in Canada because I could trust Canada. I can trust the Canadian judiciary to uphold the law. I can trust that JB Jeyaretnam and Dr. Chee would not have been sued for millions and bankrupted had they did what they had done in Canada. I can trust that the Canadian Official Assignee, unlike the Indian who presently holds that position in Singapore, would refuse to permit his office to be used as the Canadian Prime Minister's enforcer to eliminate his opponents.
Singaporeans who emigrate do so because they can expect an Australian judge to act impartially in all cases and not be biased against political opponents. Generally why Singaporeans leave is because they have lost respect for the civil institutions of the country and they have lost respect for their politicians and their civil service whom they no longer trust. In other words, they are beginning to feel that Singapore is turning into a banana republic with the Lee family in control of everything.
Power has shifted from Parliament into the hands of Lee and his friends. This is not a safe situation for their children’s future. The prognosis for the future is bleak. Civil society no longer exists and there is now only Lee's law. It is this falling into disrepute by the Lees and the Singapore government that pushes honest decent people to leave it's shores. Goh says that he is going to replace those who leave with migrants.
Unfortunately these will never be migrants who would want to call Singapore home. You see, foreigners too also know to what depths the reputation of civic instutions in Singapore have sunk. There may be some who may come for the money for a few years. But they would not want their children to be educated in Singapore schools and colleges. Lest they turn out to be like that Indian civil servant who presently heads the official Assignee Office who shamelessly does dirty work for Lee as part of his official duties as a Singapore civil servant.
In the end Singapore will be left with the migrant travelers who spend some years in Singapore because of the money with the real Singaporeans having gone to other countries with their families because they have lost all faith in Lee's Singapore.
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
Goh Chok Tong was absolutely right when he said Singapore is suffering a serious brain drain which is hurting the economy according to "Today" dated March 15, 2007 "Singapore is leaking talent: SM Goh". We had known this all along but this admission by the government confirms the brain drain beyond any doubt. He however forgot to mention that this loss of human capital from Singapore has been growing over the years to the point now that it is beyond remedy.
The tragic irony is that Singapore educates their young, only to lose them in the end to Western countries that benefit without having to pay anything. A total loss for Singapore and all gain for the recipient countries. In fact, Goh had underestimated the brain drain. Not just among the highest level of Singaporeans, but even the middle rungs and skilled workers of all levels are leaving.
Presently countries like Australia are looking for all levels of workers as long as they are skilled. Any Australian migration lawyer will tell you that even for occupations such as hairdressing, there is great demand. And therefore emigration has become easy as not too much effort and ability is needed to qualify as a hairdresser. And this is causing people, so eager to immigrate, to get training for these particular occupations, so making them eligible. Singaporeans are seeking out even the non traditional countries such as Germany to immigrate to.
Goh Chok Tong is absolutely right in confirming the brain drain from Singapore. What he has not explained are the reasons. There are multiple valid reasons why people want to leave taking their families and young children with them to live elsewhere.
The main reason is not economic. Most of these who emigrate are well educated and can easily find high paying jobs in Singapore. No, money is not the reason. It is the arrogance of the Lees. It is the high handedness of the PAP. It is their loss of respect for the legal system in Singapore when the courts are routinely used to punish political opponents. It is the lack of a free press where Singaporeans are provided only state controlled propaganda by their newspapers, where people have to turn to the Internet and blogs like this to find contrary opinion. It is the lack of academic independence in the colleges of higher education in Singapore. It is the overall dislike of having to live in submission to Lee's dictates.
It is the demanding of civil servants to act unconscionably when called upon by Lee to punish political opponents. It is the desire for people and their families to live honest decent lives which they cannot obtain if living under Lee's dictates. In other words, it is the desire to be free that makes people leave Singapore in droves.
Mr. Goh refers to having to raise salaries of civil servants and Ministers in order to induce them to stay. I would like to tell Mr. Goh that it is not going to work. The reason why people leave is that the best human beings, the educated and able, usually also have some pride. They usually also have a conscience. These will not be bought with money. Paying more money will only result in the sort that presently work in public establishments in Singapore. The unconscionable. People who I call dishonest opportunists. Money may make them stay, but they will never be the best of the human race.
The Official Assignee is a civil servant. His job is to bankrupt individuals who are unable to pay their debts. But a large chunk of his work involves bankrupting Lee's opponents after they have lost their cases in Lee's courts, where mind boggling eye popping judgments of millions of dollars are awarded against the hapless political opponent. The Official Assignee's job now is to make life as miserable as possible for that opposition politician during his bankruptcy, denying him a right to travel, to speak in public, to take part in elections and every possible obstruction and difficulty placed in his path.
The Official Assignee is supposed to be an educated man. He knows that the court's judgment in such cases are all wrong. It is politically motivated. He could, had he been an honest man, tell Lee that he refuses to do his dirty work and that Lee should do it himself. Yet he is prepared to carry out this cruelty daily as part of his duties as a civil servant. You see, it is this sort of thing, that makes people want to leave Singapore. When this sort of thing happens the integrity of the civil service, if it ever had any, is completely destroyed. It loses it's respect. So a right minded and upright Singaporean parent would begin to ask whether it is this sort of a discredited civil service that his child would join after his education.
Outraged by the open misuse of power by these dishonest civil servants, parents prefer to take their families and children to countries which they can respect. Where they and their children can live under the rule of law, which Singapore lacks. Where their children will not be required to act dishonestly like this Indian civil servant, the Official Assignee.
Mr. Goh does not seem to appreciate that there is a difference between where we work and where we live and bring up families. I may be prepared to work a few years in Yemen if the pay is right. But I may not want to live and bring up my family there. Instead I may prefer to live with my family in Canada because I could trust Canada. I can trust the Canadian judiciary to uphold the law. I can trust that JB Jeyaretnam and Dr. Chee would not have been sued for millions and bankrupted had they did what they had done in Canada. I can trust that the Canadian Official Assignee, unlike the Indian who presently holds that position in Singapore, would refuse to permit his office to be used as the Canadian Prime Minister's enforcer to eliminate his opponents.
Singaporeans who emigrate do so because they can expect an Australian judge to act impartially in all cases and not be biased against political opponents. Generally why Singaporeans leave is because they have lost respect for the civil institutions of the country and they have lost respect for their politicians and their civil service whom they no longer trust. In other words, they are beginning to feel that Singapore is turning into a banana republic with the Lee family in control of everything.
Power has shifted from Parliament into the hands of Lee and his friends. This is not a safe situation for their children’s future. The prognosis for the future is bleak. Civil society no longer exists and there is now only Lee's law. It is this falling into disrepute by the Lees and the Singapore government that pushes honest decent people to leave it's shores. Goh says that he is going to replace those who leave with migrants.
Unfortunately these will never be migrants who would want to call Singapore home. You see, foreigners too also know to what depths the reputation of civic instutions in Singapore have sunk. There may be some who may come for the money for a few years. But they would not want their children to be educated in Singapore schools and colleges. Lest they turn out to be like that Indian civil servant who presently heads the official Assignee Office who shamelessly does dirty work for Lee as part of his official duties as a Singapore civil servant.
In the end Singapore will be left with the migrant travelers who spend some years in Singapore because of the money with the real Singaporeans having gone to other countries with their families because they have lost all faith in Lee's Singapore.
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
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Singapore Prime Minister refuses to assist senior citizens.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Singapore Prime Minister says he will not stop companies from discriminating against senior citizens in employment. According to him, stopping this age discrimination, will cause businesses to move from Singapore hurting it's economy. Therefore it is necessary for old folks according to him, for the sake of of Singapore's prosperity, to continue suffering at the mercy of their employers. They should be prepared, according to him, to willingly suffer sackings and unemployment since after all it is their own fault for being old!
Astonishing, as it may seem, this was in fact his reply to union leader Chua Miang Teo when Teo had requested the Prime Minister for help in doing more to get companies to help older workers, as reported in the Straits Times, March 11, 2007 in an article "Don't Rush to force firms to hire older workers".
I have never heard such a cruel, crass, uncaring and heartless position taken by any leader of any country. Leaders are required to take care of their people, especially those most needy of assistance like children, older people, persons with disabilities and minorities. That is why in civilized countries, you have all sorts of legislation such as anti-discrimination laws and social welfare for the needy. All civilised countries have laws against age discrimination. As long as the applicant is capable of carrying out that particular job, he cannot not be discriminated on basis of age, race or gender. It would only be appropriate to deny the job where the job duties require certain qualities such as being strong for heavy lifting. Otherwise, where no special qualities are needed, any qualified applicant able and willing to do the job, regardless of age, should be considered. That is what civilized countries do.
Help for old people in Singapore is all the more needed especially since Singapore refuses to provide any meaningful welfare assistance to the needy. Therefore an older person unable to get help from his children and without savings is left at old age to live in abject poverty. This is not the way to treat older folks who were the very ones responsible in making Singapore what it is today. To abandon them at their time of need is callous disregard and indifference to a most deserving part of the population. These are people who are the weakest among the weak unable to protect themselves. What sort of Asian values is the Prime Minister trying to show in this cruelty to the old ?
And the reason he refuses to help old people keep their jobs, he says, is because this may cause the employers to leave Singapore. I cannot imagine a more illogical and inhuman argument than this. The primary responsibility of the government is towards their people first before anything else. And if there is a risk, which may or may not be real, that companies will pack up and leave if older workers are protected, then we must first wait and see. But for the moment the immediate action should be to protect his people. Not according to the Prime Minister's thinking it appears. It doesn't' matter to him, it appears, that 10,000 old people have to live without proper 3 meals a day and basic necessities, if there is the remotest probability that companies might close and leave Singapore.
Let me tell the Prime Minister what he should do if it wants anyone to believe that it is a first world country that his father the Minister Mentor who gave him the job in the first place, claims. First world countries have laws against racial discrimination. They also have minimum wage laws and they have laws preventing discrimination against older workers in hiring. And by the way, they also have free and independent trade unions who are able to negotiate a fair and just wage for their members. Also first world countries protect their own workers against unregulated importation of cheap foreign labor in an attempt to suppress wages, thereby hurting the living standards of everyone. And by the way, first world countries also have an independent press and a free and independent judiciary, where using the courts to silence dissent is not an accepted practice. And finally, in first world countries, the rulers are responsible for their actions to their electorate, and they do not go around making such inane remarks, and show cruelty and inhumanity to their old, that the Prime Minister of Singapore does.
It is no coincidence that one reads in the media that a large proportion of suicides in Singapore, which has one of the highest rates in the world, are old people. Should not the Prime Minister ask himself whether his cruelty towards them may be one reason why they decide to take their own lives in hopelessness.
Singapore does not have a law against age discrimination. They have a law against racial discrimination but it is openly ignored and Malays and Indians cannot find work. And if they try to challenge this injustice against them in the courts, they will lose, their cases thrown out and they will be persecuted. There is no minimum wage law. Employer can pay anything he wants and the employee can take it or leave it. And I can go on and on.
The readers of this article should write to the Prime Minister to ask him to remember who voted for him and put him in office, and not strut around like a prize rooster and stop beating up on his own old folks. Old people, who are outraged by the Prime Minister's callous indifference to their plight should prepare placards, with the words "Stop this cruelty to the Old", print leaflets explaining their plight, come down from their flats on to the Istana and stand in peaceful protest. That is what I will do.
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
The Singapore Prime Minister says he will not stop companies from discriminating against senior citizens in employment. According to him, stopping this age discrimination, will cause businesses to move from Singapore hurting it's economy. Therefore it is necessary for old folks according to him, for the sake of of Singapore's prosperity, to continue suffering at the mercy of their employers. They should be prepared, according to him, to willingly suffer sackings and unemployment since after all it is their own fault for being old!
Astonishing, as it may seem, this was in fact his reply to union leader Chua Miang Teo when Teo had requested the Prime Minister for help in doing more to get companies to help older workers, as reported in the Straits Times, March 11, 2007 in an article "Don't Rush to force firms to hire older workers".
I have never heard such a cruel, crass, uncaring and heartless position taken by any leader of any country. Leaders are required to take care of their people, especially those most needy of assistance like children, older people, persons with disabilities and minorities. That is why in civilized countries, you have all sorts of legislation such as anti-discrimination laws and social welfare for the needy. All civilised countries have laws against age discrimination. As long as the applicant is capable of carrying out that particular job, he cannot not be discriminated on basis of age, race or gender. It would only be appropriate to deny the job where the job duties require certain qualities such as being strong for heavy lifting. Otherwise, where no special qualities are needed, any qualified applicant able and willing to do the job, regardless of age, should be considered. That is what civilized countries do.
Help for old people in Singapore is all the more needed especially since Singapore refuses to provide any meaningful welfare assistance to the needy. Therefore an older person unable to get help from his children and without savings is left at old age to live in abject poverty. This is not the way to treat older folks who were the very ones responsible in making Singapore what it is today. To abandon them at their time of need is callous disregard and indifference to a most deserving part of the population. These are people who are the weakest among the weak unable to protect themselves. What sort of Asian values is the Prime Minister trying to show in this cruelty to the old ?
And the reason he refuses to help old people keep their jobs, he says, is because this may cause the employers to leave Singapore. I cannot imagine a more illogical and inhuman argument than this. The primary responsibility of the government is towards their people first before anything else. And if there is a risk, which may or may not be real, that companies will pack up and leave if older workers are protected, then we must first wait and see. But for the moment the immediate action should be to protect his people. Not according to the Prime Minister's thinking it appears. It doesn't' matter to him, it appears, that 10,000 old people have to live without proper 3 meals a day and basic necessities, if there is the remotest probability that companies might close and leave Singapore.
Let me tell the Prime Minister what he should do if it wants anyone to believe that it is a first world country that his father the Minister Mentor who gave him the job in the first place, claims. First world countries have laws against racial discrimination. They also have minimum wage laws and they have laws preventing discrimination against older workers in hiring. And by the way, they also have free and independent trade unions who are able to negotiate a fair and just wage for their members. Also first world countries protect their own workers against unregulated importation of cheap foreign labor in an attempt to suppress wages, thereby hurting the living standards of everyone. And by the way, first world countries also have an independent press and a free and independent judiciary, where using the courts to silence dissent is not an accepted practice. And finally, in first world countries, the rulers are responsible for their actions to their electorate, and they do not go around making such inane remarks, and show cruelty and inhumanity to their old, that the Prime Minister of Singapore does.
It is no coincidence that one reads in the media that a large proportion of suicides in Singapore, which has one of the highest rates in the world, are old people. Should not the Prime Minister ask himself whether his cruelty towards them may be one reason why they decide to take their own lives in hopelessness.
Singapore does not have a law against age discrimination. They have a law against racial discrimination but it is openly ignored and Malays and Indians cannot find work. And if they try to challenge this injustice against them in the courts, they will lose, their cases thrown out and they will be persecuted. There is no minimum wage law. Employer can pay anything he wants and the employee can take it or leave it. And I can go on and on.
The readers of this article should write to the Prime Minister to ask him to remember who voted for him and put him in office, and not strut around like a prize rooster and stop beating up on his own old folks. Old people, who are outraged by the Prime Minister's callous indifference to their plight should prepare placards, with the words "Stop this cruelty to the Old", print leaflets explaining their plight, come down from their flats on to the Istana and stand in peaceful protest. That is what I will do.
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
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Singapore. The HDB rip off. Part 2.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me tell you the ruse that is happening. How the PAP rips you off by giving you a HDB flat.
Almost everybody lives in a HDB flat, which is government built. First Lee tells you that it is subsidised. But when asked for building costs, they are either not provided or the figures are altered. So in fact when Lee tells you that it is subsidised, there is no way, one way or the other that you will know the veracity of that statement. Also the Singapore media is state controlled. It does not engage in investigative journalism. It will not tell you what you should know.
What I am trying to get at is this. These flats are not subsidised. Each time the HDB sells you a flat, Lee's government and all the government linked PAP supportive contractors of his, all make money. At the end, you lose, and Lee wins. He gets your money. You agree to pay between $200,000 to $500,000.00 in instalments to the HDB, the state organ responsible for these flats for 10 to 20 years or more of your life.
Lee Kuan Yew has now got you on a leash. He has got your down payment that you paid and each month, he gets your instalment payments. If you do not pay, you will be thrown out on to the street. No mercy. Each month upon month, he collects your instalments.
Second, these flats are leased on 100 year leases to you. You do not own them. You are merely the lessee. The lessor is Lee Kuan Yew and the HDB. As I said in the last post, this flat is a depreciating asset. Each year passing, the value of the flat decreases with time. The less time left on the lease, the less it is worth. If you want to sell it after about 10 years, it will be worth even less than the time you bought it. After about 20 years, with 80 years remaining, the flat loses even more value.
So if you want to sell it after say 20 years, it may be worth only about half what you have purchased it for. You would have actually paid much more over the years than what you receive at the sale. Again, you are the loser. Lee Kuan Yew has won again. It is after all an item which loses value over time because it is leasehold, not freehold.
It may feel good to receive a lump sum when you sell it. But any way you look at it, you are again the loser. You have to stay somewhere. So you have to purchase another HDB flat. From the proceeds of the sale, which mind you is less than you actually paid for the first flat over the years, you put down the down payment for a new HDB flat, keeping the rest of the money for yourself. Now you find that the prices of HDB flats have risen higher than when you bought your first flat 10 years ago. You sign the lease for your new flat, and you are stuck for another 20 years on the new lease, which price is much higher now than 10 years ago. Now, Lee Kuan Yew and the HDB collects more money each month from you. They profit and you are stuck in a never ending obligation to keep paying even more and more, each month for several years, for your HDB flat.
That is not all. There are various clauses in your HDB lease agreement that gives all sorts of powers to the HDB to re-possess your flat. However unjust or unfair these terms are, which are all in favor of the HDB and against you by the way, there is nothing you can do. All the judges and courts are beholden to Lee Kuan Yew and his government. If you sue them, you will lose. That much is certain. So don't waste your time trying.
What happens in the end is that you never get any financial benefit for having paid so many years for that HDB flat. You will never see any money to speak of and in any case it is a depreciating asset and eventually it will be worthless. The sad news is, no matter how old or how incapacitated you are, you must continue paying Lee Kuan Yew and his HDB for the flat that you are obliged to live in, as other private property is beyond your means anyway.
In the end, the truth is the flat is provided to you for you and your family to live and protect yourself from the elements, merely for shelter, for which you are bound by the force of Lee's law to remain paying money to Lee and the HDB until you die. That is the sad truth of the Singapore housing system. Do not be fooled into believing Lee Kuan Yew when he says that the HDB is a financial asset for you. Not an asset at all my friends. You will get nothing out of it. It is only a place to live as long as you keep paying the instalments.
Elsewhere, a house is a house, a flat is a flat. It is really yours for ever. Not a 100 year revocable lease. It is an appreciable asset. It is the same in UK Australia Canada USA all over the world. All over the world, because of currency losing value over time, real property always increases in value. The house that I purchased some years ago is worth much more than what I purchased it for. Eventually when I retire, which I doubt, it will be worth even more and more. People with excess money can invest in various houses, all appreciating in value over time. This is what is meant by freehold. No one would ever think of buying a house leasehold.
So my dear friends, take Lee's words and those of the Straits Times with a pinch of salt. What they say is, so to speak, double talk. Saying one thing and meaning another. You know what I mean. You gain nothing with the HDB flat you purchase. In fact it is an albatross around your neck until you die. This is not something you will hear from the Straits Times.
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
Let me tell you the ruse that is happening. How the PAP rips you off by giving you a HDB flat.
Almost everybody lives in a HDB flat, which is government built. First Lee tells you that it is subsidised. But when asked for building costs, they are either not provided or the figures are altered. So in fact when Lee tells you that it is subsidised, there is no way, one way or the other that you will know the veracity of that statement. Also the Singapore media is state controlled. It does not engage in investigative journalism. It will not tell you what you should know.
What I am trying to get at is this. These flats are not subsidised. Each time the HDB sells you a flat, Lee's government and all the government linked PAP supportive contractors of his, all make money. At the end, you lose, and Lee wins. He gets your money. You agree to pay between $200,000 to $500,000.00 in instalments to the HDB, the state organ responsible for these flats for 10 to 20 years or more of your life.
Lee Kuan Yew has now got you on a leash. He has got your down payment that you paid and each month, he gets your instalment payments. If you do not pay, you will be thrown out on to the street. No mercy. Each month upon month, he collects your instalments.
Second, these flats are leased on 100 year leases to you. You do not own them. You are merely the lessee. The lessor is Lee Kuan Yew and the HDB. As I said in the last post, this flat is a depreciating asset. Each year passing, the value of the flat decreases with time. The less time left on the lease, the less it is worth. If you want to sell it after about 10 years, it will be worth even less than the time you bought it. After about 20 years, with 80 years remaining, the flat loses even more value.
So if you want to sell it after say 20 years, it may be worth only about half what you have purchased it for. You would have actually paid much more over the years than what you receive at the sale. Again, you are the loser. Lee Kuan Yew has won again. It is after all an item which loses value over time because it is leasehold, not freehold.
It may feel good to receive a lump sum when you sell it. But any way you look at it, you are again the loser. You have to stay somewhere. So you have to purchase another HDB flat. From the proceeds of the sale, which mind you is less than you actually paid for the first flat over the years, you put down the down payment for a new HDB flat, keeping the rest of the money for yourself. Now you find that the prices of HDB flats have risen higher than when you bought your first flat 10 years ago. You sign the lease for your new flat, and you are stuck for another 20 years on the new lease, which price is much higher now than 10 years ago. Now, Lee Kuan Yew and the HDB collects more money each month from you. They profit and you are stuck in a never ending obligation to keep paying even more and more, each month for several years, for your HDB flat.
That is not all. There are various clauses in your HDB lease agreement that gives all sorts of powers to the HDB to re-possess your flat. However unjust or unfair these terms are, which are all in favor of the HDB and against you by the way, there is nothing you can do. All the judges and courts are beholden to Lee Kuan Yew and his government. If you sue them, you will lose. That much is certain. So don't waste your time trying.
What happens in the end is that you never get any financial benefit for having paid so many years for that HDB flat. You will never see any money to speak of and in any case it is a depreciating asset and eventually it will be worthless. The sad news is, no matter how old or how incapacitated you are, you must continue paying Lee Kuan Yew and his HDB for the flat that you are obliged to live in, as other private property is beyond your means anyway.
In the end, the truth is the flat is provided to you for you and your family to live and protect yourself from the elements, merely for shelter, for which you are bound by the force of Lee's law to remain paying money to Lee and the HDB until you die. That is the sad truth of the Singapore housing system. Do not be fooled into believing Lee Kuan Yew when he says that the HDB is a financial asset for you. Not an asset at all my friends. You will get nothing out of it. It is only a place to live as long as you keep paying the instalments.
Elsewhere, a house is a house, a flat is a flat. It is really yours for ever. Not a 100 year revocable lease. It is an appreciable asset. It is the same in UK Australia Canada USA all over the world. All over the world, because of currency losing value over time, real property always increases in value. The house that I purchased some years ago is worth much more than what I purchased it for. Eventually when I retire, which I doubt, it will be worth even more and more. People with excess money can invest in various houses, all appreciating in value over time. This is what is meant by freehold. No one would ever think of buying a house leasehold.
So my dear friends, take Lee's words and those of the Straits Times with a pinch of salt. What they say is, so to speak, double talk. Saying one thing and meaning another. You know what I mean. You gain nothing with the HDB flat you purchase. In fact it is an albatross around your neck until you die. This is not something you will hear from the Straits Times.
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
Friday, March 9, 2007
Singapore. You do not own your HDB flat. You are a renter.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We read everywhere in the Singapore media that almost all Singaporeans own their homes. This lie has been so repeatedly hammered into our minds that almost everyone thinks it is true. This statement cannot be further from the truth. We are talking here of HDB flats where 90% of Singaporeans live.
HDB flats are 100 year leasehold. It is not freehold. Therefore once you live in it for 5 years, you can live in it only for 95 years more and so on. After a while the remaining period in the lease diminishes, and so does the value of it. No one in his right mind would want to purchase a house with only 5o years left for instance. By that time, it's value has progressively diminished, until at the end it becomes worthless. Just like a car. A 10 year old car is worth less that a new one. Anyone can see that a HDB flat is a product whose value diminishes over time, it does not appreciate. This is leasehold, unlike freehold where the property belongs to you and you alone, for perpetuity. Freehold property appreciates in value over time. Leasehold depreciates.
Furthermore, the HDB lease that you sign has so many penalty clauses giving the HDB the right to take you flat at the slightest reason or no reason at all, so much so that in effect, you live in your HDB flat at the pleasure of the Lee government. Not by reason of your right. If the Lee administration does not like you anymore, they can re-possess your flat, and throw you out onto Toa Payoh Lorong 1 in a second. Take it from me, you live in that flat at Lee's pleasure, not by right. Sorry to give you the bad news. And further bad news is that the longer you stay in that flat, the less it is worth.
But your Lee Kuan Yew cleverly spins a yarn that you own it. On March 7, 2001, Mr Lee Kuan Yew told the Straits Times "the government solved the housing problem by building public housing using CPF money. These flats are then sold to Singaporeans at cost price".
My dear Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Stop lying now. Firstly they are not sold to Singaporeans, they are leased for 100 years. There is a world of difference there. Furthermore you did not reveal at your press statement that these 100 year leases have clauses that permit you to take the flats back with or without any provocation. And thirdly, are you not lying when you say it is leased at cost price, when you repeatedly refuse to reveal the true cost of building these flats?
You then go on to say that after 20 or 30 years you upgrade the flats and re-sell them at cost price, subsidizing 80% of the costs. Now tell me old boy if in fact it is really true that you subsidize 80% of the costs, and if so, why is the reluctance on your part to reveal the building costs? In any case, why should anyone be interested in purchasing an "upgraded" flat which has only 70 years left on the lease, when most of it's value has been depleted.
In any case, what guarantee is there that you will not exercise the clause to redeem the flat and throw out the poor occupant on the street, because he has run into disfavour for joining the SDP!
My advice to Mr. Lee is this. It is not 1956 anymore. Believe it or not, we have the Internet. You can't get away like you did in the past by telling fairy tales. You see, there are many like me who can say what really happened, and you cannot stop it. As much as 70% of the younger generation in Singapore rely on the Internet for their news. They read what I write. They read what others write. They then begin to see there is something wrong in what you say. You see, Mr. Lee, credibility is very important. Crucial. With loss of credibility there is loss of respect. That is what is happening to you.
So my dear readers, HDB flats are not yours, they belong to the Lee government. It is not freehold. Only a 100 year leasehold with the option of Lee and company to terminate the lease and throw you out anytime they want.
Look out for these pages for more on perfidy duplicity in that island.
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
We read everywhere in the Singapore media that almost all Singaporeans own their homes. This lie has been so repeatedly hammered into our minds that almost everyone thinks it is true. This statement cannot be further from the truth. We are talking here of HDB flats where 90% of Singaporeans live.
HDB flats are 100 year leasehold. It is not freehold. Therefore once you live in it for 5 years, you can live in it only for 95 years more and so on. After a while the remaining period in the lease diminishes, and so does the value of it. No one in his right mind would want to purchase a house with only 5o years left for instance. By that time, it's value has progressively diminished, until at the end it becomes worthless. Just like a car. A 10 year old car is worth less that a new one. Anyone can see that a HDB flat is a product whose value diminishes over time, it does not appreciate. This is leasehold, unlike freehold where the property belongs to you and you alone, for perpetuity. Freehold property appreciates in value over time. Leasehold depreciates.
Furthermore, the HDB lease that you sign has so many penalty clauses giving the HDB the right to take you flat at the slightest reason or no reason at all, so much so that in effect, you live in your HDB flat at the pleasure of the Lee government. Not by reason of your right. If the Lee administration does not like you anymore, they can re-possess your flat, and throw you out onto Toa Payoh Lorong 1 in a second. Take it from me, you live in that flat at Lee's pleasure, not by right. Sorry to give you the bad news. And further bad news is that the longer you stay in that flat, the less it is worth.
But your Lee Kuan Yew cleverly spins a yarn that you own it. On March 7, 2001, Mr Lee Kuan Yew told the Straits Times "the government solved the housing problem by building public housing using CPF money. These flats are then sold to Singaporeans at cost price".
My dear Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Stop lying now. Firstly they are not sold to Singaporeans, they are leased for 100 years. There is a world of difference there. Furthermore you did not reveal at your press statement that these 100 year leases have clauses that permit you to take the flats back with or without any provocation. And thirdly, are you not lying when you say it is leased at cost price, when you repeatedly refuse to reveal the true cost of building these flats?
You then go on to say that after 20 or 30 years you upgrade the flats and re-sell them at cost price, subsidizing 80% of the costs. Now tell me old boy if in fact it is really true that you subsidize 80% of the costs, and if so, why is the reluctance on your part to reveal the building costs? In any case, why should anyone be interested in purchasing an "upgraded" flat which has only 70 years left on the lease, when most of it's value has been depleted.
In any case, what guarantee is there that you will not exercise the clause to redeem the flat and throw out the poor occupant on the street, because he has run into disfavour for joining the SDP!
My advice to Mr. Lee is this. It is not 1956 anymore. Believe it or not, we have the Internet. You can't get away like you did in the past by telling fairy tales. You see, there are many like me who can say what really happened, and you cannot stop it. As much as 70% of the younger generation in Singapore rely on the Internet for their news. They read what I write. They read what others write. They then begin to see there is something wrong in what you say. You see, Mr. Lee, credibility is very important. Crucial. With loss of credibility there is loss of respect. That is what is happening to you.
So my dear readers, HDB flats are not yours, they belong to the Lee government. It is not freehold. Only a 100 year leasehold with the option of Lee and company to terminate the lease and throw you out anytime they want.
Look out for these pages for more on perfidy duplicity in that island.
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
Does Singapore illegally grant dual nationality to foreign sportsmen and women? The case of Zhang Xueling.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Channelnewsasia report of March 10, 2007 reads "Singapore is saddened by the decision of national table tennis player Zhang Xueling to leave for China, but it respects her wishes to be close to her family". Zhang Xueling is an internationally acclaimed table tennis champion and had represented Singapore, after she was given Singapore citizenship in 2001, in the Commonwealth Games and SEA Games, winning 4 gold medals for Singapore.
This case raises a worrying question. Was the Singapore laws of citizenship broken in the case of Zhang Xueling?
We understand that Singapore does not recognize dual nationality. Upon becoming a Singapore citizen, one has to relinquish all other nationalities. One cannot therefore be a Singapore citizen and at the same time be a citizen of some other country.
Similarly the Peoples Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality. According to the Peoples Daily Online dated June 09, 2005, Chen Yujie, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Peoples Republic of China during a visit to Britain specifically stated that China "does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national". In the article, she said the reason for this rule was because there were great numbers, 95%, of overseas Chinese living in South East Asia and these may suffer at the hands of these foreign governments who may question their loyalty. Thus in order to protect the interests of these foreign Chinese, especially those in SE Asia, China does not to recognize dual nationality.
Just a minute please! These 2 legal positions, that of Singapore and that of China would therefore mean, should it not, that Zhang, on adopting Singapore citizenship in 2001, had to give up her Chinese nationality according to Singapore law. Therefore if she was no longer a Chinese national, on what status did she return to China recently? Did she return to China, "to be close to her family" as a visitor holding a Singapore passport?
Mr. Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Youth said in Parliament on March 09, 2007 that she was leaving because "she wanted to be close to her family". Are we to assume therefore that she will be close to her family for a short period of a few weeks as expected of a visitor (since she is no longer a Chinese national) and then return to Singapore?
Or has something more sinister gone on here? Is Singapore secretly breaking the law and giving dual nationality to some, but denying it to ordinary folks, like you and me? Has Singapore illegally permitted this international table tennis champion Zhang Xueling to retain her Chinese nationality while she was a Singapore citizen, and therefore has this woman returned to China on her Chinese passport? And if Singapore has done this, is it not a violation of Singapore law disallowing dual nationality? And if this illegal granting of dual nationality has occurred in this case, have there been other instances where the law has been conveniently bent to give dual nationality to other sportsmen to represent Singapore as Singapore citizens.
And if this illegal bestowing of Singapore citizenship, with the recipient retaining foreign nationality has been going on, how rampant is this illegality of flouting the citizenship laws? And is this abuse of the law of nationality only in the case of champion sportsmen and women but also in other cases and professions?
If indeed the law of citizenship has illegally been bent for foreign sportsmen, this is another instance of the lawlessness of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore government. He controls the government, he controls the courts, the police and the press. In the facts given above, it appears almost certain that Lee's government illegally permitted this champion sportswoman Zhang Xueling to retain her Chinese nationality when she was granted Singapore citizenship in 2001.
Another example of Lee Kuan Yew doing anything he wants as long as it suits him, regardless of any law. Now thank God for the Internet, this dirty business of Singapore illegal selective grant of dual nationality surfaced into the open.
Please continue to look out for these pages as I reveal further illegalities in that Island belonging to Lee Kuan Yew and his family.
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
Channelnewsasia report of March 10, 2007 reads "Singapore is saddened by the decision of national table tennis player Zhang Xueling to leave for China, but it respects her wishes to be close to her family". Zhang Xueling is an internationally acclaimed table tennis champion and had represented Singapore, after she was given Singapore citizenship in 2001, in the Commonwealth Games and SEA Games, winning 4 gold medals for Singapore.
This case raises a worrying question. Was the Singapore laws of citizenship broken in the case of Zhang Xueling?
We understand that Singapore does not recognize dual nationality. Upon becoming a Singapore citizen, one has to relinquish all other nationalities. One cannot therefore be a Singapore citizen and at the same time be a citizen of some other country.
Similarly the Peoples Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality. According to the Peoples Daily Online dated June 09, 2005, Chen Yujie, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Peoples Republic of China during a visit to Britain specifically stated that China "does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national". In the article, she said the reason for this rule was because there were great numbers, 95%, of overseas Chinese living in South East Asia and these may suffer at the hands of these foreign governments who may question their loyalty. Thus in order to protect the interests of these foreign Chinese, especially those in SE Asia, China does not to recognize dual nationality.
Just a minute please! These 2 legal positions, that of Singapore and that of China would therefore mean, should it not, that Zhang, on adopting Singapore citizenship in 2001, had to give up her Chinese nationality according to Singapore law. Therefore if she was no longer a Chinese national, on what status did she return to China recently? Did she return to China, "to be close to her family" as a visitor holding a Singapore passport?
Mr. Teo Ser Luck, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Youth said in Parliament on March 09, 2007 that she was leaving because "she wanted to be close to her family". Are we to assume therefore that she will be close to her family for a short period of a few weeks as expected of a visitor (since she is no longer a Chinese national) and then return to Singapore?
Or has something more sinister gone on here? Is Singapore secretly breaking the law and giving dual nationality to some, but denying it to ordinary folks, like you and me? Has Singapore illegally permitted this international table tennis champion Zhang Xueling to retain her Chinese nationality while she was a Singapore citizen, and therefore has this woman returned to China on her Chinese passport? And if Singapore has done this, is it not a violation of Singapore law disallowing dual nationality? And if this illegal granting of dual nationality has occurred in this case, have there been other instances where the law has been conveniently bent to give dual nationality to other sportsmen to represent Singapore as Singapore citizens.
And if this illegal bestowing of Singapore citizenship, with the recipient retaining foreign nationality has been going on, how rampant is this illegality of flouting the citizenship laws? And is this abuse of the law of nationality only in the case of champion sportsmen and women but also in other cases and professions?
If indeed the law of citizenship has illegally been bent for foreign sportsmen, this is another instance of the lawlessness of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore government. He controls the government, he controls the courts, the police and the press. In the facts given above, it appears almost certain that Lee's government illegally permitted this champion sportswoman Zhang Xueling to retain her Chinese nationality when she was granted Singapore citizenship in 2001.
Another example of Lee Kuan Yew doing anything he wants as long as it suits him, regardless of any law. Now thank God for the Internet, this dirty business of Singapore illegal selective grant of dual nationality surfaced into the open.
Please continue to look out for these pages as I reveal further illegalities in that Island belonging to Lee Kuan Yew and his family.
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
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Singapore. The courage and wisdom of the Government of India and the fear and insecurity of the Government of Singapore. Dual Nationality.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I was born in Singapore. Presently I am an American citizen and live in the suburbs of San Francisco. In becoming an American, I had to relinquish my Singapore citizenship. My parents were born in India. Even though, I have been to India only occasionally and on business, by virtue of law, it so happens that I am now also an Indian Citizen. This is because India recently enacted the law of dual nationality permitting all persons of Indian descent of certain countries such as the USA to also be Indian citizens, automatically, by virtue of their Indian descent.
Dual nationality is also the law in many countries including the UK under the British Nationality Act giving persons with British ancestry by virtue of either their birth, their father's birth of grandparent’s birth in UK. Israel is another country that automatically bestows Israeli nationality upon anyone with a Jewish mother.
It is not only courageous for a country to have laws to permit those who have left to return, it also is greatly beneficial to the country of return. People who leave for other countries improve themselves in many ways. They receive an education, skills and money which, if they return to their country of descent, benefits it, by being the beneficiary of these qualities and assets of the returning resident. On the whole, dual nationality benefits the country of return much more than the country which the resident leaves.
In California there are people from all over the world. The Indians from India, the Filipinos, the Pakistanis, the Lebanese, you name it, they are here. Many of these immigrants work hard and benefit from new skills, education, experience and greater sophistication of California. And for many of these people, although they have loyalty and gratitude to the US for allowing them to come and work in the US, they still long for their home countries and many will return home one day. The US realizes this migration of people back to their home countries and accepts it without objection. Their home countries welcome them with open arms because these countries now benefit by the greater skills money experience and assets these immigrants bring with them from the US. It is win win situation both ways.
And the attitude of these immigrants from India and other countries is admirable. Every Indian that I meet, even though he has lived in the US for many years, still remains very proud of India, always only having nice things to say about it. As the saying goes in India, once an Indian, always an Indian. You see the same way of thinking among the other races here. Whenever a Filipino talks of the Philippines, he refers to it as "Back Home". Even the packing boxes have the name of the company printed on it "Balikbayan" which translated means "returning resident". All these people look upon their countries with fond memories, knowing their country will accept them anytime, regardless of where they had gone or which nationality they adopt.
And I had said that a country needs courage to accept their returning people, they need courage to permit dual nationality. I say courage because their countries of origin are aware that the returning residents may be quite different from what they were in their philosophies and political views. They may be returning to challenge their countries of origin politically. They may become a threat to the ruling parties of the home countries. Some returning Indians may have formed opinions and views contrary to Manmohan Singh and the Congress Party of India and may be returning to mount a challenge against him. But no matter what the intentions of the returnees are or how much they may have changed, India welcomes them because they are of Indian descent. Israel welcomes them because they are Jews and the UK welcomes them because they are British.
Singaporeans in California are quite different. So is Singapore. There is not one Singaporean in California which I have met who had anything nice to say about Singapore. In fact all of them showed bitter hatred to Singapore and what it stood for. The complaints were obvious. That it was a dictatorship without any freedom. That the PAP and Lee Kuan Yew were dictators and embezzlers who stole Singaporean’s money by giving themselves salaries of millions of dollars belonging to the people and so on and so forth. Singaporeans on the whole do not wish to return to Singapore. It is always a case of good riddance. They have nothing nice to say about their country. They love the USA instead.
And the attitude of Singapore is the same. Once you adopt foreign nationality, you lose Singapore nationality Sua Sponte. Singapore does not want you anymore. I am sure Singapore does realize that their citizens going abroad to Western countries acquire great many skills, qualities and assets which will be beneficial to Singapore if they returned, just as the Indians who return to India from the US. But Singapore will not allow a blanket dual nationality because it fears. In Lee Kuan Yew's eyes, it will not be safe if Francis Seow were to return to Singapore, or if Tang Lian Hong were to return from Australia. They may cause mischief causing Lee Kuan Yew to lose his dictatorial grip on power. It is necessary therefore to keep all opponents of Lee's regime out of Singapore and permit only those who are prepared to submit. That is why all foreign consulates and embassies have detailed forms and documents that have to be submitted before it is decided whether or not to permit a former Singaporean to be allowed to return for permanent residence in Singapore. So it quite all right to tell Francis Seow now not to apply for permanent residence in Singapore because you tell him that he will not get it, because Lee does not feel safe to have him around.
Singapore in this case is a government lacking in confidence as compared to the government of India which dares to allow anyone to come, because they know that the foundations of civil society in India are strong enough to tackle any opposition to it. Obviously also because India is a democracy with rule of law, unlike Singapore which is a dictatorship under the rule of the Lee family. For a small country like Singapore, a large proportion of their population lives outside Singapore. Taking the country of Lebanon, the interesting fact is that more Lebanese actually live outside Lebanon by a mile. In fact the Lebanese population in Sao Paulo and Brazil alone is greater than the entire population of Lebanon. One can understand why the Lebanese leave. Wars and civil wars unabated. Unmitigated misery. It is understandable. But there are no wars in Singapore. Neither is there poverty. Why then do several thousands, even scores of people leave the shores of Singapore every day. And after leaving why do they have so much hatred against their country, never wanting to return to it.
The answer can only be dislike of living under a dictatorship, the dislike of being told what to do and what not to do by a government that thinks it knows best, the dislike of the corruption in the judiciary, the dislike of having no say in the running of their country, the dislike of living without fundamental rights of free speech and expression and generally the desire to be free. So as long as Lee continues to live in fear of his own people and remains determined to supress their freedoms and aspirations, good people will continue to leave and it's attempts to attract immigrants will only result in mediocre applicants, because they do not qualify for their preferred Australia and Canada.
Singapore will continue to remain second class as a country, just trudging along and getting by. As long as it denies freedom to it's people, Singapore can never hope to be great and neither will it be able to retain it's best people. To borrow a phrase from Lord Macaulay “Singapore is like an ostrich with it's undeveloped wings. It can run, but it can never hope to soar".
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
I was born in Singapore. Presently I am an American citizen and live in the suburbs of San Francisco. In becoming an American, I had to relinquish my Singapore citizenship. My parents were born in India. Even though, I have been to India only occasionally and on business, by virtue of law, it so happens that I am now also an Indian Citizen. This is because India recently enacted the law of dual nationality permitting all persons of Indian descent of certain countries such as the USA to also be Indian citizens, automatically, by virtue of their Indian descent.
Dual nationality is also the law in many countries including the UK under the British Nationality Act giving persons with British ancestry by virtue of either their birth, their father's birth of grandparent’s birth in UK. Israel is another country that automatically bestows Israeli nationality upon anyone with a Jewish mother.
It is not only courageous for a country to have laws to permit those who have left to return, it also is greatly beneficial to the country of return. People who leave for other countries improve themselves in many ways. They receive an education, skills and money which, if they return to their country of descent, benefits it, by being the beneficiary of these qualities and assets of the returning resident. On the whole, dual nationality benefits the country of return much more than the country which the resident leaves.
In California there are people from all over the world. The Indians from India, the Filipinos, the Pakistanis, the Lebanese, you name it, they are here. Many of these immigrants work hard and benefit from new skills, education, experience and greater sophistication of California. And for many of these people, although they have loyalty and gratitude to the US for allowing them to come and work in the US, they still long for their home countries and many will return home one day. The US realizes this migration of people back to their home countries and accepts it without objection. Their home countries welcome them with open arms because these countries now benefit by the greater skills money experience and assets these immigrants bring with them from the US. It is win win situation both ways.
And the attitude of these immigrants from India and other countries is admirable. Every Indian that I meet, even though he has lived in the US for many years, still remains very proud of India, always only having nice things to say about it. As the saying goes in India, once an Indian, always an Indian. You see the same way of thinking among the other races here. Whenever a Filipino talks of the Philippines, he refers to it as "Back Home". Even the packing boxes have the name of the company printed on it "Balikbayan" which translated means "returning resident". All these people look upon their countries with fond memories, knowing their country will accept them anytime, regardless of where they had gone or which nationality they adopt.
And I had said that a country needs courage to accept their returning people, they need courage to permit dual nationality. I say courage because their countries of origin are aware that the returning residents may be quite different from what they were in their philosophies and political views. They may be returning to challenge their countries of origin politically. They may become a threat to the ruling parties of the home countries. Some returning Indians may have formed opinions and views contrary to Manmohan Singh and the Congress Party of India and may be returning to mount a challenge against him. But no matter what the intentions of the returnees are or how much they may have changed, India welcomes them because they are of Indian descent. Israel welcomes them because they are Jews and the UK welcomes them because they are British.
Singaporeans in California are quite different. So is Singapore. There is not one Singaporean in California which I have met who had anything nice to say about Singapore. In fact all of them showed bitter hatred to Singapore and what it stood for. The complaints were obvious. That it was a dictatorship without any freedom. That the PAP and Lee Kuan Yew were dictators and embezzlers who stole Singaporean’s money by giving themselves salaries of millions of dollars belonging to the people and so on and so forth. Singaporeans on the whole do not wish to return to Singapore. It is always a case of good riddance. They have nothing nice to say about their country. They love the USA instead.
And the attitude of Singapore is the same. Once you adopt foreign nationality, you lose Singapore nationality Sua Sponte. Singapore does not want you anymore. I am sure Singapore does realize that their citizens going abroad to Western countries acquire great many skills, qualities and assets which will be beneficial to Singapore if they returned, just as the Indians who return to India from the US. But Singapore will not allow a blanket dual nationality because it fears. In Lee Kuan Yew's eyes, it will not be safe if Francis Seow were to return to Singapore, or if Tang Lian Hong were to return from Australia. They may cause mischief causing Lee Kuan Yew to lose his dictatorial grip on power. It is necessary therefore to keep all opponents of Lee's regime out of Singapore and permit only those who are prepared to submit. That is why all foreign consulates and embassies have detailed forms and documents that have to be submitted before it is decided whether or not to permit a former Singaporean to be allowed to return for permanent residence in Singapore. So it quite all right to tell Francis Seow now not to apply for permanent residence in Singapore because you tell him that he will not get it, because Lee does not feel safe to have him around.
Singapore in this case is a government lacking in confidence as compared to the government of India which dares to allow anyone to come, because they know that the foundations of civil society in India are strong enough to tackle any opposition to it. Obviously also because India is a democracy with rule of law, unlike Singapore which is a dictatorship under the rule of the Lee family. For a small country like Singapore, a large proportion of their population lives outside Singapore. Taking the country of Lebanon, the interesting fact is that more Lebanese actually live outside Lebanon by a mile. In fact the Lebanese population in Sao Paulo and Brazil alone is greater than the entire population of Lebanon. One can understand why the Lebanese leave. Wars and civil wars unabated. Unmitigated misery. It is understandable. But there are no wars in Singapore. Neither is there poverty. Why then do several thousands, even scores of people leave the shores of Singapore every day. And after leaving why do they have so much hatred against their country, never wanting to return to it.
The answer can only be dislike of living under a dictatorship, the dislike of being told what to do and what not to do by a government that thinks it knows best, the dislike of the corruption in the judiciary, the dislike of having no say in the running of their country, the dislike of living without fundamental rights of free speech and expression and generally the desire to be free. So as long as Lee continues to live in fear of his own people and remains determined to supress their freedoms and aspirations, good people will continue to leave and it's attempts to attract immigrants will only result in mediocre applicants, because they do not qualify for their preferred Australia and Canada.
Singapore will continue to remain second class as a country, just trudging along and getting by. As long as it denies freedom to it's people, Singapore can never hope to be great and neither will it be able to retain it's best people. To borrow a phrase from Lord Macaulay “Singapore is like an ostrich with it's undeveloped wings. It can run, but it can never hope to soar".
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
Monday, March 5, 2007
Singapore. Raising of Civil Servant's salaries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You have read the recent reports in the Singapore press that civil servant's salaries will be raised. The report also states that many in the civil service are resigning their positions. But the report does not allude to the reasons. Here they are.
The majority of average Singapore citizens are fed up with Singapore. Singapore suffers from a strange situation where even though there is no abject poverty in Singapore, the majority if given a chance wish to emigrate. This is unusual as opposed to every other country where people leave when they are unable to feed themselves and their families. The reason can only be that they are fed up with living under a dictatorship, where they have no chance to make any decision about their lives, and where the decisions are made for them by the dictatorship. Educated individuals find this unacceptable and would prefer to live in free and democratic societies where their views count, as in Australia and New Zealand. Therefore in spite of the hardships involved in re-location and disruption to their lives, they are prepared to suffer the inconveniences and prefer to leave Singapore. The resignations from the civil service which the newspaper mentions is due to civil servants resigning to emigrate to Australia and New Zealand.
Honest and decent citizens of any country would be abhorrent when the state abuses the law to stifle dissent. This is what is happening in Singapore with the repeated politically motivated prosecutions of Dr. Chee and others. Any decent upright individual would feel a sense of guilt themselves where in their name, the dictators of the country abuse the law unjustly. Decent people therefore, in such circumstances would prefer to leave the country and go to settle in countries where there is rule of law and fundamental rights. They would prefer to live in free and democratic countries such as Australia and New Zealand which welcomes good people. This is the reason why there is such heavy attrition from the civil service, because the civil servants and their families prefer to live in respectable countries where there is rule of law and democracy, rather than in Singapore which is ruled not by law, but by Lee's dictate.
The quality of those who are prepared to work in the Singapore civil service is poor. This is because, the civil servants themselves, just like myself are fully aware that Singapore is ruled by Lee's dictates and it is not a democracy. Therefore those civil servants who are prepared to remain in the service are not the best because they lack the integrity and self respect of those other civil servants who resigned, since only those who lack self respect and honesty would be prepared to assist a regime which survives by bending and breaking the law for their self preservation. Therefore those remaining in the Singapore civil service cannot be truly dedicated persons serving the interests of Singapore. They are mediocre men and women, lacking in integrity, who are prepared to work as long as the pay is right and regardless of how offensive their work might be. In this regard, I am thinking of High Court Judges such as Belinda Ang who abuse the law by granting summary judgement in favor of Lee Kuan Yew against his political opponents.
The growth of the alternative media in the Internet, such as blogs like mine and others is another reason why the Singapore civil servants are resigning in droves. These civil servants, like everyone else are being continuously made aware of how shameful this present administration is, how much they abuse the law, deny fundamental rights of the individual everyday of their lives. Therefore, although there may be the few hard core unconscionable men or women who will do anything for money, many others become affected by what they read and realise that further co-operation with this regime of Lee Kuan Yew is immoral and unjust. Their conscience therefore makes them to stop further co-operation with this regime. This is the reason for the resignations from the civil service.
The government's plan to pay the civil servants more and more money is a sign of desperation on the part of the Lee regime. The government finds that they are unable to attract honest capable individuals to the service because the service has been discredited. Good people will not lend their support to this corrupt regime, a regime which abuses the law to silence their opponents. The administration therefore finds that the only way they can entice people to stay is by paying them more and more, in the hope that money, sufficient amount of it, will somehow make them stay behind. Money will be able to entice the opportunists and mercenaries to stay. The real professional cannot be bought with money. This is why despite the already very high salaries that are being paid at present, the civil servants still leave the service in droves.
Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada attract the best qualified immigrants. This is because these countries have shown that they are based on the rule of law. Not on the whims of any dictator. In these countries, people are able to fulfil their potential on their own ability. They do not have to look away as if nothing happens, as they have to do in Singapore, when opposition politicians are daily persecuted merely because they oppose Lee's policies. Although there are those who apply to immigrate to Singapore, these are those who find themselves unable to emigrate to the Western countries because of lack of ability. They may also be applying to Singapore because they are ignorant of the political situation in Singapore. Or they may be persons who have no regard for decency or fairness and justice because all that matters to them is money. If Singapore hopes to employ these to replace the ever increasing numbers that wish to leave the civil service, they are not going to have the very best of civil servants. These too may work for a while and leave when they find another place more lucrative.
Singaporeans who are born in the country just as and Englishman German or anyone else who are born in theirs naturally feel a duty for their country of birth. But in Singapore, the majority of these very Singaporeans born and educated in Singapore are the ones who wish to leave the country and settle elsewhere.
And thanks to the Internet, and to blogs such as mine, they are reminded of the unjustifiable and dishonorable position they find themselves in, by continuing to serve the dictator. This is the reason why they leave. And the Singapore government which abuses the law to stifle dissent will find itself having to pay more and more money in a desperate attempt to try to retain their workers.
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
You have read the recent reports in the Singapore press that civil servant's salaries will be raised. The report also states that many in the civil service are resigning their positions. But the report does not allude to the reasons. Here they are.
The majority of average Singapore citizens are fed up with Singapore. Singapore suffers from a strange situation where even though there is no abject poverty in Singapore, the majority if given a chance wish to emigrate. This is unusual as opposed to every other country where people leave when they are unable to feed themselves and their families. The reason can only be that they are fed up with living under a dictatorship, where they have no chance to make any decision about their lives, and where the decisions are made for them by the dictatorship. Educated individuals find this unacceptable and would prefer to live in free and democratic societies where their views count, as in Australia and New Zealand. Therefore in spite of the hardships involved in re-location and disruption to their lives, they are prepared to suffer the inconveniences and prefer to leave Singapore. The resignations from the civil service which the newspaper mentions is due to civil servants resigning to emigrate to Australia and New Zealand.
Honest and decent citizens of any country would be abhorrent when the state abuses the law to stifle dissent. This is what is happening in Singapore with the repeated politically motivated prosecutions of Dr. Chee and others. Any decent upright individual would feel a sense of guilt themselves where in their name, the dictators of the country abuse the law unjustly. Decent people therefore, in such circumstances would prefer to leave the country and go to settle in countries where there is rule of law and fundamental rights. They would prefer to live in free and democratic countries such as Australia and New Zealand which welcomes good people. This is the reason why there is such heavy attrition from the civil service, because the civil servants and their families prefer to live in respectable countries where there is rule of law and democracy, rather than in Singapore which is ruled not by law, but by Lee's dictate.
The quality of those who are prepared to work in the Singapore civil service is poor. This is because, the civil servants themselves, just like myself are fully aware that Singapore is ruled by Lee's dictates and it is not a democracy. Therefore those civil servants who are prepared to remain in the service are not the best because they lack the integrity and self respect of those other civil servants who resigned, since only those who lack self respect and honesty would be prepared to assist a regime which survives by bending and breaking the law for their self preservation. Therefore those remaining in the Singapore civil service cannot be truly dedicated persons serving the interests of Singapore. They are mediocre men and women, lacking in integrity, who are prepared to work as long as the pay is right and regardless of how offensive their work might be. In this regard, I am thinking of High Court Judges such as Belinda Ang who abuse the law by granting summary judgement in favor of Lee Kuan Yew against his political opponents.
The growth of the alternative media in the Internet, such as blogs like mine and others is another reason why the Singapore civil servants are resigning in droves. These civil servants, like everyone else are being continuously made aware of how shameful this present administration is, how much they abuse the law, deny fundamental rights of the individual everyday of their lives. Therefore, although there may be the few hard core unconscionable men or women who will do anything for money, many others become affected by what they read and realise that further co-operation with this regime of Lee Kuan Yew is immoral and unjust. Their conscience therefore makes them to stop further co-operation with this regime. This is the reason for the resignations from the civil service.
The government's plan to pay the civil servants more and more money is a sign of desperation on the part of the Lee regime. The government finds that they are unable to attract honest capable individuals to the service because the service has been discredited. Good people will not lend their support to this corrupt regime, a regime which abuses the law to silence their opponents. The administration therefore finds that the only way they can entice people to stay is by paying them more and more, in the hope that money, sufficient amount of it, will somehow make them stay behind. Money will be able to entice the opportunists and mercenaries to stay. The real professional cannot be bought with money. This is why despite the already very high salaries that are being paid at present, the civil servants still leave the service in droves.
Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada attract the best qualified immigrants. This is because these countries have shown that they are based on the rule of law. Not on the whims of any dictator. In these countries, people are able to fulfil their potential on their own ability. They do not have to look away as if nothing happens, as they have to do in Singapore, when opposition politicians are daily persecuted merely because they oppose Lee's policies. Although there are those who apply to immigrate to Singapore, these are those who find themselves unable to emigrate to the Western countries because of lack of ability. They may also be applying to Singapore because they are ignorant of the political situation in Singapore. Or they may be persons who have no regard for decency or fairness and justice because all that matters to them is money. If Singapore hopes to employ these to replace the ever increasing numbers that wish to leave the civil service, they are not going to have the very best of civil servants. These too may work for a while and leave when they find another place more lucrative.
Singaporeans who are born in the country just as and Englishman German or anyone else who are born in theirs naturally feel a duty for their country of birth. But in Singapore, the majority of these very Singaporeans born and educated in Singapore are the ones who wish to leave the country and settle elsewhere.
And thanks to the Internet, and to blogs such as mine, they are reminded of the unjustifiable and dishonorable position they find themselves in, by continuing to serve the dictator. This is the reason why they leave. And the Singapore government which abuses the law to stifle dissent will find itself having to pay more and more money in a desperate attempt to try to retain their workers.
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
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