Why Singapore fails in the global marketplace of competition.

Revised 07/01/07

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In my last post, I had said Lee is constantly shooting himself in the foot by his nonsensical and arrogant remarks. In this post, I try to show why the political repression in Singapore causes it to lose out against other countries.

The population of Singapore is small compared to others. The local Singaporean population is only about 3 million, not counting the foreigners working and living in Singapore. Therefore, the talent pool of skilled and capable workers has to come from this 3 million people. Not a large number to start with.

In order to succeed in Singapore, you of course, like anywhere else have to have ability. But unlike other democratic countries, success in Singapore needs one additional requirement; you have to be less than honest; you have to lack integrity and self respect. You need to be a person who is prepared to shamelessly and slavishly accept Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP as your masters, giving him your unconditional loyalty. This lifestyle of unconditional submission, where you are required to slavishly accept Lee and his power over you, regardless of whether he is a ruthless tyrant, is unacceptable to those who have integrity and self respect. Such people of integrity cannot and will not succeed in Singapore since Lee will not accept them. Only those who are prepared to prostitute themselves by their unconditional loyalty to Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP will succeed in the Singapore dictatorship.

More than 30 years of dictatorial rule by Lee and his ruling Peoples Action Party have made this very clear to the people of Singapore. Success in Singapore requires this distasteful dishonorable requirement of unconditional submission to this man Lee Kuan Yew and his party. As a result, the vast majority of educated and capable Singaporeans refuse to co-operate with this regime, which they consider dictatorial and violating of their human rights.

Of these large numbers of upright educated and capable Singaporeans who refuse to co-operate with the Lee Kuan Yew Administration, many either remain in Singapore and accept any job they get in silence and obscurity or alternatively, many of them emigrate to other democratic Western countries to realize their full potential, without having to kowtow to Lee Kuan Yew, his son and the minions and sycophants in the Peoples Action Party.

Of the 3 million or so of local Singaporeans, there are therefore far too few capable and qualified Singaporeans who are also prepared to be second fiddle to Lee, in sufficient numbers available to serve the Lee Administration. As a result, you find the Singapore government constantly having recruitment difficulties to man and run their separate government and civil service positions.

And in so alienating the capable and upright Singaporeans, the most able and capable Singaporeans are rejected for government service, because the Lee Administration is threatened by their presence. As a result, Singapore is not able to benefit by the abilities of such highly talented and honorable individuals.

Here are some examples of Lee’s sycophants in high positions. The former Chief Justice Young Pong Howe and the entire present judiciary, both in the High Court and the Subordinate Courts all have one characteristic in common. They all have decided that the spirit of the rule of law does not matter anymore. The only thing that matters is that they continue to receive lavish salaries, live lavish lifestyles and enjoy the worldly pleasures, thanks to the generosity of Lee Kuan Yew and his government. In return, they will make any judgment, any order that pleases Lee Kuan Yew.

The examples of the shameful political judgments by these so called judges are too numerous to enumerate but a few examples will suffice to shock your sense of justice and fair play. You will recall at the general election of 2001 at Cheng San, PAP Ministers were seen inside the Nomination Center/ Counting center, which was a clear violation of the Parliamentary Elections Act. The law which stated that politicians must not remain or loiter within such areas was made in order not to unduly influence the electorate or the officials in charge of counting or not to give the impression of such impropriety.

Despite the fact that it was proved that PAP Ministers were unlawfully within the said premises, the Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, then the Attorney General came up with the outrageous nonsensical decision that it was all right for the PAP ministers to be within the premises! According to him, it was unlawful only if they loiter outside the premises! One can only come to the opinion that this man Chan Sek Keong is only concerned about keeping his job as the Attorney General by continuing to submit unconditionally to his master’s wishes.

Another laughable and tragic case was by Judge Belinda Ang. She decided that it was perfectly all right to find Dr. Chee Soon Juan an opposition politician guilty of defaming the character of Lee Kuan Yew and his son, the Prime Minister, and ordering Dr. Chee to pay them $500,000.00 even without a trial in what is known as summary judgment proceedings. This is a method by which the judge reads all the papers in the case and decides in favor of one party or the other, without the even the need for oral testimony of any witness! Such nonsense, can only happen in Singapore.

Even if you are a straight crook, as long as you remain subservient to Lee, you will still survive and thrive. As a dictator, Lee always rewards unconditional loyalty and subservience. Glenn Knight was formerly a Public Prosecutor with Lee's Attorney Generals Chambers. During his shameful career as Lee's enforcer, he has done a lot of dirty work, including successfully prosecuting and imprisoning JB Jeyaretnam, an opposition politician on Lee's trumped up charges. Finally Knight himself committed a criminal offense of fraud for which he was imprisoned for a day and disbarred. After about a decade of being out of practice, but still keeping in the good books of Lee and his cronies, we read that he has been re-admitted to practice law and will be entering the lucrative practice area of white collar crime. Even though a dishonest unscrupulous criminal, this man will succeed, because he has unconditionally sold his self respect and his soul to his master, Lee Kuan Yew.

Now let us look at the others. The good people. The people with some pride, some integrity and great ability. Dr. Chee Soon Juan as you know was a former psychology professor in the National University of Singapore with a PhD in psychology. A highly educated and talented man. But with one difference from the abovementioned Lee's successful elite, the judges and heads of civil service. The one difference is that Dr. Chee is a man of integrity. He believes that Singapore’s interests are compromised and damaged by the denial of human rights in Singapore by Lee Kuan Yew. As was his right as a citizen of Singapore, he spoke publicly against Lee Kaun Yew and contested national elections as an opposition candidate against Lee Kuan Yew and his ruling party.

In Lee's eyes what Dr. Chee did was intolerable. So, as has happened time and time again, whenever opposition candidates with any capability have challenged the authority of Lee Kuan Yew, false charges of theft and defamation of character were promptly cooked up, Dr. Chee was fired from his professorship position, hauled before the courts with his compliant judges and promptly fined and bankrupted. Simultaneously Lee's propaganda sheet, the state controlled newspaper the Straits Times promptly published the false reports that Dr. Chee was a criminal, a cheat, a liar and every other epithet that one could think of.

Just like Dr. Chee, many other good men have been removed and silenced. Mr. Tang Liang Hong, JB Jeyaretnam, a good criminal lawyer and Francis Seow who is exiled in the USA come to mind. Not just them but there were many others. There was Wee Han Kim, a lawyer who stood as a Workers Party candidate. He was sued for defamation resulting in his having to pay several hundred thousands of dollars to Lee. There was the Malay gentleman, Jufrie Mohammed, a friend of mine. He decided to give up politics rather than suffer unrelenting harassment and persecution at the hands of Lee.

Other excellent citizens, highly talented with high integrity and a deep love for Singapore are men and women such as Gandhi Ambalam, a graduate of the British London School of Economics in Journalism and Economics. A highly educated and talented man who would have been a Godsend to Singapore and Singaporeans had he been able to serve his people with his skills and talent. Problem was, he criticized Lee Kuan Yew. From that point, as you know, he was sidelined, dismissed from his job as a journalist with Singapore Press Holdings, disgraced and sent to prison. Now Gandhi Ambalam works vigorously for democracy in Singapore as the Chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party. Chee Siok Chin another exemplary citizen was a highly experienced teacher. When she began to question the policies of the Lee Administration, the same misfortune befell her. She now works fearlessly for the advancement of freedom in Singapore. Yap Keng Ho also known as Uncle Yap is a fearless fighter for freedom and a highly skilled software engineer. If Uncle Yap knew he was right, he will wrestle with 5 lions anytime without fear. That is the sort of man Uncle Yap is. He is a good friend of mine.

What I am trying to say is this. Such people like Dr. Chee and the others that I mentioned are highly talented people. They are not criminals. Just the opposite. They are men and women with high ideals and principles, upright men and women with great honor, integrity, education and ability, who would have been able to serve the people of Singapore greatly for their betterment and for the betterment of the country. But instead of honoring such capable and honorable men and women, the very people that Singapore most needs, Lee criminalizes them, removes them from their positions of work and leaves them in positions where they are no longer able to serve their people in the best way they can. This injustice being done to these great men is a great loss for Singapore for which Lee remains solely responsible.

And when the general public of Singapore, which is only about 3 million native born, see the injustice done to such people of ability such as Dr. Chee, they decide either to withdraw their support for the government or they decide to emigrate. This leaves only a very small number of dishonest people like the Chief Justice and Judge Belinda Ang who are available to work for the Singapore government.

That is why I say that because Lee Kuan Yew continues to alienate and antagonize the majority of honest decent Singaporeans, which is not more than a small population of 3 million or so, Singapore will continue to fail as it is doing, in the global marketplace of competition with other larger countries where their citizens are proud of their governments and eager to serve them.

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

Lee Kuan Yew appears to have shot himself in the foot. This time, once too often!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I say, Lee Kuan Yew appears to have shot himself in the foot. This time, regrettably for him, once too often!

You are all familiar, I am sure, of the routine silly nonsensical and very often arrogant remarks he makes about himself and Singaporeans. You will recall that JB Jeyaretnam calls him the "hatchet man". In fact JB Jeyaretnam's book on his political cases with Lee is called "The Hatchet Man of Singapore". Apparently Lee once said in Parliament during a debate that he carries a bag which contains a hatchet. If any opposition member dared to question him, he will challenge him to go to a cul de sac. You know what it is, a street which is closed at one end. Lee will choose a cul de sac, obviously to prevent his victim from escaping. There, in the cul de sac, he will draw his hatchet from his bag and finish his victim off. Hence, JB Jeyaretnam calling him "the hatchet man".

Lee has of course said this during Parliamentary debates metaphorically or figuratively. There was no real danger that he would commit cold blooded murder, but he did provide amusement.

Subsequently, he went on to call Singaporeans "digits" who are to be pushed around at his pleasure. This of course must have offended any red blooded Singaporean, if such a species still exists!

Then you recall, a few days ago, he had made a remark in Tatarstan, some remote unknown autonomous region of Russia that his main concern was political succession. For a moment one would have mistaken him for Fidel Castro, since only dictators worry about such things as political succession. In democracies, one would have thought that the people decide their leaders through parliamentary elections! Wait a minute, Mr. Lee! This is Singapore. Not the Democratic Republic of North Korea!

But the most idiotic nonsensical self destructive remark that he ever made was a direct quote from Machiavelli. He said, believe it or not, that if he had to choose between his people loving him or fearing him, he would prefer that they feared him! Good heavens! Well if that is what you want, Mr. Lee, you can have it. I am not afraid of you and neither will any Singaporean with one iota of pride left in them. We have decided, instead of fearing you, to hate you instead.

And in making such a stupid remark, Lee has shot himself in the foot. He has alienated even the handful of those who still have any respect for him. Moreover, anyone who has heard or read that you made such a remark, can only think that you must be deranged, or mad or both!

So, those supporters of democracy in Singapore should thank him for uttering such nonsense on quite a regular basis, as he has done. By displaying such arrogance and foolishness, he is furthering the cause of those struggling for freedom and democracy in Singapore and precipitating his downfall, which will come anyway, to arrive even faster.

So my dear Hatchet Man, Lee Kuan Yew, please continue making those silly remarks. Thank you.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914 Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com

Singapore. Why the high rates of theft, embezzlement and white collar crime?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Recently there was the highly publicised theft of large sums of money from the charity National Kidney Foundation by TT Durai, its President. He has been tried, convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. Just a few days ago, a person in charge of the monies in another charity, the St. John Home ran away with Singapore dollars 3.88 million. Last year a lawyer David Rasif made off with millions of dollars belonging to his client. The legal profession of Singapore has one of the highest rates of theft and embezzlement of client's funds in the world so much so that clients are now afraid to allow their moneys to remain with their lawyers until their transactions are complete for fear that the lawyer might make off with it.

I have heard from some sources that the legal profession in Singapore may in fact hold a world record for the largest number of dishonest lawyers. This is not surprising if you see the figures. The legal profession in Singapore comprises no more than 3,500 or so lawyers. Of these, on average, each year, as many as a hundred are caught with stealing their clients' money.

In Singapore, the phrase, an "honest lawyer", has turned out to be an oxymoron!

I do not know how far this is true, but there appears to be even a friendly bet that goes among the lawyers as to who among them will run away with his clients money next!

The dishonesty is not only in the legal profession. Accountants cheat their clients. Doctors cheat their patients. Everyone is cheating everyone else. Singapore appears to have lost it's soul. The only thing that matters appears to be money. In Lee Kuan Yew's style of mentioning that Singapore is a transport "hub", a biotechnology "hub", a medical technology "hub"; has it now turned into a "criminal breach of trust hub"?

I think part of the reason is this. It is Lee Kuan Yew himself. He is the problem. As you are aware, when he decided to illegally enrich himself and his PAP ministers and civil servants by raising their salaries to world record levels of several million US dollars a year, the reason he gave for such criminality was that he had to do it, because, if they were not paid such unconscionable amounts, they would become corrupt. Therefore, listen to this, he says that in order to stop them from being corrupted like other Asian and African third world corrupt politicians, he has to pay them, or rather, bribe them with millions.

So his admission is that he is inherently corrupt, and so are his PAP Ministers and Civil Servants. Therefore in order to stop them in their naturally corrupt inclination, he has to bribe them (or pay them salaries) with several millions of dollars each year of public funds!

Now if the leaders of Singapore themselves admit that they are corrupt or likely to be, if not paid millions, then what incentive is there for the rest of the citizens to live decent honest lives? Anybody can naturally ask why should they be honest in their dealings when the Minister Mentor and his son and the entire cabinet have admitted that if they are not paid sufficiently, they will turn to corruption and theft. If you have thieves as Minister Mentors and Prime Ministers, why should others be required to be honest?

So that is why in Singapore, lawyers run away with their client's money, why real estate dealers cheat their clients, why all kinds of businessmen cheat their customers.

And that is why the legal profession in Singapore has the highest number of thieves and embezzlers compared to any other country their size.

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

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan disappointed on the embezzlement of funds from St. John's Home! Is it a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's Channel News Asia of June 23, 2007 reads "Latest scandal involving St Johns Home a disappointment: Dr. Balakrishnan". Is this not a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

First of all should we not ask who is the bigger thief, the thief who ran away with Singapore $3.88 million belonging to the charity St. Johns Home or is it Dr. Balakrishnan himself?

According to the official figures, the Prime Minister, the son of Lee Kuan Yew officially earns a salary, which Lee Kuan Yew himself decided he and his son should receive, is approximately US 3 million a year each. This is, as you know, about 3 times the salary of the President of the United States and more than the combined salaries of the heads of state of UK, France and Germany. This astonishing and disturbing fact is known publicly. Also the Lee Administration, as decided by the dictators Lee Kuan Yew and his son, have decreed that all their Ministers and their senior judges and civil servants should equally be paid mind boggling astronomical salaries of US$2.5 million each year. Among the lucky recipients of this ill gotten salary is Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, a Cabinet Minister who is paid, as I have said, US$2.5 million each year.

For anybody who knows of this theft of Singaporean's money by Lee and his ministerial gangsters, nobody will say that this is in fact a legitimate legal salary. Any politician who pays themselves such unacceptable sums of money can only be termed corrupted politicians or theives. Just because this Lee dictatorship conveniently calls this a salary, does not make it one. It is nothing less than unmitigated theft of the people's money.

Therefore Dr. Balakrishnan is a thief who steals from his people millions of dollars each year, before their very eyes. As mentioned, Dr. Balakrishnan's official salary is US$2.5 million per year. He has been working as a collaborator of this dictatorship for about a decade. At the rate of US$2.5 million per year, he must already have illegally accumulated about US$250 million or perhaps even more, money which he has illegally taken from the people of Singapore.

In the present case of St. Johns Home, we are told that the person responsible had absconded with Singapore $3.88 million. Knowing these facts, should we not be asking who the bigger thief is? Is it Dr. Balakrishnan who has been consistently, year after year, stealing US$2.5 million of money belonging to Singaporeans or is it this officer from St. John Home who had gotten away, mind you only once, with a sum of Singapore $3.88 million.

By any reckoning, the bigger thief is Dr. Balarkishnan himself, compared to this man from St. John Home, who is only small fry. Compared to the St. John Home thief, Dr. Balakrishnan is the professional master thief, with him, only an amateur.

It is even more disgusting to read what he says on the theft from St. John Home. He says "Young people need to remind themselves to do good for the less fortunate". Great words from a person who himself has no concern at all for the less fortunate. Perhaps someone should ask him first of all, how much good he himself has done for the less fortunate. Perhaps he should set the good example first, by returning the millions he has stolen from the poor of Singapore, and he should be asked if he would be prepared to work free of charge for the next 10 years to compensate for money he has stolen to date.

He then goes on to say, among other silly remarks, that he is very "disappointed" to hear of the theft from St. John Home. Perhaps the poor in Singapore who have to live on less than $300 per month in abject poverty should tell him that they are the ones who are indeed so very disappointed with a thief like him.

This man, Dr. Balakrishnan, who steals every day from the Singapore public, has the cheek to go on to give advice to Singaporeans, advice that they have to be vigilant and so on, blah blah. We should tell Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan thank you, but no thank you. We don't need your advice. We suggest that you first stop stealing from your own people. You first try to stop being a thief. Then you can advice us. Not now.

As to the man from St. John Home who got away with Singapore $3.88 million, I can understand why he stole the money. He may have told himself that if a Minister of State like Dr. Balakrishnan can steal everyday, sums exceeding millions of dollars belonging to him and other Singaporeans, perhaps he too should have a share of the loot. What he did was wrong, but in a country when all the government politicians from Lee Kuan Yew and everyone else is a thief, should we not have a little understanding for this man, who ran away with much less than Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan who continues to steal every minute of the day, before our very eyes?

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

How much more will Singaporeans have to bear?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singaporeans are a tolerant lot. They have taken a lot of punishment without complaint. This year alone, Lee Kuan Yew, the dictator of Singapore, announced that he is not satisfied that he is already paid 3 times what the President of United States gets. No matter what the people say, he must have more. This time he has decided to increase his salary to US$3 million dollars a year. As you know, this is about 3 or 4 times the salary of the United States President and more than the combined salaries of the UK, French and German heads of state! Not to forget his Ministers, they too will take US$2 million a year from now on. He says that he is not bothered about what the people think of this, unashamed theft of his people's money. He is, he says, the boss. He will do what he wants and take what he wants. End of chapter.

All Lee's laws are oppressive. The law of Singapore, as ordered by Lee Kuan Yew, states that an gathering of more than 5 people in public requires a permit. Otherwise they are illegal and shall face prosecution and jail. But the problem is that even if you did apply for a permit, say to protest this thieving by Lee Kuan Yew and his friends of the millions of dollars of people's money, you will not get one. So in the end, the people are left with no means to question the government.

The people are prevented from publicly complaining about the injustices they suffer. The government insists that to make a speech in public, one needs a permit. But the Catch 22 appears again, that is, if you applied for a permit to publicly criticize the government, it will be denied. And if you did speak anyway, you face prosecution and imprisonment.

Letters of protest and criticism by the people to the press is routinely ignored because the press in Singapore are completely state owned and controlled. Lee and his government are not interested in the people's views and opinions. As far as Lee and his government are concerned, the Singapore population is nothing more than a nuisance, to be just ignored.

The young in Singapore almost entirely hate the government. They detest having to do national service for a country for which they have no loyalty. They want to emigrate overseas. But if they did, their parents face arrest and prosecution for their sons failure to do national service. Their parents too detest the government. But there is nothing they can do. There is no means for them to legitimately compel the government to listen to them. If they write letters to the government or the press, they are merely ignored. Lee Kuan Yew does whatever he wants. Life is becoming intolerable for the people under this dictatorship.

About 30 years ago, when the government introduced the Central Provident Fund savings system, the government promised the people that they could withdraw their savings at the age of 55 for their retirement. Over the years the government has raised the retirement age and today it stands at 62. The workers under the new system are only given a small sum each month instead of their being able to withdraw the whole amount. In the case of workers who do not have much in the CPF account, the money that the government pays them in instalments is insufficient to survive on. They have to either continue working at their advanced age or they have to live in poverty. The government does not care about them at all.

The government restricts the information that people can receive. The Singapore newspaper, the Straits Times is state controlled. So are all the other newspapers and other news media. All state controlled. People are forced to read and listen to propaganda. Foreign newspapers which truly report the news such as the Far Easter Economic Review are banned.

The government does whatever they want with public funds. These funds belong to the people as they comprise tax funds and workers CPF retirement savings. With no consultation with the people whatsoever and not even disclosing their actions, the government does whatever they want with the funds. Moreover Lee Kuan Yew and his Ministers steal this money by paying themselves millions of dollars, in what they call salary, but which the people call theft. The people are left with no means of protesting this injustice. If they did publicly protest without a government permit, which they cannot obtain, they will be arrested and imprisoned.

If the people had complaints, they cannot seek help through their elected representatives. The 2 opposition elected representatives have become totally ineffective through fear. Fear that if they really took measures to air their people's grievances, they themselves might be arrested and imprisoned. Therefore, the 2 elected opposition Members of Parliament merely make speeches, which the government in turn ignores. The Non Constituency MP makes speeches in Parliament and occasionally goes around the island giving lectures on the Penal Code. She is a Law Professor. And Lee Kuan Yew and his bullies just ignores all that the opposition does in Parliamentary speeches and law lectures. At the end of the day, the people's lives have not changed one bit. They have no choice but to continue to bear the hard life that Lee demands of them.

In every aspect of life, Singaporeans are being treated no better than "digits" as Lee Kuan Yew once called Singaporeans, to be pushed around any which way he wants.

The question is, how much more will Singaporeans have to bear before they realize that they must protest, regardless of the consequences.

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

Singapore. Education hub? Biotechonology hub? Casino hub? But are we actually getting anywhere?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is interesting reading the Singapore state controlled newspaper. Today it may say, Singapore is turning into being an education hub. Next week, it will say biotechnology hub. Following week, it is medical services hub. Following week some other hub.

At the same time, the Singapore state controlled newspaper will tell you that so and so foreign conglomerate has set up shop in Singapore. Good news. That Singapore and India has signed an agreement for banking services. You know what I mean. The good news in the Singapore state controlled press keeps flowing non stop.

The Singapore dictatorship of the Lee Kuan Yew family would therefore want you to believe that life in Singapore could not have been any better.

Is it really?

But what are Singaporeans life experiences today. For one, I have heard that despite all this supposedly good news emanating from the State Controlled press, and despite receiving handsome salary increases, the Singapore Civil Service, the Police Force and ALL other government agencies are having recruitment problems. Singaporeans, it appears do not wish to serve the Singapore government! Has anyone asked why? If it is as rosy as all this, why do people refuse to work for the government?

The answer is one of integrity. One of credibility. You see, no matter which way you look at it, Singaporeans too have some dignity, some conscience, some decency. Take the law for instance. Singaporeans are aware that the judiciary is discredited because it is used to distort the law and eliminate the opposition. Both the parents and their children do not wish them to enter the Singapore legal service or the legal profession as they do not wish to become an instrument for Lee's repression.

So they refuse to join the legal service, the civil service and government positions. They refuse not because the pay is bad. They refuse because they do not wish to spend a career in doing evil to please Lee Kuan Yew.

Second, all these so called hubs have failed. But the State Controlled press makes no mention of these failures. Take the education hub for instance. You have heard that many foreign universities that had ideas to open branches in Singapore have all opted out. It comes as no surprise, since why should any institution of learning want to set up in Singapore where you are not permitted even to excercise your fundamental human rights, such as free speech! By the way, Chinese students are not coming to Singapore as they did in the past. They too realise that if studying in Singapore is no different from studying in China, since both are dictatorships, they might as well remain in China. In fact, now, Chinese students are heading in droves to UK colleges which is now their favorite destination. One can see why, of course. They have the money now, and can afford the best education.

Biotech hub, I understand is also dead. No need to come to Singapore to do their research since they can to it in Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. What is the need for Singapore. None. So the Singapore biopolis has also quietly died a natural death.

The Singapore disk drive industry has long ago died a natural death. If you can produce such equipment at 1/3 the price in Jakarta or Manila, what need is there for Singapore.

And then you look at Singaporeans. Not one, mind you, not one, Singaporean has any love for his country. They are emigrating in droves. Why, when according to the state controlled press, it cannot be any better? Well, it is simply because the state controlled press is nothing more than propaganda. It should be obvious to anyone that it is so, since it is, as the name suggests, a state controlled paper.

More bad news. Babies are not being born. The population is regressing, declining, shrinking, disappearing, going, going going, and gone! To overcome that the Singapore government brings in foreign workers whom they conveniently call foreign talent, despite the fact that many of them have no talent at all!

But the so called foreign talent, more correctly termed foreign mediocre, themselves have no interest in Singapore. These are people who have failed to emigrate to to their first choice destinations such as Australia and New Zealand. Having no other choice, they come to Singapore. And they come being fully aware that it is a dictatorship run under Lee's orders. No freedom of speech. Where chewing gum is banned and people are caned, whipped and strangled by hanging! Not a country to stay very long in! So they stay for a few years, and leave faster than when they came.

Since there is no local industry to speak of and since anyone able to leave Singapore have all gone, what is there in Singapore now? Well you have tourism. The island itself is nothing more than an amusement park. So you have people working in the service industries serving the tourists.

What else? You have the ubiquitous multi national companies with small offices in the city servicing their trading in the area. In these offices, the rest of Singaporeans, who are not working in the tourist industry, have their jobs. They are local Singapore females who serve as secretaries to European managers. Basically stenographers and secretaries. Nothing more than that.

And the rest work in the food industry. Food stalls. Where the European tourists go to eat.

What else? I don't see much more.

And why has Singapore fallen to these depths? The main reason is the arrogance of this dictator Lee Kuan Yew. Since he has decided on what sort of hubs Singapore is going to become, and no one else is permitted to think, what else do you expect? The thinkers have all gone to Australia. What is left are the "yes men", or those who have deliberately discarded their thinking caps, leaving Lee to decide what sort of hub is Singapore going to be next.

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

Latest. June 16, 2007. M Ravi's retort to Professor Yvonne CL Lee's letter on decriminalizing homosexual acts misses the point

Advisory. May 16, 2007. For your information, I had written to Dr. Chee, of the SDP, yesterday to have this article posted on the SDP website in response to Mr. M Ravi's letter. However Dr. Chee had decided instead to remove Mr. Ravi's letter from his website. Dr. Chee's decision was right. I will retain this article here for the benefit of those who had previously read Mr. M Ravi's letter before it's removal by Dr. Chee.

Best regards to you and to Dr. Chee.

Gopalan Nair May 16, 2007

2nd Advisory. June 16, 2007. Since my last observation of SDP Website removing Mr. Ravi's article, SDP now have it on their website as "Vantage" appearing on the right. My article below is a response to his retort to Professor Lee.

Best regards to you and to Dr. Chee.

Gopalan Nair June 16, 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Kindly refer to Professor Yvonne Lee's letter to the Straits Times of May 04, 07, headed "Decriminalizing homosexual acts would be an error" and the letter of Mr. M Ravi, an Advocate and Solicitor of the Singapore Bar in rebuttal to it, published in the present Singapore Democrat Website of the Singapore Democratic Party.

Mr. Ravi appears to miss the point. I think what Professor Lee's principal point is this. The constitution of a country just as the laws, should reflect the the prevailing norms, acceptable social behaviour and prejudices prevailing in a country at any point of time. In other words, the constitution should be a mirror image and keep evolving as the country and it's attitudes to social behaviour changes. Here the Professor is absolutely right. Anyone who understands constitutional law will appreciate that laws and the constitution should keep pace with changing values and beliefs of a country. It was never intended to be read literally and applied by rote.

Any country or society at any moment is the result and product of it's long history, culture and religion which dictate what is acceptable in a society and what is not. Certain behaviours may be accepted as the norm in Copenhagen but it may not be acceptable in Cairo, despite the fact that both Copenhagen and Cairo both have constitutions that require equality before the law. This is because Denmark, a European country has developed quite differently from United Arab Republic which is predominantly Muslim. Homosexuality may be very acceptable in Copenhagen but criminal in Cairo! This is what Mr. Ravi fails to understand. What the Professor is trying to do is to explain that the applicability of the constitutional provisions have to be tempered by the prevailing conditions in any country at any point in it's history. What Mr. Ravi wants instead to do is to say that since the words of the constitution refer to "equality", it should therefore be strictly applied regardless of the circumstances. This is not a correct understanding of the Constitution.

The Constitution should not be read separately and literally at any moment if time and given effect without more. In other words it should not become an instrument of oppression where people live under it like an albatross around their necks, but where it compliments society's aspirations and thinking and changing where it needs to change keeping pace with societal change.

What Professor Lee is trying to say is that the equality clause should treat like with like. In other words, if we are talking about gays, then equality within their group. And if you are dealing with normal orientation, then within the normal orientation.

Singapore is an Asian country with Asian values. Almost all the native inhabitants are if not first generation, mere second or third generation of immigrants and local Malays who practice Islam. What Professor Lee is trying to say is that Singapore is not Amsterdam, and it is unlikely to be Amsterdam in the near future either, if ever. In Amsterdam, it would be perfectly proper for 2 men to passionately kiss each other in public, but I doubt if that behaviour will not attract angry responses if not violence if done along Serangoon Road in front of Tekka.

Every country evolves with time. 100 years ago in the United States, it was permissible to discriminate against blacks. That was acceptable then, but no longer now. In the same way the constitution and laws of the US similarly have evolved to keep pace with the change in thinking of the Americans.

What Mr. Ravi has to focus upon is the issue of homosexuality. Not any other kind of behaviour. Homosexuality is unacceptable in a great many countries and in Islamic countries it is illegal and severely punishable. It is the same in the Hindu tradition and in the Chinese Taoist and traditional Chinese culture. This is the ingrained integral part of thinking of many of the people who populate Singapore, perhaps even the majority.

To permit homosexuality would amount to nothing less than a fundamental change in the values of the majority of Singaporeans. The question being put in Singapore is whether the law should be fundamentally changed to make an act which was taboo for generations upon generations to become suddenly acceptable because the Singapore Constitution has a clause that says people should be treated similarly. What Mr. Ravi has to appreciate is that the government of any country has a responsibility to ensure that civil society is not suddenly turned into confusion, conflict and dissension because they are forced to tolerate behaviour which goes against the grain of many Asian Singaporeans. And if the government fears that such an eventuality is possible, it is their duty to tread cautiously into such fundamental changes in direction.

You would appreciate that even a country like the UK, not too long ago, had laws which penalized homosexuality. Now of course it has moved ahead with changing times. The question that Mr. Ravi should address, is not whether the the letter of the law requiring equality has been transgressed; what he should be asking himself is whether Singapore's culture and tradition is the same as that of London, England. Most would say probably not.

Singapore is primarily made up of Chinese Malays and Indians. Many Chinese are first generation who had even themselves come from China many years ago. The same with the Indians. In the Muslim tradition, sodomy between men is even punishable with death. In other words Singapore is a very Asian conservative society and it is not Amsterdam and never will be. Furthermore, the proportion of homosexuals in Singapore is very small. I do not believe that it is the intention of the government to make homosexuality entirely illegal or they could confirm that people will not be prosecuted if it is done in private. But I think the Singapore government will not be able to legitimize it with the present Asian conservative population that we have.

What Mr. Ravi appears to be doing is to think that because the letter of the Constitution says the there should be equality, then it should be applied regardless of the situation and complied blindly to the letter. This is not correct. We know for instance that in ecclesiastical law, the Vatican will not permit the Pope to be a woman. The Hindu priest in the temple is always a man and the Imam in the Masjid is also one. The Constitution has no right there.

Mr. Ravi goes on to say that acts which are between consenting adults should, as a matter of course, be made legal, as long as it does not offend or harm others. This is like saying that smoking heroin is all right, so is gambling or prostitution. One can see that this argument cannot stand. The state has a responsibility to prevent actions that may tend to corrupt and undermine the social and moral fabric of society. Even in California today, prostitution and gambling are illegal and men and women are regularly hauled before the courts in such violations. California makes no excuses for their actions.

Professor Lee had gone on to give other reasons why homosexuality should not be made legal such as increased risk of decease and the lowering of moral standards of society as a whole to which Mr. Ravi has attempted to give a wide variety of reasons which appear all to miss the mark. In fact Professor Lee need not have gone into the these other reasons at all. It was sufficient for Professor Lee simply to say that Singaporean society at present, is not yet prepared, by reason of diverse makeup of different enthincities and it's Asian conservative culture; Singapore is presently unprepared to open it's doors into officially legalizing homosexuality. I think what Professor Lee is also trying to say is that the government sympathises with the plight of homosexuals and would perhaps grant some concession, short of officially giving it the seal of legitimacy.

I am merely stating my view of what the position of law is on constitutional issues. It is not to be understood that I support or oppose either viewpoint.

Thank you.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
Posted by Gopalan Nair at 1:19 PM

Singaporeans have no say on how their country is run.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Do Singaporeans realize that they have absolutely no say on how their country is run? On the one hand, the government is quite happy to impose all sorts of taxes and levies on their citizens. Income tax, road tax, parking fees, gst, HDB taxes, assessments, penalties, all sorts of road pricing taxes, and every other tax you can possibly imagine.

After taking all this money from the citizens, the Lee Administration do whatever they want with it, change any law, tax or levy anytime they want, use that money to trade around the world, and all this is done by them without giving you any account of it.

Let us take the trading around the world done with taxpayers money. The Singapore government linked companies trade around the world with tax payers money. They buy hotels in London, telecoms companies in Australia, office premises in India, and for that matter they do anything they want. Does it not strike any citizen of Singapore to ask, what right does the government have to do all this trading without the people's consent? Since it is the people's money, don't the people have a say in how that money is used? Doesn't the government have a duty to explain the accounts of these transactions to the people? How do the people know whether the government has in fact any money of theirs left? And the most important question is whether the money is being illegally stolen by Lee and his Ministers?

This state of affairs shows that the average Singaporean has no say whatsoever on how his country is run. He has no control over what laws will be enacted, amended or repealed and what new laws will be enacted. He has no control on what he has to pay in taxes and charges, now or tomorrow, what new acts will be criminalized, how punishing will the laws become, and whether or not life will become altogether intolerable.

Furthermore, since Lee controls the administration of Justice and the police, one cannot assume that he will not have him arrested on trumped up charges and criminalized thorough his corrupt judiciary.

In other words, no matter whether you are businessman, student or office worker, Singaporeans live lives completely at the mercy of Lee and his dictates. This is not a safe and secure life because Lee decides what happens to you next.

Think about it.

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

Lee Kuan Yew says his toughest job is ensuring succession! What does he think Singapore is? Cuba?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please refer to Straits Times report 2 days ago which reads " A leader's toughest job? Ensuring succession, says MM", Kazan, Tatarstan.

In this recent trip to Tatarstan, an autonomous region of the Russian Republic, one of his numerous unnecessary totally useless world trips which he takes at the Singapore taxpayers expense, he states the most difficult of his tasks is to ensure leadership succession! Wait a minute. Is Singapore not a democracy? And in democracies, should not the people decide who their leaders are going to be? And if so, what is he doing, going around saying that he will decide future leaders? Does it not sound more like Fidel Castro appointing his future successor before he dies?

Someone should tell Mr. Lee that Singapore is supposed to be a parliamentary democracy. And in such systems, the people decide their governments and their leaders. And that only in dictatorships like the former Soviet regime does Stalin decide his future successor. It is not supposed to work that way in Singapore. Someone may want to tell the old man that.

It could be old age, senility, dementia, psychosis or just plain stupidity or a combination of the them, I do not know what, but Lee should not be as confident as he appears to be, if he knew the facts. Among the bad news, his son, the Prime Minister is a washout, he himself is almost at his deathbed being 82 years old, the young in Singapore have become politically oppositionist, the people are emigrating, the locals are not reproducing, the disk drive industry is dead, and people are up in arms against the obscene salary increases that he pays himself and his ministers steal. The foundation, my dear Lee is being shaken. Perhaps this is no longer a good time for you to be talking about your succession. Perhaps the entire government might be taken over by some other party.

Not a good time to be so confident, my dear Mr. Lee Senior.

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

Singapore government's dilemna. Attempting to do the impossible.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It appears what Singapore is trying to do is a contradiction in terms. An impossibility. Lee Kuan Yew is trying to keep the people subservient to his authoritarian rule. At the same time, he is wanting to make Singapore an international city, which exposes it to liberal ideas of freedom and democracy. These 2 conditions cannot exist together. As people become more exposed to democratic ideas from the west, Lee Kuan Yew cannot expect them to keep their mouths shut without objection to everything he orders. This is an impossible situation. And in this situation, Lee's attempt to keep an iron grip on his people must fail. This must be so.

In fact, if Lee can continue to keep the people ignorant and blind to outside influences, he will. An uneducated and ignorant people are easier to control. Easier to control peasants than executives. But even though Lee would prefer to have a peasant population such as in the villages of Cambodia, he cannot. Singapore has lost it's position as a cheap labour economy for foreign multi nationals such as neighbouring Indonesia. Cost of living has climbed. Therefore whether Lee likes it or not, Singapore has to produce high end, value added products which requires greater education to produce. The ubiquitous multinational offices in the modern high rise office towers in downtown Singapore require secretaries who are educated and computer savvy. Such a workforce in Singapore with at least a high school education will be exposed to the global political scene. They will become aware that in other places, people have rights. And they will be begin to question, why they have none. This threatens the authoritarian rule of Lee Kuan Yew.

It is not possible in a country such as Singapore which is so connected to the world, to keep the people ignorant of what goes on outside. Their interaction with the large number of foreigners who live and work in Singapore makes it impossible for Lee to hide the truth from them. As time goes on, more and more people will realize that all is not in order in Singapore. It is only a matter of time that there will be public dissatisfaction and disaffection. Unless the government is prepared to make necessary adjustments now, it is as sure as day and night, that at a point in the near future, there will be public outcry for change. And that is a good thing.

One can already see the signs of it now. A number of young people have come forward and engaged in a number of public protests such as the Freedom march. This is the first time in history that young people in such numbers have come forward to publicly show their dissatisfaction.

The increase in this disenchantment with Lee Kuan Yew and his government is, as you can see, due to various reasons. As mentioned, the greater education and sophistication among the young is one factor. Then you have the greater interaction with the large number of foreigners who run multinational companies in Singapore which increases the realization of the people as to how it works in the west, causing them to question why they have to live the way the do. Then again, you have the Internet which is a tremendous boon to the cause of freedom. The state controlled press can no longer control the minds of the people to believe that all is nice and rosy in the paradise island Singapore, as the state would want us to believe. This causes the state controlled press to lose credibility, thereby making it even more difficult for the government to convince people on the truth of their policies. And then you have the massive brain drain from Singapore made up of the educated and discerning. And they send messages back to their relatives and friends in Singapore, telling them how good life is in the West and reminding them of how miserable the lives Singaporeans live. This causes even more disenchantment among the locals.

And then, there are blogs like mine and others who repeatedly keep reminding Singaporeans that they are living as slaves, and urging them to do something for change.

Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Cabinet Minister in Lee's government recently stated with some bravado that he is not concerned about individual blogs because in his words "those blogs have a readership of one, the writer!" I would like to tell Dr. Balakrishnan that the evidence is quite different from what he believes. This blog "Singapore Dissident" started in Dec 06, has to date more than 1600 hits, just on my profile. The hits on the blog therefore has to be much larger since those regular readers who have already seen my profile would not need to read it again. The conservative estimate therefore has to be since Dec 2006, the readership must have increased to several thousand, not bad for a span of just 5 months. So Dr. Balakrishnan should know that blogs can be dangerous to the well being of Lee Kuan Yew and his ruling PAP and to Dr. Balakrishnan. Not just a readership of one, the author.

Singaporeans have lost faith or trust in the very organs of government. They are aware that the judiciary has been discredited. That the civil service is no longer independent. The state controlled press is nothing more than a propaganda sheet. They are aware that they can no longer get justice in the courts, because justice depends on who you are, not whether your cause is just.

I have a stake in the future of Singapore just as any other Singaporean. It was my father who came from India and built Singapore, just as the million or so immigrants from China, India and the Malays who built it up. Singapore belongs to us, as much as it belongs to Lee Kuan Yew and his family. I do not believe that Singaporeans will allow Singapore to be taken over by the Lee family much longer.

I think the time has come for change. If not immediately, it will come soon.

I have said in my earlier posts. The style of the other opposition leaders such as Loh Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong cannot hope to change the government through elections because the people have lost all power. Since all power rests with Lee and his government, elections become meaningless. If Lee desires, he will rig the elections. There is nothing to prevent that from happening.

One basic requirement for change is the need for the people to take back that power. They can only do it by deliberate and intentional opposition to the regime. I think the people are already aware of the need for such deliberate action. The seed for change has been sown. It is only a matter of time when the numbers of protesters will increase.

When that time comes, Lee will have to listen to his people.

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

Singapore. The justification for civil disobedience and peaceful assembly

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For those who may question the lawfulness of peaceful protests and peaceful civil disobedience, this is what I say, and I believe, this is what is universally held to be true. Just because laws have been enacted, it does not always mean they are just laws. Dictatorships and tyrants around the world enact laws and edicts, not for justice but to crush any political opposition to their continued unjust rule. In such cases, these unjust laws, do not have justification or legal basis. They should not be followed. In fact, a true patriot would feel justified, indeed duty bound, to break that law.

Singapore is one such dictatorship where the rulers enact unjust laws, not for peaceful and lawful administration of the country but for the illegal purpose of crushing any legitimate opposition.

Singapore law makes it illegal for more than 5 people to congregate in public without a permit from the government. Such a law is unjust and without legal basis. There is no logical or rational reason why 5 or more people should not get together in public in a peaceful gathering. They are not harming anyone. No one is disadvantaged because more than 5 people have got together. As you can clearly see, the only reason why the Lee Kuan Yew administration have enacted such a law is because they do not want you to engage in a peaceful protest against their rule in public. This law is entirely politically motivated. There is no other basis for this law. This is a law which can clearly be disobeyed, both under the concept of natural law, and because it has no legitimacy what soever.

Another law which is clearly unjustified is the House to House Street Collections Act which makes it an offense to receive donations from the public. There is no reason why someone asking money from the public for a legitimate cause should have to apply for a permit from the government before doing so. A political organization or political activists require money to print leaflets for distribution to the general public on their agenda; they may have to travel from place to place needing money for transportation and other legitimate expenses. There is no logical or rational reason why such an activist should require a permit before asking the public for financial donations. The donor in these cases willingly gives his money. There is no coercion or fraud whatsoever. Why then does the law require a permit before one engages in this activity? The answer can only be, that Lee Kuan Yew does not want his opponents to get any funding to be used in opposition to his rule. Such a law is illegal and without any lawful basis.

Public speaking requires a permit. Can anyone see any legitimate lawful basis for such a law? I certainly cannot. One is not harming anyone by speaking in public! Dr. Chee has been repeatedly been charged and convicted under such an unjust law. Anyone can see why Lee has such a law in place. It is to prevent anyone in opposition to him and his PAP government from being able to speak publicly to Singaporeans on why this government is unjust and tyrannical. Such a law, without any legal or moral basis is not legitimate. It therefore can and should be broken.

News material and other printed matter to be distributed publicly requires a permit from the government declaring it a newspaper before it may be disseminated publicity. Why such a law? Why should I not, with my money, print news material in news print and sell it to passers by. I am not doing any damage to anyone else by giving or selling what I write publicly. Such an activity is legal and should not require a government permit anywhere else. Not in Singapore! Why? The Lee Administration does not want anyone writing anything that is critical against Lee Kuan Yew and his government. This is not a just law. It is enacted for a political purpose, to prevent the opposition from publicising their viewpoint. This is another law that should be deliberately broken.

It seems to me totally unacceptable for the Lee Administration to impose such laws on law abiding citizens of Singapore. And Singaporeans must see that as taxpayers, and citizens, it is your money that goes to pay the salaries of these government politicians. What right do they have to say that you cannot peacefully assemble, peacefully distribute leaflets in public, peacefully give speeches in the public without first obtaining a permit from Lee and his government! Totally unacceptable.

I am not suggesting for one moment that you should break any law that you disagree with. Most laws are just and must be followed. For example, no one can argue that there should not be criminal penalties for theft. But why should one have a permit for 5 people to assemble together in public?

As long as you can see that many of the laws are put in place not for reasons of justice but to stifle political opposition, you should feel both the right and the duty to disobey such laws.

At present there are so many glaring injustices crying out for protest and peaceful assembly. One of the most egregious is the Prime Minster paying himself $10,000.00 per day when the poor have to live on less than $300.00 per month, resulting in not being able to afford 3 meals a day! And everyone has seen the total insensitivity of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. You will recall that immediately after paying themselves humongous salary increases, they appeared on TV dancing the twist! As if to mock the poor in Singapore even further, to rub salt in their wounds, since many poor people live on $300.00 per month. Has anyone asked the government why they found it necessary to dance publicly? Are they politicians or entertainers?

I suggest that you and other like minded responsible citizens should print leaflets and distribute them publicly explaining the injustices that this Lee Administration perpetrates, collecting money from the public while distributing leaflets to defray printing and other costs. I suggest such public distribution of leaflets be done on a massive scale throughout the island. As you will receive donations while doing so, the money can be used to print more leaflets. You should also assemble deliberately with more than 5 persons and make speeches. You should do everything that the law prevents you from doing, unjust laws that is.

I have no doubt in your succeeding in this endeavour because when you commence in such activity, others will join. In numbers you become stronger. It is not possible or practical for the government to arrest and prosecute each and everyone of you. I think this is what the government is afraid of, and this is exactly what you should do.

In this confrontation with an unjust government, everyone can see that the truth is on your side. That is why there is only one winner. That is you. And that is why the government is so afraid. And that is why I ask that you seize this opportunity. You cannot fail.

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

Dr. Chee's Freedom Walkers now under investigation will not face prosecution. You can count on it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you know, a number of people who marched for freedom with Dr. Chee's SDP, at the last WTO/IMF meeting last year in Singapore are being investigated by the police for possible criminal offenses such as inciting violence and other preposterously false accusations. I can confidently predict that none of them will be charged with any offence. This whole exercise by the Singapore police, working at the behest of Lee and his governing ruling party is intended to intimidate any possible political protesters against their tyranny. They are hoping that this intimidation of these brave and admirable young men and women, who have dared to stand up for their rights, would make them think twice about ever going against Lee's rule, thereby stifling any possible threat to them.

Lee as you know, in his cowardly fashion, uses the Singapore Police Force, as an instrument of supression of the people's aspirations, to suppress political opposition to him. Therefore the Singapore Police Force, instead of upholding the Constitution and the Rule of Law, is used by Lee as a political weapon. The Police Force in Singapore are quite happy to carry out this dirty work for Lee.

Here what we see is a number of educated spirited idealistic young men and women who feel that they are being denied their fundamental rights by this Lee dictatorship. Unlike almost the entire population, these proud and honorable men and women decided that they, unlike the majority, who are afraid, are going to do something about it.

What they did was to peacefully march on the streets and distribute leaflets to the public alerting them to their plight in having to live in a dictatorship. Not in any country in the world, except perhaps Burma which is ruled by a military junta, would such an activity be considered criminal. Indeed, by all accounts, we would all say that what these young men and women did was an honorable act, a civic duty in asking people not to live as slaves. An act for which they should be commended. These men and women should be admired and honored for their actions which was a civic duty and a public responsibility.

Not in Singapore! Lee's cowardly regime which lives in fear of it's own citizens are threatened by the acts of these men and women. I say cowardly, because only a cowardly regime, would be so afraid of a handful of peaceful marchers, so much so as to initiate a criminal investigation!

And you may want to ask, criminal investigation for what? What criminal act did these men and women do? I understand that one of the accusations against them is that they incited violence! How much more ridiculous can this Lee administration be? How can a few peaceful marchers incite violence, by doing nothing more than marching and distributing leaflets?

I think by now, most of us know the disgusting cowardly modus operandi of this cowardly administration. The whole idea is intimidation. To instill fear in these men and women hoping that they will not, in the future, dare to exercise their fundamental rights and live in fear as the other ordinary Singaporeans who live as slaves in fear and submission. The Police demand of them to come to police stations where they are subjected to criminal interrogation and statements taken from them. They are made to do this a few times. During these investigations the police will threaten them with all sorts of punishment if ever they questioned the government again. While this police harassment goes on, the parents and the families of these men and women will perhaps dissuade them from taking part in political activity. In this manner, through fear, Lee and his banana republic hope that these courageous men and women will be sufficiently intimidated and will give up any future idea to oppose the tyrants. Once these people have been sufficiently harassed, the police will write, to them, as is their style, that this time they have decided not to prosecute, warning them not to do it again. End of chapter. This is how this cowardly regime in Singapore works.

I know this from personal knowledge. This is exactly what they did to me when I was in Singapore, as a treasurer for JB Jeyaretnam's donations, which he had received from the public. The investigation against me was an alleged offence under the House to House Street Collections Act, an entirely meritless accusation. I resisted any accusation and challenged them to charge me. At the end, the result was as predicted. When they saw that I was refusing to submit, they decided not to file any charges and give me a warning instead. The written warning was duly deposited into garbage, where it belonged.

This is what I will tell my courageous friends who marched for freedom. Do not give in. Do not confess to anything. Write your statements the way you want, explaining in full the justifications for what you did and be proud of it. At the end, these Lee's bully boys will dare not do anything. They are hoping that you will be thoroughly intimidated. Do not be afraid of these bullies. Instead, this episode should strengthen your resolve to increase the support for these political actions among other Singaporeans.

Stand your ground Singaporeans. Justice is on your side. You will prevail.

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

Yes! This time Dr. Chee has done it! Yes. He has done it! Excellent! Brilliant!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This time Dr. Chee has done it! Dr. Chee of the SDP had successfully organized a Freedom March during the IMF World Bank meeting in Singapore. A number of people had openly marched for freedom and democracy in Singapore. Now the police are questioning them with offences such as inciting violence and marching without permits. But all of them remain defiant. They not only have refused to admit any wrongdoing, since they have not done any wrong, they have gone public and posted videos of themselves reading statements defying the Singapore police and stating not only that they were proud of what they did, but they intend to do it again, as many many times as they want. Bravo.

The videos of these protesters reading out their statements of defiance and civil disobedience can be see in the Singaporedemocrat website, website of the SDP and in the blog Singabloodypore.

For the first time the wheel of freedom is now turning. These proud and courageous men and women have told the Singapore government, very clearly, that they know their rights and that includes peaceful protest. They have challenged the government to prosecute them, and send them to prison, but no matter what, they will not budge from being proud citizens of Singapore. They will not stop exercising their fundamental rights.

The government is now in a quandary, thanks to these courageous men and women. During the entire history of Singapore, whenever the government threatened to charge political opponents for lawfully exercising their fundamental rights, the mere threat itself was sufficient for them to capitulate. Now thankfully it is different. These courageous young men and women are saying "no" to the Singapore government bullies. They are saying openly that they will not take the nonsense from the government anymore.

What is even more encouraging in this case is, these defiant young men and women are not the usual professional politicians such as Dr. Chee and JB Jeyaretnam. They are just ordinary folks like anyone else. For the first time, ordinary folks are standing up for their freedom. If these men and women stand undaunted, fearlessly and face whatever harassment the government throws at them, then others will follow. A mass movement for political change would have begun.

The government misjudged the courage and fortitude of Singaporeans when they decided to investigate these courageous Singaporeans. It would have been better for the government to have just left them alone. Now the government, in their usual stupidity, have opened a Pandora's box. A can of worms. If they prosecute them, and they stand defiant and face the punishment, they will be emboldened to do more even more. They will embolden others to follow. You will have more protests in sympathy. The government will become politically castrated. They would have lost control. On the other hand, if after these investigations, they do not prosecute, the same result will follow. These young men and women would have won and Lee would have lost.

I apologize for saying this from a distance. I salute all of you. You have courage. Unlike thousands of other Singaporeans, you have shown that you are true men and women. I ask that you do not buckle under the pressure, and I am sure you won't. Fight on. Protest on. Make others join you. This is the moment. The moment has come. Seize the day.

I ask JB Jeyaretnam to join the protest. It will give tremendous credibility to the movement. If JB Jeyaretnam really believes in the cause of freedom in Singapore, then he should please join the protesters. I ask the other opposition parties and politicians to do the same. Join the movement for change. Demand your rights openly. It is honorable. Merely contesting elections is not enough. The protest movement is a necessary ingredient for change.

All those who have stood up and are fighting in Singapore for freedom have my respect. You are much greater men and women than I am. In Singapore many years ago, I too was persecuted for my beliefs. Although I fought them and stood my ground for some years, I decided to have a good life rather than continue suffering under Lee's persecution. I then took the easy way out and left for America. Dr. Chee and you people who stand and fight, are much greater men and women than I am. I salute you.

I ask that all those who are aware of what these men and women are going through, to join them, help them and support them in their fight for freedom.

Your actions remind me of MK Gandhi defiantly making salt at the beach at Gujarat, in defiance of the British Law requiring a permit to make salt which was a British Government monopoly by law. Gandhi defied that law. And the mighty British could do nothing. At that moment, India became free, at least in spirit. Similarly in your case. When you courageous proud men and women, citizens of Singapore stood your ground and protested despite police objections, at that moment Singapore became free and democratic, at least in spirit. You have already won and the dictatorship has lost.

I salute you.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com

Is Law Society President's statement that lawyers are in short supply because of a surging economy correct?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The President of the Law Society of Singapore, Phillip Jeyaretnam, has remarked that lawyers are in short supply because of a "surging economy and a property boom" reported in Straits Times May 27, 2007. This is quite hard to believe, especially because the rest of the same report in the Straits Times says "some 329 practicing lawyers, more than half of whom are women, did not renew their practicing certificates!" And then there is more in the report! It says "the number of those who did not renew their practicing reports was higher than in the past 2 years!"

Is there something wrong here or am I not reading correctly? On the one hand Mr. Jeyaretnam, the son of the politician Jeyaretnam, says the economy is surging. Surely that must be good news, and therefore not only that lawyers would want to continue practicing law but more would want to enter the profession. Surely that must be so if the "economy is surging" and there is a "property boom" according to Jeyaretnam Junior, the son of the famous JB Jeyaretnam.

These 2 facts, if indeed they are facts, are conflicting and makes no sense.

Therefore I believe Jeyaretnam junior is trying either to tell us something else, or he is giving us double talk, Orwellian doubletalk.

May I be permitted please to tell you the truth, which I am sure you already know, for which I beg your pardon. The truth is as follows.

The vast majority of lawyers who have a conscience and some self respect and integrity, unlike Mr. Jeyaretnam Junior, are not prepared to claim to uphold the law, when the law in Singapore is merely to please Lee Kuan Yew, his family and friends and carry out his authoritarian dictates without complaint. Lawyers more than anyone else, honest lawyers that is, are aware that the law in Singapore has been thoroughly discredited, judges are corrupt and the Law Society President himself knows that he is there, not to protect the Singapore Constitution but to ensure that Lee Kuan Yew can continue to use defamation lawsuits against political opponents with impunity, his father being one.

Therefore honest upright lawyers continue to leave the profession, despite the "economy surging" and the "property booming". They wish to have nothing to do with the likes of Jeyaretnam Junior or the Kangaroo Judges who do the dirty work of demolishing the opposition, where the law is used as an instrument of oppression. In other words the vast majority of lawyers who leave are not prepared to do the kind of work and say the kind of things that Jeyaretnam Junior does for a living, which is nothing more than say and do anything that the Lee Administration wants said and done, to protect the corrupt legal system existing in Lee's Singapore.

Therefore lawyers leave the profession. And thanks to people like Dr. Chee of the Singapore Democratic Party, they will continue to expose the corruption of the law and the judiciary in Singapore, making it even more difficult to persuade honest good lawyers to join your legal profession or rather the profession that permits itself to be used as a political weapon to destroy Lee's political opponents.

As any honest lawyer knows, it is impossible to practice law in Singapore and keep your conscience intact. Jeyaretnam Junior does not have a conscience or self respect. So he is prepared to do the dirty work he does everyday, that is, as President of the Law Society of Singapore he permits himself to be used as a rubber stamp for Lee Kuan Yew orders violating the constitution against political opponents. He gladly gives legitimacy, as President of the Law Society for Lee Kuan Yew's erosion of the rule of law, by meekly submitting without even a whimper of complaint! Therefore he has no difficulty practicing in that island. But the vast majority of other lawyers are not like him. They have some pride, some self respect. So they refuse to renew their practicing certificates. And they emigrate if they can.

So, Jeyaretnam Junior, I suggest you try telling something else. This time it is not working.

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

Singapore, Lee's First World Country denies it's children an education!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Lee as you know daily tells us Singapore is a first world country. We are told everyday by the State Controlled press that Singapore's economy is improving, the foreign reserves are swelling at the brim, the infra structure is being improved, the MRT is the best in the world, so is the airport, the people have become the second richest in Asia after Japan. In other words, according to him, and his state controlled press, Singapore is wallowing in money, more money than they know what to do with. According to him, we should all be happy and contented since Lee has taken so good care of us, but instead he has found Singaporeans to be ungrateful for emigrating from Singapore in record numbers, in spite of the good life that he claims he has given us!

One of those who are unhappy with Lee, despite all that Lee claims that he has done for the people, which is a whole load of hogwash, is See Chee Wee. See had written to the Straits Times, May 29, 2007 "A B and E but no place in local universities"bitterly hurt with Lee's paradise because the government refuses to give See's daughter an education. Now imagine that. Singapore which claims to have the second highest standard of living in Asia, with huge financial reserves, refuses to provide education to his child.

The facts are these. Mr. See's daughter had passed the A Levels with grades A, B, C (General Paper) and an E. She is also and excellent sportswoman. Good grades all around. But most importantly, she passed her A Levels. She is therefore entitled, as of right, to go to University, by virtue of her passing. But it appears that her application to all the universities were refused allegedly because there was no space available!

My questions to Lee and his first world government are these? Do you not have a duty to provide an education to your children, since you claim that you are first world and you have more money than you know what to do with? Is the provision of education not your legal responsibility and obligation? If there are not enough college places, is that not strange for a country with so much money and resources? Should you not start building more colleges immediately to educate the daughter of Mr. See immediately? In any case, why was this not done before?

And the fundamental point is this. Mr. See's daughter has passed, and that alone is reason enough for the government to have to provide her a place at college. It is not a case of discretion here. Her passing entitles her a place in college. Repeat, she has passed. She need not have got the excellent grades that she in fact received. It is sufficient that she passed. It is her right to receive a tertiary education. What sort of a government are you, when you deny your children an education, in spite of the fact that you can financially afford to provide the college places for her.

And what is worse is this. Mr. See and his daughter are Singaporeans. They should have the first right, first before any foreigner to be educated. Yet we notice that you not only provide places in Singapore colleges for foreigners, you dish out hundreds of scholarships for foreigners, while you deny a Singaporean like See's daughter, a place in college, even though she has passed!

And when you behave with such cruelty and disregard to your own people, are you surprised that thousands of Singaporeans from your paradise island are leaving your country in disgust never to look back.

I feel very sorry for Mr. See's daughter. I think most people reading his letter would say this refusal to provide her an education is outrageous. Totally unacceptable.

I do not know what goes on in the heads of Lee and his multi million dollar ministers, but I will say this. See's daughter has done well. She has passed. She deserves a place in college. Not referring to her case, let me say this. Children develop at different levels at different times. A child who had been slow in education when young would perhaps change when older. What matters is the child's desire and ambition. A country would do well when it recognizes a child's aspirations and helps the child to achieve it.

Mr. See's daughter may want to be a helicopter pilot. A scuba diver. An anthropologist. A whatever. It is the duty of the government to help the child achieve these aspirations. If a child was a weak student when young, you give the child another chance. A hundred chances. A thousand chances! That way everyone becomes what they want they want to be. Instead Lee Kuan Yew and his government feel that only a child who consistently does well should have tertiary education. If the child fails when young, either through mischief or frivolity, the child should be condemned to not receiving a tertiary education. This is the thinking of these so called million dollar ministers!

Mr. See's daughter may have great aspirations. She may want to be a brain doctor, a scientist or an astronaut. And I am sure she will if she puts her heart to it. But she must be given a chance. She may not have done as well as she wanted, but the fact is, she has passed. What more do you want! In any case, there should be no reason why she would not be the top student of her class, if she is given a chance in university this year. What right do you have to condemn her to mediocrity just because she has not done as well as expected. She has passed for Heaven's sake!

And Lee's government in refusing to provide an education to her seems even more disgusting, more cruel, even criminal, because Singapore is financially able to provide that education. According to them, they can afford to pay their Ministers millions of dollars and their government reserves have more money than any other country in the region.

In Europe, country like Germany pay their students to study, resulting in Germans spending many years in education, enabling their countries to retain their best. This is because the Germans love their country for what it does for them, and when they are educated, they remain in Germany doing their best for their country. Germans love their country because their country loves them. In Singapore it is the exact opposite. The government has no interest in educating their children and their children instead hate their government. In a recent survey in Singapore, as many as 47% of young people said they would emigrate if given a chance.

I do not think Mr. See should take thing lying down. I think he should stand up and go the Ministry of Education in Kay Siang Road and demand that his daughter be given a place forthwith and refuse to leave unless he receives a satisfactory answer.

Dr. Chee and others should assemble sufficient good parents and children and protest publicly that this crass disregard of their children's interests has to stop immediately.

And someone should tell these Million dollar ministers a simple truth. Children are not machines. They cannot be programmed to consistently get high scores in school all the time. Not being machines, we sometimes do well, sometimes not so well. So everyone should be given a chance to catch up, not only when they are young but even in later part of their lives. A man might be merely a mechanic but in his 30s, he may want to go to university to become an engineer. And why not? He may turn out to be the best engineer the country had ever produced.

In a way, Lee and his PAP are doing the opposition a great deal of good. They keep shooting themselves in the foot every time by these heartless cruel policies which consistently tend to push more and more Singaporeans to hate their government. So perhaps, in the not too distant future, resulting from their penchant for self destruction, perhaps the people will revolt after all. Well we can only hope so.

Please read my related posting in this blog "Singapore. The art of keeping people subservient" Dec 29, 2006.

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