Protest against annuities. Sept 8th, 2007 at 4.00 pm at Centerpoint.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Various blogs, Internet forums are reporting that a peaceful protest will be held on Sept 8th, 2007 at 4.00 pm. Protesters will be wearing black.

As I had expected Singaporeans have finally said, enough is enough. They have finally realized that merely accepting anything and everything thrown at them by the Lee Kuan Yew Administration is actually working to their detriment. They should have realized this as far back as 1965! But still it is never too late.

The protesters should keep in mind that this time, they are in control. Not the PAP or the police. There have been far too many instances of repression; too many times have their rights been trodden over; their fundamental liberties diluted and in fact entirely denied and all this time they have remained silent. They have, in their Asian tradition of tolerance and respect taken the beating this far quietly.

But even Asians steeped in the culture of respect and authority have a limit beyond which they will no longer endure. And I think, this time, that limit has come.

It has come because in recent times, other than fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and liberty which have been taken away from the people, Lee Kuan Yew has begun to hit at their very means of survival, their livelihood, their means of earning a living. Although people, usually Asians, may sometimes tolerate the dilution of democratic ideals such as freedom of speech, which may not affect their very livelihood; they would find it intolerable if the government denies their very survival, their ability to feed themselves and their children. And this is what the PAP administration is now finally doing. And this is where Lee Kuan Yew has finally crossed the line.

There is presently an nationwide opposition of the Lee Administration especially because of the recent economic policies which have seriously affected the very existence of the majority of Singaporeans. The very high prices charged for HDB leases have meant that most Singaporeans have no choice but to use their CPF earnings to pay for the leases, which by the way was meant for their retirement; which they now use to pay for their monthly leases. This means that they have very little left in their CPF for their retirement.

To to rub salt into the wounds; the government has stated that the original retirement date of 55 years is too early. Therefore the date is extended now to 65 years before they can see any money. And if that was not bad enough, to make matters even worse, the government came up with a rule that they must now leave in the CPF (meaning they cannot withdraw) several thousand dollars as security for their old age and only paltry sums each month will be released to them for their daily survival. In actual fact, having paid astronomical sums for the HDB leases, in effect means, most people have nothing left in retirement anyway! As a result now, they and their children are suffering severe financial hardship. And it makes it even worse when the suffering they endure is when they are old and infirm!

As proof thereof, the mounting number of suicides with people throwing themselves out of their high rise apartments and jumping onto oncoming trains on an average rate of one suicide a day or more! And while all this goes on, they are aware that Lee Kuan Yew and his friends are earning $3 million a year! And that is what makes it intolerable.

And if all this was not enough, the government has now come up with annuities requiring Singaporeans to continue paying until they are 85 years old. The sum result of all this is that the government is determined to deny the average Singaporean any meaningful retirement. The original promise that CPF was to be a retirement fund is now completely and effectively reneged. Now one can safely say there is no retirement scheme in Singapore at all. Workers are required under penalty of law to pay each month, into the CPF funds, for which they will not see any benefit in the end at all. The only ones benefiting are Lee Kuan Yew his family and the PAP cronies. And all this wealth that Lee and his family are enjoying are the peoples' money from the CPF ; paid by the very ones who are killing themselves by jumping in front of oncoming trains!

As a result of this painful economic body blow that the people suffering due to these inhuman economic policies of the Lee Administration; almost to every man, there is a nationwide dislike and opposition towards this Administration. The people are now strong in numbers, since after all, the government cannot jail everyone, bankrupt everyone or dismiss everyone from their jobs. The government will not be able to function even for a day if they did that.

The government of Singapore is now more afraid of you than you think.

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