Friday, May 30, 2008

Lee Kuan Yew: If bloggers who defame me identify themselves, I will sue them!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am Gopalan Nair. Today is May 31, 2008 at 10.40am Singapore time. I am at present in Singapore at Broadway Hotel, Room 708, 195 Serangoon Road, Singapore, 218067. The hotel telephone number is is 62924661. My local SingTel telephone number is 83764236.

In my last blog post, I had narrated the shameful spectacle of Lee Kuan Yew and his Prime Minister son abusing the legal system for their political ends through their lawyer Davinder Singh and a compliant judge, both compliant and suppliant to Lee Kuan Yew's demands to abuse the law, Belinda Ang, to punish his political opponents Dr. Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin.

I repeat the threat that Lee Kuan Yew had made on day two of the show trial during the last 3 days in the High Court. When asked by Dr. Chee whether he will sue those who write on the Internet defamations against him, I mean defamations in the Singaporean sense, his definitive unequivocal answer was that he will sue them. There is no doubt in the Singaporean sense, I have defamed him and his Prime Minister son, not only in my last blog post but in almost all my blog posts since my blog's inception in December 2006.

My posts have attracted great popular interest throughout Singapore and has been repeatedly and widely re-posted throughout the island in other blogs and political forums. A wide section and spectrum of Singaporeans have read them and interest in them increases daily. And as Lee Kuan Yew has himself said with both bravado and gusto, a lie has to be nailed because otherwise through dissemination people who matter, Singapore citizens, will begin to take it seriously.

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, you have called Dr. Chee a liar, a cheat, a scoundrel, a criminal and various other abusive epithets. Let me tell Mr. Lee Kuan Yew that these words that you have uttered apply to you and your son, not to Dr. Chee Soon Juan.

Not only in my mind but in the minds of countless Singaporeans, Lee Kuan Yew and his Prime Minister son are men so weak that the only way they can stay in power is through fear and intimidation of their citizens through the abuse of legal process and other shameful means.

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, look here. I am now within your jurisdiction and that of your corrupt police and your corrupt judiciary who will do anything you want of them, however criminal and illegal.

What are you going to do about it?

Gopalan Nair
Broadway Hotel
Singapore
May 31, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is Gopalan Nair in Singapore today, May 29, 2008. I have been in Singapore since May 25, 2008, and staying now at Broadway Hotel, Room 708, 195 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218067.

I am deliberately stating my identity and my present exact location for a definite purpose. On day 2 of the trial in Singapore, day before yesterday, in the Lee Kuan Yew and son verses Dr. Chee Soon Juan case, Lee senior had said in answer to a question by Dr. Chee, that if he, Lee Kuan Yew, knew the identity of bloggers in cyberspace who defamed him (defamation being used of course in the Singaporean sense), he will sue and bankrupt them.

He had earlier sidestepped the question by saying, that he had difficulty suing critics of his in the Internet because their identities were not usually known. When pressed, he categorically and deliberately stated that he will sue if they made known their identities.

Well, what you are going to read should be without question defamatory of Mr. Lee and his son, that is in the warped and hare brained Alice in Wonderland meaning of the word "defamation". It will be interesting to see if this Singapore strongman, Lee Kuan Yew and son, who strut around the small island of Singapore bullying everyone who so much as criticized, will sue me now for calling him nothing more than a small time street bully; since now, we have myself Gopalan Nair who has the temerity to identify himself and state his presence with full address in Singapore.

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, see here. I am now within the jurisdiction of your courts; I repeat, "the jurisdiction of your courts" because literally they are your courts, willing to commit any crime or injustice you will demand of them.

During the last 3 days of the court hearing, up till yesterday, in the High Court, before your stooge of a judge, Belinda Ang in Court 4, you and your Prime Minister son conducted yourselves as expected, no better than cowards hiding behind the coat tails of your equally cowardly counsel doubling up as a PAP politician in court; who managed with the full co-operation of the said judge to ensure that you came to court merely for form, refusing to answer almost all questions that went directly to your integrity or rather the lack of it.

After the end of the 3 days in court, it left no doubt in my mind that you and your son are indeed what international human rights organizations say you are, nothing more than tin pot tyrants who remain in power by abusing the courts to eliminate your political opponents. You are clearly corrupt, as is your government, because paying yourself $3.7 million is corruption pure and simple and in the end you have lost all credibility and moral authority to govern Singapore.

The following transpired during the last 3 days in court. The judge Belinda Ang was throughout prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders. There was murder, the rule of law being the repeated victim.

The issue in the said court was the determination of the quantum of damages payable by the innocent victim, Dr. Chee Soon Juan who had earlier been found liable by this judge for defamation of character of Mr. Lee and son, where the law was once again abused through the contrivance of a process known as summary proceedings, thereby disallowing Dr. Chee to produce any witnesses or to cross-examine those of Mr. Lee because there were none.

The said 3 day of hearing before the court was nothing more than a mockery of justice; a charade, a make believe that appeared right out of the pages of Alice in Wonderland with Belinda Ang playing the role of the Queen of Hearts before the trial of the Mouse who stole the Tarts very well indeed. It almost appeared that she was going to dispense with all testimony and come straight to the verdict of guilty so as not to waste her valuable time!

It would be fair to say, in fact an understatement, that in effect she disallowed Dr. Chee any effective cross examination of either the father Lee Kuan Yew or the son, as Mr. Singh, their counsel was almost having a workout like in a gym; standing up to object, and sitting down after almost each and every question that Dr. Chee put to his father and son clients. In fact Singh was popping up and down almost without let up during the several hours of the hearing so much so, that someone suggested to me that it would have been a good idea if he remained standing throughout the case to facilitate his expected objections at each and every question of Dr. Chee.

If Dr. Chee did manage to ask even one question, it was because he went ahead and asked it despite the objection of both Mr. Singh and the judge because if he did not, he would not have been able to ask any questions at all!

Dr. Chee has asked Lee's son how much he was being paid, that is $3.7 million, 6 times what George Bush is paid! Question disallowed and the son shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks whether it is just for him to corruptly steal this amount of taxpayer's money while the poor in the 1 room flats starve without any financial assistance! Question disallowed and the son shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks why the GIC and HDB function under a shroud of secrecy without any transparency, when the moneys in them is taxpayers money? Question disallowed and the son shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks whether he knew that those who read the Internet overwhelmingly hated him as a tyrant and a bully and the only ones singing praises in his name are the Singapore state owned and controlled media? Question disallowed and the son shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks whether the international community looks at him no better than a despot and a father's son? Question disallowed and the son shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee had asked this Lee Kuan Yew's son why he said in the 2006 elections that " if there were more opposition candidates at elections, he will have to "fix" them and bribe his voters to win elections"? Question disallowed and the son shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

There were many more questions put to him just as the above questions, all very relevant, which, had they been answered, would have shown that he had no integrity or reputation whatsoever, and since integrity and reputation are the issues in deciding quantum of damages, Lee Kuan Yew's son should have been awarded no damages at all; that is provided we have an independent judiciary, which we have not.

Any honest spectator in the court's gallery would have come away with one opinion alone, that is, this man is Prime Minister only because he happens to be the son of his father. If he really wanted to show that he was in fact in control, he could have easily told his lawyer to stop being the Jack in the Box and stop popping up and down with his objections and let him handle the questions. At each question, he was looking meekly at his counsel to see whether he has to answer it. If I could put it in a simple way, he was nothing more than a helpless boy.

The following refer to Lee Kuan Yew's testimony or rather the lack of it.

Chee asked him whether he came to power through unfair means in 1959, as shown by declassified British Colonial Office documents in London? Question disallowed and the father shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks about his throwing Lim Chin Siong, his political compatriot, in jail under the ISA in solitary confinement for several years in the 1960s and whether this was a sign of a man with a reputation and integrity? Question disallowed and the father shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks about the Operation Cold Store in the 1960s where he jails political opponents because he fears he might be overthrown? Question disallowed and the father shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks about Chia Thye Poh, Zaid Zakaharia and Lim Hock Siew, his political opponents whom he imprisons without cause for many many years? Question disallowed and the father shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Chee asks whether the only people who have a good opinion of him are his state owned and controlled Singapore press, whereas everyone else in Singapore as well as the entire list of respectable foreign organizations and countries including the entire European Union consider him as a thug and small time street bully? Question disallowed and the father shamefully just sits there, protected by his counsel Mr. Singh and the kangaroo judge.

Other than the dubious Transparency International Kula Lumpur Chapter (not to be confused with Transparency International of Berlin Germany) he was asked whether anyone else considered him in high regard other than the local press which he controls? His answer was that PERC and a Swiss organization, both of whom cater for businessmen thought highly of him. But when asked whether highly respected Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Without Borders, Reporters without Borders, ILRW and several other international bodies considered him a crook; he had nothing to say, because as usual the Jack Rabbit Davinder Singh stood up once again to object and the judge obediently sustained the objection.

Then Lee Kuan Yew went on to insult Dr. Chee with impunity, that he is a liar, a cheat a charlatan, a criminal and what not. Of course the judge permitted these insults, since after all Lee Kuan Yew and his son owned the courts and the judge as well.

These court proceeding were nothing more than a sham, a charade and a mockery of justice. It was very clear that both father and son had no integrity or credibility whatsoever. They were ruling Singapore through fear and those who are able to leave the country leave it in droves, only to be replaced by Mandarin speaking immigrants from the Peoples Republic of China who speak no English at all.

If there was one result of these proceedings it was this. Dr. Chee' impeccable reputation was vindicated. He came out of these proceedings truly as the statesman that he is, and he demolished these two petty thugs Lee and his son, perhaps not in this Singapore kangaroo court, but truly in the court of truth and conscience.

And in fact despite the objection of Mr. Singh and Belinda Ang, Dr. Chee Soon Juan did manage to say to both father and son, that regardless of what the court decides, in the court of natural justice, in the court of truth and in the court of moral conscience, they had that day lost all moral authority to govern Singapore.

I believe, not only me, but every single person who walked away from that courthouse yesterday came away with that same judgment.

As the Lees know, I am a lawyer practicing in Fremont California and a member of the California Bar. My question to Lee Kuan Yew and his son is this. Are you going to stand by your threat and sue me for defamation as well? I am presently physically within your jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of your kangaroo courts. Are you going to going to send your process server to me with your writ of summons? Or are you, as expected, all talk and no action, when you meet those not afraid of you, just as how a petty street thug would behave?

Gopalan Nair
Broadway Hotel,
Serangoon Road, Singaproe

May 29, 2008

Monday, May 26, 2008

Correct telephone number 83764236: Announcement. Gopalan Nair Visiting Singapore, May 25th 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please note the telephone number to contact me earlier given in my earlier post is incorrect. The correct telephone number to contact me while in Singapore is 83764236. I apologize for any inconvienience.

Gopalan Nair will be visiting Singapore from the United States. He will arrive in Changi Airport, Singapore on Sunday May 25th 2008 late night. If you wish to contact him, please call Singapore mobile local telephone number: 83764236 from Monday, May 26, 2008. Gopalan Nair will be staying a week in Singapore. Your phone calls are very welcome. Contact: Singapore telephone 83764236 as from Monday May 26, 2008.

Best Wishes

Gopalan Nair
Singapore Dissident

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Announcement. Gopalan Nair Visiting Singapore, May 25th 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Gopalan Nair will be visiting Singapore from the United States. He will arrive in Changi Airport, Singapore on Sunday May 25th 2008 late night. If you wish to contact him, please call Singapore mobile local telephone number: 97860241 from Monday, May 26, 2008 morning. Gopalan Nair will be staying a week in Singapore. Your phone calls are very welcome.

Contact: Singapore telephone 97860241 as from Monday May 26, 2008 morning.

Best Wishes
Gopalan Nair
Singapore Dissident

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Singapore. A prison state.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singaporeans are in truth prisoners in their own country. The Chief Superintendent of this prison is Lee Kuan Yew, with his son, the Prime Minister together with his other ministers being senior prison wardens.

This category includes the High Court judges, senior civil servants, teachers and other senior government officials. The normal Joe Bloke is just a prisoner. The only difference between the regular prison and the Republic of Singapore is the fact that you cannot escape from a normal prison. You can from Singapore if you want. And that is exactly what many do by emigrating to reside permanently in other countries. Many are unable to escape because they either lack the skills that other countries need or because they are unwilling to accept the rigors inherent in moving.

I was just looking at the index of country democracy listings on Wikipedia. Please click on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index . You will see that Singapore is one step below Albania! It is 84th down on the list with Albania and Bolivia more democratic and Madagascar and Lebanon less democratic than Singapore. Despite Lee Kuan Yew, the strongman or the Chief Prison Warden, claiming Singapore to be first world country, it is truly much worse than the worst third world countries in the world, in spite of the skyscrapers at Raffles Place!

In a normal prison, prisoners cannot complain, since even if you did, it is not going to make a whole world of difference. Furthermore all reading material in prisons are monitored and censored. Exactly the same in Singapore. All newspapers and media are owned by Singapore Press Holdings which is fully owned and operated by Lee Kuan Yew and his government. Singaporeans have no access to independent news. They can purchase foreign newspapers but they usually do not cover domestic issues. You are left with government censored information, just as the prisoner in San Quentin, California serving a life sentence, is left with censored mail.

Most people in Singapore have jobs. In a normal prison, the prisoners are given jobs in the prison laundry, the prison bakery and other work that prisoners can do. This the prison administration ensures. But prisoners in a prison are unable to bargain for higher wages. Prisons do not have workers unions. A prisoner has no choice but to accept the work and the meager pay that is dished out. No difference at all for Singaporeans. Singaporeans have to work to feed their families. But just as the prisoners in San Quentin Penitentiary, they cannot negotiate their wages. On the surface, there are such things as unions in Singapore but they exist in name only. In fact the workers unions in Singapore represent the employers and the Singapore government; not the workers. Singaporean workers, just as any other normal prisoners, are powerless and unrepresented.

Prisons do not permit prisoners to exercise fundamental rights such as free speech and expression and the right to free assembly. If you protest or start making speeches that the prison wardens in San Quentin do not want to hear, you will probably be sent to solitary confinement and beaten up. Just like San Quentin, Singapore too does not permit the right to free speech and assembly. If you did you will be charged in court and a Singapore judge will fine you. If you do not pay, you will end up in prison. In fact this punishing activity is now happening as we speak. Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party has recently, once again been convicted for making a public speech. He will be sentenced on May 30, 2008 by Judge Jusvinder Kaur of the Subordinate Courts. He will be sent off to jail again.

In prison, if you criticize the chief warden, you will be meted out additional punishment which usually is solitary confinement. In Singapore if you criticize Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, you will be sued for defamation of character and a judge will order you to pay Lee Kuan Yew one million Singapore dollars and not being able to pay, you will be bankrupted. Which means you will have no money to feed yourself and neither will your family. You will starve.

As a prisoner in a normal prison, you will not be able to complain on how much the wardens receive in wages. If you did, you will be punished and you will be thrown into solitary. In Singapore just as if you were a prisoner in San Quentin, you are disallowed from complaining that Mr. Lee Kuan Yew pays himself $3.7 million a year, a bribe and corruption, which is a fact. If you criticized, you will be again sued and another one million dollars will be awarded against you, and failing to pay, you will be bankrupted multiple times. How one bankruptcy as opposed to multiple bankruptcies are different I am unable to tell. In any case, even if Hinduism were true and you will in fact be born again, it is unlikely that you will ever be able to pay Mr. Lee Kuan Yew these several millions.

In prison, wherever you go, you are watched. There are monitors and cameras all over the prison looking out at every action of yours. No difference in Singapore. Intelligence officers are all over the place keeping a lookout at whatever you do and keeping record of each movement. If you criticize, your ability to earn a living is immediately terminated.

In prison, it is best to keep a low profile. The less you are seen, it is better. Being an extrovert is not a good practice in prison. The best way to live in prison is to be friendly to everybody and do your work well. This will mean the prisoner receiving a certificate of good conduct and the jail time reduced for good behavior. Same in the Republic of Singapore. It is not a good idea to be conspicuous. A nail that is sticking out will be hammered in, is the correct aphorism. That is why you see most Singaporeans have nothing much to say about anything. They do their work and go home, unobtrusive and unnoticed. Just like the prisoner in San Quentin who just wants to be left alone.

In one sense, Singaporeans are even worse off than any normal prisoner. In a normal prison, the prison wardens are not permitted to keep all the profits from the wok done by their prisoners. In Singapore Lee Kuan Yew and his friends keep all the profits for themselves. And if any Singaporean complains, he will sue you and make you a bankrupt the next minute.


With more and more people demanding their normal humanity and refusing to live like prisoners, Singapore is suffering from a brain drain. As a result Singapore Airlines and other major companies are finding it increasingly difficult to operate efficiently. Worrying about his own future, Lee Kuan Yew has gone to other normal countries such as Australia trying to persuade Singaporeans to return to the prison island of Singapore. Obviously they are refusing to come back. It should be no surprise to anyone. Why should they return to Singapore, a prison, when they have successfully managed to escape?

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Singapore. The ultimate police state.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Below the surface of the glass towers, the skyscrapers, the Parliament, the elections and the speeches upon speeches by government officials swearing under oath that Singapore is a parliamentary democracy; below the outward trappings of democracy; truly it is the ultimate police state. There is no law, there is no justice, and men and women live each moment at the pleasure of Messrs Lee Kuan Yew and his son. This is indeed the bitter truth.

You have seen the police totally ignoring the Constitution of Singapore by arresting and imprisoning peaceful protesters, peaceful public speakers, and confiscating films which are in no way objectionable except that it is critical of Lee and son. The Constitution allows criticism under the free speech clause. Yet all these rights are blatantly ignored with the police doing anything they want.

After being arrested and charged it would have been good if at least the courts can protect you. Alas, that protection too is absent. In fact, not too recently when peaceful protesters challenged the disruption of their perfectly legal protest in court, the Judge VK Rajah made the astonishing statement that Singaporeans have no right to protest as this will undermine the respectability of government institutions!

Singapore has, just as other countries the Criminal Procedure Code that sets out the practice and procedure for the police to follow. Warrants of arrests are needed for non seizable offenses and searches and seizures of private property generally requires a warrant signed by a judge. Warrantless arrests and seizures require the finding by the police of probable cause before they can do it. But to use a local colloquial phrase " The police anyhow suka suka catch anybody they want. So the police belong to your father izzit?"

Today the police in Singapore can stop anyone anytime, take them in without rime or reason, by merely saying they suspect an offence, without more.

I have been watching the police arresting SDP members and activists whenever they like, confiscating their property and taking them to jail whenever they like without any lawful cause. And what I am even more upset about is the willingness of Dr. Chee and his supporters to merely submit to authority, knowing that these laws are clearly unjust on its face.

If Lee Kuan Yew is intent on abusing the law for political ends, he can do whatever he wants. But Dr. Chee and his friends, instead of meekly complying with these injustices, should put their foot down and refuse to budge. If arrested refuse to go. Lie down. No violence but lie down. Let them have to pull you away. Yesterday, the police and MDA illegally disrupted a private screening of an educational film and demanded it, to which the SDP complied and handed it to them. Why? Since you know the demand for the DVD is unjust why cooperate with the police? Why not refuse to give it?

Ms. Padmamuthu, the Indian woman who appears in the videos below, an officer of the MDA claimed that she was complying with the law when she illegally confiscated the film from the SDP at their private showing yesterday. Her full image and actions and words are caught on video for all to see. My message to such officers is this. There are laws and unjust laws. Padmamuthu herself knows that her actions were clearly illegal in spite of the law which requires all films to be licenced. She and everyone else knows that the law is a political law intended for the punishment of political dissidents. To her I will say, please do not prostitute yourself by this injustice. Have some shame. Stop selling yourself wholesale to Lee Kuan Yew and his son.

And the same message goes to all other civil servants and police officers. Today you are unable to hide. Once you abuse your position to please your political superiors, the next minute you will be on the Internet, on Youtube and the world will watch your face and the shameful deeds that belong to it. So watch out! Just as the world had seen how disgusting the actions of Padmamuthu was on the day she abused her position in confiscating the DVD from democracy activists.

This is what I will say to this officer Ms. Padmamuthu of the MDA. Regardless of how long you remain in Singapore or in the Civil Service, one thing is certain. Your reputation has turned permanently into excrement. Padmamuthu should ask herself whether it has been worth it?

Please see her shamful actions for yourself in the videos below. I for one will never forget he face. Take a good look at her face.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6643812652683746551&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5079206342978505621&hl=en http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6by3jJwoTrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6V7M6nXxKk

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Singapore's laws that need to be broken

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Unless we agree that only just laws need to be obeyed and unjust laws ignored, there is no need for you to to take any notice of this blog post. But if you, like me, agree that just because laws are enacted by a tyrant, which are enacted not at all in the interests of Singaporeans; but only to ensure that tyrants remain in power; then I would say, like me, if faced with such unjust laws, it is not only one's right but one's bounden duty to break them; because if you did not, you are a coward.

1. The five person protest law

This law requires a permit for a gathering of 5 or more in public. This is a law in direct conflict with the Constitution. The constitution guarantees you freedom of assembly. Constitutional law states any other law or statute that is direct conflict with the constitution is illegal and should be struck unless compelling reasons can be shown. A peaceful protest can in no way raise any compelling interest to overcome the constitution. Therefore the law reacquiring permits for protests is clearly illegal. Break this law.

2. Public speaking

This law requires a permit to make a public speech. Same analysis as for above protest law being in direct violation of the constitutional provision guaranteeing free speech. Break this law.

3. Gazetting government offices as being off limits to protesters

Recently this government in order to stop any protests have come with a new gimmick, which is, declare all government offices as off limits by a method called gazetting. Plain and simple rubbish. No can do; if I had no English! Government offices are the very places where protesters would want to hold them, since they are the offending parties. This again is a clear restriction and limitation of your constitutional right to free speech and assembly. Break this law.

4. Societies requiring registration

Singapore laws require societies to be registered. Clearly this is a law to keep an eye and monitor all opposition political activities. This again is a clear violation of the speech and assembly clauses in the Constitution. Here again there is no compelling interest to have these laws in place except for keeping Singaporeans forever enslaved. No basis in law for this at all. Break this law.

5. Films Act

Political or in fact any film needs to be licenced. The height of misuse of the law that can ever be imagined. Not just obscene films, but just every single film requires censorship! Please go to the SDP website, http://www.yoursdp.org/ and see for yourself. Yesterday, the MDA and police entered a private viewing of a film "One nation under Lee", at Peninsula Hotel entered the premises and forcibly confiscated the film, thereby making a nuisance of themselves once again. No doubt those present did not want to waste any time with these goons and handed them the DVD. Immediately thereafter, of course, they pulled out another copy of it and watched the movie, no doubt!

In fact you can watch it below at the link. It is ironical that each time the government behaves in such mind boggling logic that will defy even Humpty Dumpty himself, the exact reverse happens. In fact after they confiscated it, the entire country's interest has been aroused and 10 times more people around the world have now watched it. Is the government now planning further arrests for having watched a movie critical of Lee Kuan Yew.

Break this law.

But please watch the movie, One Nation Under Lee by clicking the link below. A well made and highly instructive movie.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6643812652683746551&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5079206342978505621&hl=en

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6by3jJwoTrQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6V7M6nXxKk

Friday, May 16, 2008

Singapore. The Professor and the very bright student.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Reading the article of the state controlled newspaper Channelnewsasia of May 13, 2008 titled "The Professor and the very bright student" you would be forgiven if you mistook it for a love story of how 2 lovers met, rather than believe it or not, how the Singapore government appointed the young Tamil Indian S Shanmugam Minister for Law in the cabinet.

You must read this newspaper article to appreciate my point. Internet edition of Channelnewsasia of may 13, 2008.

From the article, one thing is certain. This young man's entry into politics, his joining a law firm, his being given law cases and ultimately being appointed Minister for Law has all been orchestrated and arranged by Professor Jayakumar the immediate past Minister for Law, both Tamil Indians by the way.

Please don’t think even for one moment that this whole thing is even remotely related to politics as one would ordinarily expect in a democratic country. The tarpaulin covering on the outside claims it to be a democracy. In the inside, it is no different from the Soviet era Deutche Democratishe Republic or the DDR or East Germany as it was called in the west.

The love story starts more than 2 decades ago when a young man walked into Professor Jayakumar's constitutional law class at National University of Singapore when the Professor immediately noticed; or rather fell in love with the said young man. Nothing short of love at first sight.

The article claims that as soon as the said young man, the present Minister for Law walked into his constitutional law class, the Professor immediately knew that that this was the man, or the chosen one.

There was an unmistakable chemistry in the air. Had the young man been a woman instead, it looks as if Jayakumar, the Professor would have dropped everything and proposed on the spot!

Since the Professor had no doubt at all that this young man, S Shanmugam was indeed the protégé, like the new found infant Dalai Lama, when the strongman Lee Kuan Yew wanted a name for the future Minister for Law, Mr. S Shanmugam, the new found love of the professor, was immediately recommended.

There are even more touching passionate encounters in this long love story.

Professor Jayakumar tearfully recalls during one private moment between his new found love S Shanmugam and himself, when the professor popped the question of marriage, no not marriage, but whether S Shanmugam would join politics; the professor recalls with great emotion and tears almost rolling down his cheeks that he noticed his love, S Shanmugam nearly fell off the chair.

Although this is not mentioned, I am taken to understand from inner circles, that the Professor immediately ran to cushion his beloved from the fall thereby ensuring the young man was not hurt at all.

Not even a scratch, thank God.

Even today, when Professor Jayakumar recalls that moment, he cannot help tears welling in his eyes. The moment was extremely passionate, which Jayakumar cherishes even till this day and swears never to forget it until he is dead!

Imagine that. It seems when Jayakumar the Professor had asked the question, the young man was surprised why he was chosen. In utter surprise at the question, as was earlier mentioned, he nearly fell off the chair and was rescued by the gallant Professor in the nick of time at great danger to himself!

One thing is clear in the strange island of Singapore.

It appears this man S Shanmugam, had no intention of joining politics at all!

It seems from the article that it was only with great difficulty in persuasion that he was finally made to join politics. A strange parliamentary democracy indeed where reluctant people are coerced and threatened to enter politics and made to rule over Singaporeans!

It seems the odd entry into politics of a reluctant candidate was not only in S Shanmugam's case.
Surprisingly, even the Professor Jayakumar himself, the recent Minister for Law was himself completely averse to politics. In fact, he himself states that he joined politics with great reluctance and did it as a duty to his country.

If I could see Jayakuamr, I would tell him that he should have done whatever he wanted and stop trying to imply that he is some kind of a Godsend for all of us. It would have made no difference had it been a donkey instead of him.

Coming back to the intimate private tryst between the lovers Jayakumar and S Shanmugam, in their meeting of love, it appears that the young man was wearing a hat and there was a ring in the private room and when he was thus provoked with the question of politics, this boy Shanmugam forthwith took off his hat and gallantly threw it into the ring aforementioned. Why he did what he did and did it mean anything, that is throwing his hat into the ring, is a puzzle we will never know!

It seems that this new discovery S Shanmugam had told everyone in the People's Action Party or Lee's party that his ambition had all along been to become the best lawyer in Singapore. There is no doubt when the members of the said party was thus informed, immediately after he graduated as the best law student in Singapore tutored under the passionate arms of none other than Professor Jayakumar, he was immediately invited to join the largest law firm in Singapore where the lawyers are all Lee's party members and immediately given all the biggest cases, thereby making sure that his ambition was achieved to the letter.

Jayakumar states that his love S Shanmugam was never too far out his sight and he was arranging for this young man to become his successor when he left the post of Minister for Law.

It seems, according to the Professor, there was a lot of talk and private discussions behind closed doors as to whether it should be this man who was to be anointed Minster for Law, but his love the professor states unequivocally, he had no doubt whatsoever.

At the end of this story, the professor tearfully leaves his position he held as Minister for 26 years only to hand that position to his chosen love S Shanmugam.

I am not sure if Hollywood had gotten wind of this heartwarming love story between professor and student, somewhat in the lines of the Oscar winner Brobeck Mountain, but we will never know.

And all this has happened in Lee Kuan Yew's definition of a First World Democracy, none other than Singapore. If you are shocked, I don’t blame you.

As I had said in the past, had it not been for his part the professor and Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore strongman, it would have made no difference if this S Shanmugam was wearing the Tamil sarong, smoking a beedi, spitting betelnut all over the place and frying the Indian pancake "thosay" and stall 231, Tekka Market in Serangoon Road, Little India, Singapore, at $2 a piece.

By the way, you must read the Channelnewsasia article please.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Letter from Arnold Segran, a Malaysian living in Singapore, April 16, 2008

I refer to your article Singapore Dissident

I am a Malaysian Indian living in Singapore,

The social and political climate in my country is well documented especially here in Singapore with disparity among races being a key issue.Singapore from the outside has always looked a prosperous country with economical power and political stability.

But only after living here do I know the real situation in this country but it is sad to say that things over here are as bad as it is back home.

In singapore the racial harmony is non existent compared to what they would like to potray with social advertisements.

There is also another article by Dr Selvaraj Velayutham-Everyday Racism in Singapore which talks about the state of minorities in this country.It is a bitter pill to swallow when one feels like a second-class citizen in his own country,

I know that feeling, I've lived through it my whole life,

The problem is that people are not allowed to speak about it here in Singapore as it is seen as a threat to National Security.

It is also sad to say that the freedom of press here in Singapore is below in the ranking compared to even Malaysia.

I quote your article:'this influx of Chinese from Communist China is a step backwards and with time, turns Singapore into another satellite city of China.'I trully agree with this statement as I see it here in everyday life. It has reached to such a bad state that being able to speak Mandarin seems to be more valuable than English.

Looking back to the article where you state that people should demonstrate is a good prospect but unfortunately it would take real unity and perseverance to do so, I say so based on the recent demonstrations in my country where people took to the streets for the sake of their futures and the futures of their children.

I hope that Singaporeans don't wait till melting point to do so as it may be too late then.This has to be done sooner rather then later.

A difficult time for Singapore ahead

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Channelnewsasia , the Singapore state controlled news media reports on May 15, 2008 "Mrs Lee Kuan Yew in serious condition after brain damage". She suffered a massive blot clot in her brain which resulted in a weakness of her side and inability to speak, and still remains in hospital in a critical condition. It is understood she has a history of suffering strokes, the last one being in 2003. Medical science tells us that people in such a condition are bound to suffer recurrence in strokes and keeping her age of 87 in mind, the prognosis is not good for a permanent recovery, and usually death is not too far away. However much we may want her to make a full recovery, and we all, I am sure wish her well, we cannot avoid the reality of the medical condition in such cases. It is dire.

These are worrying times for the country given it's unique circumstances. We have Lee Kuan Yew who practically runs the whole show, with everyone else doing nothing more than just taking his orders and dutifully carrying them out. They have lost their ability to think since the last 40 years of dictatorship with Lee alone doing all the thinking. As for his son whom he placed as Prime Minister, even among his own party members he does not appear to instill any confidence. He too as a dutiful boy has been obediently doing nothing more than just following his fathers orders. Most people would agree that if he is Prime Minister, it is in name only.

With the father strutting around the island shouting orders and jailing anyone who dared to say otherwise, the country has managed to acheive a certain amount of stability over the years, thus attracting foreign investment and became a fairly prosperous country. The question is whether the country can go on, with the demise first of Lee Kuan Yew's wife, 87, who has now suffered a massive brain hemorrhage, with Lee Kuan Yew himself already 84 and not too long to go; will business go on a usual?

If Singapore is to slip into a steady decline with the economy unravelling and disintegrating, the fault must lie with Lee Kuan Yew alone. He will be solely responsible for its demise.

Having been at the helm of Singapore for the last 40 years, he knew or must have known that for any country to continue advancing, you need an educated questioning people who are committed to the country, whose views are sought out and encouraged, where leaders are encouraged to develop and where at any one time, there are a great number of people who have managed to acquire the experience and understanding of government; where change of government can seamlessly occur; something which he has never allowed to happen.

In order to ensure that he and his family alone rule Singapore in perpetuity, he violently put down anyone who was not prepared to tow his line; regardless of how educated or how capable they were. This has caused disaffection and disinterest among the educated whose ideas and contributions did not conform to his; which meant that a great many capable people were lost as leaders to Singapore's nation building. They either went into obscurity or emigrated and left Singapore permanently.

And this meant, the talent pool in Singapore is small; limited only to those who were prepared to to submit to his authority and obey his commands. These people, the civil servants, the Ministers and high ranking government officers, no doubt are highly educated and talented people but unfortunately useless as leaders; since in Singapore Lee's set up, they are not required to think independently; since all they do is to carry out orders, I mean Lee's orders in an very efficient manner. But for any country to remain a real country, you need leaders who can think and act independently, with an understanding of politics and government and the necessary experience. Unfortunately no one in Singapore has been allowed to fit this description. And the lack of such people mean the end of a nation. Singapore, you must remember does not have any natural resources.

So is it possible that foreign companies are already making plans to repatriate their money and their personnel from the island? Has foreign investment already begun to transfer their funds to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or whichever country appears a more permanent and stable place? Are more Singaporean educated taking their sons and daughters and themselves to Australia? Is the stock market beginning to suffer losses at a steady rate?

I do not have any firm evidence of any of this, but if I am to guess, with the wife of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew in a critical condition in hospital, perhaps even dying, and with Lee Kuan Yew already 84 keeping in mind no one lives forever, and the son looked upon as a good schoolboy and nothing else, I must confess, I have to worry.

And the blame lies entirely on Lee Kuan Yew, a man driven by greed and self interest; with none for his country.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Singapore. Deputy Prime Minister Jayakumar says Singapore needs talent in International Law: Channelnewsasia

Ladies and Gentlemen,

According to Singapore's state controlled media Channelnewsasiaof May 13, 2008, former law minister in Lee Kuan Yew's cabinet, S Jayakumar wants more Singapore lawyers to enter the field of international law; quite a daunting task since lawyers themselves are turning out to be an endangered species there.

In 1997 when the population was only 3.5 million in the island, there were 3,400 lawyers, a very small number even for Singapore of the time, already a city engaged in international trade, banking and commerce. After 10 years, today, you will be surprised to know that the number of lawyers have not increased remaining still at 3,400 despite the fact that business has increased 10 times and so has the population to 4.5 million!

In fact the Singapore legal profession is declining from reliable intelligence indicating today of not more that 3,000 actually doing any legal work. Resignations, retirements and emigration has been the order of the day.

Why the malaise in the profession? It should be obvious. With Lee Kuan Yew determined to use the law as a tool to eliminate political opponents, by suing them in defamation of character lawsuits and bankrupting them with the help of conniving compliant judges, the law has lost all respectability.

No self respecting human being would want to join the profession in Singapore which means joining a large firm and doing corporate work while willing lawyers are used to sue Lee's opponents, while everyday the Constitution is violated by arresting peaceful protesters and imprisoning them and while the Internal Security Act is used to detain and torture innocent citizens who challenged Lee's political authority.

So we should tell Mr. Jayakumar not to raise his hopes. If he cannot even increase the numbers in the profession, how can he increase the numbers in a selective field such as international law.

The article also refers to how he "discovered" the new Minister for Law while he was a professor at the Singapore University. He says he noticed the young Indian student, recognized him as a good student and invited him to his office to invite him to enter politics and "serve". Coming from a state controlled media you probably guessed that is not the whole truth.

Perhaps it is more like this. Since the age of 10, this young man had realized that the only way to succeed in Singapore is to sell his soul to the devil, that is to serve his master Lee Kuan Yew unconditionally; never mind the constitution, never mind the laws, never mind nothing. In other words, he had decided from an early age that he was going jump anytime and as high, and as many times as Lee Kuan Yew wanted. Whenever Lee flicked his fingers. In other words, he was a sterling member of Hitlers Youth wing, sorry Lee's "Young PAP".

It is true that Jayakumar had asked him if he wanted to serve. What he meant, and what Shanmugam understood to mean, is of course, whether he was prepared to serve Lee, unconditionally; not serve the country.

So, there you have it.

My dear Mr. S Jayakumar. It is simply not going work. Don't raise your expectations.

If I am to give some advice to Jayakumar, it is this. If you want a vibrant legal profession, engaged in the country and in their work, then introduce democracy. Introduce the rule of law. Otherwise the profession will continue to decline, Singaporeans will emigrate and you will find only yourself and your chosen disciple Shanmugam left. In an English speaking western thinking country like Singapore, most people are uncomfortable to jump just becasue Lee wants to see it.

There may be some like this Shanmugam, but most would decline the invitation.

Thanks but no thanks.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

The real winner in Lee's lawsuit will be Dr. Chee and Singapore. Not Lee Kuan Yew.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Lee Kuan Yew in suing Dr. Chee yet again is relying on the old Chinese wisdom of "Kill a chicken and frighten all the monkeys" to stay in power. And the chicken in this present drama is none other than Dr. Chee. The proverbial sacrificial lamb you could say.

With the Internet and the population getting more educated and informed, Lee can see his grip on power loosening. With more and more protesters, more and more open criticism, it is time for him perhaps to tug on the reins a little? Perhaps a defamation action now will send a message to everyone out there not to be smart Alecs. Watch what you say or do, or else you will become another bankrupt Dr. Chee.

Lee Kuan Yew this time is wrong to assume business will be as usual. This time, he cannot expect the dead chicken to have the same result on the monkeys.

With the unbearable inflation, with unbearable costs, with millionaires among paupers, with adults and children in dire poverty in their HDB flats, some thing has got to give. And that has to be their tolerance.

So far, they have been suffering in silence, but not much longer. If a man has nothing to lose, he will take desperate steps. Such as protesting until he and his children get what they deserve, when the ministers pay themselves millions.

As for Dr. Chee, he is not prepared to give in. That is bad news for Lee Kuan Yew. Whichever way you look at it, things have to change now.

This time, instead of the population silenced with this libel suit, it will instead embolden them. Singaporeans will demand their rights under the Constitution which includes the freedom to criticize without being sued and bankrupted.

In fact this law suit is gift to both Dr. Chee and Singapore. Singapore is one step nearer to being a democracy with this law suit, thanks to Lee and Son. Next thing you see is even more public dissatisfaction, civil disobedience, protests and eventual collapse of Lee Kuan Yew both physically and politically.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Lee Kuan Yew vs The Singapore Democratic Party, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Chee Siok Chin, et al. My arguments for Dr. Chee.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In order to refer to the Affidavit of Lee Kuan Yew relative to this article please see the article Chee hates me - LKY which appears in the Singapore Democrat of May 08, 2008 and particularly to the 72 page Affidavit of Lee Kuan Yew which is attached to the article.

The ugly public spectacle of Lee Kuan Yew abusing legal process to punish his opponents is before us once again. Yet again, Lee shows his ugly colors. He is determined once again to show us that he is unable to retain control through a fair and just democratic process. He is so weak that the only way he can retain control is to yet again, abuse the law through his compliant judges to silence his opponents.

No doubt before his corrupted judges, whom he has appointed at very high salaries, and bribes, they will find Dr. Chee liable once again and bankrupt him once again. But before the court of conscience of the people of Singapore, at the end of it all, it would have been Dr. Chee Soon Juan and the Singapore Democratic Party that has won a thumping victory. And in the not too long future, you will find Dr. Chee winning politically as well. There is no doubt about it.

I am taking this opportunity to write a brief for Dr. Chee with my limited material on this case, which he may find helpful.

Lee Kuan Yew vs The Singapore Democratic Party, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Chee Siok Chin, et al.

Dr. Chee to the Court on a preliminary objection:

Your Honor, I appear in these proceedings under protest.

I understand these proceedings are concerned with the issue of the assessment of damages.

However these proceedings now are dependant on whether the judgment obtained against me in the earlier summary proceedings are in fact valid and sound.

I again raise the defense which I had raised in the earlier summary judgment proceedings, which is, that firstly the court had no lawful jurisdiction to find against me in summary judgment proceedings in a defamation case.

As your Honor is aware, since these proceedings were brought before Your Honor respecting the summary judgment, I had at all times, strenuously disputed all the allegations raised against me by the Plaintiff in his Statement of Claim.

This being so, there was clearly a triable issue and therefore summary proceedings, where witnesses are not available for cross examination was a patent misuse of the law.

In every Common Law jurisdiction, the rules governing summary proceedings are very clear.

Summary Judgment can only be issued in cases where there is no triable issue, thus making any trial a waste of judicial time.

This as you are aware was not the case.

I had strenuously disputed each and every allegation made against me by the Plaintiffs and my defense which I filed made it clear that I was denying all liability.

My defense had ample factual grounds to join issue with the Plaintiffs allegations and therefore clearly a triable issue was raised.

Section 5 of the Singapore Civil law Act makes it clear that the Law of England and Wales will be the basis of the civil law in Singapore; in other words Common Law prevails.

Since there was clearly a triable issue, it was wrong in law for Your Honor to have proceeded in summary proceedings, thereby denying me a right to cross examine my accusers and therefore making the judgment against me a sham and void in law.

Secondly, Your Honor is aware that the hearing for that summary judgment proceedings was itself conducted in violation of the rules of natural justice, in that, firstly it was conducted in the absence of my counsel who was taken ill and secondly, even I was not present during the proceedings in chambers.

This court was totally unreasonable and determined not to give my lawyer, M Ravi a chance to represent me.

Therefore Your Honor proceeding with the summary judgment in these circumstances was an egregious denial of natural justice.

Please refer to page 29, 30 and 31 of the Affidavit in Chief of the Plaintiff Lee Kuan Yew.

At page 29, para 70, it is admitted that my then counsel was seriously ill and physically unable to attend court.

Whereas any normal reasonable judge who would have given a reasonable time for the lawyer to produce a medical certificate, Your Honor was exceptionally and unusually opposed to offer any reasonable courtesy to a lawyer in these circumstances, by requiring him to produce a medical certificate that very afternoon!

Your determination not to provide any reasonable time for my lawyer who was clearly unwell shows bias and malice against me and a desire to favor the Plaintiffs.

Furthermore it is normal common courtesy at the Bar to take the word of a fellow member of the Bar if he claims to be ill.

This courtesy is offered in all civilized countries let alone common law jurisdictions which Your Honor was determined to deny.

In spite of the totally unreasonable position of Your Honor, I did manage with great difficulty to comply with Your Honor's unreasonable request by producing the required medical report that same afternoon.

Secondly, Your Honor not being a medical or dental practitioner was wrong in making a determination that very day that my lawyer was faking his illness and therefore must appear the very next day for trial.

I refer to Para 72 in page 30. Your Honor says " CSJ produced a note and a one day medical certificate (both from a dentist) for Mr. Ravi. Justice Ang found several discrepancies..........pericoronitis caused by poor oral hygiene in the area around the lower right wisdom tooth.............unfit for duty on Monday 11 September 2006.................pericoronitis which was a new development.......Davinder Singh counsel for LHL and LKY pointed out additional discrepancies.................the note was not in compliance of pt 2 Para 13...............the dentists note was in black ink whereas the date was in blue ink....................."

In Para 73 of page 30 of LKY's Affidavit it reads that Your Honor had fixed the hearing for 10 am the next day since the medical certificate was only for one day.

Even if M Ravi’s certificate was only for a day, it is customary for judges everywhere to give a reasonable amount of time, perhaps 2 weeks to fix another date for the continued hearing.

Therefore fixing the continued hearing the very next day showed a bias against me, almost a determination to make it as difficult as possible for me. Your Honor’s bias seemed very clear from your actions.

Firstly I submit that as Your Honor is not a qualified medical practitioner and neither a dental practitioner, you had no basis in law to make a judgment that my lawyer was not seriously ill and therefore under normal circumstances should have been given a reasonable amount of time to recuperate before required to attend court.

A reading of the record clearly gives the impression that Your Honor was determined not to give the common courtesy or the benefit of the doubt to my lawyer since he could in fact be seriously ill.

Your Honor's ruling to require my lawyer to come the very next day in the morning to court, less than even 24 hours, shows malice, ill will and a bias against me and favoritism for the Plaintiff.

In pages 31, 32 and 33 of Lee's said Affidavit, Your Honor goes on to justify why Your Honor proceeded in my absence but Your Honor’s attempt to do it is clearly without any merit and seen only as a judge who is in a great hurry to decide the case in favor of the Plaintiff.

In Paras 74, 75 and 76, the facts clearly show your Honor's bias and non compliance of legal principles.

Firstly, just because my lawyer’s medical certificate was for only one day, Your Honor is determined to assume that he is fit and well the very next day, which Your Honor knows to be not the normal case.

Humans just like any other living thing, need time to recover, especially since Your Honor is not a doctor and could not have known of the extent of my lawyer’s illness.

Furthermore, Your Honor makes an issue of my failure to attend the summary proceedings.

Your Honor should be aware that since Your Honor had already decided to proceed with the case without my lawyer present on that day, it is highly prejudicial to my case to defend my self being a lay person while the Plaintiff is being represented by Senior Counsel.

In these circumstances, it is patently unjust on Your Honor’s part to insist that I defend myself against a trained and experienced senior counsel without a lawyer.

Your Honor's pre-determined bias, malice and ill will against me is also shown by the fact that the Plaintiffs would have not been prejudiced in any way by Your Honor acceding to my request for a reasonable adjournment of not more than 2 weeks to enable either my lawyer to recover or for me to obtain alternative counsel.

Even if the case had been delayed for some time earlier, still, the Plaintiffs would have suffered no prejudice and judicial time would not have been wasted by allowing the short adjournment.


Had I not done anything in the mealtime, Your Honor would have been well within your rights to find against me.

However in Your Honor's determination to find in favor of the Minister Mentor and the Prime Minister of Singapore, Your Honor failed to provide that very short and reasonable time for either my lawyer to get better or for me to find another counsel in his stead, by reason of which I was seriously prejudiced.

Therefore your honor would see, by any yardstick that my refusal to take part in those proceedings was not only the right thing to do; it was also the legally correct position to take.

I was preserving my right to challenge the courts judgment by my refusing to attend since, had I attended without counsel, my attendance in these proceedings may be construed as a waiver of my right to counsel during the proceedings, thereby preventing me from raising it in any appeal against Your Honor’s decision.

Moreover it is clear from the minutes of the Summary Proceedings that Your Honor while in Chambers with Davinder Singh counsel for the Plaintiffs insulted my honesty and integrity called me dishonest and other such epithets.

I am in possession of those offending minutes which leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind that Your Honor has already decided even before the proceedings ever started that you were going to decide in favor of the Plaintiffs.

I therefore make the following preliminary objections at this stage.

Even though these proceedings are meant only to decide on the quantum of damages, Your Honor still has the power at this stage of the case to take judicial notice of the blatant abuse of the law before Your Honor at the summary judgment proceedings and therefore Sua Sponte, under Your Honor's inherent jurisdiction, you have the power to set aside the earlier summary judgment and give me leave to defend this libel action against me.

I therefore make this formal request that the Summary Judgment be set aside and that I be given leave to defend.

If Your Honor is not prepared to set aside the Summary Judgment; since Your Honor was the one that heard the summary judgment against me which I have publicly protested to be unjust and unfair and accused Your Honor of bias and misuse of the law; the correct thing for Your Honor to do is to recuse yourself and let another judge hear these proceedings.

As the legal aphorism correctly states: Justice must not only be done but must be patently seen to be done. In this case justice was not at all done and was not seen to be done.

If the judge decides not to grant the request either to recuse herself of to reverse the summary judgment and permit Dr. Chee to defend, then proceed with the case with the following.

Dr. Chee to the Court:

Almost the entire contents of Lee's Affidavit should be struck off as frivolous vexatious and an abuse of the court since almost all of it or a substantial part of it refers to accusations against me that I had tried to delay these proceedings.

Whether there was delay or not has no relevance to these proceedings.

These proceedings before us are to decide on one thing and one thing alone, namely the quantum of damages that the Plaintiffs are entitled to; since liability has already been decided against me in the Summary proceedings.

The matters relevant to these proceedings are only whether the Plaintiff is worthy or not worthy of respect; and if in fact he is respected, to what extent people respect him as a leader or even as a human being.

Therefore as you are aware, if the Plaintiffs is worthy of great respect in the eyes of the public, then he is entitled to greater damages whereas if he has only little respect in the eyes of the public, then the damages awarded would be less.

In extreme cases, where the Plaintiff is seen as a rascal, then he should not be awarded any damages at all and even if so awarded, only one Singapore dollar as nominal damages..

Since we are agreed that that these proceedings are for the purposes of deciding the quantum of damages, I humbly submit that the numerous pages, in fact a vast portion of the affidavit is applied in accusing me of trying to delay the courts proceedings.

Pages 25 to 40, paragraphs 53 to 98 should be struck off as totally irrelevant to these proceedings and as an abuse of the process of this court since it has nothing to do with the Plaintiffs reputation and instead unjustly accuses me of delay.

The Plaintiffs in these paragraphs, calling it 1st attempt to delay to 7th attempt at delay in sequential order is only doing nothing more than trying to unfairly scandalize my attempts to seek justice before this court.

In any case regardless of how many times the case was adjourned in the past by me, which I deny; it in no way either enhances or diminishes the reputation of the Plaintiffs which is the issue in these proceedings.

I therefore ask that these said paragraphs be struck off the record and that I be awarded costs of the action.

Cross Examination of Lee Kuan Yew

The general rule is first to deal with the allegations in the pleadings, namely Plaintiffs Statement of Claim and Dr. Chee’s defense. Dr. Chee has to show that Lee is without any respect in the community, that people consider him no better than a rascal and someone who will shamelessly use crooked means to amass wealth.

In the first instance, Dr. Chee’s attack on Lee’s character should be based on the pleadings. For instance if he says he was the Prime Minister of Singapore, to show that he got the position by dishonest means.

In this case, since Lee’s position is that the people would believe that just as the NKF, Lee is corrupt, prove that Lee in fact had control over NKF and since he did nothing to stop the corruption there, he was clearly complicit in it. Moreover his government is no different from NKF since there is no accountability and the newspapers are state controlled and a mouthpiece for propaganda.

Other than specifically trying to disprove Lee’s claim of respectability, defamation law permits a defendant to raise even extraneous evidence of lack of reputation.

Therefore Lee’s rigging elections to remain ion power, his misuse of the law to eliminate opposition politicians, his purchasing Jade condominium at a discounted price, his paying himself $3.7 million, his refusal to permit transparency for Tumasek and GIC are all matters that you can validly go into.

In other words, once a person sues another for defamation, his entire life including everything private and public is fair game to be attacked. Lee’s lawyer cannot raise objections as to relevancy since his entire life can be exposed.

As I do not have the benefit of the Statement of Claim and Dr. Chee’s defense, I am writing with the benefit of only Lee’s Affidavit in Chief.

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In page 4, Para 8 of your Affidavit you claim that you were the first prime minister of Singapore in 1959, a post you held until 1990. Are you relying on that fact as a basis for claiming a reputation?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is it not true that throughout those years, you retained power by unjust means, such as falsely imprisoning your opponents such as Lim Chin Siong for many years on false charges?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is it not true that the average ordinary citizen of Singapore looks upon you as a dictator having retained power by unjust means in effect by abusing the law by bankrupting and imprisoning your opponents?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In Pages 6 and 7 of your Affidavit, you refer to the NKF saga with the criminal implication of Mr. TT Durai. Let me ask you, is not TT Durai a member of the Peoples Action Party? Are you denying that it is common knowledge among Singaporeans that he is a member of your party, just as every other appointment in public or private office is?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Are you willing to admit that the public assume even today that you are aware of the goings on in NKF because you are involved in all aspects of the running of the country including the charity?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Do you not admit that it is commonly perceived that you either knew or you condoned the corrupt activities of the NKF since you have your tentacles all over the island? Therefore do you not admit that people may justifiably think, just like the NKF, the Singapore government too may be corrupt, thereby tarnishing your reputation?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Please refer to pages 8 and 9 of your Affidavit, Para 20 with reference to the words of the SDP paper the New Democrat “It is about the idea that the political elite must be paid top dollar no matter how obscene those amounts are and regardless of who suffers as a result of it”.

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Do you not admit that those words were true?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Do you not admit that TT Durai was paid X hundred thousand dollars and X thousand dollars of perks etc?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

How much do your earn? I understand it is $3.7 million? Do you take any more money in addition to this? How much? Do you not admit that your income is obscene? Your son’s income is obscene? All your relatives take obscene salaries?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Do you not admit that you do not have the consent of Singaporeans to pay yourself this much?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is not what I said in that paragraph “ It is about a system engineered over the decades by the PAP that ensures that it and it only has access to public information and by fiat decides what is allowed and what is not” true?

Is it not true that people have no access to any independent opinion other than the Internet; that you own and censor all newspapers in Singapore? Are you therefore not seen as a dictator rather than a democratic leader of country?

Do you not admit that people fear you and are unable to question whether or not you commit fraud embezzle and criminal breach of trust?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is not the words “Singaporeans must note that the NKF is not an aberration of the PAP system, It is instead a product of it” entirely true, since just as how the government is run without any transparency, so was the NKF run, entirely in secret with no transparency.

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is not my comparison of the NKF and your running of the GIC, CPF and all institutions as secretive as how the NKF was run; in secret.

Do you not admit that the public do not know how the CPF is run, how much money there is in it, how much money is in GIC as in every public organization.

Since the lack of transparency is so striking, is it not reasonable to assume that just as TT Durai, you too have been stealing public moneys in addition to the $3.7 million that you pay yourself?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In the same paragraph, are not my statements that there is no transparency as regards GIC headed by you, HDB and CPF all entirely true, as no one really knows what is going on with the books of these organizations?

Since they are public institutions, are not the people entitled to know?

By keeping these things secret, are not the majority of Singaporeans entitled to assume that you are stealing the monies in them?

Therefore are not reasonably minded people entitled to assume that you are in fact a thief?

And so are your entire family members whom you have placed in positions of authority?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

As regards defamation suits, are you not world famous for using defamation actions to bankrupt your opponents?

Are you not doing the same now in these proceedings?

Do you not admit that there is not a single defamation case that you have won which has any merit?

Do you admit that it is generally perceived in Singapore as well as the whole world that the Singapore judiciary is beholden to you and do your bidding by eliminating your opponents in return for huge mind boggling salaries?

Do you not admit that by your actions the integrity of the Singapore judiciary has been comprised and this is common knowledge?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Do you deny that the similarities between NKF and your government are in fact striking?

Power concentrated in one man, yourself?

You make sure that no one can challenge your authority by defamation actions?

By banning protests? Introducing GRCs?

In these circumstances, is it not reasonable for Singaporeans to think that just like TT Durai, you too could possibly be a thief, stealing the money of Singaporeans because if they question you, you will sue them?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In page 10 of your Affidavit, do you not admit that with the control of the press, you can trumpet your so called successes and hide your failures; so that there is no way that anyone can ever know whether corruption and criminality goes on behind the closed doors?

In these circumstances, are not the people entitled to assume that corruption is going on, because if you are not corrupted, why then do you fear transparency and a free press?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

With regards to page 11, reference the CPF protest; is not the protest entirely within the rights of Singapore citizens which permit freedom of speech and assembly under the Constitution?

And in any case are not the questions raised by the protestors entirely true, since National reserves are not transparent, HDB and GIC do not provide any figures of the monies in them, are not the words “be transparent now” entirely legitimate since there is no transparency, and NKF CPF reference is true, since just like NKF, CPF refuses to publish any figures?

And principally because you refuse to publish figures, are not people entitled to assume that you and your family are stealing, just as TT Durai did?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In page 17, with respect to the judgment of VK Rajah in relation to the protestors court action, is it not true that the judge was entirely wrong in his judgment, since Singaporeans have a legitimate right to peaceful protest under the Constitution and by your questioning this right, should not Singaporeans assume that you are doing nothing more than silencing dissent?

Do you not agree that the average Singaporean believes that every judge including the Judge in this court Belinda Ang as well as every other judge in Singapore including VK Rajah was acting at your behest and obliged to do your bidding by deciding cases in your favor regardless of its merits?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Am I not entitled to raise the NKF issue as part of the elections of 2006 since the NKF is an organization under the control of your government?

In fact, do you not agree that in any other respectable democracy, the government would have resigned and admitted responsibility of the wrong doing in the NKF?

But instead of doing that, you are instead suing anyone who criticizes that organization or your government?

By these numerous court actions that you launch, is not a reasonable person entitled to assume that you may be a thief and trying to hide your wrongdoing by these court cases?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In page 21 and 22, when Ministers Khaw and Lim in fact praise the NKF after the discovery of the wrongdoing instead of condemning it, surely the public is entitled to assume that there is something fishy going on and that perhaps you as well as Khaw and Lim are all corrupt?

Are not the public entitled to assume that?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

From pages 25 to 41, you have devoted it entirely to the progress of these proceedings and the continuances that were obtained for trial preparation.

What is the point of so much reference to it?

Do you not realize that no legitimate court would give exemplary damages against anyone just because they needed time for trial preparation and the conduct of the proceedings?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

In Para 100 page 41, you state that I have a deep seated hatred of you because, inter alia, you had called me a liar and a cheat.

Will you admit that it is not surprising that you feel that way because you perceive me as a threat?

Will you admit that it is only you and your government that has such an opinion of me?

In fact will you not agree that all true democracies in the world have an opinion of me which is just the opposite?

Here refer to the various commendations and awards and accolades of appreciation and respect showered on Dr. Chee by the rest of the world as an honest decent man, highly determined to bring justice for Singaporeans.

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is it not true that in relation to the NKF, just as Singaporeans had no way of knowing whether there were financial misappropriations going on, with Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore government similarly, the public have no way of knowing whether you are siphoning off the peoples money?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Is it not true that you commenced action against me and the SDP just before the 2006 elections during the campaign?

Is it not reasonable for the ordinary man to assume that you did it in order to intimidate voters away from the SDP and to distract us from concentrating on elections?

Is this not what the ordinary man on the street will think?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Do you not agree that the injunction that you obtained stopping us from referring to the NKF during the election rallies of 2006 was an attempt to silence us from exposing the truth about the NKF and had we done so, it would have badly hurt your chances at the elections?

Would not people think of you as a coward using unfair means to win elections?

Dr. Chee to Lee Kuan Yew:

Are you aware that Singaporeans have the benefit of the Internet?

Are you aware that overwhelmingly both within and without Singapore you are seen as a bully willing to tolerate not even the slightest criticism by harassment intimidation false criminal charges and defamation actions?

Therefore do you not accept the fact that even if you are corrupt no one will know because no one can find out?

Do you not consider the salary you take of $3.7 million a year and several more millions both admitted and not admitted are seen as nothing less than corruption, plain and simple?

Here show the voluminous Internet articles and letters all calling this man a thief and a crook.

Here Dr. Chee should throw the whole kitchen sink at Lee Kuan Yew by producing every shred of document both in Singapore and the world which refers to him as a tyrant and a bully and a cheat. Lee’s reputation is in issue and therefore anything that you can find as to his bad character should be thrown at him. If the Judge were to object, then state your protest.

Dr. Chee to Judge:

Your Honor knows that this hearing is to decide the quantum of damages to be awarded to the Plaintiff.

Your Honor also knows that this entire exercise is one in futility since I have already been bankrupted and I am unable to pay.

Even if Your Honor were to award a trillion dollars against me, it will make no difference.

If indeed these proceedings are commenced by the Plaintiffs to recover monetary damages, I doubt very much if they will get a penny.

Indeed I am sure that the purpose of these proceedings is not for money but to try to silence me from further criticism.

I would like to tell this court as Your Honor is yourself aware that both you and the entire population of Singapore and indeed the whole world knows that this Plaintiff remains in power by silencing the opposition by abusing the law.

Your Honor knows that this is one reason why the educated and capable in Singapore continue to leave the country in droves and Singapore is losing its best people.

One thing both you and the Plaintiff can be certain is this.

I refuse to be silenced in my work of exposing this totalitarian regime and will continue to strive to bring democracy to this country.

Your Honor can decide whatever Your Honor wants to do.


Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107 Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Lee finds himself in a quandry! What to do with the stubborn Dr. Chee Soon Juan and his SDP members?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On May 12, 13, and 14, 2008 Lee Kuan Yew and his son will embark yet again on their favorite practice to silence political dissent. On these dates, in the High Court, Dr. Chee and Chee Siok Chin will be told by Lee’s judge chosen for the dirty work; as to how many hundreds of thousand of dollars, they will have to pay the Lees in damages for defaming their character.

If any foreigner unaccustomed to the unique Singapore legal system were to ask why I am able to predict with so much confidence as to the amount of damages; they should be told that one thing is certain in Singapore. If the Lee family were ever to sue anyone; firstly, they are bound to win and secondly, the damages awarded will be in the tune of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars; no less. This much I guarantee.

But my question is this. Is all this punishment being meted out to his nemesis Dr. Chee producing the desired result? Since Lee's intention of using the courts to sue Dr. Chee is to silence him, is he in fact being silenced? Unfortunately for Lee Kuan Yew, the answer to this question so far has been in the negative. Dr. Chee is plain and simply refusing to be silenced. Not only that, with each defamation action defeat, his criticism of Lee, instead of mellowing and moderating, becomes instead more robust and even more critical.

Not just these politically motivated lawsuits before his complaint judges but every attempt at harassment by the Lees fails to silence Dr. Chee and company. You will recall in the past any attempt at public protest was stopped immediately, the protestors arrested, hauled before Lee’s courts and promptly punished. Now on the other hand the tables have turned. At the Tak Boleh Tahan protest on May 1, 2008, there were no less than 15 protestors (a revision from the earlier 10 that I had mentioned). Although in blatant violation of the public protest law requiring a permit for 5 or more protestors, not a single policeman was anywhere in sight, let alone any arrests.

Immediately after that, 2 days later, 7 protestors protested outside the SPH Building demanding more press freedom, holding a large banner to that effect. Again, surprisingly, not a single policeman or an arrest.

Dr. Chee had undergone a trial in the Subordinate Courts, Judge Jasvinder Kaur presided, for making a political speech without a permit. Although the trial was over a long time ago, the Judge has until today failed to deliver a verdict! Has she been advised by Lee Kuan Yew not to impose any sentence since it is clear that Dr. Chee will not pay the fine and go to jail and this defiance, yet again, will turn out to be an embarrassment?

We all know the vile character of common bullies. If you are afraid, they will bully you. If you stand up to them, they usually run away. Deep down they are in fact cowards.

Lee Kuan Yew shows the classic character of a common street bully. In the past in Singapore, his dirty tactics had always worked well for him. Each time he sued someone, the victim promptly apologized, paid up and was permanently silenced and removed from politics. You could say that his dirty tricks always paid off in the past. But not this time. Not with Dr. Chee and company.

Lee has crossed the path of someone with the tenacity and determination he did not expect. Dr. Chee is refusing to do what was expected of him, which is, once sued, to promptly roll over, apologize and prostrate at Lee's feet. With Dr. Chee not willing to do that but instead fight back with all his strength, Lee Kuan Yew has finally met his match. And having met his match, he does what every common street bully does. He runs away. As can be seen by his unusual inaction in the face of Dr. Chee and his street protestors blatantly violating his unjust laws.

So my message to Dr. Chee and Siok Chin is this. Singaporeans who understand these dirty tricks are clearly with you. You have their support. This is the time to ratchet up the resistance. This is the time to repeatedly show Lee that his illegal laws will not be respected.

I hope Dr. Chee will arrange for repeated protests from now until and through the dates of May 12, 13 and 14 2008 outside the High Court with placards reading "We want justice". With flyers distribution at every street corner everyday.

With the Internet used to full extent to increase awareness of the SDP activities. In other words, SDP pubic activism should be a non stop daily occurrence, challenging the Singapore Police to take action if they dare. SDP public activism should be before our faces everyday on the ground and displayed live on the Internet, daily. Without let up. Non stop defiance.

It is my reckoning that the police have given up on Dr. Chee and the SDP. Finally Dr. Chee and company have shown that truth is mightier than repression.

Dr. Chee should cast off now, to take advantage of the tide and the gentle wind comfortably blowing from starboard. Steady she goes! A tot of rum for helmsman!

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com

And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.