Monday, August 24, 2009

Singapore. A need to change course.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There may be a buzz of how the opposition is going to win votes in the next election and what not, but I hate to disappoint you. Nothing of the sort is going to happen. And what has happened in the last 50 years is going to happen again at the next election. PAP 82, Opposition 2. I can promise you that much.

Simply put, Lee Kuan Yew is not prepared for normal civil society, or for a normal democratic process. He alone will rule and not anyone else. The sooner you realize this, the better.

As usual, before the elections, there will be a spate of defamation threats, opposition will be vilified in Lee Kuan Yew's newspapers, all sorts of threats will be made and any capable opposition aspirant will be promptly silenced and removed. Although it is Lee Kuan Yew himself who has never permitted anyone else other than the PAP to get any political experience, the population will be told that the PAP is the only ones with any political experience. With a thousand other obstacles put in their way, the opposition will die a natural death even before they started. And then back to square one again, with the Lee family telling you how to live your lives and doing whatever they want.

And if you go on as usual with the ever elusive national elections, you will see no change at all. The only way to see any real change is to take real action now.

All you need is a few courageous souls to engage in peaceful civil unrest, with no violence of any sort. If you did this, surely no one can fault you. For instance how can anyone fault you for protesting the unacceptably high Ministers wages of several million dollars a year? Anyone with open eyes and a brain between them will tell you that you had every right to protest these unlawful salaries which amounts to simply theft.

How can anyone fault an Indian who stood outside the HDB offices and protested for not being able to rent (all HDB flats are owned by the govt) a flat in the area of his choice because of unlawful racial quotas?

How can anyone fault a citizen who stood outside the Singapore court and protested the unfair court decisions when a Lee Kuan Yew crony gets more favorable treatment as compared to any other citizen?

How can anyone fault you for protesting outside the court of Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean for ordering Dr. Chee Soon Juan to pay damages of $400,000.00 for merely criticizing Lee Kuan Yew's policies?

How can anyone blame you for protesting outside the Singapore Press Holdings to demand a free press.

How anyone blame you for standing outside the Orchard MRT and distributed leaflets for a fair and Democratic society in place of the dictatorship that you are now subject to?

No one can blame you for any of this. Everyone can see that right is on your side and Lee Kuan Yew is destroying the Constitution and your fundamental human rights. And without these rights you are not a man anymore; you are sheep or dogs or some other fawning crawling animal.

You must protest and engage in civil disobedience. This is an honorable act. You will no doubt be arrested under these unjust laws. When you are charged, plead guilty and tell the judge that you disagree with these unjust laws. Pay the fine. And then do it again. Each time you do it, the Singapore state controlled press will give it publicity. Use it to your advantage. Do it again. And again and again. You will be surprised over the results. I am sure your actions will attract others to join you. In a crowded city like Singapore, the likelihood of attracting others to your cause is certain. Your aim should be to provoke this dictatorship to take steps to punish you. But the each time they punish you, it is they who lose not you; because right is on your side from the very beginning.

Frankly for starters we only need a few courageous souls. Once they dig their heels, I can guarantee you, the numbers will increase.

And if you keep up the momentum Lee Kuan Yew and his henchmen will become helpless. Tell me, how can you repeatedly imprison a man for doing nothing more than peacefully holding a sign in public? After a certain point, Lee Kuan Yew like the Burmese generals will have to use more and more force. And at that point the veil of respectability will be completely lifted and the world will know the real truth about what Singapore really is. That is what you should be aiming for.

Lee Kuan Yew hopes that by sending you to prison, he will disgrace you into silence and oblivion. This cannot be further from the truth. I have been to Lee Kuan Yew's prison for 2 months. Far from shaming me into silence, I have become all the more louder in my call for democracy. I wear my prison sentence as a badge of honor. I am very proud of it. Dr. Chee Soon Juan has gone to prison, Gandhi Ambalam, John Tan, Jufrie Mahmood, Izrisal, Shafie, Francis Seow, Chia Tye Poh, and many more others have spent time in Lee Kuan Yew's jails. And so have countless others in the jails of Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin; all who have worn their time in prison as badges of honor.

You will be respected for your actions. I was. Do it.

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/

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

True.Waiting For The Day Some Courageous People Will Start This Revolution. Frankly, i Think 1000 people is enough to make this government wake up. And I dont expect them to charged and jail 1000 people openly. Honestly, they are many young Singaporeans that want to protest peacefully, unfortunately , we all just waiting for someone to lead us. Bottomline , we still dont dare to start it ourselves.

Gopalan Nair said...

To anonymous Aug 25, 0948,

Why do you need someone to lead, to hold up a sign! Of course, you have to hold up the sign "yourself". Noone else can do it for you!

Gopalan Nair said...

To anonymous,
You may be afraid. But please don't include other Singaporeans in your group. There are many Singaporeans who have at least that much courage. And of course there are those like you, very afraid.

Aaron said...

Sorry to burst your bubble Gopalan. Singaporeans living a 'regular' HDB life locally are pretty much more interested in the 'safety and cleanliness' than freedom of rights & equality.

Joe90 said...

Aaron said, "Singaporeans living a 'regular' HDB life locally are pretty much more interested in the 'safety and cleanliness' than freedom of (sic) rights & equality."

That may be so, but that does not mean that freedom, human rights and equality are irrelevant to these so-called "regular HDB" Singaporeans. It could be that they are simply not aware that they have rights and that they have every right to speak out and demand that these rights be honoured by our government

Joe90 said...

Aaron said: "Singaporeans living a 'regular' HDB life locally are pretty much more interested in the 'safety and cleanliness' than freedom of rights & equality."

That may be so, but that does not mean that "regular HDB" Singaporeans do not need freedom, human rights and equality. It could be that they are simply unaware that they have these rights and that they have every right to demand that these rights are honoured and put into practice by the powers that be.

mycroft said...

And you speak for all Singaporeans do you, Aaron?

How about the HDB residents of Aljunied and Geylang, helpless to do anything about the safety and the cleanliness of their wet market and precincts because their civil rights of protest are prohibited?

How about the middle-class residents of Serangoon Gardens who have had to endure a huge foreign worker dormitory stuffed into the middle of their tiny, crowded estate despite their most bitter cries of protest?

How about the 'regular' residents of Hougang and Potong Paseh who have suffered decades of deliberate government neglect with no recourse to the law because they refuse to vote for the PAP?

Are they all a part of your burst bubble too?