Sunday, May 30, 2010

Singapore. Another 200 "yes sir" lawyers admitted to the Bar

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Anyone who had taken some trouble to investigate Singapore would have known it's rather unusual situation. On the one hand, the Singapore constitution gives various rights as one would expect in any other part of the world, such as freedom of assembly or speech. Yet anyone, including the prime example of Singaporean dissident Dr. Chee Soon Juan is repeatedly sent to jail just because he exercised these rights. And what is worse, not even one lawyer in it's minuscule law procession of 3,000 members, in a country of 5 million, feels it necessary to challenge the government on it!

Singapore's state owned and controlled newspaper the Straits times on line edition of May 30, 2010 has the story "Shun arrogance, CJ". It claims that more than 200 new lawyers have been admitted to the Singapore Bar. First of all we do not know if this story is in fact true, as just as in other state controlled newspapers of dictatorships around the world, very often these stories are mere propaganda. But even if it was true, first it shows that the profession is in fact shrinking, not increasing.

Even if a miserable 200 were admitted, many of the presently practicing lawyers are either resigning or dying because in the former case they are disgusted with the lack of the rule of law in Lee's Singapore and in the latter, most of the lawyers in Singapore's diminishing legal profession are very old, with very few new entrants.

As the Singapore state legal service, a large prosecuting arm of the Lee Kuan Yew government, is ever necessary to destroy the political opposition in the island, it is constantly necessary to recruit more and more disgusting men and women lawyers, with no scruples whatsoever to do his dirty work.

Out of the 200 who have been admitted, very probably the majority if not all would be seconded to this dirty business, which one could call Lee's enforcers. Together with Lee Kuan Yew's police force, these disgraceful lawyers would be required for the dirty work of destroying the political opposition, for money, very large sums of money. This is done through false trumped up charges and misusing the law.

If there are any lawyers left from this shameful group, they would end of in the Lee Kuan Yew affiliated law firms such as Drew and Napier and Allen and Gledhill. In return for not questioning Lee's abuse of the law and authority and becoming card carrying members of his political party, these faithful dogs would be paid very well on government contracts and bribes.

Among the 200 of these lawyers, if anyone really intended to get into the law in Singapore and really defend the rights of their clients, he is either naive or insane. First of all, he is not going to get any work, and if he did, he would probably be struck off the Bar in no time for failing to tow Lee's line.

According to this government story in this state controlled press, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, a card carrying member of Lee Kuan Yew's government, ever willing to say anything that Lee wants to hear at any moment of time, says lawyers should never stop learning. I thought, and I am sure you did too, that that was plain common sense and there was no need to mention it. After all it applies to everyone. Doctors should not stop learning, so with engineers, so with air conditioning technicians. An innane statement like that coming from the Chief Justice in the island tells you the extent of his competence.

And this nonsense appears to have been repeated by his side kick, another card carrying member of the Peoples Action Party, Wong Meng Meng, the Vice President of the Singaporean Law Society.

And this man has gone on to say that Singapore lawyers are the elite profession in the island, because they are paid well. Sure, if you are a boot licking Singaporean Lee's yes sir man, sure you are earning well.

But all this is simply unreal. The fact is, thank God, the vast majority of Singaporeans still have some principles about them. That is why the Singapore legal profession, no matter what they do, just finds it impossible to attract new entrants. And mind you, the reason is not because it is not well paid. Just as a good looking prostitute who can earn millions in no time, lawyers who work at Lee Kuan Yew's bidding to abuse the Constitution and silence the political opposition also do well financially. But what sort of men and women are these, disgusting creatures, anyway.

We should together tell this Lee sidekick Wong Meng Meng that most self respecting Singaporeans simply refuse to stoop so low for money like he would do; they simply refuse to become lawyers in Lee Kuan Yew's card carrying bunch of lawyers.

And that is why the Singapore Law Society refuses to tell the public exactly how many lawyers there are at any moment of time, simply because the Singapore legal profession is shrinking and will continue to shrink.

You may get 200 or so pathetic dogs willing to wag their tails for money, in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore but I can assure you that this number is not enough and with time, and with my blog and Dr. Chee Soon Juan's blog, we are managing to keep away the vast number of good people from ever going anywhere near a disgraced legal profession such as yours.

And you would have guessed that in this situation, where the legal profession in Singapore stands disgraced, the quality of students entering the profession weakens. Today in Singapore only those who are unable to get into any other faculty in Singapore chose to study law, as opposed to the brightest and most able in other countries who become lawyers.

In other countries you need a passion for the law to become a lawyer. In Singapore what you need is a complete lack of a conscience and any self respect.

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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