Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo tells Singaporeans, it is not enough for foreigners to take your jobs

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times of April 29, 2012 has the story, "Do more to help foreigners adjust: DPM Teo". There are several statements here which Singaporeans should be up in arms against.

First it reads "As more Singaporeans go into the world to study work and live overseas, more foreigners are moving here and helping to make Singapore cosmopolitan and vibrant".

Why Singaporeans whom the Lee ruling family of Singapore regularly claim in their state controlled newspapers to have the 4th highest GDP and standard of living in the world, would want to leave and settle abroad in such large numbers is not explained, and neither is an explanation necessary. Such a claim is simply a figment of their imagination. True there are a few millionaires in Singapore but the rest merely make out a living in a Stalinist one party state, where even your thinking is enforced and anyone having contrarian ideas are intimidated and victimized.

As to foreigners coming into Singapore making it "cosmopolitan and vibrant" will anyone explain to me how a Chinese man from the impoverished parts of Communist China who is illiterate except for Chinese Mandarin and totally devoid of any English or for that matter anything makes Singapore island “cosmopolitan” and “vibrant” is puzzling indeed. As your are aware, these are the preferred "foreign talent" of Singapore’s ruling family. Far from making it "cosmopolitan and vibrant" they are turning the island into another Chinese city, one from the depressed areas of rural China.

For anyone who knows Singapore to be told that he is asking native Singaporeans to "welcome and integrate foreigners" is simply outrageous. Is it not enough for foreigners to be taking jobs from locals, for them to depress the wages and living standards of natives and to turn Singapore into another Communist boring repressive, subservient city? After having to suffer all this discriminations and indignity, do they now have to "welcome" and "help" them as well. They are lucky they are not getting a right beating, since had this been happening in any other country; you would be seeing a great number of Chinese from China with black eyes.

I am sure DPM Teo, Lee Kuan Yew's son's sidekick and minion knows the game is lost. Singaporeans do not want to have families, babies or anything to do with Singapore Island run by the Lee ruling family. They simply want out. And the more he makes such silly statements in his state controlled newspapers, the more native Singaporeans would simply leave as they are doing now.

DPM Teo is simply another minion who says these things which makes no sense because he gets paid very well for saying it. That’s all.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore Island finally loses battle to retain it’s citizens

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has finally come to this. Singapore’s native born population is fast disappearing and it’s rulers, the Lee family have finally admitted that they just have to accept that fate. This sad fact has been made clear from a number of press releases in it’s state controlled newspapers.

In the state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of April 24, 2012, there is the story “Government releases 5 future population scenarios”. It says if present fertility rates which are the lowest in the world “stays at it’s current low of 1.2 births per woman, Singapore’s citizen population will start to shrink and decrease by more than ½ million”. It therefore presumably argues the need to bring in foreigners mainly from Communist China and other third world countries.

In the same state controlled newspaper of April 28, 2012, it carries the story “Pro foreigner job ads top list of grievances”. In Singapore, it’s citizens are outraged by foreign companies discriminating against locals by hiring only foreigners. Surely one can understand why they should be unhappy.

In the latest report in the same government propaganda newspaper of April 29, 2012, there is this story, “Do more to help foreigners adjust: DPM Teo”. Teo, the assistant prime minister and side kick to the Singapore strongman’s son has finally admitted that his people are migrating in uncontrollable numbers to live in the West. This is what he says, “As more Singaporeans go out into the world to study, work and live overseas, more foreigners are moving here to make Singapore cosmopolitan and vibrant”.

I think he got the part “foreigners make Singapore cosmopolitan and vibrant” wrong. He should have said, “Foreigners who come in and destroy the identity, history and culture of the island and make it a third rate island of temporary travelers”.

Teo goes on to say that “there are 280 Singapore clubs in 120 cities worldwide, a network of little red dots”. What he should have said is that it is a network of non existent members who have been totally inactive for the last few years. If you took a look at the website of Singapore Club of Northern California, which is where I live, there has not been any activity since 2009! Furthermore the few committee members cannot even be contacted after changing their telephone numbers!

Finally he says “he was in New York and met 5,000 Singaporeans”. The truth is not that he met 5,000 Singaporeans. A handful may have turned up to eat the freebies put out there in the public park in New York, where anyone can come, not necessarily Singaporeans. I believe there are indeed 5,000 Singaporeans who have left Singapore for good and wish to have nothing more to do with it. That I think is more the truth.

Instead of Teo telling a pack of lies while Singaporeans emigrate in increasing numbers, children are not being born and citizens continue to die off from old age, he should instead be trying to ask why is this happening to Singapore.

I can tell you why. The Singapore constitution, which his boss the Lees have cleverly modified to fit their personal need to remain in power, is of no use other than as toilet paper. You have a list of human rights which has been deliberately changed so as to give you no rights at all. What sort of a stupid constitution is that which says, you have a right to free speech but you don’t. You have a right to free expression but you don’t. You have a right to assemble but you don’t. You have a right to the rule of law but you don’t because his judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean will prostitute her judicial office to please her masters.

The Singapore Constitution’s sheets can be used for toilet paper. It has no other value beyond that.

Beside the useless Constitution which gives it’s citizens no rights, you have a kangaroo court system with kangaroo judges who abuse the law at will. And then you don’t have job security where people can be hired and fired, no free independent unions, no minimum wage, no anti discriminatory laws and no job security whatsoever.

So, with a useless system such as this and a state controlled media, no one wants to have children, live or work there, except ignorant Chinese from Communist China who have no idea about anything let alone Singapore.

For the thousands and millions of Singaporeans who have migrated abroad, Singapore will no longer even be a place worth visiting. It will no longer be even recognizable as Singapore which once was, populated entirely by Chinese people from China and other neighboring third world countries.

Singapore Dissident will continue to play a crucial part in persuading native born Singaporeans to leave the island run by the Lee ruling family dynasty and their side kicks such as this Teo. Truly it is not a country to live, work and bring up a family unless you are from Communist China and escaping the intolerable poverty of it’s rural areas.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore, Just a one large business park

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore is simply one large business park for the world. It is very easy for anyone from anywhere to move to Singapore for business. Labor is cheap since there are no laws on minimum wage.

There are no laws in place requiring jobs to be given for citizens first. Workers have no job security. They can be hired and fired any time. There are no real unions since they protect employer’s rights, not the workers. Workers cannot strike because strikes are illegal.

The law courts are controlled by the government which will ensure that business owners are protected from their workers. There is no social security or any retirement funds for the old. Central Provident Fund which is Singapore’s retirement fund requires both the worker and the employer to contribute. As workers are allowed to draw on this fund to lease their costly government owned apartments in which the vast majority live, they enter their old age penniless since there is nothing left after paying for these costly leases.

This means the workers can never retire but need to go on working until they die. If they fall sick, their only option to live is to enter a homeless shelter where they will be housed and fed at government expense. Singaporeans eventually die in these homeless shelters an ignoble undignified death as paupers.

As for foreigners who come to Singapore for business on the other hand, it is a paradise. Labor is cheap and obedient as they can be paid a pittance and yet be relied on not to complain. If they do complain they can be fired anytime and replaced. International money transfers are easy and quick, enabling foreign businesses to transfer home their profits and leave the island entirely anytime they want. Infrastructure, transport and communication system is reliable and efficient (except for the recent breakdowns in subway trains) enabling business to function efficiently and smoothly. Tax is kept low to attract foreign businesses.

This makes doing business for New Zealanders, cheaper in Singapore than in New Zealand. Unlike New Zealanders who have to pay higher taxes for generous state retirement and social security programs for their citizens, Singapore keeps their taxes low since the government is not burdened with any such expense. The end result of this system of government means that Singapore’s own citizens are totally neglected while the foreigner’s interests are well protected. This has resulted in local Singaporeans being unemployed in their own country while the foreigners in the island enjoy full employment.

Local citizens end up in poverty and sickness in their old age and totally unprovided for, while the foreigner simply returns home to his country when times are bad, and returns once again when times get better. On the whole Singapore is just one big business park with low taxes, cheap labor, non unionized workforce, with office space available with good infra structure, a very good mix of conditions to attract foreign businessmen while the interests of the local native born Singaporean is not anywhere in this plan. Singapore’s is one government which is only interested in big business. Singaporeans really do not matter to them at all.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar. Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Video. Singapore and Al Pacino in "The Scent of a Woman".

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Watching the movie "The Scent of a Woman" with Al Pacino made me think of Singapore's weak school boys, weak in spirit. I don't think there is even one boy in the entire island of Singapore with the courage, integrity and principle of Mr. Sims, the boy in this movie who refuses to "snitch" on his friends to save himself. This boy has principle. Singapore's teachers and parents terrified of Singapore's dictator Lee Kuan Yew, cannot produce even a single boy with even half this boy's qualities.

Watch the video below for an excellent speech by Al Pacino and you will see how weak, gutless and spiritless Singapore's children are. Which is why I keep reminding Singaporeans that if you could send your children abroad, do it. It is good for their souls. Singapore's Lee ruling family destroys their spirit. They do not want anyone to stand on principle or stand up to a dictator.

Al Pacino in The Scent of a Woman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0WlbLZmwU8


Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore successfully drives away it's best citizens

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Other than Pol Pot's Cambodia which successfully murdered anyone who was capable of independent thinking, I cannot think of any other country large or small which deliberately drives away it's very best. In fact their policies are so puzzling it is impossible to understand.

On the one hand Singapore provides universal education to it's citizens enabling them to be literate. With literacy, it is possible to read about new ideas, new philosophies.

But when they do form their own individual ideas and passions that is when the Lee ruling family comes down hard. After having given you the education, it appears they don't want you to have any opinions or ideas other than what they want you to think.

And if you do, they sue you for defamation, deny you jobs, victimize you and harass you until you either give in to them or you leave the country. End result is Singapore bereft with individual thinkers, being left with a unique specimen of a human being, someone who has an education but deliberately shuts his mind from any thinking which does not conform to that of the government.

They do this in order to live a peaceful and comfortable life and away from the punishments, reprisals and vindictiveness of an intolerant regime.

Enlightened governments would actually encourage diversity of opinion. People with a passion are encouraged. Strong opinions are respected. And truly, any human being should develop strong opinions about things that matter for him, for his society and for his country. A country benefits thereby.

A man should campaign against gambling if that is how he feels. He should fight for the eradication of poverty in his island if that is what irks him. A man should struggle against homosexuality if his passion lies there. Just as one Jew fights hard to retain the West Bank while the other struggles to give it back.

But in Singapore it appears people either don't have any strong opinions about anything or if they do, they are the same as that of the government.

Have you ever seen anyone protesting on the streets against the gambling houses in Singapore? No one. But does that mean no Singaporean has any strong views against it? I don't know. But surely it is surprising that in an island of 5 million people, not one, not a single one has any strong ideas about anything!

The only ones held up as leaders are the likes of the small girl (at least that is what she looks like) Tin Pei Ling. She is a 27 year old Singapore Chinese woman who had worked hard for the Lee ruling family's political party in return for which she was elected Member of Parliament, from which place; she has begun to make speeches prepared for her which she reads out. No one has any idea what she stands for and what her political beliefs are except that they are identical with that of Lee Kuan Yew and his party at any particular point of time.

I, Gopalan Nair on the other hand had very different strong views. In my opinion Lee Kuan Yew is nothing short of a gangster who denies his people their Constitutional rights and who abuses the law to destroy political opposition. Although everyone with eyes can see that what I say is the truth, in the Singapore of Lee Kuan Yew, I am a criminal who was recently sent to prison there for 3 months and even more recently disbarred in the island because according to them I was an unethical lawyer.

So Singapore’s heroes are people such as Tin Pei Ling. And Singapore's criminals are men such as Gopalan Nair.

But Singapore faces a problem doing this. If people are educated, especially today with the Internet, they can see how silly this is. They can see that Tin Pei Ling is nothing short of an opportunist who would say anything to please anyone, provided she profits from it. She has no ideas of her own. Whereas Gopalan Nair does have some ideas and it may be of some use to his country of birth Singapore.

But because Lee Kuan Yew is so insecure, he fears men like Gopalan Nair who are potential threats to his power. So he is silenced and if possible destroyed. Whereas Tin Pei Ling is useful to him because she is only interested in profit and will trumpet Lee Kuan Yew as and when it pleases.

So Gopalan Nairs, Chee Soon Juans, JB Jeyaretnams and countless others capable of independent thinking and strong views, are either silenced or driven into exile. In the past driving someone into exile was good enough because you never heard from him again. But today the Internet has changed the scene entirely because Gopalan Nair can still matter even from California.

Lee Kuan Yew should either criminalize the Internet, prevent migration like Cuba and deny an education to it's people to remain in control. With the situation as it is, he is fast losing it simply because it is impossible to convince any honest human being that Gopalan Nair, Chee Soon Juan or JB Jeyaretnam are simply criminals.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore on the brink

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's octogenarian 89 year old dictator fast becoming polygenarian who is going to kick the bucket anytime soon must be worrying to both Singaporeans and investors who have a stake in the island. History has shown time and time again, from Hitler to Mubarak and every other dictator in between, that when they die, the country descends into chaos from which sometimes they recover and sometimes they don't. As for Singapore being tiny both in size and population with it's economy dependant largely on foreign investment, I am not sure if it would come out whole.

The reason for this must be plain to any observer. In every single dictatorship, Singapore being no different, everything ticks, the trains run, business is done, stores open for business and everybody goes on their daily lives because of one man, that dictator. Noone else is seen with any capability.

The Singapore civil servant derives his authority from Lee Kuan Yew, the judge makes her rulings because of Lee Kuan Yew and everything and everybody are alive because of Lee Kuan Yew just as it was the case of Hitler and his Germany. Singapore is not Singapore; it is Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. In fact none other than Lee himslef made sure of that.

For the sake of looking good, he has placed his son as the Prime Minister but the son commands no respect or authority whatsoever. He simply cannot because he, as well as everybody else knows he does not have any legitimacy. No leader can command respect and legitimacy when he is placed in authority by someone else. A handpicked window dressing. If he manages to rule Singapore, he does so by virtue of father's license, who had placed him there.

Last year I had written a blog post titled
"Singapore strongman 87 year old Lee Kuan Yew suffers massive heart attack" dated March 6, 2010 falsely claiming Lee Kuan Yew had a serious heart attack and was hospitalized.

I had deliberately written this in order to prove this point; that when he dies Singapore will end up in total chaos. This point was completely proven. Immediately thereafter I began receiving numerous queries to confirm this, I was told investors began selling their shares and many were in fact in the process of leaving the island altogether.

Some government man even raised this issue in Lee's Parliament asking whether they should try to punish me somehow, which unfortunately they cannot, as I live in California, and Lee's office immediately put out a notice that he was still alive and had not, contrary to my blog, suffered that massive heart attack.

This sort of reaction only occurs in dictatorships. The English stock market would not collapse if Cameron dropped dead and neither would the Australian if their Prime Minister collapsed, the reason being that these democracies unlike dictatorships have government that allows leaders to emerge and the death of one man has no real effect on the country.

Unlike democracies, in dictatorships like Singapore where everything is connected to one man, his demise throws the entire country into chaos, because by it's very nature, the suppressed people of these dictatorships need another leader to emerge for them to worship, and not there being one, results in a power struggle which usually turns violent.

The last time I saw the Singapore strongman in a video leaving a Parliament sitting, he could not even get up and only managed with great difficulty. I am not sure if he is unable to walk now or whether he is bedridden, facts which we may or may not be told if true by the state controlled Media.

Singaporeans and anyone else with a stake in the island are clearly living in denial if the death of this 89 year old tyrant is not being seriously discussed. I expect the stock market to fall, the Singapore dollar losing it's value and a flood of investments going out. I do not expect Singaporeans to simply accept the rule of his son the prime Minister; there will be a power struggle at the top and Singapore would once again descend into the fishing village that it was in 1819 when Raffles first landed on it's shores.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore's Changi, a dangerous airport in heavy rain

edited 04/17/2012

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's unrelenting transport problems with the daily subway train breakdowns is in the news everyday. Put simply, it's train system is a lemon. Although it was built only a decade or so ago, it is simply junk. Not a day goes by without it malfunctioning stranding thousands in dark tunnels causing fear anxiety and danger to the entire population.

With the island packed as sardines with 5 million people cramped into an island only 16 miles north to south and 26 miles east to west, it is no small wonder why there have not been fatalities caused by human stampede, people trying to escape from dark tunnels and overcrowded train stations for their lives.

As if this were not enough, now Singapore Airport or rather Changi International Airport which Singapore propaganda claim to be the best in the world (almost everything in Singapore, according to them, is the best in the world just as everything in North Korea is the best in the world according to Kim Jong An) has now turned out to be one of the most dangerous airports to fly into.

Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of April 16, 2012 has the story "Bad Weather leading to more flight delays at Changi airport" http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_789270.html

According to the report "heavy rains and thunderstorms have caused flight delays and diversions in recent weeks and more hiccups are expected are expected".

This report shouldn't be surprising to anyone. Indeed it has not gone far enough. It should have said it is a very dangerous airport in inclement weather.

The problem is the huge thunderstorms which discharge a deluge of water, literally a flood of water, coming down as rain which causes almost a complete lack of visibility making it impossible to land.

Instrument Landing System (ILS) with which Changi is equipped can automatically guide an aircraft on a correct glide path electronically from a distance to above the runway, via electronic emitters adjusting the aircraft height through sensors on it's glide path approaching touchdown.

However at about 150 feet above ground the ILS has to be switched off for the pilot to land manually, so the pilot can visually see the runway center line lights, unless you are equipped with CatIIIc specialized equipment for zero visibility. In any case this would be useless on the ground as you cannot taxi in zero visibility.

With Singapore's torrential thunderstorms and a deluge of water pouring down as rain, visibility is reduced to almost zero if not zero and no pilot would see the runway even from one foot, let alone 150 feet. Blinded by the equatorial rain, you have no choice but to abort the landing and go somewhere else almost every day since that is how often you have these rains in the island. If not, you take a gamble with the possibility of 500 passengers dying in an A 380 on the tarmac.

Second, is the problem of rain water entering the engines. Huge amounts of water are sucked into the engines with air creating the serious possibility of their being soaked with water and engine failure.

Although modern aircraft engines have been designed to tolerate large amounts of water and still function, I don't think Singapore's equatorial downpours are something the manufacturers had considered in a daily occurrence.

No engine can survive if you are pouring buckets of water on it. And it will be an interesting thing to watch a huge aircraft losing all power just before landing at Changi. Engine failure just before landing is the worst thing next to engine failure at take off.

Add to that a runway awash with water and the possibility of aircraft wheels hydroplaning on touch down, you have an all round calamity just about to start.

Through no fault of the Lee ruling family of Singapore, climate change and global warming has caused Singapore's iconic Changi International, not only to become an unreliable airport but also a very dangerous one.

Frankly each time an aircraft is cleared for landing during these torrential down pours in Singapore, it is any one's guess whether you are going to have a landing or the world's worst air crash disaster since the one in 1977 Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

Remember each time Singapore has such torrential downpours which happen almost daily, it has to be the pilot's judgment whether he wants to take the risk and land or whether he requests a diversion. I hate to be sitting in an aiplane approaching Changi Airport in pouring rain and leave my life to that pilot's judgement. It is Russian Roulette.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore's Hougang resident and her lawyer pushes the Lee ruling family to a corner

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore's state controlled newspaper Straits Times of April 14, 2012 has the story "By-election case: Resident seeks to strike out AGC's appeal" http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_788675.html

This is the extraordinary story of a Hougang, a Singapore constituency, resident who has taken Singapore's Lee ruling family to court to compel the calling of by-elections there when the seat became vacant recently after it's opposition incumbent was kicked out of Parliament.

Both this litigant and her lawyer M Ravi have to be appreciated for the unprecedented courage and fortitude shown by their actions. Singapore is one country where the Lee ruling family have to treated as if they are Gods. They will tolerate no criticism and any attempt to even be remotely seen as an opponent of their government will result in a lifetime of harassment and victimization from this one party Lee family dictatorship.

Naturally under these circumstances, criticism or opposition to their government is almost unheard of. I say almost because there have been a handful few who had dared to openly oppose such as the late JB Jeyaretnam who has since died and present day Chee Soon Juan who have suffered unbearable punishment including imprisonment and bankruptcy for their actions.

Now suddenly we have this woman and her lawyer who have come out with the courage to take on this unforgiving and ruthless Lee family and taking them to task on the question of the by election in Hougang. My admiration and support go out to both her and her lawyer M Ravi. We all know what the outcome is going to be of course. She is not only going to lose but suffer great financial loss as the Lees are going to hit hard on this woman for her temerity to challenge Singapore's Gods.

In Singapore's unique legal system such cases are decided not by the judge as you may have thought but by the Lee family themselves. This matter is already before the Prime Ministers Office for Lee and his friends to consider what punishment is to be meted out in this case after which the order will go out to the judge to implement it.

Additionally, don't forget we have the ancient Chinese practice of killing the chicken to frighten all the monkeys. This resident Vellama Marie Muthu has to be used as that chicken which has to be killed so that Singapore's citizens, the monkeys, have to be sufficiently warned not to do what she had done. As Lee's son, the Prime Minister had himself said, if you have too many people going around challenging the government, he won't be able to rule. According to him, it would be a very bad thing to have more than on Vellama, a troublemaker, to be wasting his valuable time.

Her lawyer M Ravi too has to be appreciated although not for the reasons you may expect. For some time now, in representation of his young client Yong who is on death row for drug trafficking, he has filed numerous applications, and he appears to be continuing to do so, which has resulted, to his credit, in his client still being alive, as these delay the execution.

Some of this applications in that case were clearly without basis, such as questioning the Cabinet's involvement in Presidential pardons when he should know that all over the world, the sovereign makes such decisions based on his Cabinet's advice. That application, although without merit managed to keep his client alive.

In another case he argued that prosecutors have no right to charge co accused different from each other although involved in the same case. This too we know is wrong since that is exactly what prosecutors do all over the world. That is why it is called prosecutorial discretion. The equal protection clause of the Constitution had nothing to do with it, which is what he was relying on. This too managed to keep his death row client alive.

Vellama, whom we should all salute, is the proverbial sacrificial lamb. The Lee ruling family cannot appear to lose because according to them, under the Confucian philosophy, which they wrongly interpret, they would lose respect and therefore the ability to govern.

But they are in a quandary nevertheless. If they come down hard on Vellama and her lawyer, they would be seen as the ruthless dictatorial tyrannical rulers that everyone take them to be. On the other hand, if they allow Vellama to win, they would seen as weak and therefore, in Lee's confused Confucian (pun intended) reasoning, incapable of ruling.

I would say, this is a case of heads I lose and tails I lose as well, for the Lee ruling family of Singapore. When they are discussing the verdict at the Prime Minister's office in Vellama vs Singapore, they would be considering this very fact.

I am sure they are also struggling with what to do with lawyer M Ravi. It reminds us of the famous words of Edward the Second as to what to do with Beckett, "will someone not rid me of this troublesome priest". They simply cannot allow M Ravi to be going on filing these court motions to confound Lee's courts. Would they not bee seen as weak and incapable of ruling if they did nothing? And what is worse, what if more lawyers come out and do what Ravi is doing, emboldened by his actions. Either way, Ravi has to be stopped. The only thing left to be decided as to how and when.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore's failure, it's corrupt government

Ladies and Gentlemen,

No society can progress unless it's people respect their government. Singapore cannot progress because it's people do not repect it's government. And it is impossible for any honest person to do so. The corruption stares you in the face. Look at the list.

Each member of the Lee ruling family pays themselves $3.7 million or such other ridiculous sum per year each. They call this a salary. I call this theft. No sane person can respect a government when they do this. Each member of the Lee ruling family are thieves. And one cannot respect a government made up of thieves. It is simply impossible.

Every single judge in the island is corrupt. They use their power in the courts to silence and punish anyone who criticizes the government. They do it through libel actions, criminal prosecutions or contempt of court actions. Every single judgement of these courts involving opposition politicians or government critics have no merit whatsoever. You only have to know the facts of these cases. When you cannot honestly respect the courts, it is impossible to respect your country.

Every single newspaper, every single radio station, every single TV station are all controlled by the government. There are no independent newspapers in the island. It is impossible to trust a government which refuses freedom of the press. It is like living in North Korea. No one who has a choice would want to live in North Korea.

Any attempt to peacefully protest is outlawed. It will result in your arrest and imprisonment. Any government which outlaws even a single one man peaceful protest cannot be respected. It is like saying, you listen to me or else. Only gangsters behave like this, not respectable governments. It is impossible to respect a country which denies you the right to even peacefully protest, and what is more, it is a constitutional right.

Today the Lee ruling family of Singapore manage to carry on through the use of a few compliant police officers with ignorant policemen and judges who are prepared to do their bidding. But the vast majority of Singaporeans bitterly hate their government and given an opportunity would leave the island instantly.

It is impossible to respect a country which requires conformity both in thought and behaviour in order to survive. Any thought of independent thinking is quickly dampened because of the ever present fear of reprisals and victimization, causing everyone to have only one opinion, which is the safe one. And the safe opinion is that put out by the Lee ruling family, which is that everything is fine, and there is nothing wrong with Singapore or the Lee ruling family.

In such a stifling atmosphere, it is impossible to gives one's best. If possible people leave the island. The ones remaining are those who are incapable of leaving or incapable of self respect.

Unless the Lee ruling family are prepared to acknowledge this fact, Singapore can only hope to carry on limping along with second rate people, opportunists and mercenaries at the top.

You simply cannot respect a government of gangsters.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore Lee ruling family's education system gets another beating

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You have heard of Singapore run by the Lee ruling family, trying to improve it's image by trying to attract the world's best university, Yale, to enter a joint venture with it's university.

A country whose courts willingly allow themselves to be used as tools to punish political detractors through libel actions, which controls the entire media as it is done in North Korea and where even a one man peaceful protest results in arrest and imprisonment should not be trying this with the most prestigious university in the USA, a democracy.

It appears Yale wants nothing to with a a country like Singapore. Instead of trying this with USA, I am sure Kim Jong An's Pyongyang University would be very willing. Singapore should go where they are appreciated.

Elizabeth Peiris puts it very well in her article.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/04/12/singapore-getting-an-%E2%80%98education%E2%80%99/

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.


Singapore getting an ‘education’
April 12, 2012
The vision is to make this island-republic become Asia’s premier education and knowledge hub, a long cherished dream.

By Elizabeth Peiris

Singapore authorities are presumably getting an ‘education’! For weeks on end now the city-state has been embroiled in a tussle of sorts to snagging America’s leading university of Yale.

Authorities are envisioning a collaborative pact the Ivy League university and Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS) will ease the way to helping the republic realise its long standing quest of becoming Asia’s premier education and knowledge hub.

A pact with Yale though, already exists with NUS for medical exploration and joint study. But because of the somewhat ‘harmless’ nature of that agreement wherein there rarely is an issue of making public controversial findings, that arrangement passed without incident or hitch.

But the present arrangement NUS hopes to clinch is far from the incendiary world of consensual and collegial consent of joint studies and explorative findings.

Its essence is much about differing political and cultural values. In so far as the contextual reading of the subject matter is concerned, it actually pits one form of governance against another.

There really is no mistaking about what Yale’s credentials are apart from having produced some notable US leaders.

It has the largest endowment fund which is equal to the Gross Domestic Fund of some Third World nations. It also has one of the strictest admission criteria anywhere in the world.

“In fact it is one of the top two universities in the United States” says a US resident living in Singapore.

With such sterling credentials, it therefore is little wonder the NUS would want to team up with Yale as that will allow the latter to gain international heft to attract, retain and undertake seminal projects on its home turf and across Asia.

The cachet of Yale is so very vital for the NUS, because the city-state has always harped extensively on its credentials that it is a meritocracy.

Singapore not a talent meritocracy

But as Singapore is finding out, it is not always hunky-dory when it comes to snagging some of the world’s ‘best’. Because just as the world’s supposed best may themselves be musing, the stakes for them too could pretty high when they are seen negotiating with a nation not well known for its political liberalism or tolerance of opposing viewpoints.

In interviews with newspapers the city-state’s Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam views the tie-up as a ‘cancelling’ the shortfalls brought on by Singapore’s exam-smart meritocracy vis-à-vis America’s talent-led meritocracy.

Shanmugaratnam minced no words over to which system he was seeking first and foremost.

Without acknowledging outrightly he let it be known that Singapore’s system of education has not been at its sterling best as it had has commonly touted to be as. In short it was not delivering!

The mere fact the nation has to continually look beyond its shores for talent despite a very stressful and rigorous system second only to Japan – the latest being the former chief of Malaysian state-owned oil company, Petronas, Hassan Marican – is but an indication its education system is quite not what it was cracked up to be in terms of unleashing creativity, drive and entrepreneurship and leadership qualities; character traits the nation needs so very vitally out of its young populace to continually to stay ahead of other regional economies.

The on-going saga is proving to be something of a déjà vu for Singapore. Only some seven years ago the same argument now used by Yale University was also used by another prestigious university, Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Warwick’s concern was the stifling political environment in Singapore would make the city-state an inhospitable place to undertake unfettered research coupled with the latent fear of interference from the city-state’s political elite.

In a statement to foreign media outlets Warwick said, ”In the absence of a positive commitment from the academic community, [the university] resolves not to proceed with the plan for a second comprehensive campus of the University of Warwick, in Singapore”.

There is little by way of assertion to understand just how Yale itself may be feeling especially in light of the sentiments expressed by Warwick to foreign media outlets.

The university’s senate then in 2005 voted overwhelmingly to reject any move to Singapore as it argued it would threaten the Warwick ‘way of life’ when a Singaporean relocation is in the offing.

The question of academic freedom has understandably made many a foreign university leery of forming collaborative pacts with the city-state.

Since the early 1990s and the transformation of the private education industry through its private education council, that some in the city-state have been taking issue with it in the arbitrary way it awards licences for the recruitment of foreign students; Singapore has always aimed at becoming the premier nation of choice for learning, experimentation and eventually of cutting-edge discoveries the way the Swiss have always been.

A few foreign universities do maintain campuses in the city-state but none enjoy the Ivy-League ‘halo’ as Yale or Warwick does.

Maybe it is the turn of the city planners themselves to get some lessons – some hard lessons in life on what it needs to do to get the best in the world to come ashore.

Elizabeth Peiris is a Singapore-based freelance writer.

Singapore Lee's courts and "part time cleaners"

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singaporeans have been following an unusual strange case in their courts, since it is not very often for an ordinary citizen, to challenge the all powerful government of the Lee ruling family let alone a "part time cleaner".

Nearly 3 months ago, an opposition Member of Parliament (I use the word opposition in a rather loose Singaporean sense, meaning that he is in fact too afraid to challenge the government on anything real) for the constituency of Hougang was expelled after his infidelity was reveled, which required the government to hold by- elections.

To force the government, as they appeared to be delaying, a citizen of that ward, Vellama Marie Muthu,aged 42, who happens to be a "part time cleaner" in the government housing agency, took an action in court asking for an order that they hold by-elections in Hougang without further delay.

Other than the the uniqueness of any legal action against Singapore's all powerful Lee family which no one has won, let alone by a humble citizen which has no chance at all, what is interesting is the way it's state controlled newspapers describe the plaintiff.

PART TIME CLEANER

In every single report in these state controlled newspapers one phrase keeps recurring, the words "part time cleaner" to describe the Plaintiff.

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120413-0000041/Hougang-by-election-case--AGCs-appeal-in-week-beginning-May-14

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_788296.html

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1194739/1/.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_788018.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_788018.html

This repetition of her social standing in society speaks reams of what Singapore has become today, an elitist class conscious society where "part time cleaners" should not be going around doing things like this. What these reports are doing is stating exactly what their government thinks of citizens of humbler circumstances such as this woman Vellama Marie Muthu.

These Lee ruling family newspapers are trying to say that the very fact that a part time cleaner should be suing the government at all is a surprise by itself. It would be slightly different had Vellama been a multi millionaire banker, when Lee's judges would perhaps have looked at the whole thing a little differently, but not here coming from a "part time cleaner"!

It is unheard of for anyone to sue the government let alone "part time cleaners". She probably earns $1,000 or less, which is an almost non existent minute decimal of what Lee Kuan Yew or his son earns of $4.7 million a year, 5 times the salary of the President of the United States.

In fact, you would know this if you knew Singapore. What the Lee ruling family is trying to say through their newspapers is that this part time cleaner woman shouldn't be wasting her time going around suing the government. She should know better. Such things are for rich people, not "part time cleaners".

She should consider herself lucky that she even has a job. What she should be doing is to realize her very poorly situation. She is not a notch above the lowest of the low. She should be lucky to be alive. Women like her should not have megalomaniacal ideas.

By this repeated references to "part time cleaner" suing the government, they are trying to tell her that they are going to teach her a lesson she will never forget. The judge on the orders of the Lee family will promptly throw the case out, she would be ordered to pay costs of $50,000 if not more. And not having the money she would be bankrupted and last but not least she would be thrown out of even that measly job.

Lee's Singapore government is going to kill her like they kill the proverbial Chinese chicken so as to frighten all the Singaporean monkeys, I mean citizens.

There was never in Singapore's history anyone who had the courage to sue Lee Kuan Yew's government and there never will be; that is, someone who has done it and lived to tell the tale.

Who does she think she is, this "part time cleaner" in Lee family's Singapore, Margaret Thather?

This is how Singapore's Lee ruling family and their government thinks of their ordinary citizens. Millionaires, are treated a little better.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore. Letter from David D'Aranjo stating no thanks for Lee Kuan Yew award.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Following is a letter from David D'Aranjo on what he thinks of Lee Kuan Yew's award to New York City. I think he is saying that if they want to give that award, they should do it to Pyongyang, North Korea, Harare Zimbabwe or Havana Cuba. They deserve it more than New York city

Best Regards
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, CA, USA


Fwd: NYC is not LKY's "World City".
TO: More recipientsCC: recipientsYou MoreBCC: recipientsYou
Hide Details FROM:Dave D'aranjo Message flagged Thursday, March 22, 2012 2:09 AMA copy of my letter to Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.



Begin forwarded message:


From: Dave D'aranjo

Subject: NYC is not LKY's "World City".

Date: March 22, 2012 5:04:06 AM EDT

To: lee_hsien_loong@pmo.gov.sg, kishore.mahbubani@mahbubani.net

Cc: PMO HQ , gavin_chelvan@pmo.gov.sg, gavin_shelvan@pmo.gov.sg



Mr. Lee Hsien Loong.

My name is Dave D'aranjo. I have written before.

I am an ex-Singaporean. Your government threatened me with conscription, jail, and/or exile because I did not agree to so-called "universal" conscription. Your military determined that I must be mentally incompetent to hold these views. I renounced my citizenship and was compelled to move to the US, away from home, family, friends, etc.
I was too naive to understand what was happening to me and my family at the time, but suffice to say it seemed earth-shattering.
I will never forget your government's actions against me, and the damage your policies caused to my happiness and sense of home.
I hold you and your father personally responsible - and I am not alone.

When Singapore rejected me, I came to New York City.
New York City offered me a home and acceptance for who I am and what I believe, as long as it meant peace.
Thus I primarily consider myself a New Yorker - by choice and by circumstance.

As a New Yorker, and I would like to tell you that you may pat Mayor Bloomberg on the back and think you both are friends, but the truth is that NYC needs an award from Singapore like a fish needs a bicycle.

Especially an award named after Lee Kuan Yew.
You and your government have no concept of individual liberty, which is - if anything - what NYC represents. The very spirit the of the city is individualistic. Yet your government demands conformity, and the penalties are harsh indeed.

To quote Professor Kishore Mahbubani in the article "New York City gets Lee Kuan Yew prize":
"So [for Singapore] to become the iconic city of the Asian century, we must learn to be more open, accept diversity and take full advantage of it - the way New York City did." - (TodayOnline.com, March 22, 2012)


Why don't you take Professor Mahbubani's advice already? You are failing to perceive and act upon the progressively liberal opinions of Singapore's youth, who are increasingly exasperated and embarrassed about the PAP's authoritarian policies, reliance on "foreign talent", and international reputation. I once had a great love and hope for Singapore, which has (clearly) been decimated.

You may say, "David, that's your view, and you are entitled to it". As an American citizen, I am certainly entitled to a dissenting view. It is a Constitutional right, and there are plenty of advocacy groups that strive for the peaceful reform of government over here. The US is far from perfect, but I am not particularly afraid to speak out. In the news, I witness both great tragedy and great success every day - initiated and effected by the people.

Do Singaporeans really have the right to speak out if they so wish? If I remained a Singaporean, the public expression of these views would put me at risk of censure, detention without limit, jail, lawsuits for defamation that I couldn't hope to afford.... tactics you and your father have capitalized upon in the past with "great success".
It is dirty politics and very much against the grassroots activism that New York City allows for. It is not in the spirit of transformation and 'accepting diversity'. If any American official followed your example, impeachment might not be far behind.

For this reason, let me say that: as long as Singapore is a conservative, restrictive, uptight society that permits corporal punishment, capital punishment, conscription, censorship, and horrendous colonial laws under the false term "Asian Values" -- mark my words -- Singapore will never, ever, EVER in a million years reach the intellectual, historic, humanitarian, scientific and artistic depth that New York City has achieved. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak somewhat agrees (linked article).

I am angered by your pompous gall at bestowing this made-up "Lee Kuan Yew World City" award to my adoptive home. By naming the award after Lee Kuan Yew, you have undermined the earnest intent of recognizing urban development. The award now reeks of nepotistic authoritarianism.

There's an old expression in New York City -- commonly said; it rhymes with "duck you, you ducking duck".
Let me be the first New Yorker to convey this expression to all involved.

David D'aranjo



On Nov 13, 2008, at 8:31 PM, Dave D'aranjo wrote:


You've no doubt received my previous two emails.
Answer the questions specifically.

David

On Nov 5, 2008, at 8:17 PM, MINDEF Special Duties wrote:



Dear Mr David D’aranjo


1. I refer to your email dated 31 Oct 2008.


2. We had addressed your issues raised in our earlier replies dated 13 Oct 2008, 23 Oct 2008 and 29 Oct 2008, and will not be making further clarifications on this matter.



Yours sincerely


MS ELIZABETH TAN
for PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE


Dave D'aranjo
10/31/2008 05:21 PM

To
MINDEF Special Duties/MINDEF/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO Hsien Loong LEE/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV
cc
Chin Woei SHA/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO HQ/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV
Subject
Re: NS is not for everybody.



Hi Elizabeth,

I beg to differ - you have not addressed the issues raised, and I am increasingly alarmed that an organization that demands so much is unable to legibly and specifically defend it's own existence.

This is as succinct as I can possibly make my three questions.
Please answer them directly:

1. What options do you offer those that refuse to engage in the activities of the military or police? Please outline what penalties or alternatives are involved.

2. Why was I put through emotional and bureaucratic hell, with no viable alternative path, simply because I objected to joining your military? Is there no other currency of patriotism you accept?

3. Will you reinstate citizenship to those who you have forcibly exiled, and offer them an apology for their grief and for claiming to be a "democratic society based on justice and equality"?


I'm asking for three answers, and a couple moments of your time towards a personalized reply.
You ask - no, demand - three years of a young man's life, evidently "no questions asked".

I demand answers as to why I was made to feel like a traitor in a homeland that I otherwise love dearly, simply because I do not believe in participating in the military or police apparatus.

If this were a question of forced religious conscription - vital to "moral" security and defense of a nation - I suspect we'd agree on that scenario's unfair and backwards nature.

I just ask that you be specific; I will not be making further concessions on this matter.

David D'aranjo


On Oct 29, 2008, at 6:25 AM, MINDEF Special Duties wrote:

Dear Mr David D’aranjo

1. I refer to your email dated 23 Oct 2008.

2. As explained in our earlier replies dated 13 Oct 2008 and 23 Oct 2008, National Service (NS) is a key institution that is vital to the security and defence of Singapore. All male Singaporeans are required to serve NS. We had addressed your issues raised in our earlier replies and will not be making further clarifications on this matter.


Yours sincerely


MS ELIZABETH TAN
for PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Dave D'aranjo
10/23/2008 07:09 PM


To
MINDEF Special Duties/MINDEF/SINGOV@SINGOV, PMO HQ/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV
cc
Chin Woei SHA/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV
Subject
Re: NS is not for everybody.




Elizabeth,

Once again, you dodge the essence of my specific questions, and return with bureaucratic platitudes. The policy is plain and you've repeated it to me twice.
But simply repeating what you've been told to say does not address the larger issues I am seeking answers on.
As a representative of an organization that demands 3 years of a young man's life (2 years of service, plus, to be fair, 6 months on either end for transition period), the least you can do is provide an in-depth, specific reply. Otherwise, I am forced to assume that you only know the letter of the law, not the substance.
Thus you miss an opportunity to convince a skeptic. If that is your intention, it reinforces several of my assertions - in particular, that NS damages the intellectual curiosity of young Singaporeans. Further that, by aggressively curtailing the pursuit of independent thought, the government feels no continued need to positively engage those that disagree.

So I once again request precise answers to my pointed questions (I've rephrased them in light of your last reply):
1. What options do you offer those that refuse to engage in the activities of the military or police? Please outline what penalties are involved, and know that depending on their severity, they may be in violation of the aforementioned "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" by the United Nations, of which Singapore is a member. I would like you to relay MINDEF's official stance on this. Perhaps there is an acceptable compromise I'm not aware of.

2. Why was I put through emotional and bureaucratic hell, with no viable alternative path, simply because I objected to joining your military?
Is there no other currency of patriotism you accept?

3. Will you reinstate citizenship to those who you have forcibly exiled, and offer them an apology for their grief and for claiming to be a "democratic society based on justice and equality"?
(To clarify the word exile: To choose between NS and jail is no just choice at all for some people, therefore, this organization forces these folks to 'escape', and then dares to paint them as "cowardly".)

Here is an interesting, somewhat recent article addressing Singapore's "brain-drain". No mention of conscription's impact, but this is as expected from the Straits Times:
http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_206290.html

Elizabeth, I am one of those "capable people".

Regards,
David


On Oct 23, 2008, at 5:26 AM, MINDEF Special Duties wrote:


Dear Mr David D’aranjo

1. I refer to your email dated 14 Oct 2008.


2. We note your feedback on Singapore's policy on National Service (NS). As explained previously, NS is a key institution that is vital to the security and defence of Singapore. Male Singaporeans are therefore deployed to serve their NS only in the Singapore Armed Forces, the Singapore Police Force, or the Singapore Civil Defence Force, where they can contribute directly to the security and defence of Singapore.


3. We thank you for your feedback.


Yours sincerely


MS ELIZABETH TAN
for PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Dave D'aranjo
10/14/2008 10:20 AM


To
MINDEF Special Duties/MINDEF/SINGOV@SINGOV
cc
Chin Woei SHA/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV
Subject
Re: NS is not for everybody.





Elizabeth,

Thanks for your reply, though I am inclined to believe that it is a form reply letter, since some of my specific questions remain unanswered.

You've explained the government's rationale behind "universal" conscription, and yet you fail to realize that the very existence of compulsory enlistment "allow(s) invidious... comparisons to be drawn", namely towards the increasing pool of foreigners who spent those two years establishing their education and career, and have come to Singapore to "enjoy the fruits of Singapore's economic success" (source). Additionally, there is overwhelming evidence that major opportunities in education and employment for Singapore's young men have continually been quashed by this National Service obligation.
The social consequences are already far-reaching, as evidenced by Singapore's relatively high emigration rate, and in how the international community views Singapore on the topic of human rights.
It is no coincidence that this emigration rate only dipped in 2004, when NS laws were slightly relaxed.

As a representative of MINDEF, and with Singapore being a member of the United Nations, you should be aware that National Service violates several portions of the United Nations "Universal Declaration of Human Rights":

Article 20 (2): No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 4: No one shall be held in... servitude.
Article 13 (1): Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Article 8: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary.... detention or exile.

Etcetera, and be sure to read Article 30 before your reply.

I've already stated my case for why a volunteer system that places emphasis on educational incentives would be better for Singapore in the long-term. And you can read into this argument further at the source I linked to above:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Service_in_Singapore#Humanitarian_efforts

Let me broaden this by saying that my personal resentment would not be so strong if 1) the compulsory time period were kept under 1 year, so as not to so greatly interfere with the more practical pursuit of preparing for financial independence, and if 2) the definition of National Service were expanded to include services beyond the government's military and police apparatus.

An army of motivated, properly paid volunteer professionals can defend Singapore excellently. If subsidized university education becomes part of the package, there would still be a very high number of recruits, and furthermore, their skills and total knowledge would be of much more value to the nation. Military service would be an obvious choice for Singapore's best minds, rather than a forced endeavor that stymieds intellectual development.

To close, I have three specific questions:
1. What options do you offer for those that refuse to engage in the activities of the military or police? Beyond Civil Defense - is there no "Civic Defense"?
2. Why was I put through emotional and bureaucratic hell, with no viable alternative path, simply because I objected to joining your military? Is there no other currency of patriotism you accept?
3. Will you reinstate citizenship to those who you have forcibly exiled, and offer them an apology for their grief and for claiming to be a "democratic society based on justice and equality"?

David D'aranjo

On Oct 13, 2008, at 3:58 AM, MINDEF Special Duties wrote:


Dear Mr David D’aranjo

1. I refer to your email addressed to the Prime Minister's Office regarding National Service (NS) in Singapore.


2. NS is a key institution that is vital to the security and defence of Singapore. With Singapore's inherent resource constraints and vulnerabilities, universal conscription is absolutely critical for our national security. For this reason, all male Singaporeans are required to serve their NS in the Singapore Armed Forces, the Singapore Police Force, or the Singapore Civil Defence Force, where they contribute directly to the security and defence of Singapore.

3. Conscientious objection to military service compromises the universality of NS, thereby undermining Singapore's security. Any concession to particular persons or groups would weaken the principles of universality and equality, the credibility of the NS institution itself, as well as allow invidious and unproductive comparisons to be drawn. These would have far-reaching security and social consequences.

4. A small country like Singapore must have its citizens ready and prepared to defend the country. There remains a high level of support for universal conscription among Singaporeans. The Government will strenuously uphold the NS system, and preserve its fairness and equity. This is essential to maintain the commitment that Singaporeans have shown over four decades of NS.


Yours sincerely


MS ELIZABETH TAN
for PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

----- Forwarded by MINDEF Special Duties/MINDEF/SINGOV on 10/13/2008 03:20 PM -----
MINDEF Special Duties/MINDEF/SINGOV
09/30/2008 05:25 PM


To
daranjo@mac.com
cc
Subject
Fw: NS is not for everybody.






Dear Mr David D'aranjo

MINDEF has received your email addressed to the Prime Minister's Office. We will look into the matter and reply to you as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely



MS ELIZABETH TAN
for PERMANENT SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
"Dave D'aranjo"
21 Sep, 2008 06:29 PM


To
PMO HQ/PMO/SINGOV@SINGOV
cc
Subject
NS is not for everybody.







I am a 24 year old half-Singaporean and half-American. Citizenship-wise, I have renounced my Singaporean citizenship to avoid National Service.
I am a conscientious objector to compulsory enrollment in a military force. I abhor the thought of it for my own reasons. This alternative mindset, however, came with a terrible price: for years I was told that I would be arrested if I stepped foot on Singaporean soil. In effect, this bureaucratic nightmare threatened to cut me off from half of my beloved family. Within the family, our ties have been strained. I have been labelled a whole number of vicious adjectives by others because I disagree with military service. And this obviously has had a sad effect on my identity and concept of "home" - to the effect that for many years, I held on to an infection of hatred for Singapore that I still today cannot truly rationalize.

My first question is, why was I put through emotional and bureaucratic hell, with no viable alternative path, simply because I objected to joining your military? (Your stance is: join our military, or face jail / excommunication). Is it right for a "democratic society, based on justice and equality" to abuse those that disagree, whether it be for moral or religious reasons? (As I understand it, to be a Jehovah's Witness - which I am not - is illegal in Singapore solely for National Service reasons.)

Secondly - as Singapore embraces more and more foreign interests, and more children of mixed-citizenship come of age, how do you expect to demand that all the males, who similarly come from a background where they can see the benefits of a swift university education and have been exposed to foreign cultures, forfeit 2 years of their life? Will you similarly threaten to destroy their sense of place in a society that calls itself compassionate? You also clearly state that dual-nationality is illegal, but "graciously allow" the party to choose either nationality "after they have completed 2 years of NS". How can you justify holding people hostage in this manner in the 21st century?

Here is a scenario that makes more sense to me. End conscription: a volunteer army is one of higher and more honest morale. Turn your enormous resources towards making the military an obvious career choice for all Singaporeans, male and female, by concurrently offering a worldly education as part of the package. Offer would-be enlistees the opportunity to have an international university education, partially subsidized by the government, in return for a subsequent career stint in the military or civil service. Give them incentive to get smart overseas, and return home with their skills.

The benefits of such a system would have a tremendous positive effect on Singaporean society, akin to the social stability of, for instance, Norway. Rather than "buying-in" foreign interests to cover for the lack of knowledge in Singapore's insular society, you would be creating a generation of world-minded scholars to bring the best of the world home - i.e. less dependence or foreign talent. And with that, Singapore's international prestige would rise accordingly, too.

Singapore is a comfortable place to live, but today it also has low birthrates and high emigration. I posit that allowing people more freedom of movement and expression would make people more keen to return to Singapore for the obvious benefits, without making them feel stifled in an intellectual bubble increasingly run economically by foreigners.

Even though I have renounced citizenship, I still consider Singapore my homeland and hope that someday there will again be a place for me there. To be a true "democratic society", Singapore must embrace those young men that would not serve in the military - and offer them compassionate options to ensure they do not leave bitter and without a sense of place.

Please reply immediately to justify your position.

David D'aranjo






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Alan Sahdrake honored in London

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Below is an Email received from Alan Sahdrake, the author of Once a Jolly Hangman. Congratulations Alan Sahdrake.

Very Best Regards
Gopalan Nair, Fremont, California

Dear Gopalan, you might be interested in mentioning that Once a Jolly Hangman made
the George Orwell Prize Longlist for 2012. Just been announced in London and the winners
will be announced at a ceremony in late April. It's also on Facebook and Twitter. If you
can help spread the news that would be great - dont we just love poking him in the eye
as often as possible!
Love your last blog, by the way.
Alan

Singaporean's double lives

Ladies and Gentlemen,

An entire island of 5.1 million people in Singapore live, literally speaking, double lives. They have to behave one way when they know the reality is another.

You have an island which in reality is a one party fascist state. The Lee ruling family of Singapore literally control everything, own everything and run everything through their Peoples Action Party which has been continually running the island since 1959. They pay themselves each $5.7 million a year each. This is simply theft and corruption.

They control all the newspapers and media. Any information about the island and official matters are strictly controlled. The people get to hear what they want them to hear. What you get is propaganda, no different from what you would get in North Korea.

The judges are personally appointed by the Lee family who willingly, as part of their duties punish and destroy political opponents through the misuse of the law. There is no rule of law with the legal system completely politicized. Government cronies and rich foreign bankers receive preferential treatment; ordinary people without any connections are dealt with more harshly while government opponents and critics receive the blunt end of the stick. The people have lost faith in the law.

Workers are denied the right to freely organize. Union leaders are appointed by the government to protect employers and any attempt to strike or go slow will result in imprisonment.

Singapore’s Lee ruling family prohibits constitutional rights including free speech, expression and assembly and any attempt to do this will result in arrest, imprisonment and permanent harassment and victimization in the future in all walks of life. You will lose your job, you will be falsely charged with criminal offenses and until such time as you repent and submit, your life would be Hell.

I am one such victim of the Lee ruling family's wrath. Since 1984, after openly joining the former Workers Party and contesting elections and continuing to be a government critic ever since, my picture has been repeatedly published in their state controlled press, media and television. That was a signal that henceforth I should be denied any privileges whatsoever. In 2008 after I had criticized one of Lee's judges Belinda Ang Saw Ean while in Singapore, for shamelessly abusing the law against Lee's political opponent Chee Soon Juan in court, I was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment and subsequently disbarred from practicing law in Singapore. For the rest of my life Lee’s Singapore will deny any privileges to me which others might be allowed.

Thanks very much but I have no intention to stop my criticism,

Everyone in Singapore with eyes can see these injustices. Yet Singaporeans go along and pretend as if there is nothing wrong.

Take a Singapore Air Force pilot who flies for his country, a country which he knows has no rule of law, a country which denies him a right to free speech and expression, a country that would sue him for defamation of character if he ever criticized the Lee family and where they pay themselves 5 times the salary of the President of the United States, which is theft.

How does a pilot risk his life and fight for a country such as this? An American pilot when he files for the USA knows that he is defending America, which despite all its faults has the rule of law, a respect for the Constitution and place where he has rights. A Singapore pilot who knows as much as I do about his country may want to drop a bomb over Lee Kuan Yew's house instead of defending them.

Consider any Singapore lawyer. He knows that the courts before which he appears is nothing other than Lee Kuan Yew's tools to silence the opposition and any attempt to challenge them; whereas an American lawyer knows when he steps into that courtroom that he can expect justice regardless of who he is, rich or poor, connected or not. An American lawyer has no problem practicing his profession with his conscience intact. How does a Singapore lawyer do it?

A teacher in Singapore’s schools knows the importance of her students speaking the truth, the importance of such qualities as integrity, honesty and courage. What good is an education if you do not have integrity?

Yet she knows that if she told her students to speak the truth, she would lose her job. She has no choice but to lie about the greatness of Lee Kuan Yew just as a North Korean teacher would have to lie about the greatness of Kim Jong An. She cannot tell her students that Singapore strongman Lee is actually a dictator even though it is true. Poor woman. She does it because she needs a job and not so confident of going it alone in Australia.

It is not a very pleasant existence, not for the teacher and neither for the student.

And the same applies to every single human being in the island from the civil servant to the taxi driver. They all know as much as I do. Yet they have to go along with their lives as if Singapore was a democracy. They have to pretend that its judges are independent. They have to pretend as if their courts are independent and they have to pretend as if they have freedom.

This sort of a double life could have gone on perfectly well 20 years ago, but it is simply not possible now. In 1982 Hafiz al Assad could have murdered several thousands of Syrians and be none the worse for it, but not his son in 2012 with the Internet.

Although the Lee ruling family can crack down with brutal force against his detractors now, the ease with which people can cross borders today and the fact that news cannot be stopped from spreading via the Internet makes their attempts to continue by doing one thing and pretending something else more and more difficult.

True, with a state controlled media, you can say anything you want but when the people don't believe it anymore, it becomes increasingly difficult to enforce your rule. In this distasteful lifestyle, people with the luxury of leaving will leave, and building better roads and water canals to beautify the island as they do now, cannot compensate for the distaste of living double lives.

I am not sure whether a Singapore Air Force pilot in one of his sorties carrying live bomb payload will decide to change course one fine day from his live firing target to turn Lee Kuan Yew's house into one, a target.

Neither am I sure when or if any army officer would decide to drive his tanks to that same house and discharge a volley of shells and finish off the Lee family once and for all.

I am not sure if any of this would happen and if it does when. But one thing I am sure which is this. The rot continues. Singaporeans continue to emigrate in droves to Australia and the West. The rate of childbirth continues to be the lowest in the world and the increasing older generation is simply dying off. In their place are brought in recent Communist Chinese looking for work and some from the West to work as off shore lawyers and bankers. None of them care a wink for the interests of the island.

Since being dedicated and loyal to a corrupt regime by anyone is impossible, Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore has completely lost anyone with a real passion or love for their country.

On the other hand it is not hard for an American to love and respect his country. It has a constitution and laws which are respected. It is not run by any family such as Singapore’s Lee ruling family, telling them what can and cannot be done, or what is permitted and what forbidden.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore. The moment is now for peaceful protest and street demonstrations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore Lee ruling family's grip on power is now extremely tenuous. Difficulties are mounting for them on several fronts. They have seen their lowest majority at the elections in 2011, a mere 62% despite the fact a large segment of the population are recent immigrants who know nothing of Singapore and would naturally vote for anyone in power even if they were donkeys.

You have the ever increasing problem of the unstoppable brain drain with the loss of the most talented of Singaporeans, a crippling blow paralysing their ability to govern.

Only yesterday Lee's son, the Prime Minister whom he appointed, publicly admitted a growing divide between recent immigrants and native Singaporeans. We hear of daily confrontation including violent ones between them.

As for the Lee ruling family, they are finding it increasingly difficult in attracting qualified candidates into their ranks despite the lure of astronomical salaries running into millions of dollars, made up of salaries, and bribes and kickbacks.

I believe the reason for this; people have no longer confidence in their continued rule since it is widely expected that with the demise of the 89 year old autocrat Lee, which is going to happen very soon, the island will descend into chaos and disorder, the reason being the son is widely believed as incapable of ruling without his father behind him for support.

On top of that you have to suffer the lack of civil liberties; a denial of a free press and instead you get propaganda, the denial of the right to protest, a fear ridden society worshipping the Lee family who appear as Gods, while they steal millions of your dollars calling it salaries.

This is the moment for you if you want to bring down this Lee ruling family dynasty and introduce democracy like they have done in all the Middle East and numerous other countries in the world. Even Burma is changing for the better. The Burmese have had the courage to come out and vote for Aung San Su Chi and freedom.

I am not asking anyone to resort to violence. Remember that under the Singapore Constitution, you have a right to free speech and expression and assembly, provided it is done in peace.

The requirements placed by the Lee ruling family requiring permits for such activity is illegal under the law as the Constitution is sacrosanct and no amendment of its provisions is allowed except for grave national emergency which does not exist.

Although you might be prosecuted by this repressive dictatorial regime for engaging in this lawful activity, such prosecutions are illegal under natural justice. Remember both under international law and under natural justice you are committing no wrong. Indeed your actions would be of the highest of honorable conduct expected of a loyal patriotic citizen.

Please do not waste your time protesting in Hong Lim park because you need not comply with that requirement. The law entitles you to protest in any public place in Singapore provided you are not obstructing or trespassing into anyone else's person or property.

It is going to be very hard for them to portray you as a criminal for doing this, since the world's greatest human beings have all engaged in peaceful protest such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King. If indeed men like them were criminals, surely it is an honor to be a criminal.

Just imagine how much effect you would have if you stood at Raffles Place at lunch hour holding up a placard for freedom. You are not obstructing anyone, you are not hurting anyone, you are in peace speaking your mind as a good citizen should.

There are many Singaporeans who have travelled abroad and know that such activity is routinely carried out in Sydney, Melbourne, London and any other free city in the world. The Lee ruling family has no right to stop you doing this in your own country.

Far too many people in Singapore have already seen the other side of the hill. Singaporeans know how much fun it is to live free. I do as I live in California. At the same time I wish to see a free and democratic Singapore as I am sure you, the reader of Singapore Dissident, also do.

So my friends, do it. The moment is now. I would love to see to faces of the Lee family when this actually happens. Remember it is 2012 now. Not 1960. Once someone does it, I am absolutely sure, it would spread like wildfire across the island. And you would come out of this a free man no longer in bondage.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.

Singapore. Totalitarian rule and it's consequences.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singaporeans in truth have no rights to speak of. Their Constitution has been repeatedly amended to take away their right to free speech, free expression or assembly all of whom now need a government permit, which will be denied if anyone applied to speak against them. You have a judiciary which has routinely been used as a political tool against government critics, as a result of which it has been totally discredited.

You have a Prime Minister who was not freely and fairly elected but was placed there by his father who has the puppet strings. No one respects the son and just ignores him as if he wasn't even there.

As for the father who is 89, he continues to orchestrate the the government from behind the scenes as if the island was the personal property of his family.

And unlike in the past when news did not spread as quickly as they do now with the Internet, it is no longer possible to keep these government excesses under wraps. The result of all this is a Singaporean public which is totally detached and unconcerned with how the island is run, as if they were all there temporarily to make a living and then leave the island.

The massive numbers of recent immigrants, the majority of whom have been given citizenship not only do not care about what goes on, they do not know anything about Singapore either.

If the Lee ruling family still manages to govern Singapore they are not managing it because the people support them but because they are afraid of Lee's police force and the courts which he controls. It is simply an island which is governed through fear, not voluntary intelligent support.

Which is why cracks are increasingly appearing in the cohesion among the people resulting in dislike even hatred among the citizens. Look at what is happening. The state Controlled newspaper the Straits Times of April 05, 2012 has the story "PM Lee flags two worrying trends in Singapore", http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_785443.html.
It talks of the "growing divide" between native citizens and new immigrants, mainly from Communist China. With the ever increasing Communist Chinese population component in Singapore which has nothing either socially or historically in common with the locals, there are going to be more and more violent clashes between them, which is already happening, resulting in society disintegrating.

Not too long ago, you had a Communist Chinese immigrant family who complained about their Singaporean Indian neighbours cooking curry because they didn't like its smell. As a result the Indian family were coerced into voluntarily not cooking it when these Communist Chinese neighbours were in, a strange concession for someone giving up the right to cook a dish in their own home.

After this incident, to the credit of Singaporean Chinese (as opposed to these Communist China imports) who have always lived in harmony with their Indian neighbours, many in fact went out of their way to support their Indian friends and told these Communist Chinese to just get out of the country altogether if they didn't like it.

On April 2, 2012, there was an article in this state controlled press headed "Intellectual Property office of Singapore gets new subsidiary" http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_784520.html,
the story talks of this government office setting up a subsidiary called IP Academy by which they hope to become a hub for the practice of Intellectual property law.

I think this is once again just fat hopes. It will not succeed. Any law jurisdiction hoping to prosper has to be first of all respected. With Singapore's judiciary and it's legal system totally discredited for being seen as a tool to silence dissent though abusing the law, the international community has lost all faith in it. Judges like Belinda Ang Saw Ean are in fact doubling as PAP politicians, not judges, when they bankrupt a critic Chee Soon Juan with astronomical court awards merely for voicing criticism agaisnt the government.

Since Intellectual Property law just as any other law does not exist in a vacuum but is interrelated with other areas of law including the Constitution, since the Lee ruling family have completely deprived Singaporeans of any constitutional rights, the impartially of the courts can no longer be expected. Such a jurisdiction, like that of North Korea or Communist China has no hope of becoming any hub for any legal discipline.

What the Lee ruling family should understand is this. The moment you think of abusing the rule of law for your own political ends, that is when you get hurt from all sides. The people have no respect for you, there is not going to be any dedication and you are simply not going to get the real support of your people. They may keep quiet and simply go along but such obedience is extracted out of fear, not out of any support from your people. And a society like this only descends further into abyss of shame and disrespect.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Disbarred from practicing law in Lee's Singapore, imprisoned and refused entry to the island for criticizing Singapore's judiciary in this blog (see blogpost May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court)
Actively practicing law in California and in good standing at the California Bar.
Member in good standing as a lawyer in England and Wales (Barrister).
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.