Singapore's biggest problems; it's brain drain and third rate immigrants

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore is a tiny island, tiny speck, with no more than 2.5 million or so local born and another 2.5 million or so, recently arrived Chinese immigrants from Communist China, mostly illiterate of any English.

With such a small tiny miniscule base to start with, any amount of emigration of its people, however small, must raise alarm bells. What will they do if this already tiny population decides to leave? There would be none left!

But in fact that is exactly what is happening. Among the already tiny local born population, there is an even tinier educated class, most of them wanting to leave if they can. In a survey among students and teenagers not long ago, about 60% stated, if given a chance they would emigrate to the West.

As we speak Singaporeans continue to leave for the West for settlement, mainly to Australia. Several newspaper reports have appeared giving the figures leaving as about 1300 a year. As this figure only reflects the head of households, if you add the spouses and children, many more are actually leaving, an unbearable figure for a tiny island, and mounting.

As you can imagine from these figures, Singapore is clearly not an attractive place in the world to migrate to. It is well known that the United States is the most attractive place for migrants attracting the best and brightest from across the world. Trailing closely behind are countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe.

Every single Nobel Prize class scientist, Olympic athletes, performers, you name it from across the world seek out America as their country of choice. I can tell you it’s not just because of the money. It is also because America is a proud respected country, not a pariah state with a Lee Kuan Yew running around bullying everyone in sight.

As for Singapore, if its own citizens are desperately trying to flee, you can safely assume that it is probably very low down the totem pole for migrants.

Over the last few years, you have seen Singapore state controlled newspaper reports of Lee Kuan Yew and other top Singapore officials going to the places where Singaporeans have gone, such as Sydney and San Francisco, trying to beg them to return, as it is these Singaporeans, the best and the brightest, who have left.

Unfortunate for Lee's government none of these repeated attempts at persuasion appears to have succeeded and now it appears they have just about given up, resigned to the fact that Singaporeans who have gone to the West find their new homes far more desirable than Lee's fascist Singapore. They simply will not return. Can anyone blame them?

Singapore’s Lee has brought in large numbers of recent Chinese immigrants. There are also some Indians from India, mostly software engineers. None of these people qualify for the West which is why they chose Singapore instead, where they can earn a few more measly dollars than they could have in their impoverished homelands. The moment any of them are able to leave for the West, it would be Adios Singapore the very instant.

These people are simply second rate, and they are in Singapore simply because no one else will take them.

To anyone with eyes, it must be obvious why the Unites States and Western countries are so attractive while Singapore is so unpopular. Every human being, in addition to the need for money, also wants security in life and living. In the West you can depend on having a secure dependable life. Why, because you have the rule of law, because you have fundamental rights, the right to speak freely without fear of arrest and to know that your rights are protected by an independent judiciary.

Singapore is unpopular for all except the ignorant masses because it does not guarantee these rights. One has perforce to be insecure in Lee's Singapore. The courts have lost their credibility with judges repeatedly abusing the law to punish government critics, banning critical newspapers and deporting people such as me whom they find uncomfortable, despite the fact that I was born and raised in Singapore.

What you have today is a shrinking English speaking local population who are determined to go to the West in ever larger numbers. Those remaining are the food stall vendors, taxi drivers and bus boys that have little or no education. Their children who go to Singapore schools are taught in a strict regimen of brain washing, rote learning and toeing the line. There is no creativity, or independent thinking whatsoever; since how can you with Lee breathing down your neck and threatening to send you to jail any minute!

What is going to happen is this. With time, the local English educated population is going to shrink even lower from the already low number of 2.5 million. This is because of the additional problem of their lowest birth rate in the world and the world's rapidly dying old people who are not being replaced.

Since no one with any real quality or talent would ever think of going to Singapore, you are left with the ubiquitous recent immigrant from China who knows no English, a few Australians who temporarily work there for what they call, an Asian experience, a few East Europeans trying to escape from their even poorer former Soviet Bloc countries and that are that.

Such a polyglot mishmash of people just thrown together in a small island will have no common direction, no purpose and no common objective. Moreover the recent incidents of foreigner hatred and violence have been increasing and these people have been tearing at each other. As the Singaporean population continues to decline these incidents of racial hatred and xenophobia will only climb.

At the end you will find only Lee's family and friends remaining and an entire island full of people from elsewhere with no Singaporeans left. I don't think such a place can get very far. Nay, simply impossible.

As if all this is not bad enough, we have the 90 year old Lee the dictator, about the kick the bucket any minute. That I think will break the camel's back once and for all.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 491 4375

Singapore lawyers are simply not interested

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although Singapore Island has 5 million people, it has only 3000 or so lawyers!

This figure cannot be accurately be verified as any telephone call to the Singapore Law Society  is invariably answered by a demand that I should officially write a letter for this seemingly innocuous request. I can only assume that even the number of lawyers practicing in Lee's Singapore has to be kept a secret, perhaps because they are ashamed to admit to this totally inadequate number.

Upright principled young men and women shun the legal profession, as it is seen to be used for political purposes to destroy the opposition. Secondly anyone who is seen as someone refusing to show support for Lee's government will not be accepted.

And those who for one reason or another do decide to be lawyers are seen completely indifferent on how their profession is run, since I suppose they know that they can do nothing about it anyway, since it is directly controlled by Lee's government, who will do whatever they want anyway.

Recently there was a case reported in the state controlled papers of a lawyer with bipolar disorder being confronted with another lawyer sent by the Singapore Law Society in court trying to persuade the judge not to allow him to practice law because he has had a relapse in his condition. Some 50 lawyers or so took umbrage to this unwelcome intrusion into the court and had filed a Motion in the floor asking the Society to explain itself.

It is also reported that at the hearing of the Motion, no more tan 500 lawyers attended, a large number by Singapore standards since even at Annual General Meetings, a very important annual occasion, not more than 300 attend.

See http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/law-society-egm-fails-settle-m-ravi-issue-20120925

Imagine these facts. You have a tiny island which is packed with 5 million people, yet it has only 3,000 lawyers or maybe even less; at each general meeting no more than 300 attend; in this case some 50 lawyers filed a Motion and 500 attended for the hearing of the Motion.

Pathetic I think is the word to explain these negligible numbers. But can anyone blame them for this total disinterest, since government lawyers routinely destroy opposition through judges misusing the courts and success at the Bar only comes provided you are seen as a government sympathizer.

As you can see, the administration of the law in Lee’s Singapore has been totally discredited.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, CA USA
Tel: 510 491 4375

Singapore. What sort of people are they, anyway

Ladies and Gentlemen,

These are the grim facts about Singapore Island.

Singapore Island is a tiny place which is not more than 26 miles across and 16 miles perpendicular, at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula. In this tiny little crowded place is packed about 5 million people, of which only about 2.5 million are born there. The rest are recent immigrants bought in mainly from Communist China which the ethic Chinese Ruling Family, the Lee Family, prefers over other races.

This tiny island has one of the most corrupted governments in the world, run by the Lee Ruling Family. Lee Senior, even though he is 89 and hardly coherent and almost senile and good for nothing, pays himself no less than about $2.7 million a year, 5 times that of Obama; taxpayers’ money. So does his son and every member of his family, and except for his son, they do no work to earn a penny of it.

As if this was not enough, they have their paws in every kitty. They give themselves directorships in every single government owned company which they created themselves using taxpayers money and siphon off even more from them, literally doing nothing for it. Their sources of income are not disclosed and any attempt to force them to do it, will result in your being bankrupted through libel actions in their Kangaroo Courts.

In fact there is anecdotal evidence that Lee Senior and his son are richer than Bill Gates by a mile, with numbered accounts in almost every single Swiss Bank in existence, villas in the French Rivera, London Paris and Rome. The only reason why they don’t live the lavish lives they can is because they don’t want to end up as another King Louis of France at the guillotine and a missing head.

The entire media is state controlled and any attempt by anyone to publish anything without a permit will result in imprisonment. Even the ownership of a printing press is illegal without government consent.

There is no right to free speech, expression, assembly or any other rights which one would take for granted in Australia or other respected countries.

Simply put, a Singaporean has no voice. Any attempt to demand answers to government actions will result in dismissals from employment, victimization, libel lawsuits, bankruptcy and even imprisonment.

But yet Singaporeans pay their taxes and appear not to complain, living their lives quietly and unobtrusively. If this sort of thing would have been happening anywhere else, the people would be up in arms, and doing summersaults outside Lee's Palace demanding to have answers this very minute come Hell or high water. Very unusual Singaporean indeed.

One cannot avoid hurting the feelings of the average Singaporean but the truth has to be told. The simple answer is, the vast majority of Singaporeans are simply ignorant. They have no idea that they have any rights, because they have never been told of it. And on the principle of what you do not know cannot hurt you, this ignorant lot simply go on with their lives in bliss.

The average Singaporean goes through life in school, learning to read and write, some science, some mathematics and the usual regular subjects. Others who are not smart enough go to trade schools and learn air conditioning, carpentry or diesel mechanics technician course. Most stop school after this and only a small percentage continue to tertiary education.

The vast majority end up as clerks in banks and government offices while others purse their trade as mechanics and technicians. Their education, if you can call it that, equips them to get a job and do their work, nothing more. They are incapable of thinking beyond that.

Those who go on to higher education become accountants, engineers or other professions. Singapore universities make no effort to educate these students more than what they need to know to do their jobs. Nothing more. Therefore the Singapore trained engineer is only able to think as far as his job is concerned. He might become a very able engineer but it will never cross his mind to question the Lee Ruling Family as to what gives them the right to steal his money in the tune of $2.7 million each since he is a taxpayer and this is simply corruption.

Not a single one of the couple of colleges in Singapore has any books on human rights, Constitutional law or John Stuart Mill on Liberty. It will never cross the mind of a Singaporean ever to articulate a phrase such as "It is far better to die a brave man than a coward" or to cry out "Defy authority" not even in his dreams.

This indifference to one's rights is reinforced through fear which the Lee Ruling Family has assiduously cultivated in the minds of Singaporeans. They fear Lee's wrath which makes them go into a state of freeze. It is even further reinforced by this stupid notion of Asian Confucius which extols the virtue of respect for authority. In the Chinese way of thinking, a good man is one that keeps his mouth shut and obeys Lee and his son because they happen to be the rulers and you happen to be no better than a slave.

In the end, I can only say this. It is a society geared to ensure the perpetual rule of the Lee Ruling Family. It is also a society which does not have much quality. People who are perennially afraid do not make good citizenship material. They can never come up with new ideas because they are programmed only to follow, not lead. You also never find true patriotism or loyalty in such a country because it is impossible to be loyal or patriotic to a government which simply steals your money in broad daylight and puts you in jail if you complain.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, CA, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375

Singapore Lee Ruling Family's stranglehold on power

*PS.09/18/2012. Remember the Lee Ruling Family of Singapore have never had any respect for the Rule of Law or even the principles of Parliamentary Democracy. Lee Senior has repeatedly said that only he knows best and he could rule much better on his own without the need for any elections.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Never in history have dictatorships and totalitarian regimes among which is Singapore, have ever willingly ceded power; they always have had to be forced out.

We are seeing great shift in their support on the ground. In the last election, Lee Ruling Family's PAP only succeeded in getting 60% of the votes and the opposition had seen the largest shift in their favor, 40%. If the trend is to continue, we can expect the opposition to get even more, perhaps even 60% and turning the tables the other way round.

But the question is, even if the opposition gets the majority, will the Lee Ruling Family ever cede power? I think not. They have too much to lose.

Singaporeans when voting for the opposition were of course thinking that they are getting opposition representatives. But the Lees had no such intention ever to give up even an inch of control. So they did the best they can under the circumstances. They permitted an opposition in Parliament but one which was actually their representatives anyway. Today the Workers Party which won 6 seats are in fact Lee's representatives and have nothing to do at all with the opposition. They are in Parliament performing at a theater, which is to behave like the opposition but make no effort to unseat Lee's PAP even one bit. This way, with the mirage of an opposition, the Lee Ruling Family are still calling all the shots, as they have continuously done the last 52 years.

Recently Lee's government has agreed to lift Chee Soon Juan's bankruptcy and alluding to the fact that he may contest the next elections in 2016. Question is, will they even allow him to win? Just as in every other one party police state in the world, the government can actually decide who wins and who loses. If they wanted Chee to win, their agents would knock on every door in the area demanding they vote him in. If not, they could do the same and intimidate and threaten everyone to not vote for him. And if these tactics did not realize the desired result, they would just as in every other one party state, just shove the ballot boxes.

Can you imagine what it would be, for Lees to willingly hand over power? The tenure of all their judges would be questioned, all their repressive laws would be questioned, their corrupt payments to their friends and cronies of millions of taxpayer’s money would be questioned, and they suddenly find themselves accountable in more ways than one. No, there is simply too much at stake for them to quietly go away no matter what.

In any case, even if the opposition were to succeed, the Lees can make sure that there is no change on the ground. Remember Ministers and Members of Parliament don't run the island, civil servants do. So if necessary, regardless of who sits in Parliament, government departments run by Lee’s sympathizers can continue taking orders from them and the Ministers can do nothing about it.

The only way there can be true change and dictatorships are toppled are not through the ballot box, they are through public protests and civil disobedience. There is simply no other way. If anyone ever thought that Chee Soon Juan is the harbinger of change because he can contest elections or because the electorate has voted out the Lee ruling Family, I would say, think again. Nothing will happen for ions of years. If they are determined to hang on to power no matter what, as they are now, you will have to be content with at least another 50 years of rule by the Lee Ruling Family.

This is why I have always felt that the only way to change Singapore from what it is today, an open party police state, is to engage in mass protests across the island to demand the rights which are rightfully yours. Peaceful protests are a very powerful tool in a crowded city like Singapore. A demand for a free press, or the rule of law, or the abolition of the Internal Security Act will bring immediate results. Lee's government will simply not be able to justify their denial of rights, and once you have succeeded in one case, every other case becomes much easier. This government will simply collapse under such an attack and you will see democracy for once, I can guarantee you that.

For a one party police state like Singapore, there is really no other answer than to take to the streets in demanding what is rightly yours, your freedom. You simply don’t have to live in a state where all the newspapers are state controlled; where there is no freedom of speech and you can be arrested and bankrupted at the slightest criticism of the government or members of the Lee ruling Family; where there is no rule of law; where the Family can get away with paying themselves and their friends $2.7 million a year each; where they can simply use the Internal Security Act and lock you away for decades without trial; where Malays and Indians have to live as second class citizens and Mandarin Chinese recently arrived from China are now the preferred citizens!

As Orwell said in Animal Farm, 4 legs good, 2 legs better. Today, Chinese from China in Singapore are the ones with the 2 legs, while Singapore citizens born and raised in Singapore have 4.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, CA, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375

Singapore. Congratulations Chee Soon Juan. Should we rejoice or is it too early to tell

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In a surprise move, after the Lee Ruling Family had for about 3 decades, sued him for defamation in the courts, jailed him repeatedly and holding him under literal house arrest, denying him the right to engage in politics, denying him the right to travel out of Singapore, now suddenly out of the blue, they are about to release him from bankruptcy and allow him to contest parliamentary elections in Singapore.

Please see the article in Singapore state controlled newspaper the Straits Times dated Sept 11, 2012, "Chee's offer of $30K to settle case accepted by former leaders" http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/chees-offer-30k-settle-case-accepted-former-leaders-20120911

It sounds almost too good to be true, but is it? I am not so sure.

If indeed the Lee Ruling Family who have kept Singapore island under their iron grip for the last 52 years, jailing and bankrupting anyone who dared threaten their monopoly on power have suddenly become magnanimous and embraced democracy, it would indeed be an unprecedented event anywhere in the world in it's entire history, because we know that no tyrant has ever willingly agreed to share power with anyone.

Singapore today is, as you know almost the private property of the Lee Ruling Family. They control the press, the entire media, the law courts, all the big businesses and Housing and Development Board in whose apartments almost every single Singaporean lives. There is no right to free speech or expression, no right to peaceful assembly and anyone criticizing them is liable to defamation charges and a prompt bankruptcy.

We also know that without such repression over their people, the Lee ruling Family would not be able to last a day without being overthrown.

In these circumstances, by releasing Chee Soon Juan, the Lee Family's most strident and implacable critic, is the government trying to tell us that they have now had a paradigm shift from dictatorship to democracy, which would also automatically mean the end of the absolute control of the Lees over his people?

Also remember, that as far as we know till now, Chee has been the only one who has all along publicly championed the right to free speech and expression, the right to a free press, the rule of law, the right to assembly and every other right that democracies enjoy around the world.

By allowing Chee to take part in politics, are they now saying that they accept the need to restore democracy to Singapore, which by extension would be the end of their own power?

I think not. My following observations lead me to that belief.

Firstly, you would have noticed that since 2008, the time I was last in Singapore and deported from the island, Chee had not engaged anymore in public protests; not a single one; whereas in the past he had carried them out numerous times, either alone or with others, as his belief always was (and rightly so) that the Lee dictatorship cannot be toppled without peaceful civil disobedience. In fact his idols have all along been as far as I know, men like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King who brought down the British Empire and racial discrimination in America.

Secondly we have noticed that many who were with him in the struggle for decades are now nowhere to be seen. Gandhi Ambalam was his right had man and Chairman of his party for decades. Today, Gandhi is no longer the Chairman or even in his party, the Singapore Democratic Party, replaced by Jufrie Mahmood.

He also had a youth wing associated with the party which had activists such as Seelan Pallay and Kai Xiong, who were both arrested for numerous peaceful democracy political protests throughout the island. They are no longer seen either with him or his party.

I myself used to be a regular contributor to his blog the Singapore Democrat in the past, and was close to him and his party during my visit to Singapore in 2008 which ended up in my arrest for criticizing Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean, Lee's Kangaroo judge for misusing the law to bankrupt and jail him. I have to say that the help he gave me during that time was beyond measure for which I would be forever grateful.

At some point of time after 2008, I was given the cold shoulder and received several Emails from anonymous people that I should no longer associate myself with Chee's party because Chee is trying to get into Parliament and radicals such as I would become an impediment. I am of course not sure wheather those Emails were either from his party members or from the government’s cyber brigade, an organization set up like a 5^th Column intended to harass and intimidate Lee’s opponents.

Although conjecture and I have no real evidence of this, I believe that Chee in his need to somehow get into Parliament has decided that the only way to do it is not to anger the Singapore Superman Lee Kuan Yew and that open challenges such as public protests will not further that plan.

But I want to tell Dr. Chee, if indeed that is his plan, that this is not the way. One has to do the right thing. And the right thing is to demand that the rights that people are supposed to enjoy must be resorted to the people first, before anything else. There can simply be no dialogue and no debate until and unless the Lee Ruling Family is made to accept this fact. And the only way to get these rights back is to protest, demonstrate and agitate until such time the Lees finally give in, because otherwise Chee would serve no purpose in Parliament.

People should realize that Parliamentary debates make no sense and are useless, unless these fundamental rights are restored to the people. It makes no sense to argue that cost of living should be reduced if the government would simply ignore it, because they control the press, because they can arrest anyone they want, and because they control the police and courts and could bankrupt anyone the moment you criticize.

If indeed Chee Soon Juan is going into Parliament to become another Loh Thia Khiang of the Workers Party, which claims to be opposition, but is in fact merely an extension of Lee's PAP, it is not going to do any good to anyone.

I would ask Chee to remember, that he carries with him the hope of countless Singaporeans, both within and outside Singapore as the torch bearer for democracy. They have waited very long for this, and so have I, and I hope Chee would have the courage to do the right thing, and not be another Workers Party because with them, Hell will freeze over and Satan would ride to work in a snow sledge.

It should be either democracy or none at all. I think many Singaporeans think this way too. Otherwise we might as well embrace the Workers Party. I hope Chee Soon Juan takes heed.

Congratulations Chee Soon Juan. Please do the right thing. We depend on you.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 491 4375

Lee's Singapore an arbitrary country. Arbitrary rules, arbitrary policies, arbitrary laws and arbitrary justice

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What are the criteria for a world class first world country? Such a country has the rule of law, laws which tell a citizen exactly what the rules are, what the policies are and who fails and who qualifies for any benefit.

A first world country which is transparent, where one knows regardless of race, creed, religion, membership of a group or political opinion exactly where one stands at any point of time. It is a country that has the courage to treat everyone equally under the law and the courage to uphold what is written in the Constitution.

Countries such as the UK, USA, Australia or Europe; even small countries such as Finland, Denmark, are such countries. All of these countries are governed by laws which are religiously equally applied to everyone. Where you know exactly where you stand if you applied to emigrate there, exactly where you stand if you applied for housing, exactly where you stand if you were arrested. These are countries which mean what they say. Countries which have the courage to criminalize racial discrimination, countries which are required to provide equal opportunity for all regardless of who you are.

For instance, if I were to be brought before a British court, I would feel much safer than if I were before a Singapore court; not because of the crime I committed but because of who I am. I don’t have to worry about that before a British judge because I know I will be treated equally regardless of who I was or what my political opinion is. Why, because the British has the courage to do what is right; while the Singaporean one is afraid of the Lee Ruling Family.

Singapore is not like the proud free countries of the world. Singapore would be no better than a third world country, no different from the dictatorships of Central Asia or Africa which govern on the dictates of the rulers at any one time.  

Singapore is a tiny island with a tiny population; 2.5 million local and 2.5 million foreigners (5 million in all).

For example Singapore immigration does not publicly state its requirements, such as the points system of Australia. Instead they provide broad generalizations; where the government does not have a duty to be fair in their judgment.

Recently at a student seminar, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister ( I understand Singapore has several Deputy Prime Ministers), when asked why they did not have a point system for immigration like Canada and Australia gave the lame excuse that they could not because they were a multi racial society. The questioner should have asked why, since Australia is also a multi racial society.

In the end, although different persons may have the same qualifications and skills, the ones chosen for settlement are those who are docile timid and unlikely to question the Lee Ruling Party. Also, totally devoid of any fairness, the vast majority of those selected are from Communist China, primarily because the Lees would prefer Chinese over Malays or Indians to populate Singapore, a racist immigration policy.

What this means in the end is that those denied immigration unfairly are going to return to their countries and condemn Singapore among others as nothing more than a banana republic, where the immigration laws are entirely arbitrary. I remember a highly qualified American professor who was denied permanent residence; undoubtedly because they were afraid he would question the Lee Ruling Family’s fascist government.

Housing policies, government employment recruitment and every other government agency are not governed by any publicly known rules and regulations but simply on what the government decides in any particular case. For example, anyone seen to have opposition political tendencies or views would be denied public employment, public housing, or if given housing given the worst of them, refused scholarships and generally discriminated and victimized entirely at the whim of the Lee Ruling Family.

Children in schools are unjustly given bad scores if known to have opposition political views or have parents or relatives who are opposition sympathizers. Also such children are refused admission in Singapore colleges to prevent them from receiving an education. Unless they are sufficiently rich to go abroad for an education, they end up without tertiary education, the fear being that educating such students would endanger the Lee Ruling Family’s position.

Moreover all government agencies never give any reasons for their decisions. Regardless of whether you were denied housing, a job, or immigration or any other government benefit, the standard answer we get, which we all know by heart which we have seen millions of times is

"having considered your application carefully, we regret to inform you that your application is denied".

The funny thing is that ever if you responded to this standard letter asking reasons, you will still get the same response

"having considered your application carefully, we regret to inform you that your application is denied".

The government feels they have no responsibility to justify their actions to their citizens.

As for Lee Kuan Yew's courts of Singapore the laws are unevenly applied to different people. For instance, a foreign bank manager who beat up a taxi driver is usually let off without arrest. Foreign Caucasian males, who sexually molest Singapore Chinese women in bars and nightclubs are allowed to pay a fine (usually $5,000) to the woman, apologize and let off.

If any of these crimes were committed by local Singaporeans, whom the government does not very much care for, the penalty is usually a considerable time in jail.

Extreme punishments, victimization and harassment are reserved for those who stand up to the Lee regime. In this category fall persons like Chee Soon Juan and I. How it is done is like this. First they publicize your identity and picture widely in the local newspapers so that everyone will see who you are. From that point, you are denied every possible benefit that others receive.

If I was in Singapore, no hotel would want to put me up, none would give me a job and no government office would provide any service. From that point, Singaporeans would feel as if it was a patriotic duty to refuse any service to me.

In my case, I was put in jail for criticizing the Kangaroo Judge Ang Saw Ean, disallowed from practicing law in Singapore and prohibited from even entering the island.

What happens then, in an arbitrary island such as this, is for people not only in Singapore but all over the world to disrespect the country, and consider it nothing more than a banana republic, run at the whim and fancy of the Lee Ruling Family who run it.

Because of the large numbers of citizens who emigrate to the west as a result of a total disgust at they way Lee's island is run, Singapore has no choice but to bring in foreigners. But their make up shows the double standards it's rulers employ because they fear people who may have the courage to stand up to this nonsense.

So, many of the professionals who do high level work from Australia and Europe are usually only permanent residents and not citizens. In any case, I don't think people from Western democracies would want to take up citizenship in such as police state anyway, as they have more pride than that. And as for the government, they are reluctant to give them citizenship for fear that Westerners, accustomed to living in democracies, would not be prepared to take such nonsense from this tin pot dictator.

On the other hand most given citizenship are Chinese from Communist China. Why, because just as they lived in their home country, they are very much at home under a dictator; in China the Chinese Communist Party and in Singapore the Lee Ruling Family. Therefore they are ideal citizens to simply submit to authority, which is what the Lee Ruling Family wants. They have no idea of freedom or anything as serious as that, and quiet happy to have their 3 meals and go hone to watch a Chinese soap opera on TV; people who are very suitable candidates for Lee Ruling Family's Singapore.

In the end the West retains its pride and its reputation for being countries that one can trust; where one can live free. Whereas Singapore is a country where you will get along provided Lee Kuan Yew takes a liking to you, and you are not about to question him.

It is nothing more than an arbitrary country, with arbitrary rules, arbitrary policies, arbitrary laws and arbitrary justice.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375

Singapore threatens to create a frightful brave new world

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore has already come a long way from its intended status as a democracy. Although the Constitution guaranteed a free press, right to free association and assembly and the rule of law, today nothing remains of these guarantees. In fact Singaporeans simply do not have any guarantees of human rights.

Instead of a free press, the entire press is state controlled. Instead of the right to free association and assembly, all protests, even if peaceful are illegal. Instead of the rule of law, Lee Kuan Yew crony judges misuse the law to destroy political opponents.

Today, the entire mindset of the citizens has had a paradigm shift. No longer is the independent thinking man respected. If the thinking went against that of the Lee Ruling Family, he is treated as a criminal.

A good man in the Singaporean sense today is one who parrots the government line which is; Lee paying himself millions is not corruption, it is a salary; Lee's PAP government is the best and every other system is wrong; joining and supporting opposition parties such as Chee Soon Juan's SDP is engaging in confrontational politics which is bad, joining Lee's party is consensus politics, therefore good; and so on and so forth.

In today's Singapore, the passport to success in career and life lies in joining and supporting Lee Kuan Yew's policies which prevail at any one time, keeping in mind that they change with time. For instance it was good to say that families should have no more than 2 children (Lee's policy some years ago) but now it is necessary to say that families should have as many children as possible (Lee's policy now).

The problem with life in Singapore, which you can well see, is that any right thinking human being has to shut out his own views about things and be required to articulate those of Lee's, which can be found at any point of time in his state controlled press.

If you thought this was bad enough, be warned; there is worse to come. Lee's son who runs the country now has said that he is determined to look at how Singapore is run continuously and will make the changes as and when he decides.

This means your views will have to change in tandem with his, whatever they may be. Please see the article in Singapore state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of Sept 9, 2012 headed "Let's improve prudently: PM Lee"
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/lets-improve-prudently-pm-lee-20120909

He has made clear his threat in the following in this article, "So each time we come back, some problems are revisited, some issues which we did not alter before, we may come to conclusion we need to make changes. We have to take it in that perspective. We can't say that we have had a discussion before, so there is nothing new to discuss. That is not the way the world is." In other words, Singapore will not be run as other democracies around the world on a set of principles laid down in the Constitution, but on the thinking of the Lee Ruling Family and his minions at any one point of time. Today it might be this way and tomorrow the other, and you better conform or else!

I worry what next are Singaporeans required to do? Will the numbers of government spies be increased at all work places to report on troublemakers? Will workers be required to pledge their allegiance to Lee's ruling party and if not be fired? Will all unpatriotic (meaning people not supporting his party) employees be fired from their jobs? Will sons be required to report on their father's disloyalty? Will Singaporeans be required to attend mass sessions to sing praises to the Lee Ruling Family? Will Singaporeans be required to attend mass sessions to condemn Chee Soon Juan on his criminal (Lee's proclamation) activities?

How far will Lee go in changing the island to suit his thinking? And how far will Singaporeans go in accepting these demands of the Singapore strongman? All very worrying questions.

Although one may say that such things happening are highly unlikely, I would urge him to think again.

Anyone visiting Singapore today will find the mindset of the people altered to an extent almost beyond belief. For instance which human being would not be up in arms to be told that their elected leader pays himself 5 times the salary of Obama? Which human being would be prepared to accept the fact that even a single peaceful one man protest is illegal? Which human being would accept the fact that his entire mass media is state controlled? Which human being would accept the fact that their courts have been reduced to nothing better than Kangaroo Courts delivering judgments to please the Lee Ruling Family?

Today Singaporeans surprisingly accept these policies without complaint, the reason being that they have been subjected to Lee's rule for so long so much so that they have almost forgotten what it is to be a free human being.

Although Lee thinks that Singaporeans would accept whatever he throws at them, today, he is completely out of touch with how his people think. No longer are people willing to accept anything he says. And by strutting around like a prize rooster in his tiny island, bullying everyone in his way, he is not having the results he expects to have. For instance increasing numbers of Singaporeans simply look at him as an insane fool, laugh at him instead of fearing him, pack up their bags and emigrate to the West.

The brain drain has become so large and increasing that the civil service is finding it difficult to function without manpower. Retired employees who are even over 65 are asked to return to work due to the manpower shortage. All the other services are facing the same fate. To replace those leaving, new Chinese immigrants are brought in from Communist China who do not know English and unsuitable for the jobs left vacant.

Lee and his son, collectively known as the Lee Ruling Family should realize that they can no longer demand loyalty through force and intimidation like this, as people do have a choice whether to live this way under a dictator. Singapore is not George Orwell’s fictional country. A few unprincipled opportunists, like K Shanmugam and Tharman Shanmugaretnam, may stay for the money because they are incapable of making it on their own, but many others have more pride than this. They will leave in even greater numbers.

Forcing people to think the way the Lee Ruling Family demands is simply not going to work in the 21st century. The island would simply empty out of its own people, as is already happening now. Those left behind would be the simple hawkers and the likes of my friend the security guard in Veerasamy Road who thinks the police should have the right to stop, question and search anyone anytime because it makes the island safe! He wants a police state, which is what Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore is today.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375

Singapore. Beware. Lee Kuan Yew has other plans for you

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The problem that Singaporeans face today is their ruler, Lee Kuan Yew. His problem is that he thinks he knows far more than anyone else, and therefore, being so smart, he is not bound by anything laid down such as the rules and foundation for the island.

Singapore started off as you know with a Constitution upon which the laws and policies have to comport. But since Lee thinks he is so smart and knows better than anyone else, he has refused to follow it.

If I understand him correctly, he believes that such things as the rule of law, fundamental human rights such as freedom of speech and expression are not necessary. He believes that he could rule much better by doing whatever he wants, and in the process secure his position as well, without such obstacles as human rights.

So he has done away with every single human right that Singaporeans are supposed to have. Today they have no rule of law, any free speech or expression, and all newspapers are state controlled.

And with his control over the Singapore police force who is by and large dumb ignorant fools who have never heard anything about rights, he can freely have anyone arrested at the wink of an eye.

And with the help of Kangaroo judges whom he has placed to do the dirty work, anyone whom he takes a dislike to, can easily be destroyed, which in Singaporean parlance means, being sued for libel and bankrupted.

As a result Singaporeans in Lee Kuan Yew's island, are left with no choice. They either simply go along with Lee Kuan Yew's vision of how the island is run, at any point of time according to Lee’s thinking, or simply get out of the island entirely.

Lee's minions in the island have routinely threatened that they are looking out at the countries of the world so as to tweak and change their present style of authoritarian government as and when they feel the need.

They have threatened to change the style of government anytime they want if they see the need to do it, and it is not up to the people to question them.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, one of Lee’s minions in government has threatened that they intend to make further changes as and when necessary because, according to him, they know best on how to run the island.

He is also quoted to have said that every 5 years, the island has elections and if  Singaporeans did not like them, that is the time to boot them out. But once you elected them, they will no longer entertain any complaints, until the next 5 years!

But the disgusting thing about Lee's government is not only the fact that they adopt their own style of government instead of the lawful Constitution of Singapore, what is more disgusting is the fact that they don't have the courage to admit it.

They disgracefully continue to pretend that the Constitution exists and display the outward trappings of a Parliamentary democracy in their official functions such as the opening of Parliament, when they know that they simply ignore the Constitution as if it never existed.

If they truly believed in what they were doing, should they not openly admit that Singapore is not a parliamentary democracy, but a fascist state based on the thinking of Lee Kuan Yew and his selected minions at the top, at any point of time?

Should they not openly abolish the Constitution of Singapore and isn’t that the more honorable thing to do in the circumstances?

Today, you find the quality of its citizens is at its rock bottom. Any observation of its students shows their general inability to articulate themselves and their general lack of confidence, unlike those in the West and Australia.

This can only be explained by one thing. The best students have all packed up and left. They are either studying or living in the West, leaving mediocre students such as this in the island. And as time passes, the brain drain problem gets progressively worse.

Many other people including myself do not believe that Lee Kuan Yew is the total depository of all the wisdom on earth.

And we do not want to live in a society where Lee decides, according to what he thinks, how the country should be run, what we can say and what we can write and what newspapers we can read.

We are not prepare to live in a island where Lee and his minions would collectively decide how the government has to be changed, what rights we should have and what rights we should not have.

We want the Constitution to be the paramount law of the land, which is a good constitution, which protects our human rights.

But as Lee will not allow it, what other choice but to either stand and fight which entails being bankrupted by his Kangaroo judges or simply pack and leave for the West as many smart Singaporeans continue to do. Why not let Lee and his friends simply have their island and act as fools if they want to. Why not just leave them alone.

Lee appears to think that just because he has built these skyscrapers, roads, and bridges and the subway, people would marvel at him and stay back for even more of these things. Someone should tell Lee that that is not the human behavior he thinks humans have. What they want most is to live independent free lives, and able to think, act and say what they think is right and if necessary fight for these ideals. But since our Big Boy thinks he knows best about everything, like a fool, he now realizes his folly, I hope.

Singapore today has the highest rate of emigration in the world, the lowest fertility rate in the world (no babies) and the largest aging population in the world for a small local population of 2.5 million and for a tiny island like this, these figures are simply intolerable.

He has survived so far by importing huge plane loads of Communist Chinese from China but that is not solving the need for an English educated population.

Just like the frog in the well, he continues to push his people around while they on their part are secretly laughing at him, packing their bags and taking the next flight out.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375

Singapore. Laws that every true Singaporean should break

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew and his family have managed to rule for the last 52 years thorough illegal laws and the ignorance of its people. Today with more and more Singaporeans with tertiary education with overseas travel, they are slowly becoming aware of their plight and this is now causing Lee's government intolerable levels of emigration to the West where they can live free, and their refusal to have babies, bringing Singapore’s fertility rate to the lowest in the world.

But as long as some Singaporeans remain with increasing numbers of third rate immigrants from China seeking a better life than the coolie lives that they lead, Lee's government can trudge along for a while longer.

But if any true Singaporean wants to restore freedom to his country which they are rightfully entitled to, they have to break some of these laws that prevent them from exercising their rights.

Firstly the newspapers. Remember, Singapore does not have a free press with every single newspaper and broadcast media controlled by the government. The Newspapers and Printing Act makes it illegal to print and publish anything unless you are licensed. So  Singaporeans should openly break this law which is deliberately intended to continue feeding with you state propaganda and nothing else.

Second, any peaceful protest requires a permit, which will be denied if you applied. This law is illegal. As long as you are denied the right to peacefully protest, you will continue a slave. If you want to be free, break this law. Protest without a permit and see what they will do.

Political parties require a permit before they can function. The idea is for the government to know who you are and to watch and monitor your activities, harass you and victimize you if you are opposition. This law is illegal. You should break it and be free.

Malays and Indians are prevented from living in any part of the island they wish and are required to live only in designated areas which the government will allow. This law is no different from apartheid in the South Africa's earlier days. Malays and Indians should stand up to this and live where ever they want by renting through their friends and relatives. If Lee's thugs from the Housing authority try to throw you out, stand and resist. This is what you should do to deny apartheid in Singapore.

Lee abuses the law to deny human rights to all and discriminates against those he does not like in the courts. Singaporeans should defy these unjust law judgments passed down by his Kangaroo courts and obstruct and thwart every possible attempt to enforce them.

Singaporeans both in Singapore and abroad should continue to write about Lee's one party totalitarian police state so that the world would increasingly become aware of what the island really is, an Island of Dr. Moreau.

Today, you see the world laughing at Lee Kuan Yew's island, the first thing they mention being his bizarre decision to ban chewing gum. By laws which cane and hang people, they look upon him as a thug who clings to power by brute force.

I urge local Singaporeans to deliberately and openly break these unjust laws. Every single act of civil disobedience which is both just and noble, should be done if you can for the sake of delivering your island from the clutches of the Lee Ruling Family.

You should openly proclaim no more Kangaroo Courts, no more laws to deny freedom and democracy and that you shall not rest until you can live free. That is what you Singaporeans should do, if you can, for your own sakes.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375

Singapore Dissident. Very good news

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I should periodically report on the extent of this blog being read throughout the world. Here are the statistics as of today Sept 3, 2012.

The total number of reviews for the period May 2008 till now is 998,200, almost a million worldwide.

The top 10 countries reading the blog and the number of reviews over this period are:

Singapore	580847
United States	142458
Australia	40541
United Kingdom	36987
Malaysia	36764
Canada	27350
France	5097
Maldives	4569
Germany	4303
Netherlands	4080

Thanks again
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California

Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. The need to keep citizens in the dark

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore has a Constitution which guarantees citizens their human rights. But strangely, if you were to ask the average man on the street, if he knows about the Constitution, you will be surprised to know that he has never heard of it, let alone what it means.

A trip to the island’s national library law section will surprise you. There are no books on Constitutional law except for a couple or so which merely skim over the subject.

And here lies the dishonesty of the Lee Kuan Yew government.

You may want to correct my definition of Singapore by pointing out that it is his son that governs the island now and not Lee Kuan Yew, but just as almost everything else in that island which is make believe, so is the placing of his son by him as Prime Minister. Make no mistake; it is Lee Kuan Yew who is very much the dictator of Singapore regardless of who sits on the Prime Minister's chair.

One would have thought that a government which claims to govern under the power of a Constitution would have at least found it necessary to tell their people what it means. But here again is the mistake. Lee Kuan Yew has no intention whatsoever of obeying any Constitution because he thinks he knows best; what need therefore for any piece of paper called the Constitution.

And his belief is that the less the people knew about such things as rights, the better. It would be far easier to govern an ignorant people than people who thought they knew too much. Without knowing what your rights are, the government can do away with all that burden that Western democracies have, such as having to explain to your people your policies, and even worse, having to obey them.

If you look at the Constitution of Singapore, it has in fact all the rights that a free people are entitled to, such as freedom of speech, expression, assembly and the rule of law. But another careful look at it will show that every one of these rights is negated. Permits are needed to even peacefully assemble and any criticism of the Lee Ruling Family will result if a libel suit and your bankruptcy.

Lee's argument for the legality of such changes to the Constitution would be that the Constitution provides for this with a 2/3 majority in Parliament. Since Lee's Singapore’s have always had nearly all the seats at elections, these changes to the Constitution are technically legal.

But of course, just like everything else that meets the eye in Lee's Singapore turns out to be make believe, these elections themselves have always been completely illegal, because at every election, the opposition (I don't mean Workers Party style opposition) is routinely threatened, sued for defamation and even arrested making it impossible for them to run, leaving Lee's choice of candidates to be elected almost by default.

Since these elections are false anyway, these amendments to the Constitution by this phony Parliament are also false.

What we are left with today is a thoroughly intimidated and ignorant population who have no idea what all the fuss is about, since all they are concerned is 3 meals a day and to be left alone.

I have a security guard friend who lives in Veerasamy Road Singapore whom I have known since childhood. A few days ago, I spoke to him over the telephone complaining about Singapore turning into a police state where policemen can stop anyone anytime without rhyme or reason and ask any number of questions they want, or be arrested. Such police behavior is not allowed in any western democracy where they need probable cause before stopping anyone, the reason being the privy rights of the individual to ensure that the police do not become an overbearing force over it's citizens.

In fact this right is also stated in the Singapore Constitution just as it is in the American Constitution but the problem of course is that this security guard has never heard of it, and what is more, he was very upset about my trying to bring Western norms of freedom to his beloved island where there is 24 hours safety precisely because the police can stop you and arrest anyone they want anytime of the day!

And this security guard, with whom I have stopped discussing matters of this nature, which I should have realized would be a waste of time, since he obviously has no clue about such things as rights just as the vast majority of his fellow Singaporeans.

For him, it appears to me, each police action boils down to whether the officer acted reasonably; not whether he acted according to a set of rules. In other words, for him, if a police officer has suspected, without any rational basis whatsoever, that every Tamil walking along Singapore’s Little India is an illegal immigrant, he could do that if he wants. He could also stop everyone walking along the street to know if he had paid his taxes, whether they had committed any crime in the past or are they intending to, how old they are and how many children they had and where they lived. All these questions, according to him, directed at anyone anytime, are perfectly legitimate because he is keeping Singapore safe, unlike the crime ridden cities of the US (according to him) where people go around shooting everyone they want to any time of the day or night.

And I am sure he must be counting me a very lucky man to be still alive here in California after 20 years, with all the bullets flying around me!

This is total ignorance and Lee Kuan Yew has managed to keep almost an entire island of about 2.5 million local citizens at the same level of wisdom, or the lack of it, as this Veerasamy Road resident, who has taken the Lee Kuan Yew tale, hook line and sinker. 

Fascist regimes which find it easy to govern by keeping its citizens ignorant, as this security guard is, may for a time get away with it, but over a long period it will cause much more problems than they can solve.

For one, when the rule of law is denied and the people have lost confidence in their courts, they will take it out some other way, which they are already doing. Murders, robbery and other violent crime continues to climb since a large segment of the population simply cannot get justice, since government connected elites are either not charged or let off with small fines while the ordinary citizens gets the book thrown at him.

The same goes for monetary disputes and all other disputes. If you cannot rely on a government that does not believe in the rule of law, you simply either withdraw into your shell or just accept it, or you may take it out in a more violent way or you simply leave the island altogether if you can.

A reading of the local state controlled newspaper will tell you that crime is so rampant; it has almost become a crime hub. There are no less than 5 reports of loan sharks beating up their clients, robberies at elevators at housing complexes and the largest of them all are the fraud cases and cheating.

It is a very precarious sort of lifestyle. You never know when you are thrown out of your job, or when you would be arrested simply because Lee Kuan Yew does not like you.

In 2008 when I was in Singapore, you would recall that I was stopped by police because they claimed that I had knocked their police car. When I was accosted and asked for my name, I refused, not knowing who they were and in any case why should I tell them who I was. The next minute, I was arrested and locked up, and the charges were not that I had knocked their car but I had behaved in a disorderly manner and that I had yelled insults at them. They could have, if they wanted to come up with any number of charges, all plucked out of thin air. And the problem was that I refused to an admit guilt resulting in the case running a full 18 days of trial. At the end, you guessed it, I was found guilty. If the charge was that I broke into instantaneously singing the Blue Danube and dancing the Waltz, they would have found me guilty of that too.

If anyone of you reading this is aware of your rights and simply refuse to be pushed around by Big Brother, I am afraid you have a hard battle ahead. The vast majority of people have heads such as this security guard friend of mine and no extent of convincing will change his thinking.

The police officer feels he has a right to arrest anyone, the security guard thinks the policeman has that right, the civil servant feels that he ahs a right to deny privileges to Chee Soon Juan, a Lee Kuan Yew critic, and the judge feels it is his duty to bend the law to destroy political opponents.

It is a hopeless case.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375

Fascist states always self destruct and Singapore is no exception

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The elements of a Fascist state is the control of all organs of power by a dictator or by an oligarchy leaving the citizens no choice but to obey or be destroyed.

In Singapore, the Lee Ruling Family, consisting of the father Lee Kuan Yew, who then places his son as the Prime Minister with himself a self styled title of Minister Mentor, controls everything and everybody in the island, not to mention the fact that that he is openly corrupt, with a salary each of 5 times the salary of the US President!

First is the control of the law.

Judges are appointed not on legal ability but their willingness to toe the line, where the law is routinely misused to destroy the Lee Ruling Family's political opponents. Examples are Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the late JB Jeyaretnam and I, as a result of which the citizenry loses all respect for the courts.

Second, every single government department is run, not on a set of laws but on policies which are arbitrarily set at any point of time and enforced on the person seeking redress.

Always you find that decisions are made favorably in the case of known supporters of the government whereas those who are known critics are deliberately denied redress.

Moreover ethnic Chinese Singapore citizens always receive preferential treatment over Malays and Indians as the Lee Ruling Family government has openly made known their racial preference as is seen by the overwhelming numbers of Chinese brought to Singapore and given citizenship whereas there is not single Malay given this benefit.

Increasing numbers of residents who have to live in close proximity with the recently arrived Chinese immigrants have had violent clashes with them because they do not appear to know how to live among people of other races and origins.

I have heard last week that some Malays in Teban Gardens Housing estate ended up having heated confrontation with their recently arrived Chinese neighbors who had insulted them on the way they look and the food they eat.

Last week I had received information about a similar incident in Queensway Housing Complex also involving recently arrived Chinese immigrants insulting local Indians resulting in a fracas which nearly turned violent.

I have been told that incidents like this happen nearly every day all over the island, some of them even turning violent and bloody. Since the entire news media is controlled by the Lee Ruling Family government, as expected in any Fascist state, the bulk of such instances are not reported so as to play down the seriousness of the issue and its likelihood to turn into island wide racial riots.

The only indication of this is the almost daily refrain you see in the local state controlled media of Lee's ministers urging people to be tolerant.

In the state controlled newspaper Straits Times of Aug 31, 2012, titled "Issue of foreigners dominates National Day Rally Forum", Lee Kuan Yew's Hen (his name is Ng Eng Hen, Lee's Minister) tries to urge Singaporeans to be kind to foreigners. http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/friday/breaking-news/singapore/story/issue-foreigners-dominates-national-day-rally-forum-20120831

On Sept 3, 2012 issue of the same state controlled newspaper, there is the story "Public Feedback on population issues pouring in".

The Lee government after having decided to bring in unlimited planeloads of Chinese from Communist China to settle among Singapore locals and finding that violent clashes are becoming commonplace among these close proximity neighbors, have suddenly realized they have no answers to the problem they created, and have turned to Singaporeans, I must add in desperation, to provide the answers, not something unusual for the Lee government to do in such instance.  Frankly I don’t think they will find the answers they are seeking.

Also on Sept 03, 2012 in the same newspaper we have the story "Be big hearted, Lawrence Wong urges Singaporeans". http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/be-big-hearted-lawrence-wong-urges-singaporeans-20120903

Again another desperate plea on the part of the government which appears to have run out of ideas for calm.

But the problem with Singapore and other fascist regimes in commonplace situations like this one is this. They simply cannot solve the problem, as fascism simply does not have the tools for civilized conflict resolution. The people in such regimes have no respect for their government or their ability to dispense justice. Therefore the government can only continue under the threat of force and subjugation, not through fair and just dispute resolution.

The Malay or Indian Singaporean who has been discriminated by the Housing administration in favor of an ethnic Chinese is going to harbor his hatred for the regime and its administration, and having no other recourse for justice, will naturally at some point turn violent to vent his anger. He is going to beat up the first ethnic Chinese from Communist China that he sees.

This is not a sentiment felt only by ethnic Malays or Indians but also Singapore Chinese. How would they feel if another recently arrived Chinese immigrant accepts a job at half the pay he needs to survive, leaving him and his family unemployed and impoverished? It is only natural for him to beat up the first Chinese from China that he sees along Toa Payoh Lorong 1, Singapore. Can anyone blame him for that?

In democracies, you have organs of state based on the rule of law. The courts are respected and justice is dispensed not based on who you are but on the merits of your case. Housing departments have a set of rules and laws that govern disputes which is public. An aggrieved party in entitled to appeal. At the end of the day, the loser goes away, knowing that justice has nevertheless been served.

This is not the case in Singapore. There are no open hearings. You are not given the reasons for any decision, and having practiced law in Singapore for 10 years before I came to California, I know the disgraceful sentence they always write : "Having carefully considered your case, we regret to inform you that you are unsuccessful".

Nothing is said as to why wherefore or whatever. They might as well have said "Having considered your nose to be too long, instead of the Chinese stubbed nose, we regret to inform you that you have failed"

In fascist regimes, where discontent does not have an outlet, it always ends in violence, or people getting out for settlement abroad, or their refusal to co-operate in work or anything else. Productivity falls, public anger increases and the island slowly grinds to a halt. This is exactly what is happening in the Lee Ruling Family's Singapore.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375

Singapore. Anti foreigner vitroil can damange the island's reputation says Lee Kuan Yew's son. What else did he expect

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Lee Kuan Yew's son who rules Singapore (the Lee ruling family) has admitted that the hatred against foreigners in Singapore is mounting and it hurts Singapore’s image. Of course it will. What else did he expect?

See Singapore state controlled newspaper Straits Times article of Aug 26, 2012 titled "Anti foreigner vitriol can damage Singapore's reputation: PM Lee. http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/anti-foreigner-vitriol-can-damage-singapores-reputation-pm-lee-2012082

It is disappointing to see in it, his blaming native Singaporeans and not the foreigners by reducing the issue to simply whether the foreigners are right or local Singaporeans are right and either deliberately or through ignorance (I would think it is very much the former), ignoring the underlying reasons behind this trend.  

For instance he says "that bad behavior from foreigners provoke an overwhelming response while bad Singaporean behavior goes uncriticized". Frankly if you knew how he and his father Lee Kuan Yew are hurting local Singaporeans in every possible way in their own country, and favoring foreigners, it is small wonder why Singaporeans haven't yet got to the throats of every single foreigner they see.

He then goes on to quote several instances where foreigners have been good to Singaporeans and therefore presumably expects Singaporeans to be nice to them.

Lee Kuan Yew's son who has been appointed Prime Minister by his father and is now dictating to us (he has been dictating to Singaporeans for decades), appears not to know the underlying reasons for this hatred. Very convenient indeed.

Let me at least enunciate them for the benefit of the reader.

In Singapore foreigners are treated equally with Singaporeans even though they have had no relationship with Singapore in the past, and are total strangers to the island. They could just arrive in Singapore at Changi, stay a couple of days in a hotel, casually look at the local jobs vacant column, apply for a job and be hired the next day, no questions asked.

This is a totally unacceptable policy. In every other country in the world, the local citizens are given priority over jobs and residential rights. Citizenship has to mean at least something, surely. In every other place, a foreigner is required to go through a process to show local people are unavailable or unwilling to accept the job, and only then and then alone, is the foreigner given the job. This is not so in Singapore.

And if that is not bad enough, the reality in Singapore is even worse. Very often, foreigners who are usually alone without families and who come from the nearby impoverished countries are willing to accept far lower salaries, they are not bound by local national service requirements which causes disruption from work, which makes them far more attractive to employers. A local on the other hand cannot live on a few hundred dollars having to support a wife and children.

In this uneven playing field, why when the Singapore employer who can get away with paying less and moreover have an employee who will not leave each year for military service, not employ him.

In fact, the sad truth is that, increasing numbers of Singaporeans are thrown into unemployment while foreigners enjoy full employment, in a country that has no social security net whatsoever for the unemployed.

Unless the Lee Ruling Family of Singapore have their brains in their backsides, they have no concern whatsoever for the plight of local Singaporeans and the day when they will make it fair for them is the day Satan will go to work on a snow sledge.

Personally I am against violence and would urge Singaporeans to use non violent means such as peaceful protests to reverse this policy of advancing the interests of foreigners in Singapore, although I have heard of increasing incidents of violence against foreigners by Singaporeans because of this and I have to say that I can fully understand why.

However as a man who believes that violence is not only useless and counter productive, it can also lead to totally unexpected negative consequences. Therefore no violence please. You should manage to get your way using peaceful methods.  I am sure of that.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California
Tel: 510 657 6107 or 510 491 4375