Singapore Lee Kuan Yew's Peoples Action Party. Membership has its' privileges

Updated 06/13/2013/ Firstly, it helps to be ethnic Chinese, like Lee Kuan Yew himself. Naturally he believes that his fellow ethnic Chinese would support him. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In Singapore island, it pays to be connected to Lee Kuan Yew's Peoples Action Party which has been continuously ruling the island since 1959. On the other hand being an open critic of the government means untold misery for life. This is why.

Lee Kuan Yew and his family have been running the government ever since partial independence from the British in 1959. He does not want to give up control to anyone else. So he sets up a one party state. He dismantles all democracy institutions replacing it with a total dictatorship. Peoples Action Party has an overwhelming majority in parliament. He achieved this through rigging elections, by intimidating disqualifying jailing and bankrupting real opposition candidates.

The only opposition allowed is like the Workers Party today. They don't really oppose. In fact they are in essence supporting Lee's government. They are no threat to the Peoples Action Party (PAP). At the same time all human rights are denied. No freedom of speech, expression, assembly, Kangaroo courts with no rule of law, no free press and opposition crushed.

Since he has no intention of being overthrown, he realizes that the more people support him, the safer he is in power. So he makes it very clear that if you show support he is going to reward you.

This is how to succeed in the island. Firstly, it helps to be ethnic Chinese, like Lee Kuan Yew himself. Naturally he believes that his fellow ethnic Chinese would support him. Although the island has other races such as Malays and Indian (mainly Tamil) the Chinese are preferred. Not to say that Malays and Indians cannot succeed, but it takes much more ability and support (by this I mean groveling) in their case.

Of course any country would prefer smarter educated skilled people over stupid lazy ones. Therefore you have to excel in school and college. At the same time you have to show open support for his party. This is done by joining numerous grassroots organizations and openly showing support. It is very important to parrot the government line, which is, that it bad to have democracy like in the West because it is disruptive. Independence of the press is a bad thing because it is disruptive. Too much freedom is bad because it is disruptive. His judiciary is the best in the world and should never be criticized and also on and so forth. I think you get the message.

Once you have done well in school and have shown undivided support for Lee Kuan Yew and the teachings of his Peoples Action Party, you stand to be selected to high office with unimaginably high rewards; million dollar salaries perks for yourself and your children and a permanent passport for a good life. The trick lies in making sure you never deviate from your loyalty to his teachings and his way of thinking.

This means of course that you end up in an almost Orwellian sort of a society. For instance, if you want to continue in success, you have to maintain that Lee is right however much you may disagree within yourself. You may think that freedom of speech or freedom of the press are good things, not only for the society but the future of the island but you should never say it because if you did, you stand to lose everything. That line of thinking does not comport with the Lee philosophy.

The model citizens of Singapore are men like Lee's law minister, the Tamil K Shanmugam, who believes that there should be no right to protest at all; a person who totally subscribes to Lee's total control over his island. On the other hand, what Lee considers criminals are men such as myself, who had the temerity to criticize one of his judges; JB Jeyaretnam who was a thorn on his side and Chee Soon Juan, another arch critic whom he also jailed and bankrupted.

As Lee publicly shows the rewards of support for him, by giving high office to his supporters and making sure that in public and private life, his critics are punished and victimized, it makes no sense to oppose Lee in Lee's island. Anyone can see which side of the bread is buttered and it makes no sense to stick your neck out at the chopping block.

Of course to many with some pride, self respect and a conscience, it may be distasteful to be Lee's toady, a minion and a bootlicker but at the end, it is a choice one makes in that island. Is it worthwhile to court hardship and punishment to maintain your integrity and your beliefs or do you play along and submit for the good life.

The vast majority remaining in Singapore island have submitted themselves to Lee Kuan Yew's political party. You find them in his grassroots organizations such as the Peoples Association, the Residents Committees, the Citizens Consultative Committees and a slew of other government organizations where they are allowed to show their loyalty and co-operation through volunteering their time, while government informers and supervisors report to Lee on who deserves the goodies and how much.

Of course not every one is willing to live a life such as this. Men, who find a life such as this distasteful, leave the island in increasing numbers for settlement in the West. At the same time those remaining become increasingly of one mind, the mind of Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP. This way, as more and more show undivided support for Lee's Peoples' Action Party, the island effectively becomes more and more a one party state, where the Lee Kuan Yew government, now run by his son, can and do anything he wants anytime,  because there is no opposition whatsoever. Parliament is merely a rubber stamp.

It is like training a sea lion. If you do the trick as told, you get a fish. If not you get the stick. Most Singaporeans are doing exactly as they are told and getting the fish. While Lee Kuan Yew and his Peoples Action Party sit ever more comfortably in their seats. This is Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore island.

What Lee does not realize that an island made up of circus trained sea lions are not enough to advance in the 21st Century. Very soon, he will realize that a society of conforming circus animals will drive the island into the bog.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California, USA
Tel: 510 491 4375
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com