Singaporeans lives, a state-controlled existence

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The government of Singapore run by the 92 year old Lee Kuan Yew, his son, and select handpicked minions have a different idea of government than what was historically intended. People thought in 1965, when Singapore became independent that it was to be a parliamentary democracy replete with a constitutional parliamentary system of government. Not true. Lee Kuan Yew's felt that he knew better than anyone else. He wanted to govern the island and he wasn’t going to allow any Constitution or democracy theories come in his way.

But if he was to openly declare this intention and officially dismantle all the trappings of democracy such as a free press and human rights, he may not get the help he needed from the West. So he does the next best thing. He leaves such things as the Constitution on paper, but he removes all power that it had, leaving in place a dictatorship run by himself and  his son and a few handpicked minions while outwardly claiming that it has the rule of law and a parliamentary democracy. Very clever indeed.

Today Singapore is a total dictatorship. The judiciary is directly under the control of his government with Kangaroo court judges delivering judgments exactly according to his wishes. On a rare occasion, when they do not, the judge is instantly removed. He does this not just to punish the judge but more importantly to send the message to all judges to conform or else. Recall Judge Michael Khoo who had acquitted the late opposition politician JB Jeyaretnam of 2 out of 3 criminal charges. He was instantly removed from his judgeship. Since then not a single judge has used his independent judgment.

The island does not have a single human right. Rights of speech, assembly, expression and association are all curtailed. You are simply not allowed to openly criticize the government. If you do you will be punished. Recall some months ago, a cartoonist Leslie Chew arrested for a drawing Lee's government did not like. Recall the numerous bloggers warned or threatened with court action and arrest for criticism.

The Civil Service only employs government supporters who daily discriminate and punish Malays and Indians, although citizens, in favor of the preferred ethnic Chinese population. Indians and Malays are segregated in housing and may live only in designated areas of the island, not anywhere they want. Occasionally the state controlled press report of an award to a bright Malay or Indian student. This is purely misinformation, intended to appease their ethnicities, while the reality is that they are daily discriminated.

Newspapers are all state owned and controlled. They never report on any wrongdoing on the part of the government. On rare occasions they do report such things but only to avoid being seen as complete propaganda. Investigative journalism is non existent so far as state actions are concerned.

There are 2 types of people that inhabit the island. The first are the government lackeys and minions who, although fully aware of the Kangaroo courts and the dictatorship that goes on there under the pretext of a democracy, continue to reside in Lee’s island because they are paid millions of dollars to prop up the regime. The second are the ordinary man, by and large a dull, ignorant human being who is not aware of his rights nor has any confidence in himself. Even if he knew that he is being taken for a ride, he is either incapable of doing anything about it, or he is totally ignorant that he has any rights in the first place.

No one who is aware that he is living under this make believe, Lee’s Alice in Wonderland, where he has no rights at all, but yet is required to believe that he has, under pain of punishment, would willingly live in Lee's island. It is natural for him to leave the island for settlement aboard. As a result ever increasing numbers of educated, capable and thinking Singaporeans simply leave. Imagine George Orwell’s 1984 where you are required to believe that 2 plus 2 is 5, even though you could swear it is 4!

I remember distinctly my own experience in Lee’s island. In 2008 while waiting for my trial for writing a blog against Lee’s judges, I was arrested for knocking a police car with my finger on 4^th of July in Little India Singapore. During that trial which I represented myself (afterall I am a lawyer) I told the judge that I had no confidence in the impartiality of the court, that it was nothing more than a Stalinist show trial and the whole thing was nothing more than Alice in Wonderland, whereupon the government counsel told the court that even though that is what I believed, I am not allowed to say it in that court!

Who are these Singaporeans who stay behind in Lee's dictatorship anyway? By and large they are ignorant. They are not aware that they don't have to live like this. They believe that government is none of their business. Their business is only to find a job, earn a living and educate their children. The fact that they pay taxes appears irrelevant. And as for an education, their understanding of it is to be able to read and write, after which you study for a profession and work on it for the rest of your life, and not making any waves .

As for the Lee Family ruling over them, they are either under the belief that the Lees have a right to rule or even if they have suspicions otherwise, they don't want to even contemplate such things as questioning authority, as such things can be very dangerous in that island.

Any attempt to describe the average Singaporean without insulting them at the same time becomes impossible. What sort of a person would willingly live under this regime, without any rights? They have to be a bunch of dull ignorant morons to put up with this nonsense. Any person with some self respect would have done one of two things. He would either risen up in revolt against the regime or he would have packed his bags and bought that one way ticket to the West. Unless he is either ignorant or a dull ignorant incapable individual.

The future of Singapore is being drastically impeded not only by the present lot of second rate brainless human beings, which Lee Kuan Yew prefers; the sad truth is that numbers in this class is bound to increase. As educated right minded islanders leave in increasing numbers for the West, the island continues to attract only equally ignorant characters from China and the other impoverished Asian countries to replace them; ones who are willing to put up with the dictatorial rule, not because they are fascists in their philosophy but because you can earn a few more dollars in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore than you can earn in Bangladesh.

These foreigners have no interest in the island, no care for its future or development. In fact as far as they are concerned Singapore can go to the dogs. If it did they would go home back to Bangladesh and perhaps find another job in Saudi Arabia.

If Lee Kuan Yew and his son are hoping to build his miracle paradise island on the backs of these handful of highly educated unprincipled opportunists and a horde of ignorant coolies who will do as they are told, I hate to disappoint him. It will not work.

To build his miracle paradise, you first need a government that people can respect, not an island run by Kangaroo courts with no human rights. Second you need a population who do not have to live in fear of the government, a population who feel that they are human beings and entitled to have independent opinions, not necessarily those of Lee Kuan Yew and his friends. Unless these 2 conditions exist, he will have to be content with his opportunists on million dollar salaries and a horde of ignorant coolies. And such a population unfortunately cannot work his miracle.

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