Monday, July 29, 2013

Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew and son determined to silence every single soul in his tiny island

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Lee Kuan Yew and his son, as I have said, rule through their Kangaroo courts which they use to silence and punish critics. Till some 10 years ago, they used to go against the serious threats to them, such as the late JB Jeyaretnam, lawyer and formidable politician and Chee Soon Juan, another opposition politician.

Now his tactic appears changed. Probably due to nervousness out of the Internet empowering more and more citizens, their only hope of clinging to power maybe is to silence and intimidate each and every single soul in that tiny island, so that there will be no one, not a single human being would dare utter the slightest insult.

This more aggressive policy is seen from the recent years where an English author had been jailed for writing a book they did not like, numerous bloggers within the island (they leave alone bloggers such as myself outside their jurisdiction for obvious reasons) have been sent lawyers letters to apologize and remove their blogs. And to ratchet the repression even more, there is now a new law requiring Singaporean blogs which have a certain amount of exposure in in the island to come up with $50,000.00 deposit which you would lose if you criticize.

The latest victim to this aggression is a Singaporean cartoonist Leslie Chew. His news is all over the papers. All he did was to draw a cartoon showing the fact that Singaporean courts are mere instruments which the strongman uses to silence dissent.

There is no doubt as to the truth of that statement. For this, it appears  that after arresting and presumably intimidating and mentally torturing him, they naturally expected him to confess, admit his guilt and apologize. This would have satisfied them since they could then publish this fact in their state controlled press with a large photo of this man having realized his mistake and confessed his sin.

However it appears it did not work out that way. Either on his own or because of his lawyers advice he did the right thing. He refused to kowtow. He must have known that the hopes and aspirations of countless freedom loving Singaporeans ride on his shoulders and a capitulation in this case would be a let down for all of them, let alone the cause of freedom. 

This probably infuriated these ruling bully boys. It appears they told him that the charges would be withdrawn if he apologizes. Since he has refused, and the Chinese gentlemen Lee Kuan Yew and his son cannot lose their Chinese honor before such an insult, they have had no choice but to go ahead and produce him before their Kangaroo judges on the charge of contempt of court.

What is left of course is that Chew would undoubtedly be punished but more importantly, he will be shown in all the island state controlled newspapers and the media with his photo prominently displayed as a warning to every other Singaporean individual not to behave like Chew or else they will receive what Chew did, the stick.

This sort of total repression across the island against even the slightest criticism is going to take it's toll against this dictatorial regime. The average citizen realizing that they now live completely at the mercy of this father and son government, the already huge brain drain to the West would probably increase even further. We have heard in the past that the government was concerned about the loss of such large numbers of the skilled and talented, but it appears they no longer care.

It maybe that the government has changed it's policy and would in fact prefer that questioning and troublesome citizens may be detrimental to their continued rule over the tiny island. Perhaps they now prefer that independent thinking heads should better leave. In their place as they are doing now, they can bring in large numbers of Chinese from mainland China and other places, screening them first for obedience, so that they will never question the policies of their government.

In this manner they may hope to rule over an island comprised entirely of citizens absolutely loyal to their government. Like a mini North Korea. They would therefore not have to deal with critical blogs troublesome cartoonists and graffiti artists who write things that they do not like. I think in all probability, this is what Lee Kuan Yew and his son are aiming at. And I think they are probably going to get their paradise happy island.

I think this is going to be Lee Kuan Yew's Brave New World. An island where everyone is happy, all living in their government provided cubicles high rise apartments, going about their daily lives in total bliss under the kind and merciful arms of the Lee Kuan Yew family and their Peoples Action Party, who will always provide. Isn't that nice.

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

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Singapore prosecutes cartoonist for drawing.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore island which has no more than 2 million local citizens, publishes in their state controlled newspaper Straits Times the report "Attorney General's Chambers acts against Leslie Chew" dated July 25, 2013.

In line with their usual silly pastime of persecuting anyone who criticizes their government, their victims have included, British author Alan Shadrake, Chee Soon Juan an opposition politician and myself in 2008 for writing a blog they did not like, they have now targeted for punishment a cartoonist for a drawing in Facebook they did not like. According to them, the cartoon showed their judiciary, which has by now lost all credibility whatsoever, due to their own actions, in bad light.

Their Attorney General states in the report the need to punish this man because his judiciary is an essential pillar of public service and any attempt to malign it cannot go unpunished. It is rather difficult to follow his argument since if it has already lost all credibility whatsoever and have publicly shown themselves to be Kangaroo courts used to suppress dissent in the island, how they are going to instill confidence in this body by punishing this cartoon drawer is puzzling.

But one thing is sure, which is, this prosecution is going to make Lee Kuan Yew and his son who run the island look even more a bunch of clowns than they already are, being notorious the world over some bizarre rules, such as criminalizing chewing gum, beating people in their backsides as an official punishment and executing petty drug moles.

And the public lamenting they routinely do about the huge brain drain from the island, the non existent birth rate and the fast disappearing tiny population of just 2 million locals will only get worse, because even more local Singaporeans will leave the island in protest against punishing this poor innocent cartoonist as a means to defend Singapore's judiciary, an indefensible prospect.

It is like Adolf Hitler throwing anyone who criticized his courts in jail in order to protect the Nazi court's reputation. I think both Hitler and Lee Kuan Yew would first have to establish that their judiciary's had any integrity in the first place. Throwing this poor cartoonist in jail is not going convince him nor me, nor any other Singaporean with a head on his shoulders that the island's judges had any merit. In fact this action by them will just prove what everyone else have believed all along, that they are a bunch of Kangaroo judges in their Kangaroo courts.

I attach below the report from the state controlled Straits Times

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

Attorney-General's Chambers acts against cartoonist Leslie Chew

 
Published on Jul 25, 2013        
 

The Attorney-General's Chambers has commenced legal proceedings in the High Court against Chew Peng Ee, better known as Leslie Chew, for a series of comic strips published on Facebook. -- PHOTO: ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S CHAMBERS WEBSITE

The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has commenced legal proceedings in the High Court against Chew Peng Ee, better known as Leslie Chew, for a series of comic strips published on Facebook.
He is alleged to have committed contempt of court by scandalising the Judiciary of the Republic of Singapore. The AGC said in a statement issued Thursday: "The present legal proceedings are aimed at protecting the administration of justice in the Republic of Singapore and upholding the integrity of one of our key public institutions."
The case will be heard before the High Court on Aug 12.
Chew is the illustrator behind Demon-cratic Singapore, a Facebook page that was started in May 2011.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Singapore government flip side of China Communist Government

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The similarities of Lee Kuan Yew's tiny Singapore island  with a mere 2 million or so local born citizens and diminishing and present day Communist China are startling.

In China, the citizens are unable to change their government. The Communist Party is there to stay under law. In Singapore although the Constitution  does allow change of government through parliamentary elections every five years, in reality 92 year old Lee Kuan Yew and his son today, who have ruled the island continuously since the early days of the island through their party PAP since 1959 cannot be removed either. They do this by using their handpicked compliant corrupt Kangaroo judges to sue and bankrupt any real challenger to their power. As a result Singaporeans too, like their Communist Chinese counterparts cannot change their government.

China holds elections, just like Singapore periodically. There it is held not to decide on which party will form the government but which persons will assume office under their permanent Communist Government. In Singapore it is no different although they maintain the grip on power somewhat differently. Lee Kuan Yew maintains power by using his corrupt complaint judges to abuse the law to sue and bankrupt political opponents.

The only opposition allowed are those that we have today, the likes of Loh Thia Khiang and Workers Party. They have in fact publicly announced that they do not intend to unseat Lee Kuan Yew and son and are there to merely make mild objections to peripheral issues, not the lack of the rule of law or anything else that would truly challenge the government.

This serves Lee Kuan Yew and his son well enabling them to retain control indefinitely. Elections in Singapore island do not serve any purpose. It is merely a national entertainment every five years for a few days. Lee's power does not emanate from Parliament which is just a rubber stamp. Lee's power comes from his courts. He rules not by rule of law but by rule by law; laws which he can enact however repressive anytime he wants.

In China since Deng Hsiu Peng, there is a dual bifurcated system of government. For business, Chinese citizens can almost do what they want. But in politics, it is firmly Communist. Lee's Singapore island is no different. Singaporeans are allowed to do business. But they are not allowed to criticize the government. If they did, Lee Kuan Yew deploys his Kangaroo judges and you are removed in his courts.

In Communist China, it helps to be a card carrying Communist Party member and hurts if you are a rebel. You are given privileges and career advancement for your support and can expect not only high office but also great wealth. On the other hand, Chinese political dissidents are routinely arrested and sent to prison for long terms. Singapore is no different. It helps to support Lee Kuan Yew and his Peoples Action Party. Singaporeans are given an opportunity to show this support in several ways. One way is to join the several grass roots organizations that belong to the government party such as the Peoples Association. As a member, you will be recognized and enjoy career advancement and other government privileges for yourself and your family.

In Communist China, many would find it distasteful and not in the best interests of China to continue in Communism. They may believe, as Chinese dissidents do, that the country will benefit with democratic reforms. But if anyone attempted to publicly oppose the Communist system of government they will be punished. It is the same in Singapore. Many may feel that Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew and his dictatorship is damaging the island's interests. It destroys independent thinking, denies a free press, denies freedom of speech and expression and expects everyone to worship Lee Kuan Yew and his son. Thinking citizens are repulsed by such mindless conformism but anyone attempting to bring about change risks jail time, loss of jobs and prison time, a defamation lawsuit and bankruptcy.

But in one sense Singaporeans are luckier than their Communist Chinese counterparts. They are able to speak English, even though it may be hardly intelligible elsewhere. Nevertheless this is an advantage that the Chinese in China do not have. Also they are able to leave their island if they wish for settlement elsewhere. This ability to leave and their certain level of international mobility; and their refusal to have children resulting in the island having the lowest birth rate in the world, turns out to be the biggest threat against this Singaporean autocratic regime.

What is happening now is that the island educates it's citizens, although a major portion of that education consists of mind control and brainwashing, end up wanting to leave for the West. This huge brain drain turns out to hit the regime hard, one from which it's leaders do not appear to have an answer.

Surely they can realize that if it's government loses its creditability which it has, with the lack of the rule of law, and the absence of any fundamental human rights which people elsewhere would have taken for granted, it is hard to convince anyone to live in a place like that.

Indeed there are many striking similarities between the Communist regime in China and Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. But the major difference is that despite repressing their citizens, the Peoples Republic of Communist China will be able to carry on in business because they have more people than they need, one billion to be exact. Tiny Singapore on the other hand does not have that privilege. Already it has just about 2 million local born citizens. Yesterday's Straits Times, the local state controlled newspaper reported that besides the number of childbirth having fallen to record low, a mere fraction of what it was ten years ago, the children each had either one foreign parent or both.

Singapore today is not longer what it was. There are no Singaporeans in Singapore. What you have is a hotch potch of Chinese, Taiwanese, and other peoples from Asia who have no knowledge of English or anything about their new island home. And mostly they have no interest in living there permanently either.

With a reluctant and transient population, recently arrived from diverse regions of Asia, and hardly speaking English, the situation does not look very bright. Lee's policies are driving away their native born citizens, who are far more valuable to the island and replacing them with these Mandarin speaking new arrivals. I guess, the island's dictators should have realized that it was a bad idea repressing their own citizens. In the long run it simply does not work.

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

Monday, July 22, 2013

Singapore Island selects obedient immigrants

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Suffering from it's perennial unsolvable problems of a depleting population, already tiny for a start of no more than about 2 million native born Singaporean islanders; the world's lowest birth rate with baby numbers not even replacing one parent let alone 2; and a massive emigration rate to the West, it knows that unless it does something drastic, the island's people will completely  disappear.

And the cause of these problems is the same government which has been clinging on to power since 1959, and simply refusing to go. They have done this by destroying political opposition through fake criminal charges, rigged elections and threatening voters. Just like any other dictatorship around the world they wish to cling to power never mind if the island goes to the dogs. And today to the dogs it has gone.

In their greed and corruption; they pay themselves $3.7 million a year each; they are responsible for the state the island is in today. It is their abuse of the rule of law, using it as a tool to silence dissent and thereby completely discrediting its legal system that is primarily responsible for this helpless situation in the island.

If a government is permitted to abuse the rule of law, they can and they have denied the fundamental rights of citizens such as the right to a free press, the right to free speech and the right to criticize, the right to have free and fair elections. None of these rights exist in the island because this government has decided to do away completely with the rule of law, leaving it's citizens totally under the mercy and whims of the government.

Naturally in a situation such as this, no one in his right mind capable of leaving would want to stay. Which explains the massive brain drain from an already tiny population. Anyone with any ability to leave is leaving. And no one in his right mind would want to make a home in the island where once again you live in a society where the government can do anything they want to do to you with impunity. This is why native Singaporeans do not want to have children. It has the lowest birth rate in the world.

In order to replace the almost extinct native Singaporean they bring in massive numbers of immigrants. Since a lot of things are done in secrecy as is the case in all dictatorships, the government does not publish the requirements to qualify as an immigrant. Immigration into the island is completely at the discretion of the government and they are not obliged to give any reasons for denial. This is not the case with any other respected country in the world. Australia has legal requirements for immigration and candidates are allowed to appeal a decision which is against them.

In Singapore, if you look around today, most faces you see are Chinese faces, and not faces from other parts of the world. And the large proportion of them are unable to speak English but only Mandarin. The Singapore dictatorships selective immigration policy must be very clear to see, selective not for the best qualified but for characteristics such as submissiveness, ignorance of Singapore's history and a lack of understanding of even rudimentary politics.

In other words the island is looking for immigrants who would simply obey the government without question, like these Chinese from China would. Of course this is good for the Lee ruling family because with a people such as this, they will be able to remain in power forever.

And Chinese from mainland China fit this role perfectly. In China they have no idea of democracy or such things as human rights. By law the Communist Party will be the government; no other. And hopefully when they come to Singapore, they will accept Lee Kuan Yew, his family and their PAP the government and none other.

Their understanding of life, unlike someone bought up in a democracy, is to obey a government under which you live and hope that they will give you a job, goodies and cakes. Rights such as the rights to free speech and expression, the right to assembly and the right to change the Communist government of the country does not exist. As long as the government can give them a living, they will carry on without complaint. And this is the sort of people Lee Kuan Yew and his government wants.

I suppose an imaginary immigration interview in Mandarin would go like this:

Singapore: Would you object if you knew that Lee Kuan Yew pays himself $3.7 million a year in taxpayers money as a salary?
Chinese immigrant: Why should I care. After all he is King. He can do as he wants.

Singapore: Would you object if you were told that you have no freedom of speech, expression, assembly or a free press?
Chinese immigrant: Why should I care as long as I have a job.

Singapore: Have you heard of a thing called the Constitution?
Chinese immigrant: What in Heavens is that?

Singapore: Congratulations. You are accepted as an immigrant. Welcome to Singapore. You are a dummy and we love you. Please pick up your Singapore citizenship on the way out. And please tell your friends about us. We want more like you. Thank you.

Singapore will not accept large numbers of Australians because in a short while they would refuse to obey the dictatorship. Of course there are some Australians in the island who do high level jobs for large salaries on a temporary basis. But they won't allow you to insult them by calling them Singaporean's which they are not and never will. The same goes for the other Caucasians from the West in the island who run the banks and the financial institutions. They have no simply respect for local Singaporeans and stay away from them as much as possible.

Lee Kuan Yew and his son have successfully turned the island into another Dubai. With passing time, there will be a handful of Singaporeans comprised mainly of the Lee family and his close and distant relatives who live like Kings, as they do now, who would employ these hoards of Chinese from China who would work and live in the island without complaint. Without any rule of law, as is the case even now, Lee can send them packing if he doesn't want them and replace them with the millions of other impoverished Chinese waiting in line in their country. As the ubiquitous Indian, Pakistani or Filipino who do the dirty work in Dubai, in Singapore you would have the Chinese coolies doing the work for the Lee extended family.

I am not sure how long he can carry on this way, as these Chinese from China are incapable of servicing a modern English speaking city state which it is supposed to be. In no time, simply because there won't be sufficient numbers of English speakers left in the predominantly Chinese speaking island city state, they would have to do away with English as the lingua franca and replace it with Mandarin Chinese.

By the way, the local Indian and Malays, although citizens are nowhere in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore plans. Already today they are forgotten.

I don't think tiny Singapore island city state, with an already tiny population, can have much of a future as a Mandarin speaking China satellite island and Lee Kuan Yew and his family would have successfully destroyed Singapore which in fact would have had a very bright future were it not for the greedy selfish near-sighted corrupt regime which governs it today.

I am attaching below an article from today's Singapore state controlled newspaper the Straits Times on the fast diminishing childbirth which I told you about and more than half of children born there has at least one foreign parent if not both.

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

Fewer kids with both parents from Singapore

A rising number of babies are being born to Singaporeans with foreign spouses. Theresa Tan and Jane Ng examine the implications of this demographic shift.

 
Published on Jul 21, 2013
9:12 AM 


Posed photo of a woman carrying a baby. There were 42,663 babies born in Singapore last year, but only half of them had parents who were both Singapore citizens. Their proportion of all births shrank sharply from 2000. -- ST FILE PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
There were 42,663 babies born in Singapore last year, but only half of them had parents who were both Singapore citizens. Their proportion of all births shrank sharply from 2000.
The rest were born to citizens with foreign spouses, or foreign couples. And this group swelled considerably from before.
It is a significant demographic shift, experts say, with implications for what it means to be Singaporean and how to integrate foreigners who are here to stay.
The data on parents' nationality appears in the Report on Registration of Births and Deaths 2012, published by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) this month.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Singaporeans enslaved in the box

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We always hear of the box and the qualities of human beings being able to think outside the box. Unfortunately for Singaporeans under Lee Kuan Yew's
no-nonsense-immaculately-manicured-lawn -mowed-island doing this outside that imaginary box is simply impossible. For Singaporeans, the reality is, they not only cannot think outside of that box, Lee Kuan Yew has literally enslaved them in it from which they simply cannot get out.

Bill Gates and Larry Ellison have had their success famously attributed to be able to do their thinking outside that imaginary box, which thanks for their physical positioning while they were doing it, were not only able to bring unimaginable riches to themselves and to motivate millions of others both in the USA and elsewhere towards inventiveness, creativity and many other good things, they were able to bring unimaginable credit to their country in science and technology.

However it has been proven and well known that it is simply not possible to achieve any of this, if you wrongly position yourself inside the box, which is exactly what Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew wants. Why, because he fears that if allowed to engage in this prohibited activity of thinking outside the box, you may threaten his continued grip on power and what is worse, even topple him .

In Singapore's official philosophy, conformism is good. Independent thinking is dangerous.

Just go to Singapore and see for yourself. You see an island wide mindless conformism. Civil servants have nothing to say about how their island is run, and if they did, it would very probably mirror the views of Lee Kuan Yew and his political party, which are: free press is bad, state controlled press is good; rule of law is bad, and Kangaroo courts are good; Gopalan Nair and troublemakers are bad, K Shanmugam, Tamil Minister for Law who parrots the government line is good; free speech is bad, but government licensed speech is good; peaceful assembly is bad but government licensed assembly is good; and so on. In other words, according to the Singaporean island manual for success, being a moron is good, independent thinking is bad.

As a result, civil servants have nothing to say, lawyers have nothing to say, doctors have nothing to say, the air conditioning mechanic has nothing to say and everybody goes on their lives as an imbecile robot, with nothing to say.

They were some who had something to say, and thought outside that box, but they have all been promptly punished. JB Jeyaretnam had something to say but he was locked up, bankrupted and removed. He has since died. Chee Soon Juan had something to say but we don't hear much of him now. He too has been severely dealt with.

In the 1980s while I was in Singapore I too had something to say. I was thinking outside the box, because it seemed a good idea at the time. I thought that perhaps Lee Kuan Yew rule was not a good idea after all and I stood for elections. That sort of thinking turned out to be a bad idea. It was obviously clearly done outside the box. Had I done that thinking inside that box, I would never have come up with such an un-Singaporean thing, un-Lee Kuan Yew like thing. I too was punished for the unconventional thinking which led me finally to move to America for good.

Of course in the USA, I can think outside the box anytime I want day or night. In fact I don't need to be anywhere need that odious box.

In Singapore island to survive without any trouble, you have to position yourself within the box if you were planning any thinking. Translated into reality what this means is to keep your mouth tightly shut and do what you are told. While doing this, you will be a dull boring moron with no ideas at all. But at least you will be safe from Lee Kuan Yew's clutches. You will be going about your life like a lifeless ghost, keeping your views and yourself safely inside Lee Kuan Yew's box.

How do you feel about that?

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

Monday, July 15, 2013

The quality of Singaporeans continues to slide

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore island is tiny. It has no more than about 2.5 million local citizens and another 2.5 million recently arrived immigrants, mostly Chinese nationals.

It's judges are actually Lee Kuan Yew's politicians who masquerade as judges. Their principle function is to destroy any political opposition to him or his government, which they shamelessly do. Lee Kuan Yew and his friends pay themselves the highest salaries in the world, no less than $3.7 million a year each! In fact this is outright corruption. 

The newspapers are all state controlled. Not a single human right exists. There is no freedom of speech, expression or assembly. Any attempt by anyone to engage in any of this risks  defamation lawsuits, bankruptcy or prison.

In a sentence, Singapore is a very unpleasant place to live compared to almost any other country in the world.

I know this. I don't live there anymore. And just like me, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people and Singaporeans also know this. As a result almost every single person capable of leaving and working elsewhere has left the island for Australia and the west.

Owing to the almost non existent birth rate and massive emigration, Singapore has been trying to attract immigrants for some time. But this bad reputation that the island has of being no more than a fiefdom run by Lee Kuan Yew, his family and friends naturally is an impediment. Who in their right mind would want to come and live in Singapore island where they are literally living as slaves at the mercy of this government who control everything and anything in their island.

As a result the quality of immigrants and those of Singaporeans staying behind continues to decline. One obvious example is the very poor quality of journalism in the island. The extent of English language proficiency in their state controlled Straits Times is atrocious. I recall the quality of writing was much better in 1970 or before than it is now. In earlier days people had some respect for the newspaper. Today, the paper is no better than the sort you find in Somalia or North Korea, according to respected international surveys.

The same goes for every other government sector in the island. The police force has high ranking officers whose understanding of their jobs and what policing should be is simply zero. Many of them are Malays, the least successful among the 3 races in the island. It appears probable that because the police force is so discredited as being nothing more than a bunch of thugs who run around taking orders from the Lee family, the other races who have more choice over their careers simply stay away. I remember when I was arrested for writing a blog in Singapore in 2008, my arresting officer was a Malay Deputy Superintendent of Police. He did not think his job involved anything else, other than being a hit man for the government; simply doing anything he was told.

It is the same with a civil service and every other branch of the government. The quality of the people there are simply poor and getting worse. It is one thing for a large populous country to suffer a dearth of qualified and dedicated people, it is quite another for a place which has no more than a mere 2.5 million!

This is not uprising, since how does one convince anyone with any brains or any self respect to serve an organization such as this. Why would anyone who has been living for instance in Australia, where they live in a hardly fought and won democracy, move to an island where Lee Kuan Yew thinks he owns it? Or he will arrest you if you question him?

There are only a few types of people who would willingly live in a place like that. One type is the thoroughly despicable sort who have no scruples whatsoever and would like anybody's ass as long  as the price is right, such as Lee Kuan Yew's Tamil minister for law Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam or K Shanmugam as he prefers to call himself; to avoid tongue twisting. For large sums of money he stays and serves his master. He is quite prepared to argue anytime that even one sole peaceful protestor is a criminal and should be arrested unless he has a permit from his master!

The other type is the recent immigrant arrivals. Many of them are Chinese nationals who come here because the money is better. So also are the Filipinos or Bangladeshis. The only consideration for them, and understandably so, is the better wages they get than in their native countries. They understand that they should stay away from interfering in the way the island is run. For them it does not matter if the dictator happens to be an Arab oil sheikh in Abu Dhabi or a Chinese gangster in Singapore. For the better wages, they mind their own business. After all Singapore island is not their country.

And then you have the locals. Many of them are what the former President of the island, Devan Nair, no relation of mine, called "department store dummies". They have no idea about their rights, they are not concerned whether their prime minister was a donkey, and they just go about their daily lives eating at hawker food centers, doing their daily jobs to work another day. Such things as their rights which an average American would be very concerned about does not even cross their minds. Such things as human rights does not register very high in their simple heads.

I honestly don't think with a bunch of people such as this, the island can get very far. There are no dedicated thinking intelligent Singaporeans left in the island. All of them who considered such things as human rights have all left. And they are being replaced by totally ignorant immigrants on the one hand, and mere foreign workers who are there temporarily for a buck on the other. Thinking intelligent and confident people would not want to live in a place like this. 

Lee Kuan Yew obviously misjudged the extent that mass communication, information and technology would have on his island. This sort of stupidity on his part suppressing human rights and a repressive political system is not going to go down well with an educated independent thinking population. It may have worked in the past in lesser developed times and societies but today, it is impossible to succeed.

Even a single blog like this, writing about what is going on in the tiny island tends to hurt it very much. I have no doubt in my mind as each day passes, even more people with an opportunity to leave are going to do so, which would mean even greater reliance on temporary guest workers to fill the void. On the whole you are not going to get the best human beings from these temporary guest workers. One reason is that the island cannot pay as much and for as long as can a place such as Abu Dhabi with their oil. So what you are going to get, as time progresses, is going to go from second rate to third rate and to the fourth.

Singapore's bad name internationally as the place which canes people for chewing gum, even though this is not entirely true, will be it's nemesis.

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

Friday, July 12, 2013

Singapore maintains strict radio silence over Lee Kuan Yew

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore island's Lee Kuan Yew is often touted as the ultimate miracle man who somehow turned the island from a sleepy backwater into the 4th most prosperous place in the world, although the prosperity they are talking about refers only to the recently arrived Chinese millionaires who have recently defrauded state owned companies in Communist China hoping to park their money in the money laundering island hub.

But one would have thought that such an illustrious human being, nothing short of a God send to the island would have been the subject of much on going daily interest and news coverage especially since he is 92 years old and reportedly in poor health. Surely Singaporeans would (or at least should) be concerned as to his state of health and what would happen to their island if he is dead, but strangely enough they are not.

In fact, for several months now, the island's state controlled newspapers are all completely silent as to any news about him and the islander's have now been left completely in the dark as to whether he alive or dead, or at to whether he has turned into a bed-ridden vegetative piece of lettuce or whether he is running about playing football behind his colonial house in Oxley Road.

I can guess the reason for the lack of any media information in this case. The entire Lee Kuan Yew family who run the island and all his grovelers and bootlickers who are wallowing in opulence and luxury are terrified beyond their wits as to what misfortunes will befall on them and their wealth when their benefactor is gone. They are right. They should be afraid and rightly so.

As I have said in my last post, Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore island will have a hard time staying afloat once he is gone.

This is why. The island is run totally on his dictates which become laws through a rubber stamp parliament and not on any political theory that one can identify. Although it has a Constitution he has managed to in effect turn into a worthless piece of waste paper. Which therefore means for the island to function, without any established rules set down for anyone to follow, his dictates become law each time he proclaims it. For such a society to function, the leader has to be a sort of a King which the people obey out of respect or fear as the case may be, and whose dictates carry the force of law.

Although he is not in any legal sense a King, he has in fact become a de facto King of sorts on his throne for decades, that is from 1959 when he first took power. As long as the people obey him, the status quo in Singapore can go on without any major unraveling.

But the question is, what happens when he is dead. In societies where they have a living and working Constitution and the rule of law, they can seamlessly move from one government to another, or from the death of one leader to another without any major disruption, because society is not based on the dictates of one man but on a Constitution which sets out how the society is to be run.

These foundations such as the rule of law and the Constitution do not exist in the island. Lee Kuan Yew has routinely and openly abused the legal system and used it as a tool to destroy political opponents, so much so that the average man has lost all respect for it. The Constitution has been completely amended thereby reneging every single human right that had earlier existed.

In such dire and dangerous condition as the island now finds itself, without a respected legal system or a Constitution, once the 92 year old leader dies, unless the island produces another Lee Kuan Yew to replace the dead one, whom people can unconditionally obey as has been the case so far, the island will undoubtedly descend into complete chaos, mayhem and instability.

Today, we have his son whom he has placed in position as Prime Minister. Are we to assume that his son will be the new Lee Kuan Yew whom everyone will unconditionally obey and it will be business as usual? I am not so sure. It is difficult for any people to unconditionally obey any ruler when there is no foundation for his rule whatsoever; as I have said, no Constitution or no rule of law.

For instance, it will be difficult for him to justify the need to control the entire media by arguing that a controlled media is good and a free press is bad. Or it will be hard for him to argue that even a lone peaceful protestor has to be jailed just because Singapore law requires it when the law in this case is seen as an ass.

I am in fact surprised as to why Singapore islanders have so far taken this nonsense from the 92 year old dictator but strangely they have. But I have serious doubts that they will take this nonsense from his son especially because no one in their right mind has any respect for this character, some taking him no more than a clown who has come to where he is simply because of this father.

Without the rule of law and a system of government that people can respect, there will be clearly a void when the 92 year old man, who has not been heard of for some time dies. I guess to cushion the devastating consequences that will very probably follow his death, they would rather be silent on the subject to give an impression that his son is capable of running the show.

This is simply a case of burying their heads in the sand. This is simply living in denial. Despite strict radio silence, we can see the writing on the wall. The island of Singapore will find it imposable to continue with business as usual once Lee Senior is gone because there is no other Lee Kuan Yew to replace the dead one; and the son is simply no replacement. And without the rule of Law and a Constitution which the incumbent can follow, there is nothing in place other than a void.

His son is simply is no King.

This is why the government is maintaining strict radio silence. They are terrified as to what will happen when the 92 year old dictator kicks the bucket.

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

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Singapore, brace for islandwide disorder and instability on 92 year old Lee Kuan Yew's death

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Astute Singapore watchers, would be particularly anxious about the island's immediate future. And when I say immediate, I mean tomorrow, next week or perhaps next month; it is as serious as that.

It is all about 92 year old Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew who has very cleverly placed every single person in authority in the island from among his family members both near and far. It is one big family wallowing in power, luxury and opulence. I suppose he subscribes to the axiom blood is thicker than water. From Teo Chee Hean to the President Tony Tan and everyone else is in some way related to the Big Boy. For obvious reasons the only ones who are not related to him are the Tamils, his Minister for Law, K Shanmugam and company. I suppose it is no harm allowing a few Tamils a few crumbs for the impression that they too are being cared for.

The problem with Singapore is this. Since 1959 Lee has continued to rule Singapore as if it was his alone to do whatever he wants with it. And during that entire time, he has successfully managed to hoodwink the Western world that the island was some sort of a miracle, all because he alone has all the ideas and the secret to create this miracle and that everyone else was an absolute idiot only capable of being nothing more than coolies.

Of course this is nonsense, but the Western world has managed to buy it and mistakenly believing that it is a secure place for investment. In fact it is just the contrary. Singapore is just a farce with no solid foundation whatsoever. How could a tiny island with no rule of law run by a bunch of Kangaroo judges, an island without any real constitution, a place which does not have the basics of human rights such as freedom of speech or expression be considered stable and sound.

If it has managed this far, it has done so either through the ignorance of those who deal with them or because the island is the only place that will accommodate the sorts that have any connection with it.

Take the case of millionaire investors who have bank accounts there. By and large they are from Communist China, thieves, most of whom have embezzled and defrauded state owned companies in their country.

Either through ignorance, convenience or because the island is willing to break internationally accepted transparency norms, banking and taxation laws and since they also speak Mandarin in the island, they consider Singapore convenient.

Also the island is a favorite location for Indonesian millionaire crooks who have similarly defrauded banks in their country. On the other hand, you would find it hard to see any millionaires from USA and Western Europe choosing Singapore, as they would much prefer tax jurisdictions in the USA like Delaware or Florida or places like the Isle of Man or even London; why because every one of these countries have the rule of law which gives you confidence that your money is safe.

The major problem in dictatorships is that everything and everyone depends on one man alone; in Singapore's case 92 year old Lee Kuan Yew who is about to kick the bucket any moment now. It is like what they say about Egypt; the Nile is Egypt and Egypt is the Nile. If the Nile is gone, so is Egypt.

The 92 year old Singapore dictator is now presumably in very bad health, and nearly as old as Nelson Mandela who is bed ridden. The circumstances in the tiny island would have been different if it had been a democracy, since there would have been many other political leaders with sufficient ground support to lead and form a government upon the death of their leader. Not so in Singapore. His son whom he has placed as Prime Minister is seen by most Singaporeans as no better than a clown, who would have gone nowhere except for the fact that he is the son of his father.

And below his son are all these hand picked minions who are each paid a million dollars each to run around trumpeting the father and son. All they are capable of doing is to follow orders like ever willing sycophants doing the drum beating and singing praises. They will do this as long as long as their 92 year old benefactor is still kicking, and once he is dead, they would simply leave to join their bank accounts which have already been safely repatriated to Switzerland and elsewhere.

To make matters worse, Singapore has an oversized economy for it's miniscule size. Mind you, it has only abut 2.5 million local born citizens with another 2.5 million foreigners. As if this was not bad enough, the relatively large foreign population continues to grow while the already miniscule local citizen numbers continue to shrink even further. And as is to be expected, foreigners would be the first to clear out at the slightest hint of insecurity.

It does not take much to create an island wide panic and total calamity throughout the island with a tiny population such as this. Moreover an overly large section of the economy of this tiny island comprises of foreign assets, not local.

As this assumed stability of the island is dependent entirely on Lee Kuan Yew being alive, I have no doubt that the moment he dies, which may happen even today or tomorrow, public confidence in the island will take a free fall.

Since his son does not appear to instill confidence within the island nor abroad, being seen as nothing more than an alter boy put in place by his powerful father, upon the elder's death, there will begin a steady flow of assets and cash out of the island, turning into a flood, and once that happens, it will inevitably lead to a run on the bank.

I don't see Singaporeans or foreign investors rallying around his inept son, who himself knows that he is who he is, just because of this father. You will probably see infighting among the ruling party itself, one section trying to displace another. And then you have the opposition trying to claim the void that has been created.

But Singapore is too fragile and too tiny a spot to withstand any of this. It is not Russia or the USA, large countries with large populations who can take all kinds of knocks and yet emerge like a Phoenix from the ashes. Singapore is too small, too tiny and too dependent on the outside to withstand even an iota of such instability. It simply cannot last. And like the ticking clock, the 92 year old dictator's life continues to ebb towards the fast approaching end.

The state controlled media is carefully keeping mum on the 92 year old's condition. Except for anecdotal reports on the Internet published anonymously out of fear, there is no news whatever of his medical or mental condition. It is anyone's guess if he is dying or not. And the fact that it is deliberately being kept a national secret raises the alarm that he already has one foot in his grave, if not both.

And this is the message that I have both for Singaporeans and foreigners who care anything of what happens to themselves and their money. With Lee Kuan Yew going to die any minute now, as should be expected of any 92 year old person, this is the moment to take your money now and clear out for good; foreign investors would be best advised to repatriate their Singapore accounts; and families with children should now emigrate to the West. Waiting for him to die may be too late. It takes very little for the entire stock market to collapse in a tiny island almost totally dependent on foreign investors.

Lee Kuan Yew has carefully made sure that his island has no leaders, except himself. Every single one of his bootlickers who prostrate before him are mere handpicked scholars with no leadership whatsoever. When the dictator goes, no one will bother to give them even a second look. An island without leaders is simply incapable of survival.

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

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Singapore Lee Kuan Yew's prime minister son insults European youth

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore island state controlled newspaper The Straits Times of yesterday carries the story "PM calls on young to give back to society".

He claims that "they (Singapore youth) are much better off than their counterparts in Europe". I wonder in what way? European youth live in democracies where they can speak their mind without worrying about Lee Kuan Yew or his son, they have human rights which includes the right to free speech, expression and the right to protest and change their governments through the ballot box. Also they are governed by rule of law and not through prosecutions in Kangaroo courts in his Singapore island.

He then says "there are millions of European youth who are done with their studies but cannot find work, a situation that will scar the rest of their lives". Really? When did Lee Kuan Yew's son become a psychologist other than his principle qualification of being the son of his father? He should know that Europeans live in Europe. And in Europe, there is democracy. And in democracy there are good times and bad, and at bad times they work to correct it.

Europe is not a fascist state like Singapore where we look to Lee Kuan Yew and his son to find us jobs and sit around like stupid children incapable of anything. For the son's information let me tell him that if I needed a job as an attorney in California, I find it myself. I don't have to look to President Obama to arrange a job for me. And if I can't find one, I try until I can. But in any case, I am not in a hurry to return to Singapore so that Lee Kuan Yew or his son can find a job for me.

The same goes for European youth. They are resilient and not your little children like Singaporeans are. If some are unemployed, they are not in a hurry to condemn their democracies, and neither are they making a bee line to Singapore so you can find them jobs, nor into the merciful arms of Lee Kuan Yew nor his son.

For the information of Lee Kuan Yew's son, I think he should know this. Despite your paradise island, the fact is that in a recent survey among Singapore youth, the vast majority surveyed had indicated that they would leave your paradise for a life abroad if given the chance. In fact I have no doubt that if Singapore youth were given a chance to move to the very same Europen countries which you despise, I am sure every single one would jump to it. And you might also want to know that while you are spewing this nonsense, under your very nose, your youth are emigrating in increasing numbers to the very countries that you mention, refusing to do national service by absconding and bad mouthing you, your father and your country at ever opportunity available.

No, it does not appear that you are appraised of reality. You must be smoking something, I am not sure what.

For the readers' convenience I am attaching below the article in the Singapore state controlled press, Straits Times.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California, USA

PM calls on young to give back to society

 
Published on Jul 07, 2013
2:46 PM
 

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged Singaporean youth to give back to society as he noted how much better off they are than their counterparts in Europe. -- ST FILE PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged Singaporean youth to give back to society as he noted how much better off they are than their counterparts in Europe.
Speaking at Teck Ghee Community Club on Sunday, Mr Lee said that there are millions of European youth who are done with their studies but cannot find work, a situation that will scar the rest of their lives.
Singapore is fortunately not in that predicament, he said, expressing his hope that the future will be even better through the collective effort of the Government and the community, especially those who have succeeded in life.
PM Lee was speaking at the launch of the "PAYM Loves Red" campaign, a two-month-long movement by the People's Association's youth wing to express patriotic pride in the lead up to National Day. Over 100 activities have been conceptualised and organised by 6,000 young people.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Singapore immigration only ethnic Chinese need apply

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If you look around you in Lee Kuan Yew's island which is tiny, completely built up, flat and with a population no less than about 5 million, you will see almost entirely Chinese faces. There were supposed to be some Indians and Malays in that supposedly multi racial island but you will be lucky if you see even one. Lee by the way is 92 and will probably kick the bucket either tomorrow or the day after.

With the island's dwindling population, of no less than 2.5 million local born citizens, Singapore  needed to boost immigration or otherwise it will disappear. But having decided on it, Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore had other considerations unlike other countries equal immigration policies.

USA for instance welcomes immigrants. The ones selected are the best people regardless of where they are from. You could be from Basutoland, I know it doesn't exist anymore, but if it did, and you fit the requirements, you are welcome. You could be from Mali, Namibia, the Fiji Islands or wherever it did not matter. Under the American constitution anyone from anywhere has equal chance of immigrating to the US. Which is why I, formerly a Singapore citizen, am now an American citizen.

But Lee Kuan Yew's banana republic has different considerations. For instance you could be a very highly qualified Afghani but it will be highly unlikely that you will be accepted. So will an Iraqi, or an Egyptian or Frenchman. Anyone of these people will be investigated thoroughly. They want to know if he has ever agitated for human rights. Whether he has ever been outspoken against tyrants and dictators. Is he a proponent for democracy (not very good). On the other hand if it is found that he is a soulless businessman who would care two hoots if Lee Kuan Yew caned his people, imprisoned innocent dissenters and deported bloggers like Gopalan Nair, then perhaps he stands a chance.

But on the whole, people from Western democracies are unlikely candidates, as there is a possibility that they may have some views about some things, like democracy for instance, which is trouble for Lee Kuan Yew and his obedient subjects.

The ones who manage to breeze into Singapore without any effort are usually the mainland Chinese preferably from the remote areas of China who do not only have no understanding of anything else except of how to earn a few bucks or perhaps Malaysian Chinese who have been discriminated against by their Malay government and out of gratitude will eat humble pie quietly under the Lee Kuan Yew dictatorship.

People with strong views are not welcome, period.

You can see why the Lee Kuan Yew government adopts this racially and personality based selective immigration policy. It is not intended to select the best immigrants globally into the island. The purpose is more sinister than that. It is to make sure that the sort of immigrants that come to Singapore are the ones who would quietly live their lives without giving Lee Kuan Yew and his dictatorship too may problems, that is, people who would not question authority. Whereas if he had allowed the educated Frenchman or the Afghan with strong opinions of how their government should be, Lee may have too many problems.

Can you imagine if he allowed too many Australians, Americans or Greeks to immigrate to his island (I am not suggesting that Australians Americans or Greeks would want to come to Singapore in the first place anyway), they may take to the streets to demand the abolition of the death penalty, the abolishing of cruel punishments like caning or demand an end to racial discrimination. And that would mean a harder time for Lee to rule with his iron grip.

Oh no, it is far safer to bring in unquestioning idiots from the rural areas of China or  Malaysia who would be quiet, do their work and not give too much trouble like some Australian would have done, or even as Gopalan Nair would do (although I was born in Singapore and am a citizen by birth but have since been deported for being too troublesome).

As a result of the insecurity of the about to kick the bucket 92 year old Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, his tiny island has to make do with these unquestioning dumb immigrants, as a result of which the island's progress continues to be stunted unlike a situation where it gets the best from the world, a thinking educated immigrant.

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

Friday, July 5, 2013

Singaporeans. Are there any left?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Only 6 months ago and before, Singapore's state controlled newspapers lamented almost daily on the mounting emigration rate running into thousands a year from their already tiny population of just 2.5 million or so native born citizens. What was even more alarming was that the numbers leaving for settlement in the West were the brightest among their citizens, men and women with education skills and money. For a tiny island with a tiny population, and with no natural resources, mass emigration at this rate is damaging beyond salvation. It is nothing short of a disaster.

You will recall that the government tried everything they could to stem the flood. Goh Chok Tong, Lee Kuan Yew's former handpicked Prime Minister called those leaving traitors and quitters in an attempt to shame them into staying. It did not work. Many articles were written in their state controlled newspapers urging, in fact begging Singaporeans to stay.

In desperation, Lee Kuan Yew's ministers including Goh Chok Tong and Lui Teck Yew and in fact Lee himself made their rounds to all the world's capitals where any Singaporean can be found to urge them to return. I remember about a year ago, Lui came to San Francisco and spread out lavish lunches in a top hotel, mind you at Singapore tax payers expense, to dine and wine the escaped Singaporeans presumably in the hope that in return for the free lunches, they may somehow decide to be nice and return to Lee Kuan Yew's  no-nonsense island.

Alas it appears, none of it worked. Overseas Singaporeans rebuffed every attempt to coax them back to Lee Kuan Yew's paradise. Why should they when they have tasted freedom in their new found countries. Why should anyone in their right mind think of going back to Lee Kuan Yew's dictatorship where he rules through Kangaroo courts, an attack dog police force and a state controlled media which dishes out propaganda on a daily basis.

The other problem which Lee daily publicized in the past on his state controlled newspapers was it's almost zero birth rate. There was almost no babies being born with Singapore having been declared having the world's lowest birth rate. This too is utter suicide for a tiny island with such a tiny population. And to solve the problem they resorted as is usual in dictatorships to such stupidity like showing soft porn movies late night on state television presumably in the hope that after watching it, you may decide to have sex with your wife and hopefully have a baby! I am not sure what happened to this stupid policy but like every other of their hare brained ideas, I guess that too died a natural death.

The other major headache for Lee Kuan Yew was that the predominantly Chinese population of Singapore who are traditionally averse to any military duty were trying very hard to avoid national service by sending their children abroad and making sure they did not return. We were told that barracks were becoming empty for lack of conscripts and in fact the very security of the island was being threatened by lack of manpower. This subject too previously on headline news is not not mentioned anymore.

The good thing about having a state controlled press is that you don't have to publish any bad news. I can only guess that as they have realized that every single Singaporean capable of escaping the clutches of the Singaporean dictator and his island has already left or if not, is in the process of leaving and there is nothing they can do about it.

Lee has realized that Singaporeans are simply not going to have babies and showing soft porn wasn't a good idea.

And since there is nothing they can do about it, and presumably, the local born Singapore population has already probably declined to less than 2 million with a majority in the island being a growing foreign population, perhaps they thought it best to just forget about the problem.

There is a word for this. It is called living in denial.

It is like being on the sinking Titanic and dancing the waltz. After all, if there is nothing you can do, why worry about it!

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


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Singaporeans cannot remove the PAP goverment

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A fact that Singaporeans should know by now. You cannot remove the Lee Kuan Yew PAP government through Parliamentary elections. You would be like the dog chasing its own tail. You can go to as many elections in as many 5 years you like, the Lee PAP government simply cannot be ousted. It does not matter whom you vote. Sadly change can only happen if you have a revolution or otherwise naturally when he dies through infighting and island wide disorder. But as far as your hopes go for change through parliamentary elections, don't hold your breath. It will not happen in 2016, or every five years after that. Why, because Lee Kuan Yew does not rule through the Parliament, he rules through the law or more plainly said, through his Kangaroo Courts.

This is how it is. First the plan. Lee's plan right from 1959 was that he  alone was good enough to run the island. Only he had the right ideas, no one else and by extension, his children, his relatives both distant and near are all in the equation. According to plan, he governed the island for as long as he could. When it became embarrassing for him before the world (he does not care what locals think) for staying too long, he steps down and appoints his son, who is now the Prime Minister. I suppose the plan is, if all goes well that is, for his son when he has had enough to give his place to his son, and so on ad infinitum.

To carry out the plan, he conjures up a mechanism. He decides that relying on a parliamentary democracy is too risky. What if they vote him out? That will never do. So he needs a system which will keep him in power despite the Constitution and Parliament. First he nationalizes all newspapers and outlaws the free press. This enables him to use it as his own publicity platform. Whenever he wants to warn Singaporeans about something, vilify his political opponents or threaten dissenters he has his state controlled press. On the other hand he can deny the opposition any coverage in the media whatsoever. Of course there is the Internet but that too has been threatened.

The only ones who can say it as it is, are blogs like this one from abroad. He can try to block it from being seen in Singapore but that is a measure that he has been unable or unwilling to do.

Second he needs a toothless Parliament, a rubber stamp, who without exception support him or are in fear of him. This he does through rigging the elections and purging it of real opposition. Any real political opposition is promptly sued for defamation or worse still jailed indefinitely. This sends a chill down the spine of mortal men who simply do not stand against him. The only ones who do well or better said, allowed to do well, are the likes of Workers Party leader Loh Thia Khiang who appears to be winning more and more seats. But of course Loh does nothing for the cause of his supporters who are made to believe that he is the genuine product.

In any case as it stands, Lee has the overwhelming majority in Parliament. He simply can pass any law anytime, never mind any Parliament. But even if, arguendo, the opposition were to gain even more seats, it still does not change anything. Lee does not rule Singapore because of any Parliament, he rules Singapore through the courts.

The island of Singapore has the distinct and disgraceful reputation of being run through the courts, not Parliament. Lee's reasoning goes like this. If he could get his judges to do anything he wants, he can use them as justification for any act however illegal by arguing that it was the court's judgment. And to do this, he relies on these disgraceful men and women judges who are no better than common prostitutes. A prostitute sells her body for money. Lee Kuan Yew's judges sell their souls and their judicial office for money, large amounts of money, which they get for carrying out Lee's orders. If he doesn't like a particular political opponent, such as the late JB Jeyaretnam, he sues him in his courts and gets these disgraceful men and women who call themselves judges to simply destroy him.

And to carry out these judges' orders he has his equally despicable police attack dogs to arrest anyone he does not like. And here too you find the scum of mankind, thoroughly shameless characters who will do whatever Lee wants of them.

With his judges and police force who are at his beck and call and the state controlled press to publish whatever he wants, what need does Lee have of his Parliament or a Constitution.

But even considering the possibility of even greater numbers of opposition politicians being elected, all he need to do is to produce trumped up charges on the necessary number of opponents to keep the number of his men in Parliament with the overwhelming majority that he needs.

Lee has worked out a system where heads he wins and tails you lose. His plan is to be there for himself and his family in perpetuity. He wants to run the place, come up with new ideas, new ways of doing things and all you the Singaporean has to do is to shut up and enjoy the ride while it is still good. And while he does all this, he will pay himself whatever he wants, which presently happens to be $3.7 million a year officially and unofficially even more and as for you, just shut up and be quiet. Afterall Lee knows best, and if you ever thought otherwise, watch out for his Kangaroo judges.

With the courts, the police and the newspapers and every other organ of power in the island firmly under his grip, what need does he have of such things as the Constitution or Parliament. With power like this, he can change anything he does not like and govern over you and your descendants for ever.

So don't be too excited about parliamentary elections. As Lee's government themselves once said, it is an occasion for Singaporeans to let off steam every 5 years. The opposition rallies, speeches, the shouting, the yelling and the cheering is just entertainment. Lee Kuan Yew is not worried about any of that. He has got it all worked out.

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

Monday, July 1, 2013

Singapore's authoritarianism impedes progress


Ladies and Gentlemen,

If there is one thing history has taught us from the Roman Empire to Chinese empires is this? Authoritarian societies always remain backward, while real democracies always advance. When the average citizen feels respected and his opinions count, is when the country surges ahead; while countries that treat their citizens as fools to be manipulated, are the ones who stay behind.

Nazi Germany was an exception. Although a dictatorship, it was able to mightily advance through violent oppression and repression. But history tells us that it would not last. In Nazi Germany's case their defeat in the war put an end to it. But otherwise, it would have petered away anyway. Such progress is merely ephemeral at best. It simply cannot last.

You see sustained progress in the countries that came out of the British Empire; USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. As for countries such as Nigeria and India which did not progress as well as the others, it has to be explained by their colonial overthrow of their masters. The new leaders of the colonies very often tried to retain the privileges and wealth that their former masters enjoyed. Rights such as freedom of speech, expression and the rule of law was compromised by greedy native leaders and the progress that should have come did not. On the other hand, countries such as the USA deliberately made sure that these rights are respected and safeguarded which accounts for their progress.

A society in which their people respect their civic institutions, a faith in the rule of law, a respect for free speech and expression and an understating that everyone has an equal opportunity as anyone else is crucial for a state's advancement.

Singapore lacks these qualities. In every sense the people have lost trust in their institutions. If the law can be openly abused to destroy political opponents such as JB Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan, it is impossible to respect the legal system in the island. If the government decides to control all news media in the island you can no longer trust the news you read; is it propaganda or real? If the news media is used as a platform to silence critics by publishing defamation cases and threats to charge people for contempt of court, it loses all credibility whatsoever. If ethnic Chinese are given preferential treatment for jobs and housing over other citizens, non-Chinese feel marginalized and abandoned. If the path to success is trumpeting the ruling party and groveling, the government appears partisan and not fair to all. In the end, the average citizen no longer trusts his government treating them no better than confidence tricksters.  

In such a society, there is no incentive to try to achieve because it is not the best man who succeeds but the man who is prepared to grovel and sing praises. In such a society one is busier trying to please, not trying to invent and improvise.

The citizen feels ashamed of himself having to grovel and sing praises, just to advance. For example, Davinder Singh is a highly successful lawyer in the island, for the main reason of having represented Lee Kuan Yew in pursuing defamation cases which he has always won, not because he is an excellent lawyer but because its courts are Kangaroo Courts. The judges would have gave him judgment even before he stepped into the courtroom. Despite his success only in Singapore island thanks to his client Lee Kuan Yew, I am not sure how comfortable he would be among the Singapore public who would consider him no better than an outright ass kisser, devoid of any scruples whatsoever.

Such a society impedes progress. Large swathes of citizens are repulsed by such men and either simply withdraw from co-operation or even leave the country entirely. Losing such talent especially in a tiny island such as Singapore with no more than 2.5 million locals and fast declining is surely causing tremendous harm to the nation.

And the claim repeatedly put out by Lee Kuan Yew and his friends at the top that Singapore is a meritocracy is like saying North Korea is the most democratic country on earth. JB Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan were impoverished and reduced to make a living selling books that they themselves wrote on the streets of Singapore for having dared to challenge Lee Kuan Yew and his son openly. The former was once a top flight litigator and the latter a brilliant neuro-psychology professor. If there is meritocracy, why were they reduced to this, not to mention the other thousands of victims known and unknown?

In the USA and the other developed countries, every citizen has respect for their system of government. You may not like what is going on but least you do not fear being arrested and thrown in jail for your opposition. There is rule of law and the basic human rights are treasured and protected. I would feel safe in a society such as that. I would be willing to give my best knowing that success does not require the tailoring of my thought process to conform to that of the government. I can safely be who I am and not lose hope. In Singapore I would have to be a chameleon. Think something but do another, all to make sure that I am still on the right side of Lee Kuan Yew and his powerful friends. It is not a life that one would willingly choose unless you are a Davinder Singh, Lee Kuan Yew's defamation lawyer.

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