Singapore Law Minister repeats his warning to foreigners. I will summarily deport you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

After complaints from some quarters against the news that Singapore has begun summarily deporting Indian citizens without giving them their day in court on charges that they are a threat to Singapore's security, yesterday the Law Minister through his press secretary has repeated that ominous charge,

In essence he says "You will be summarily deported without due process".

Please see the report of one of Singapore's state owned news agencies Straits Times report of Dec 22, 2013 titled "Law allows Minister to decide who is deported" http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/sunday/breaking-news/singapore/story/law-allows-minister-decide-who-deported-20131222

I had written day before yesterday in this blog why the arbitrary and summary deportations of foreign citizens within Singapore is a violation of natural justice and an attack on one's conscience and decency.

Foreigners who are given the right to work and live in Singapore are entitled to the same rights as citizens according to Amnesty International which has criticized the injustice.

Please see Dec 18, 2013 report of Amnesty International titled "Singapore must give fair hearing to migrants facing deportation over riot" https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/singapore-2013-12-18

In the report Isabelle Arradon, Amnest Interantional's Director says

"It's important to remember that migrant workers face various forms of discrimination in Singapore. They are not afforded the same legal protection as nationals, and many work in very poor conditions,"

"The principle of non-discrimination and the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association are afforded to citizens only in Singapore’s Constitution. Thus, migrant workers are effectively excluded from these provisions."

Treating foreign workers who are lawfully in the country this way shows Singapore in a very bad light and reflects the poor character of the government in power.

It shows a government who could care less about such things as human rights in their country and shows a complete disregard of what the world thinks of them, no better than Nazi Germany, reminiscent of the horrifying summary deportations of Jews and Gypsies.

Already the island's tiny native population which is actually no larger that a mere 2 million today, continues to shrink at an alarming rate, especially in an area where it is needed the most, the brain drain of the best and brightest, that leave in droves annually for permanent settlement in Australia and the West.

There is no doubt that the vast majority of young men and women, the top of their classes who leave do so primarily because of these disgraceful human rights abuses carried out both to their fellow citizens as well as foreigners.

And these are the very ones the tiny island with a tiny population needs the most.

In addition the island's native population continues to decline with the world's lowest fertility rate, not to mention a large aging population.

This scenario is not something any country can withstand, let alone a tiny one like this.

By a strange quirk of circumstance this abuse of power turns out to the advantage of those wanting to see the end of the one party police state.

This disgraceful ill-treatment of foreigners in the island actually turns out to be another valid reason for educated decent Singaporeans to emigrate to the West, another body blow to the regime.

The island is turning into, if it not already has, into a Nazi Germany or a Mussolini's Italy. It is a police state where you could be picked up and interrogated completely at the whim of the authorities.

And especially if you happen to be a known critic, you stand no chance at all.

No decent right thinking human being would want to be associated with a country that has a total disregard to international norms of decency and respect for civil liberties.

This sort of arrogance may work in Putin's Russia for some time as it has millions of people and a few disgruntled citizens will not turn into an instant revolution.

But Singapore is different. It is a tiny overcrowded island no more than 720 square meters, and although it has 5 million people, no more than 2 million are native born.

What should be more troubling for Lee Kuan Yew and his son is the fact that unlike Putin's Russia, the islanders speak English making emigration to the West far easier.

And then we have the major game changer looming in the very near horizon. Lee Kuan Yew 90 and gravely ill is going to die any minute. For an island that is almost synonymous to his name, his sudden demise may also be that of the island itself.

While Lee Kuan Yew shoots himself in the foot by these harebrained abuse of foreigner's rights, even more young Singaporeans would leave for Australia which by the way is a country that does not summarily deport foreign nationals; which for a Singaporean by birth like me wanting to see the back of this one party police state both encouraging and gratifying.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com