Singaporean young man of Indian descent claims false arrest, abuse of police powers and denial of civil rights

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I received a telephone call from a woman who claimed to be the mother of a young Singaporean who she claims was falsely arrested for making a telephone hoax or threats to a Singapore government agency, tortured and his human rights violated.

I cannot vouch for the veracity of the claims he makes because I do not know them or am I privy to any of the claims herein.

The mother who telephoned me from Singapore had requested that I post this on this blog. She said she is fully aware of the possible backlash to her son from the authorities by doing this but wants it done anyway.

In compliance I am attaching the Email I received from them. The young man in question is a young Singaporean Indian named Vickreman H Chettiar

The Singapore Court Case Number and the Police Report Number are DAC 28930/13 (SPF Report No. J/20130722/0263)

Gopalan Nair
Fremont, California USA

 Jan 29 at 9:09 AM

01. Vickreman was prematurely born in 1990, after a gestation period of just 38 weeks, to Singaporean clerk and an Indian veterinarian. His father, an Indian national, was unable to be in Singapore at the time of his birth, but managed to visit him in 1993 for a period of about 2 weeks. Vickreman's father divorced his mother in 1997, and thereafter could not afford to visit him or make child support payments for his upkeep.

02. Vickreman attended Primary 1 at Blangah Rise Primary School in 1997, where he was viciously bullied by a group of Malay boys of varying ages. Blangah Rise was the only school at which he remained for a whole year. Vickreman attended six other primary schools, and was bullied in each school due to being different in a way which no one understood. He remained in each school for less than six months, and was finally forced due to being bullied to drop out of school in the middle of Primary 5, and was unable to complete his primary education. He never sat for the Primary School Leaving Examination.

03. During his teenage years, Vickreman both studied on his own and attended adult education classes conducted by the Institute of Technical Education, and sat for and obtained passes in three GCE 'O'-level subjects as a private candidate.

04. In 2007, he was brought by his mother due to depression to the Institute of Mental Health, where he was diagnosed by Dr Chua Tze-Ern with: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, Clinical Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Tourette's Syndrome.

05. He was subsequently exempted by Dr Jared Ho from National Service due to autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

06. On Friday 26 July 2013, at around 4:00pm, Vickreman was arrested at home by the police. During the course of his arrest, the police conducted a search of the apartment; which included the tearing of holes in Vickreman's bed, and the breaking of various appliances and furniture around the house. The arresting officer, SSSgt Ramesh Shangkaran, seized several of Vickreman's possessions, including: both of Vickreman's computers and his mobile-phone, his USB 2.0 flash drives, his handwritten personal journal, a black pouch, several items of stationery, an EZ-link card, $20 in cash, and even Vickreman's 5mm kidney stone!

07. Vickreman was charged on Saturday 27 July 2013, in Subordinate Court 26, under Section 8(1) of the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations Act, with allegedly transmitting an electronic message containing false information regarding a terror threat to the police. The District Judge, at the police's request, remanded Vickreman to police custody for a period of one week; but the length of the remand period was not made known to Vickreman, who was instead given to infer that he may be being detained for a period of one year under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act.

08. During the one-week period of remand in police custody, Vickreman was housed in Cell C17 in Jurong Police Divisional Headquarters. He was provided only meager amounts of food, made to shower in ice-cold water, and denied visitation and even pain medication. He developed a high fever, and suffered head and body aches, but was denied medical treatment. He was also not given the midday meal during two of the seven days, on account of fasting during the Muslim month of Ramadan, although Vickreman is from a Hindu family background, and has never practiced or adhered to any of the tenets of Islam.

09. At the end of the week in police custody, on Friday 2 August 2013, Vickreman was brought back to Subordinate Court 26, where District Judge Kessler Soh Boon Leng, at the prosecutor's request, remanded Vickreman for a period of two weeks to the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric evaluation. During the two-week period of remand in the non-air-conditioned Remand Ward 75A at IMH, Vickreman suffered the ill-effects of heat and insufficient ventilation, which induced insomnia, but was denied barbiturate medication. He was also issued clothing which was two sizes too small for him, and due to severe constriction caused by the tightness of the clothing, he suffered deep venuous thrombosis, which caused severe pain and muscle atrophy.

10. At the end of the period of remand at IMH, Vickreman was brought back to Subordinate Court 26 on Friday 16 August 2013, and was granted bail, which was set at fifteen thousand dollars. His mother bailed him out on the same day, and took him to Alexandra Hospital, where he received treatment as an outpatient for a knee injury which he sustained earlier in the day, while he was locked up in the courthouse basement.

11. Vickreman's personal journal, which he refers to as his Blue Logbook, constitutes an irreplaceable written record of 51 months of his life, and is of significant emotional value to him. And being a handwritten paper document, the Blue Logbook would have little, if any, relevance to the investigation of an electronic crime.

12. The data contained in Vickreman's Windows computer and his USB 2.0 flash drives constitutes 45 months of his intellectual and artistic endeavors, comprising up to five thousand hours of creative labor, and represents an enormous corpus of work, which is of great intellectual and emotional value and utility to Vickreman.

13. At each of the six Pre-Trial Conferences held up to the present, Vickreman's attorney requested the judge to order the return of all or at least some of Vickreman's seized items, but the judge has consistently refused to order the return of any of the seized items. Furthermore, at the third Pre-Trial Conference on Tuesday 5 November 2013, the prosecutor alleged that Vickreman had transmitted a second message to the police, on or around Sunday 27 October 2013, due to which the prosecutor indicated his desire to seek forfeiture of all of Vickreman's seized items under Section 364 of the Penal Code, although Vickreman has neither been convicted of the current charge, nor been charged with transmitting the alleged second message.

14. It would be illogical for Vickreman to have transmitted the alleged (second) message to the police, as in so doing he would have borne the risk of the revocation of his bail and consequent remand to the Changi Prison Complex. And since the time of his arrest, both of Vickreman's computers and his mobile-phone have remained in police custody, which is where they continued to be on Sunday 27 October 2013.

15. The police have cloned all of the data on both Vickreman's Windows and his Linux computers, his USB 2.0 flash drives, and his mobile-phone; thereby obviating the need for them to retain any of these items for further investigation of an electronic crime which by its nature does not involve any physical evidence. The police are unwilling to give Vickreman even a cloned copy of the data on his Windows computer and flash drives!

16. Due to having been denied access to his invaluable data for the past twenty-seven weeks, Vickreman has been unable to continue with his usual intellectual endeavors, which include; mechanical engineering, hardware modelling, linux open-source software packaging, and printed circuit board design; and has consequently sunk into a severe bout of depression.

17. The day after Vickreman was arrested, just after he was charged in court, SSSgt Ramesh Shangkaran (who was at that point in time still the Senior Investigation Officer), no longer wishing to handle the case, transferred the case to ASP Lim Luo Ren, who then became the Senior Investigation Officer for the case.

18. On the day of his arrest, Vickreman weighed around eighty-eight kilograms. Eight days later, when he was brought to the Institute of Mental Health, his weight was measured to be just eighty kilograms. The meager amount of food provided for each meal in police custody constituted no more than a quarter of Vickreman's regular food intake, and would be sufficient to satiate only the most diminutive of persons!

19. Vickreman's attorney wrote to the Institute of Mental Health, during his two weeks of remand there, to ask that Vickreman be given the option to request pain relief or treatment for his ailments. Vickreman was duly given said option, and when he exercised it by requesting pain relief, he request was denied!

20. Each morning in police custody, Vickreman was made to shower in ice-cold water in full view (as he was not permitted to close the cubicle door) of several male and female police officers who derided him and made jokes at his expense, then (as no towel was provided) had to first stand then squat naked on the bathroom floor for up to an hour while brushing his teeth and waiting for his skin to dry, only after which he was allowed to get dressed in the remand uniform which consisted of a threadbare white t-shirt and torn blue shorts. Several times each day, a few police officers would enter Vickreman's cell, order him to stand with both hands against the wall, and search him by pulling his t-shirt up and his shorts down, and would sometimes also probe his genitalia and anorectal cavity.

21. Sanitation in the jail-cell consists of a squat-toilet equipped with a bidet embedded in the wall, and a faucet embedded about three feet above the bidet in the same wall. The bidet spouts ice-cold water for the washing of the posterior, and the faucet dispenses equally cold water for drinking and the washing of hands. Neither toilet tissue (for wiping the posterior after defecation) nor any form of soap (for sanitizing of hands) is available. The entire floor of the jail-cell (including the area around the squat-toilet) is very smooth and provides little friction; wherein even a small amount of moisture can cause the accused individual to slip, fall and sustain (potentially deadly) injury.

22. Although Vickreman slipped and fell several times on the jail-cell floor, he fortunately did not suffer any injury more serious than blood clots and bruises. The squat-toilet is located at a corner of the rear wall of the jail-cell, and the side walls of the latter are plain and featureless. The door and front wall of the jail-cell are both made of iron beams and strong, transparent glass; which affords any passing police officer a full view of the jail-cell's complete interior. Affixed to the jail-cell's ceiling are two powerful fluorescent lights, which continuously remain turned on all through the day and night, thereby preventing the accused individual from sleeping soundly during the night.

23. The accused individual is made to sleep on the jail-cell's bare floor ( which is cold to the touch in large part due to the police station being heavily air-conditioned), with no form of bedding whatsoever; neither a mattress nor even a straw-mat to lie on, nor even a pillow upon which to rest the head. Due to sleeping on the cold floor during his week in remand in police custody, Vickreman suffered rigors and body aches. The hardness of the jail-cell floor caused Vickreman to develop chronic neck, shoulder and upper back pains, with which conditions he continues to be afflicted to this day.

24. The police's continued retention of Vickreman's Windows computer, USB 2.0 flash drives and Blue Logbook is an enduring act of injustice; and their refusal to even provide provide Vickreman with a cloned copy of the data contained on his Windows computer and USB 2.0 flash drives is an act of sadistic cruelty.

25. Their continued retentiom of the miscellaneous items (i.e. the black pouch, EZ-link card, $20 cash, stationery items and 5mm kidney stone) for further investigation is an act of astounding absurdity!

Singapore's fast approaching 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew's demise and the end of Singapore

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has been reported lately that the already gravely ill 90 year old Singapore strongman is now almost half dead if not entirely. It does not take any intelligence to understand that he will go very soon. It has been reported that he has had two strokes lately and is greatly emaciated and has not been seen in public for some time.

The question that Singaporeans in their HDB government owned highly priced apartments overly inflated through government sponsored misinformation through their state controlled press, and the foreign investors who have been responsible for the housing and economic bubble is, what happens next.

Remember the island economy is very fragile dependent almost entirely on financial services most foreign owned.

If I was to advice Singaporeans, this is what I will say. The wisest thing for you to do now is to liquidate your assets in the island in haste, sell your HDB flat, take your assets out and transfer it into any other stable foreign currencies. If possible move abroad for settlement with your family. As each day passes the danger of a total economic collapse increases.

When that fateful day comes, which it will and very soon, you don't want to be the one holding the baby.

As for foreign investors who have assets in Singapore, the best thing to do now is to sell and move abroad without any further delay.

I expect once Lee Kuan Yew dies, the island economy will collapse. His son whom he had placed as Prime Minister does not command any respect either from the locals or the international community.

They look at him as nothing more than his father's son. If he has managed to rule this long, it is only because his father is still alive; not on account of his credibility. He lacks the experience or the stature of his father, not even one tenth.

He hasn't had to fight the British, the Communists or anyone else. In fact he hasn't had to fight anyone, not even political opponents. By the time he became Prime Minister the people of the island were so completely subjugated and enslaved, they were, as they are now, incapable of complaining about anything.

Furthermore, Singapore island does not have an established practice and procedure of government. The Constitution no longer controls since Lee Kuan Yew had completely done away with it.

There are no longer the rule of law, free and fair elections, or a free press. For 50 years Lee Kuan Yew has ruled by dictate alone. It was a system where he decided whatever should be done and the people just obeyed.

And with his son being appointed Prime Minister the system of government continued the same. He published whatever new rules he decides in the state controlled press and the people blindly obeyed, as they did with his father. 

The question when Lee Kuan Yew will die next week or the week after is, what happens next. Since there is no longer any established Constitution to decide on the type of government, is his son simply going to do what ever he wants even after his father's death? This I am not sure.

If Singaporeans were content to merely obey whatever Lee Kuan Yew throws at them, it is because it was Lee Kuan Yew and not some one else. Once he dies it is highly in doubt whether Singaporeans would be prepared to blindly obey the son.

When that day happens, I expect a sudden instability in the politics and a sudden drop in the economy. Singaporeans will then begin to question the government even more. If you did not see street protests before, you are going to see it now.

Lee's son may try to deploy the army to restore order, but it will only backfire and precipitate a total collapse. Singaporeans will flee the island and there will be no one left.

The already massive brain drain to Australia will become a flood, leaving behind only those can't. The ones remaining will be the noodle seller and the Chinese organ grinder.

The opposition politicians, if you call them that, are going to jockey for control. Problem is, since there are no real leaders to speak of, since every single government minister is merely a handpicked minion for Lee Kuan Yew, not one of them will command any authority as Ministers.

For instance I have no respect for Teo Chee Hean the Deputy Prime Minister now and neither will I have any respect for him after Lee goes. I consider him as well as every other Lee Kuan Yew Minister as nothing but a minion who does the job just because it enriches them.

I wonder where they will be when the island economy collapses. I have grave doubts whether they would even remain within Singapore.

When Lee Kuan Yew dies there is going to be a total collapse of the economy. The Singapore dollar will lose all value. Your HDB flats will be worth nothing. If you had any investments, they too would be worth nothing. Foreign companies who have invested in Singapore would lose all value in Singapore dollars. The only ones who are safe are those with assets in foreign currency.

Perhaps after some time, the situation may stabilize or perhaps it may not. It is a very small economy  with almost all it's economy dependent on foreign investment. The government has tried to re-assure people by saying it has large reserves. I wonder what the deserves can do in such a case. Foreigners will naturally abandon the island first.

I strongly advice Singaporeans and foreign investors to sell now and clear out before it is all lost. HDB flats owners, who mostly have no other assets other than their government owned flats, are going to be hardest hit when their entire savings would evaporates into thin air. The writing of gloom is on the wall. It is wise for you to see it.

If there is one biggest mistake or a criminal act Lee Kuan Yew has made, it is this. His failure to put in place a system of government to ensure a smooth transition at times such as this. And his biggest crime was the dismantling of the Singapore Constitution.

Perhaps I am painting an unduly gloomy picture. But whether it is or no, is it a risk you are prepared to take?

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

Singapore's Anton Casey case. Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The screaming headline news daily on the state owned newspapers of Singapore has been the Anton Casey saga. Casey, a 39 year old wealthy English fund manager, working for Crossinvest, an investment firm, and a permanent resident of Singapore island had made some rude comments about Singaporeans in his Facebook page.

With a picture of his 5 year old son in a city subway train, it had the caption which read "Daddy where is your car. Who are all these poor people". In a similar unflattering vein he had made several more uncouth remarks. 

For a background see the Independent report http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/anton-casey-fired-and-flees-singapore-in-economy-class-over-poor-people-comments-9088199.html

There is no doubt that Casey had made an unwise decision by insulting Singaporeans. There is no doubt it was wrong. But even so, he is an Englishman.

England is a proud democracy and it is expected of a man to have an independent mind, although it is polite not to offend others.

And the right to say one's mind is an accepted right recognized even by those who may disagree, because if you only want to hear what you consider nice, then you are controlling thought, which is something done only in the pages of Orwell's 1984 and present day North Korea.

Now let us turn to Singaporeans reactions. Hundreds if not thousands, even hundreds of thousands almost in unison, began lambasting Casey.

You can see the flood of these attacks that have been pouring in ever since Casey began his insults in the form of blogs, telephone calls, videos and even death threats.

Even the island's Minister for Law, a Tamil Singaporean ass-licker of the ruling Chinese Lee family weighed in on the attack describing what Casey had done as unacceptable.

Even the foreign press, mainly British, clearly not understating fully what Singapore is, which is nothing better than a Lee family dictatorship, a one party police state with no rule of law and with it's citizens living daily in fear of their government, has been reporting on the apparent overwhelming hatred towards Casey in the island republic.

Although this may come as a shock to many, let me make this clear. Compared to the average Singaporean who lives under the Lee dictatorship, Casey is a far better human being.

For want of a better choice, if asked to choose, I would walk with Casey anytime rather than Lee Kuan Yew's Singaporeans. This is what I think of the Singaporeans who have chosen to remain in the island.

You can see, it is true, a massive island wide outrage against Casey for what he has said. But do you know that Lee Kuan Yew, his son, and all his ministers, including the aforementioned Tamil minister who dances to his master's tune are all corrupt who pay themselves no less than $3.7 million a year of tax payers money which they call salary.

This is corruption, plain for all to see. This is an matter far more important than whatever Anton Casey had said, an issue which goes direct to their rights as citizens, simply open unashamed corruption by their leaders on a massive scale which would even outdo Mobutu of the Congo who stole the diamonds hands down. Yet no Singaporean has ever dared to write blogs and make videos attacking the Singaporean dictators of corruption, let alone making death threats against Lee Kuan Yew and his son.

They seem strangely oblivious to it, and appear very comfortable in permitting their leaders to be as corrupt as they want. Strangely there is no public outrage against the corruption, like the island wide indignation to what Casey had said, even though whatever has been said by Casey in no way measures up to Lee's simply stealing the money.

Second, do you know that Singapore clearly violates their own constitution by denying a free press, by criminalizing free speech, expression and assembly and where the police can simply do anything they want and get any conviction they want in their Kangaroo Courts because there is no independent judiciary or rule of law.

Yet we do not see hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans writing blogs, making videos and sending death threats to Lee Kuan Yew and son demanding democracy and the rule of law. Strangely here too Singaporeans seem to have no complaint whatsoever.

Yet when a foreigner, albeit a permanent resident like Casey saw it fit to call them retards, they seem  outraged almost in unison, en masse, as if under the conductor's baton in a symphony, or as if they are all fired up in battle, and ready to charge with fixed bayonets.

Why is this so? If you did not already know, it is so because Singaporeans are like dogs in a pack.

They will simply follow their leader only when it is safe and their victim is helpless.

In this matter, Casey is an easy target. He is a foreigner, with no clout in the island.

Attacking him is unlikely to result in any danger  to these cowardly Singaporeans who are so quick to throw stones.

This is the behavior of a coward. It is a coward who attacks only if it is safe, and pretend as if everything is fine when there is even the slightest risk.

Against Lee Kuan Yew and his dictatorship, the average Singaporean simply dare not raise even a whimper, let alone attack, simply because if they do, there may be trouble.

On the other hand, Casey may have some unacceptable views about the people in whose country he lives. But at least he has balls.

He had the courage to say it like it is. Unlike him Singaporeans have no balls. They are just cowardly opportunists who work like dogs in a pack. They will complain only when it safe in Lee Kuan Yew's island. Otherwise they have nothing to say.

Although I find the average Singaporean a disgraceful coward, with an incapacity for independent thinking, I have to admit not all Singaporeans are so. Those who have some courage or the ability to think independently and are not mindless conformists have already left the island and are living in Australia and the West.

They do not want to live in a dictatorship peopled by a population which is only capable of a pack mentality. And as we speak even more are departing the island for the West leaving only such weak spirited characters who conveniently work themselves into a frenzy only when it is safe, as these remaining in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore island.

Once again if I had to choose to walk with Casey or the average brain dead Singaporean, I would choose Casey anytime. At least he is more interesting than the average single minded boring person you find walking the streets in Lee Kuan Yew's concrete jungle. And please feel free to quote me if you want.

By the way, don't bother sending me any death threats. It wouldn't bother me in the least. And as for Lee Kuan Yew's cyber brigade who would now be sending me a barrage of hate mail, you would be wasting your time. I will delete them.

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

Video. Singapore's horrible schools. No child should have to undergo this.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In a report in Singapore state owned newspaper the Straits Times of Jan 22, 2014 titled "Gone viral: Video of student shouting at teacher and demanding an apology" a boy, who appears probably no more than 12 is seen in his classroom walking around and when asked to sit down, yells at his teacher, asking him if he thought he was deaf and in brazen disrespect and defiance refuses to sit even after the teacher apologized.

Please see the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTAPUPmEFzs

You see yelling in the classroom. The teacher yells at the top of his voice to the boy, not a very dignified thing to do especially for a teacher. In return you have this boy acting no better than a thug.

And if that is not bad enough, the reader would be surprised to be told that the language being used is actually English! If this is English, I wonder what Mongolian would sound like!

And if Lee Kuan Yew and his son who run the country as if it was theirs are going around the world claiming that theirs is the best education system in the world, they should be criminally charged for criminal misrepresentation  under the Penal Code.

I will tell you why it is so bad in that island. Firstly, you don't have democracy. Lee Kuan Yew and son strut around the island threatening everyone with arrest and imprisonment if they don't submit. The parents are afraid of their government. This particular teacher is also afraid of his government, like everyone else there is. The children are told to be submissive and obey.

It is not a spontaneous society. It is a fear ridden society. It is a regimented society, like North Korea where everyone is careful what they say and when they say it.

You can imagine, under such repression and regimentation, there are a handful, such as in this case who rebel and hit back. It is not common but it does happen. And this is what is happening here. Singaporeans are by nature a selfish people. They are not gracious. They have no class relative to an Australian, an Englishman or a European. This teacher himself has no class, nor the child's parents and most important of all Lee Kuan Yew and son. This is unfortunately the sort of people who inhabit the island. Anyone who had some class had already cleared out and lives in Australia.

And one reason why this teacher who can hardly speak any intelligible English is still employed in the island is because anyone who can has already emigrated to the West, leaving teachers like him to teach young children.

You have an island with third rate teachers such as this and a population with no social graces whatsoever. This boy and this teacher are not the exception in Lee Kuan Yew's island; they are the norm.

Once again, I say to anyone reading this. You want your children to grow up in a society where there is not only book learning but in a place where they can grow up as thinking and as gracious human beings. Singapore is not such a place. If you can, take your children and emigrate to the civilized world.

And I can correctly predict the sequel to this episode. Lee Kuan Yew and Son will be shocked and alarmed that young children are becoming emboldened. He does not want emboldened children because emboldened children would grow up emboldened adults and threaten his rule. This will not do. Therefore either the Lee's son himself or their minions would be calling upon this boy and his parents. A necessary entry will be made into the dossier of the parent and this child and marked "unruly" or whatever the correct designation for this.

From now on the parents would be under surveillance and the target of any necessary reprisals or punishment as they think fit in the Singaporean sense.

Big Brother will be watching them.

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

Video. "I am not proud of my country" says young bright Singapore woman, leaves for Australia.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A young Singapore woman tells you what's wrong with Singapore run by Lee Kuan Yew and Son and why she is leaving for good to Australia. Please see video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydANJ5qLHG4

She describes Singapore  as a boring uninteresting robotic island, where everyone does as they are told and devoid of any creativity whatsoever.

This fortunate young woman is not the typical Singaporean because she had the good fortune of being brought up not in Singapore but in Australia and Taiwan, where people don't go about their lives as robots as they do in Singapore.

The average Singaporean is incapable of articulating her thoughts as this young woman can or even capable of thinking independently as she does.

A Singaporean is one like she describes who is incapable of expressing any independent opinion through fear of non compliance with the prevailing viewpoint at any one time, since any deviant viewpoint that was not expected may result in serious disadvantages; loss of career advancement, ostracizing by the majority, subjected to ridicule and contempt and even arrest.

Unlike Singaporeans of her age who are nothing but robots, she is, as you can see, a normal young woman as you would find in any other free democracy like Australia, US or Canada.

To young Singaporeans and their parents who read this post, my advice to you is to get out and leave for the West. The good roads and infra structure that you see in Singapore is good; but what is much more important is the need to grow up a normal thinking human being. This is something Singapore is incapable of providing.

Parents, you will be doing your children great harm by raising them in the Singaporean fear ridden environment. Most often sending them abroad after they are gown is usually too late. Too often, irreparable harm to their minds has already been done, leaving them incapable of competing with their peers who had the opportunity of living freely, without fear.

A Singaporean child is consumed daily with fear; fear of their parents, fear of failure, fear of their teachers, fear of not being recognized, fear of being left behind, fear fear and fear.

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

"Why Singapore's economy is heading for an Iceland style meltdown" writes Jesse Colombo in Forbes Magazine 1/13/2014

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If you thought that Singapore will continue to ride the waves, to borrow a phrase from the British Empire, I am sorry to dampen your spirits.

I want to refer you to an article in Forbes Magazine of 1/13/2014 which has this very foreboding title "Why Singapore's economy is heading for an Iceland Style meltdown".

It says "In 2007, Iceland was celebrated for attaining the world’s highest standard of living according to the U.N.’s annual Human Development Index report. In less than a generation, the tiny North Atlantic island had transformed from a traditional fishing and tourism-based economic backwater into a finance and banking powerhouse, rocketing the country’s wealth and living standards to enviable new heights. Sadly, Iceland’s economic boom was an illusion based on a reckless credit and asset bubble that led to a terrifying financial crisis when it popped in 2008."

Please see http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessecolombo/2014/01/13/why-singapores-economy-is-heading-for-an-iceland-style-meltdown/

The article compares the Iceland Bubble to what will happen to Singapore which it says is very similar in it's characteristics. Singapore he says is populated extensively by opportunists, speculators and profiteers who are stoking the frenzy in property prices which has gone through the roof, far ahead of it's real worth. He then says that the neighboring Asean countries from which most of this money comes are themselves over invested and themselves in bubble economies and are themselves unstable. When their bubbles pop, which he believes will inevitably happen sooner than later, so will be the Singaporean one.

He says the property market in Singapore is itself over-extended with far too many properties with even more properties in the pipe line. This, according to him, will result in an oversupply of properties which will result in a collapse of the real estate market and will itself extend to the rest of the economy.

He also refers to the huge borrowing of Singaporeans to finance their property purchases which can amount to as much as 60% of their income, not for using it as dwellings but purely for speculation. This unrelenting upward push of property prices by gamblers in the assumption that it will always be Charlie Boomtown, in an island no bigger than 710 sq. km, with nothing there  is simply suicidal.

If you thought about it, Singapore is just a lot of hype and hot air with very little substance. It is simply a place where profiteers and speculators come to make a fast buck. Thanks to the never ending hype and glitter put out by the government state owned media, of course from the outside it seems glamorous. Other than offshore banking and money laundering which has attracted all the world's finance executives to Singapore to service the illegal assets of Colombian and Burmese drug lords, the ever expanding building construction sector and tourism, there is nothing else besides.

With a foundation as hollow as that, it cannot expect to continue economic expansion indefinitely. The bubble has to burst and burst it will, leaving your property worthless.

In my earlier post of  "Singapore's property bubble; cause for alarm. HDB property owners beware" of Dec 23, 2013, I had said Singapore's HDB (government housing) lessees should beware of their properties becoming worthless and should sell now before it is too late. Especially since 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew is about to die and the island will suffer serious instability as a result.

This Forbes Magazine report on Singapore's false economy confirms my prediction of things to come. And it is not going to look nice.

I am not an economist, as I am a lawyer, and cannot say with any authority about these things. But you don't need to be one to see how bad it is. Huge numbers of young men walking around during lunchtime in shirtsleeves and neckties in downtown Singapore island and pushing pens in offshore banks cannot really support all this glitter and glass. It should be obvious to anyone with eyes.

Once again, clear out now when you can. Sell your HDB flat and clear out before it is too late.

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

Tiny Singapore island struggles with increasing numbers of Singaporeans refusing to serve National Service

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Not a day passes without Singapore Dissident getting an Email from a young Singaporean abroad asking what happens if he does not return to serve national service.

If the frequency with which I am receiving these inquiries is anything to go by, Lee Kuan Yew and Son's Singapore government is having a hard time to convince their young men to do their duty to the island.

The problem that Singapore faces should be obvious.

Remember, it is an island no larger that 710 sq. km with a population of a mere 5 million of which just a mere 2 million or so are native born Singaporeans by which I mean they were born in Singapore and their parents were either born there or immigrated long ago before 1940s. Just as in my case, I was born there and my parents immigrated from India in the 1920s and 30s.

The problem is, Singapore is a pariah state among the proud democracies of the world. It is simply a one party state dictatorship. It has lost it's respect and credibility.

If a young Singaporean man is subjected to a regime that allows their leaders to get away with $3.7 million a year each in salary, better described as corruption; if they punish anyone from pointing this out through defamation actions and jail time; if they criminalize free speech expression and assembly; if you have to live in that island like a zombie; and then he goes to Australia and realizes that he can live like any other human being for the for the first time in his life, there is every reason he won't come back. It only stands to reason. This precisely is the problem that Lee Kuan Yew and his son face in the island which they rule.

Although these facts are not reported in their state controlled newspapers for obvious reasons; since they are bad news after all; it must be quite apparent to anyone that the island is now in a predicament from which they simply have no answers.

They have no answer as to what to do to persuade their young men who have left to the island to return for national service. They have no answer to the continuing decline in the birth rate among native Singaporeans, especially alarming in the light of their having no more than 2 million native Singaporeans. They have no answer to the huge rate of emigration to the west, the brain drain, the highest in the world, by educated Singaporeans who no longer wish to live under this repressive authoritarian regime. And they have no answer to the lowest fertility rate in the world, which literally means the local population is slowly disappearing.

The answer the state has which is really no answer at all is to simply import huge numbers of Chinese from China, people who do not speak or understand any English into Singapore to replace those leaving and the young men refusing to return.

Anyone can see that this is no answer at all. Firstly these Chinese imports are useless for modern Singapore because they have no English, none at all. Secondly they hardly citizen material, all of whom are there temporarily because it is a little better than in their home country China for the moment. If things get better they will return. From the numbers who have returned their Singapore passports for their Chinese one, they have obviously no interest in sinking roots in the island, a place for which they have no respect.

With these Chinese nationals given instant Singapore citizenship, it is like a revolving door. As some come in others leave.

As for the need for English speakers, the government turns in desperation to India and the Philippines with reluctance. Some numbers of Indians and Filipinos are admitted to citizenship in the hope that they will simply do their work and not venture in to political matters to oust the island's dictators like they would have done in the Philippines or Tamil Nadu, India.

Here is my advice to the young men who have been writing to me from Australia and refusing to serve Lee Kuan Yew and son's armed forces. As long as you remain outside Singapore, there is nothing they can do. If you return, and the government is still the same, you are liable to arrest and imprisonment. There is really no great hardship in this. Just don't go back to Singapore. Just tell them, good riddance, that's all. You can travel to anywhere else in the world you like.

This is a recurring question I get. If your parents are still in Singapore, nothing is going to happen to them. If they do get any letters from the Singapore Armed Forces, just ask them to toss it into the bin, where it belongs.

And give all your friends who are refusing to return to serve the military the same advice.

The Singapore government is simply in denial in refusing to acknowledge the fact that their national service policy is simply dead, kaput. Young men who are overseas simply do not want to return. And the numbers of young men in Singapore liable for national service is simply disappearing for 2 reasons, firstly they are all trying to get out before the have to serve the army; and secondly their numbers are diminishing even further with an almost zero birth rate.

Any contact with a soldier in the island will reveal that the barracks are all empty and they are having difficulties even finding sufficient numbers to fill the basic minimum for national security. As the whole concept of national service has in fact failed, which they realize, they are now seriously considering the re introduction of a regular army and even that may face problems for the very reasons mentioned.

Finally young Singaporeans  in Australia and abroad reading this post should have no fear. There is nothing they could do to you to compel your return. There is no possibility of extradition. If they send letters threatening you,  they are simply desperate. Simply throw those letters away and just ignore them.

And good luck to you in your life of freedom in Australia and the West.

I am writing this blog from my office in Fremont, California USA. If I wrote this from within Singapore I would have been instantly arrested and thrown in jail. As you can see, there is simply nothing they can do to you if you are outside their jurisdiction. Remember, by your refusing to return to Singapore, you are by your very action attacking the one party Lee Kuan Yew and Son regime, a one party totalitarian city state, which is an act of protest by itself.

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

Singapore's worst thieves, the Lee Kuan Yew family

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is no secret today that Lee Kuan Yew, the Singaporean ruler pays himself $3.7 million (or such similar figure) each year even though in his case he does nothing for it, 90 years old and in a wheelchair. In any case there is no doubt that he , as well as his entire family, including his son whom he appointed Prime Minister, are all the highest paid politicians in the world.

And this is in a tiny island not more that 710 square meters, with a population of no more than 5 million comprised mostly of recently arrived Chinese nationals.

In contract the average citizen earns approximately $2,000.00 (US$1,800 approximate) and has a hard time staying afloat and breathing in an island supposedly with the fourth highest cost of living in the world!

No one in the island has dared investigate the real wealth of the Lee family. Does he and his family have villas in San Tropez, the French Riviera and properties in New York and London? Should they be allowed to steal such amounts of state funds just because they rule the island? Why are not  president Obama, or any other world leader doing this, except for the Lees? Why are they Gods? Are they not accountable to the people?

So far no one in the island has dared to question them since he uses his judges to destroy, jail and bankrupt anyone who dares to ask. His judges are nothing more than errand boys who are waiting to do his bidding. All he has to do is to point out his victim and the bully machinery grinds into action to declare the victim the vilest criminal and send him packing.

For most ordinary Singaporeans, it is not really worth going against the Lee family. You are simply powerless and you will lose everything. Against this hopeless odds, they simply remain silent, withdraw into their cocoons and mind their own business.

Then, there are Singaporeans who benefit from collaboration with the Lees. These are the judges who carry out his orders, top civil servants and ministers. As their job is by nature distasteful, since how could repressing their fellow citizens to please Lee ever be a pleasurable occupation, Lee pays them huge salaries too so that they will continue doing the dirty work. You could say, they have lost their conscience for money.

Then there are others who simply fell outraged. If they have the ability to get out, they will. This is why the island has the world's highest rate of brain drain in the world, mostly to Australia and Canada.

As we speak day by day, the numbers leaving continue to rise. As Lee needs workers for the burgeoning over extended economy, he has to bring in foreigners. So as not to appear as if the country is changing completely, he brings in Chinese from China who of course look just like the native Chinese of Singapore. The only difference is, they do not know anything about Singapore, let alone the language, customs, history and traditions. They are living in Singapore as if they are still in Chengdu, China. And like the morphing of the butterfly, the island changes from being Singapore to that of a Chinese city in China.

With the massive numbers of recently arrived new citizens from China who are there simply to earn a living for the moment, they have no concern whether Lee and his family take home $3.7 million a year each or even $37.00 million. If anyone takes objection, it has to be the local Singaporeans who feel cheated by these corrupt leaders. But then their numbers are diminishing and those remaining are too timid to ask any questions lest they end up in the local jail.

So the Lees have actually devised a perfect money making machine. They have devised a system, found nowhere in the world, where they can take any amount they want and there is no one who dares question them. I am sure Mobutu of the Congo who stole the diamonds would have slapped his own face and cursed himself and said, why the Hell didn't I think of that!

Don't get me wrong. I am not some kind of Kamikaze hero who is writing this without fear of being jailed and tortured. If I was physically within Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore I would need to drink an entire bottle of Scotch in one gulp to acquire the necessary courage to do it, and even then I am not sure. No I am not presently in Singapore island. I am writing this from Fremont, California USA which is, thank God, beyond the clutches of Lee's kangaroo judges. So if he wants to get me he will have to do it through the US courts. And this is where I have the distinct feeling that he is not so sure he will win. Which is why I can safely write this and go to bed at night.

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

Singapore's extortion racket in state funded scholarships

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the past in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore city state there was nothing short of a thriving extortion racket by the island Ministers suing anyone who criticized them for defamation of character and literally extorting hundreds of thousands, even millions through their Kangaroo courts, examples of course were political opponents such as the late JB Jeyaretnam who would have probably paid in excess of a million dollars and Chee Soon Juan for perhaps a slightly smaller amount.

Of course there were countless other victims including Tang Liang Hong who actually had to pay millions and forced into exile. It seems as if each time someone criticizes them or their courts, they lick their chops and wait for a windfall once the Kangaroo courts have finished with them.

As a result of these repeated abuse of legal process to silence dissent, the Singapore courts, expectedly, lost all credibility whatsoever which is now seen literally as a enforcement arm of the ruling party to destroy the opposition.

Now they have embarked on another extortion racket, a quick way to make a fast buck, by awarding  state funded scholarships to study abroad and blackmailing their parents to sue them for millions if they did not return to Singapore island.

This is how it works. Singaporean state agencies such as A Star, a scholarship provider, solicits science students who have done well academically in high school through scholarship awards, principally to attend college at government expense in UK or America.

Once selected, their parents or relatives are required to sign one sided performance bonds requiring the student to return and serve the government for a specified number of years. If the student either fails to complete his studies or refuses to return, their parents or relatives who had signed these contracts, although not arrested, are required to pay astronomical sums of money through Singaporean court judgments. If they fail to pay, they are impoverished, their properties sold and thrown to the streets.

From looking at the millions they demand from the hapless victims, I am not exaggerating when I say millions, it seems uncertain whether these crippling court awards are truly an attempt to force the student to return or whether it is simply a disguised government extortion racket to make large amounts of easy money, just as they do by defamation awards against Lee Kuan Yew's opponents .

I understand from anecdotal evidence that many of these students simply don't want to return once they have tasted life in the West. For one thing, they see the freedom here which they are denied in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.

Besides the fact that America and UK being far more technically advanced than Singapore, there are infinitely more career opportunities here, not to mention the ability to earn far more as well.

Other than this, the countries itself are far better. America is  a large country, far more beautiful scenically and otherwise than stifling overcrowded equatorial boiling Singapore island, not to mention the people in the West being far more civilized and cultured.

Under these circumstances can anyone fault them for not wanting to return to an island which does not have a free press, no freedom of speech expression or assembly and no rule of law. A place where you can't even read the truth but instead have to rely on censored half truths from state owned news agencies.

And the thing that is most distasteful of it all is the fact that they are penalizing these innocent victims by demanding millions for something they did not even do; since it is the student who is at fault, not the poor parents.

In fact these contracts which are being used to terrorize these parents are not even legal in many jurisdictions in the world including many in the US. They come within the class of contracts which are frowned upon by the courts, as one to enforce involuntary servitude where the student is being forced to work for Singapore when he does not want to anymore. Courts in the US consider this akin to slavery and will not enforce them. But of course you will not be sued in the US but in Lee Kuan Yew's Kangaroo courts where you are totally at their mercy.

What these parents don't realize is that they are being fooled to accept these scholarships since science based students who do well at their bachelors degrees in the US are usually awarded scholarships anyway.

As a result of an ongoing serious shortage of students pursuing science based degrees, American colleges have no choice but to offer generous scholarships to avoid being left far behind China and India which produces far more science students. In fact the majority of science based students in US colleges at Masters or PhD level are mostly from abroad.

Since students in the US can obtain scholarships here anyway there is simply no need for them to be fooled into these Singapore  government scholarships. One reason why they place such astronomical damages clauses in their contracts maybe because they are already aware of the danger that many will not want to return and therefore what better way to force them than by blackmailing their hapless parents.

My advice to Singapore students is not to accept these one sided crippling blackmailing performance bonds.

You should send your child to the US for an education with your own funds which is really not really much, because students here are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week anyway.

And once they graduate with good grades, they will invariably get scholarships which will take care of them from then on. After that they will be financially far better off in their career here in the West than they will ever be in Lee Kuan Yew's authoritarian one party state island, where the slightest criticism will land you in jail or bankrupt you.

Especially with a good education, you don't have to live like that.

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

Proof of loyalty to Singapore ruling party (PAP) required for university admission

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Singapore state owned newspaper Straits Times of Jan 06, 2014 has the story "More than good grades needed for a place at UniSIM (Singapore Institute of Management University). Please see http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/more-good-grades-needed-place-unisim-20140106-0

It seems Lee Kuan Yew's one party state Singapore is no longer going to be subtle in only helping the ruling party supporters and deny privileges to those who don't; now they are going to be open about it.

According to this report " But to secure one of the 200 places in accountancy marketing or finance applicants will need more than good grades".

I guess this is another way of saying, you have to show your support for Lee Kuan Yew's PAP which has been in power since 1959.

It says "Students will be selected based on not just academic results, but also other attributes such as social consciousness and commitment or creativity".

Since this is a government owned and run university just as nearly all the main educational institutions in the island are, except for a handful of foreign ones with a requirement that they are under the supervision of the ruling government,  the management is obviously going to look for signs that the applicant is supportive of Lee Kuan Yew and his ruling party.

"Social consciousness " although not defined in the report would appear to mean participation in civil society groups such as charities and organizations that help the poor and needy.

But the problem in Singapore is that all such organizations are controlled and run by the state or monitored and supervised by the state. Examples of such civil institutions are the Peoples Association and Residents Committees which are entirely owned and controlled by important ruling party officials. It therefore follows that support for such organizations has to include support for Lee Kuan Yew and his son and their PAP which run these organizations.

If a student makes a independent and conscious decision not to support Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP, he will simply not be able to satisfy this "social consciousness and commitment" thereby making him disqualified from ever studying at this university.

Given the fact that Lee Kuan Yew's ruling party is one that

a) pays it's Ministers $3.7 million a year which is blatant corruption

b) a party that completely hijacks the entire news media organs making every single one state controlled and no different from say, Cuba or North Korea

c) a country that has a thoroughly corrupt judiciary which routinely punishes anyone who criticizes the island government or their courts through their usual weapons; defamation actions, contempt of court actions and actions that scandalize their judiciary; victims include the late JB Jeyaretnam, Chee Soon Juan and myself, Gopalan Nair

d) a country that effectively denies freedom of speech, expression or assembly, making even a sole peaceful protester liable to arrest and imprisonment

it becomes difficult for any self respecting human being with a conscience to lend his support to any of these organizations making his admission for higher education in the island impossible.

This sort of state action in denying education to those who think differently brings painful reminders reminiscent to the dark fascist regimes of the past and even present. In Fascist Spain under Franco, the only way to make a livelihood was to show support to his Fascist party. If not you starve.

It was the same with China under Mao and even today. The requirement for survival in Communist China was Communist Party membership which is why every single Chinese person was a card carrying member. The worst nightmare for any Chinese citizen was expulsion from the Communist Party which effectively meant permanent joblessness and impoverishment, making such a victim in China better off dead.

Of course in Hitler's Nazi Germany everyone had to be a member of the Nazi party. The consequences of refusal is too painful to imagine.

With the increasing electoral vote going to the opposition in recent times, it seems Lee Kuan Yew and his son government is becoming desperate.

They have to try any means to force support for them making the ability for one to choose independently no longer an option.

With this news and the blog which I wrote before this of children in Singapore being indoctrinated from the age of 6 to support the PAP, the island is slowly and inexorably edging towards an Orwellian 1984 with support for Big Bother a state requirement for survival.

My answer to this is simple. Students intending to go for tertiary education should simply bypass Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore island, if you can. Don't submit yourselves to this nonsense. If you see what I see, this is clearly another means to brainwash and control the island population to think one way and no other.

But it is not as bad as all that, and this is why. The one party dictatorship of Lee Kuan Yew and son simply will not last.  For a start 90 year old Lee Kuan Yew is probably bedridden, too old and sick and probably dying.

If he dies the whole island will simply collapse. Your HDB flat values will become worthless and the PAP will be history. At which point, it may not even be necessary for me to continue Singapore Dissident, the mission having been accomplished.

Moreover too many Singaporeans are continuing to experience life in the West and once experienced like an elixir, it invariably draws them away from that regimented island. No one in his right mind wants to live in a society like this, where you are told what to think and how to think. It is simply not possible to think it is right for any minister top pay himself $3.7 million a year or that freedom of speech should be illegal. It simply does not make sense.

As more Singaporeans continue to move to the West, as more young men refuse to do national service, as the birth rate continues to plunge, the government has no choice but to resort to bringing in huge numbers of Mandarin speaking Chinese from China who are incapable of doing jobs which require the English language. Furthermore the quality of these immigrants are poor for their lack of an English education.

In their stead, huge numbers of English speaking Filipinos or Indians from India are given citizenship, most of whom have no desire to call Singapore home, a country which they see utterly lacking democracy or the rule of law.

A Filipino for instance would be quite happy to call USA home, but not Abu Dhabi, North Korea or Singapore. The Filipinos may be poor but at least you don't get arrested for criticizing their President.

I suppose the Singapore government hopes that at least the children of these reluctant immigrants could somehow be brainwashed and made to accept these unacceptable human rights denying laws. But what is working against them is the fact that the future continues to change with modernisation and international commerce and exchange, and it will be almost impossible to make them accept this one party dictatorship nonsense.

Unfortunately for Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, it is a little too little and too late. I don't think these measures are going to be effective. If they deny places to non supportive students, they would only be shooting themselves in the foot because in most cases, it is these very students with independent minds who are the best and brightest.

To any reader curious as to why I can write this blog when I say that any criticism within the island results in arrest and imprisonment, it is because I am writing this from Fremont, California, USA and not from within Lee Kuan Yew's island.

His police goons have no power to arrest me in California. And neither can they shut down this blog and prevent it reaching Singaporeans because it is hosted by Google which happens to be an American company to whom they would have to answer some embarrassing questions. That is why I can write this and Singaporeans within Singapore can read it.

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

Singapore starts compulsory Orwellian brainwashing sessions for children from age 6

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of Singapore's state owned news agencies, Straits Times of Jan 02, 2014 reports "New Character and Citizenship education textbooks launched in schools" Please see http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/thursday/breaking-news/singapore/story/new-character-and-citizenship-education-textbooks-launched-schools-201

According to the report " Mr. Heng (a Singaporean minister) who was a t Rivervale Primary School launched the news CCE textbooks which will be rolled out to Primary 1 (age 6) and primary 2 pupils this year"

The report and the Singapore Ministry of Education syllabus on the subject is alarming.

It is intended without any doubt whatsoever to brainwash young children into blind patriotism for Lee Kuan Yew and his Singapore, like Hitler did with his Hitler Youth or as in George Orwell's mind control sessions where people attend group sessions and go into a blind uncontrollable frenzy of patriotism in unison for the love of Big Brother as if they are possessed. Please see http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/files/2012/11/character-and-citizenship-education-annex.pdf

In the report it says under Nation "Developing a sense of national identity and nation building", "What makes Singaporeans" "How do my relationships contribute to Nation building" "how do we demonstrate our commitment to Singapore"

Nowhere in the report is any mention of encouraging children to read widely, and form opinions about the world, different schools of philosophy, the need to have a conscience and the courage to follow it, and to develop the virtue the courage to develop opinions even if they were contrary to those of Lee Kuan Yew and his ruling party.

There are no doubt from these Singaporean objectives what the plan is. It is to instill blind loyalty to the country which obviously is synonymous to loyalty to Lee Kuan Yew his son and their PAP.

It is all about blind obedience. There is nothing in the syllabus to suggest anywhere that children should be allowed to think and if they find the Prime Minister's pay of $3.7 million a year wrong, the courage to stand up and say it for one thing. Nowhere does it say that a good citizen is one who has the courage to stand up to Lee Kuan Yew and his son, not someone who sheep like is subservient.

It makes no reference that children should use their head and if they found the denial of the human rights of free speech expression and assembly are wrong, they should be able to say so and fight for their rights till their last breath. In America such a boy would be considered a model citizen. In Singapore he would be public enemy number one.

I fear this is a plan to brainwash children. I also fear that the secondary object of this plan is to increase spying on the children's parents who will come to the attention of the school through their students. It will also create tension between parent and child when the teacher says one thing and parent another.

Soon, I fear that children would be encouraged to tell on their parents to teachers and state security apparatus to identify deviant parents; even more than they do now. Teachers may be required to report what they hear. I fear retribution for the parent.

Character building of children should be the responsibility of parents not the State. Only in North Korea, China or Orwellian 1984 does the state get involved in mind control such as what is going to happen in Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore.

Parents let me tell you again. Please do not let your children be subjected to this brainwashing. Don't allow Lee Kuan Yew and his son treat your kids like they treat kids in North Korea.

If you can, take your children out this minute from Singapore schools and educate them abroad in democracies. If this is not possible, regardless of the consequences to you, tell the schools that you refuse to let your child be subjected to this indoctrination. If you allow your children to be subjected to this, you will be responsible for hampering their ability to think independently. 

Remember, a good student is not someone who blindly obeys the state. A good student is one that is able to think and question authority, point out when the state is right but equally and vehemently oppose the state when they are wrong. Not someone who blindly obeys every dictator that comes along.

In Orwell's 1984, children are brainwashed into thinking their state is always right, Big Brother is always right, even if everyone knew the state was totally wrong; encouraged to spy on their parents and report "deviant" thinking and have them arrested as enemy's of the state either to be "re-educated" or executed.

Children should be allowed to form their own opinions about themselves, their surroundings and their country trough their parents, and from their own education and life experiences; not by the State telling them what or who they should support and why.

When I went to school in Singapore we did not have any brainwashing. That's why I form my own opinions about Singapore and have come to the conclusion that it is no better than a one party Fascist state with Lee Kuan Yew and his son as dictators. If not I would have been capable only of Groupthink where everyone has the same ideas as in Lee's Red Book according to the syllabus in their CCE (Citizenship and Character Education, Singapore).  And thank God for that.

Once again I am writing this from Fremont, Northern California United States. I would not have been able to write this from within Singapore and avoid arrest. The Lee Kuan Yew and son government do not tolerate criticism. And you may well ask them, what sort of CHARACTER is that?

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