Ladies and Gentlemen,
The people of tiny equatorial island Singapore's greatest enemy is not their totalitarian rulers, their lives as slaves, but the rising sea. Today the tiny island with their tiny population which claims all sorts of firsts, real or imaginary, just as North Korea does in their propaganda sheets, lives every day not knowing whether the flood waters tomorrow are going to be at their knees or their waists. And what is worse, it is a problem that will only get bigger and for which the dictatorial rulers have no clue what whatsoever.
Let me repeat what I said. The rising sea flooding the entire island is a problem that will get worse daily and for which there is no answer. To put it another way, Singaporeans are damned by the sea.
And here comes a lesson in geography, climatology and astronomy.
Singapore sits almost squarely on the Equator. This means of course very high temperatures, very high humidity and very heavy rain or to put it in another way torrential rain.
Rain is caused by the condensation of water vapor in the atmosphere. The hotter it is, the more water vapor it can carry and when it rises and condenses, heavier rain. Generally speaking, at night the island cools down, from sunrise the island gets heated up, up goes the water vapor and down comes the torrential rain in the afternoon.
The tiny island is surrounded by the sea. Because the water is warm, the water expands in volume and the tides get higher and higher as the water continues to get warmer and warmer due to global warming.
Tides are principally cased by the gravitational pull of the Moon and also by the Sun if it happens to be in the vicinity of the Moon. Generally in Singapore island, the Moon goes round the Earth twice a day. That is why you have 2 high tides and 2 low tides daily. When the Moon is above you, the gravitational pull of the Moon cases the waters to rise. On occasion when the orbit of the Earth takes the Moon and Sun to be aligned above you, their combined gravitational pull causes exceptionally high tides known as "King Tides".
So twice a day, at high tide, the water from the sea encroaches into the island and the encroachments get further and further inland as the climate change continues to intensify. Of course one does not know when it will rain but if the rain happens to be at the same time as high tide, the torrential rain water which falls on the island cannot flow to sea because the sea water is trying to come in. And that is when you have the flash floods. It is almost like Russian roulette. You never know when it will flood because the Moon is above and close to you when it is high tide.
There is no uncertainty over high tides, because they happen twice a day. The only uncertainly is when it will rain. If your luck is bad and it rains at high tide, you are guaranteed of a flood. Which means you can even have floods twice a day daily if it rains at those times. And another fact which is certain is that the height of floods will continue to increase, never decrease because global warming is an established fact which cannot be stopped at any time soon. This means more and more floods, higher and higher floods and greater and greater rainfall with no remedy whatsoever.
Such a life in total fear of ever increasing floods and ever increasing frequency is understandably intolerable and unbearable. Businesses whose stocks are constantly damaged by rain water would decide not to do business in the island anymore. Hundreds of cars which are completely damaged and unrepairable causes extreme loss to their owners in an island where your car can be more expensive than your house. Roofs collapse and people are injured due to water logged buildings, elevators and escalators malfunction due to wires tripping and people may even die in the thousands if water seeps into the underground train system.
Jets on final approach can crash if their engines flame out as a result of being water logged.
Singapore island is in fact facing its most existential threat ever, but the totalitarian rulers understandably like ostriches have their heads in the sand. Nothing is being said to address this issue which will literally destroy them. In the past when the issue was at least discussed, it was the consensus opinion of most experts that no amount of engineering can solve this problem. The island is at most places only a few inches above sea level and it so jam packed with people and so built up that you can do nothing to heighten its elevation.
You cannot simply move everyone to the small knoll of Bukit Timah Hill which is only 500 feet high while bulldozers raise the entire city down, fill it up with earth another 5 feet high and rebuild once again all the skyscrapers and all! Simply not possible.
You cannot solve the problem with building deeper canals because this would only mean more sea water would occupy them; therefore not solving the problem. You cannot pump the water back into the sea because it will only come in again. You cannot dump it in Malaysia because they don't want it. You cannot export it to China because they don't want it either. You cannot send it to Mars either. Neither can you make Lee Kuan Yew's son drink all of it either.
If you look at the days it has flooded recently, it happened on Dec 5, Dec 10 and Dec 11. It is happening more and more and with more and more intensity. If this problem is going to get worse, businesses would leave to cut losses. Our little dictators are looking completely helpless while their island sinks underground.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Singaporean by Birth
Now American Citizen
Fremont, California (San Francisco)
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Thursday, December 24, 2015
A silenced people not conducive to Singapore's progress.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The recent 2015 national elections has had the effect of effectively stubbing out any hope of democracy in the small island of Singapore with its equally tiny population. Before the elections, there were many who hoped that things might change and democracy may have a chance. A great deal of fervor and hope was seen for democracy. On election day, Sept 11, 2015 all that hope was destroyed at a stroke when 70% of Singaporeans, a far greater number than even before had chosen Lee Kuan Yew's son's Fascism instead of democracy. And suddenly like the drop of a hat all dissent in the Internet came to a stop. The few remaining minority of Singaporeans, the educated and thinking people realized sadly that there is no more hope anymore.
And the tiny island today is indeed a classic Fascist state with the ruler, Lee Kuan Yew's son the Prime Minister and his selected colleagues, who pay themselves millions are above the law and free to do whatever they want. And what they want and have is an official salary of $2.5 million and an equal number of undeclared millions which they pay themselves. This is corruption on a grand scale but no one can question them because if you do, their Kangaroo judges would have you imprisoned or bankrupted or both. As a result naturally no one has any courage to question them.
They have abrogated the Constitution and all citizen's rights such as free speech expression or assembly have all been denied. Today it is a criminal offense in the island to speak publicly without a permit, to assemble publicly without a permit or to protest publicly without a permit, all of which carries prison sentences. As a result out of fear, none speaks publicly, protests publicly or demonstrates publicly. Fear has silenced the entire island.
The newspapers are all state controlled and it is a criminal offense to disseminate any news material without a license, an offense which carries a prison sentence. So is the TV radio and the entire media just as it is in North Korea.
All judges are carefully selected to dish out government approved verdicts and a handful of judges who had dared exercise any independence, a suicidal act in the Singapore context were all removed and fired from their jobs.
So who are these 70% who voted for the Fascist government? They are by and large men an women with minimal education who are not aware that as humans they have any rights. They are quite happy to be told what to do by any dictator as long as they have 3 meals a day and can watch Television when they go home to their state owned tiny multi storey apartments. The rest are opportunists who although educated and aware that they live no better than slaves, are quite happy nevertheless. People who lack courage and self respect on the whole.
And what about the others who have some education as well as some pride? They have all left the island for settlement in Western European and North American countries. Naturally they are not prepared to live in a country where they have no rights, like North Korea and don't want their children to be subjected to this, destroying their minds and turning them literally into zombies. These people who are the best and brightest, the very cream of society, the very ones that the island needs the most are simply being lost to Singapore.
And there are a few highly educated capable individuals who for some reason, perhaps loyalty to Singapore decide to stay. But because they have independent minds and are not prepared to go along playing the fiddle to Lee Kuan Yew's son, they are effectively shunned and shut out of any participation in the government, thereby their abilities being lost to Singapore.
Take for instance Chee Soon Juan. He is a highly educated individual and there is no doubt his abilities would contribute greatly for the betterment of the island. But because he is an open critic of this Fascist regime, he is totally neglected and sidelined, not allowed to participate in government and his views are blacked out from all media in the island.
Another such man is Kenneth Jeyarentam, an English educated economist. If you read his blog The Ricebowl Singapore TRS, he has some very interesting articles on the governance of the island which the rulers could put to good use. But the problem is that he too is an open critic of this totalitarian regime and therefor he cannot be allowed any participation or any publicity in their state owned media. His valuable talents too are lost to Singapore entirely because the rulers are so insecure that they fear any publicity or help received from him would be the end of their fascist government.
If Chee Soon Juan or Jeyaretnam were tomorrow to announce their unconditional loyalty to the Fascist regime and prostrate at their feet, I am sure they would both be made Ministers instantly, but this is obviously not possible since they refuse to collaborate.
Just like Chee and Jeyaretnam, I am sure there are many others who simply are unknown and their talents wasted to the island because of their refusal to play second fiddle.
Ultimately no honest human being true to himself and his conscience could with a straight face say that they support this regime. How could they when the rulers are millionaires and corrupt and there is no modicum of freedom whatsoever, an island with a state controlled press like in Notrth Korea and Kangaroo judges running around dishing Lee's son's justice.
As you can see the country is principally peopled by a second rate population, either uneducated workers or unconscionable hypocrites and opportunists prepared to live under Fascism. The best have either left or have been sidelined and ignored. Therefore the island has a very poor quality population, inferior stock both educationally and in character, which simply cannot expect to excel without the cream of society; because they have all left or have been silenced like Chee Soon Juan and Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth in Exile
Fremont California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
The recent 2015 national elections has had the effect of effectively stubbing out any hope of democracy in the small island of Singapore with its equally tiny population. Before the elections, there were many who hoped that things might change and democracy may have a chance. A great deal of fervor and hope was seen for democracy. On election day, Sept 11, 2015 all that hope was destroyed at a stroke when 70% of Singaporeans, a far greater number than even before had chosen Lee Kuan Yew's son's Fascism instead of democracy. And suddenly like the drop of a hat all dissent in the Internet came to a stop. The few remaining minority of Singaporeans, the educated and thinking people realized sadly that there is no more hope anymore.
And the tiny island today is indeed a classic Fascist state with the ruler, Lee Kuan Yew's son the Prime Minister and his selected colleagues, who pay themselves millions are above the law and free to do whatever they want. And what they want and have is an official salary of $2.5 million and an equal number of undeclared millions which they pay themselves. This is corruption on a grand scale but no one can question them because if you do, their Kangaroo judges would have you imprisoned or bankrupted or both. As a result naturally no one has any courage to question them.
They have abrogated the Constitution and all citizen's rights such as free speech expression or assembly have all been denied. Today it is a criminal offense in the island to speak publicly without a permit, to assemble publicly without a permit or to protest publicly without a permit, all of which carries prison sentences. As a result out of fear, none speaks publicly, protests publicly or demonstrates publicly. Fear has silenced the entire island.
The newspapers are all state controlled and it is a criminal offense to disseminate any news material without a license, an offense which carries a prison sentence. So is the TV radio and the entire media just as it is in North Korea.
All judges are carefully selected to dish out government approved verdicts and a handful of judges who had dared exercise any independence, a suicidal act in the Singapore context were all removed and fired from their jobs.
So who are these 70% who voted for the Fascist government? They are by and large men an women with minimal education who are not aware that as humans they have any rights. They are quite happy to be told what to do by any dictator as long as they have 3 meals a day and can watch Television when they go home to their state owned tiny multi storey apartments. The rest are opportunists who although educated and aware that they live no better than slaves, are quite happy nevertheless. People who lack courage and self respect on the whole.
And what about the others who have some education as well as some pride? They have all left the island for settlement in Western European and North American countries. Naturally they are not prepared to live in a country where they have no rights, like North Korea and don't want their children to be subjected to this, destroying their minds and turning them literally into zombies. These people who are the best and brightest, the very cream of society, the very ones that the island needs the most are simply being lost to Singapore.
And there are a few highly educated capable individuals who for some reason, perhaps loyalty to Singapore decide to stay. But because they have independent minds and are not prepared to go along playing the fiddle to Lee Kuan Yew's son, they are effectively shunned and shut out of any participation in the government, thereby their abilities being lost to Singapore.
Take for instance Chee Soon Juan. He is a highly educated individual and there is no doubt his abilities would contribute greatly for the betterment of the island. But because he is an open critic of this Fascist regime, he is totally neglected and sidelined, not allowed to participate in government and his views are blacked out from all media in the island.
Another such man is Kenneth Jeyarentam, an English educated economist. If you read his blog The Ricebowl Singapore TRS, he has some very interesting articles on the governance of the island which the rulers could put to good use. But the problem is that he too is an open critic of this totalitarian regime and therefor he cannot be allowed any participation or any publicity in their state owned media. His valuable talents too are lost to Singapore entirely because the rulers are so insecure that they fear any publicity or help received from him would be the end of their fascist government.
If Chee Soon Juan or Jeyaretnam were tomorrow to announce their unconditional loyalty to the Fascist regime and prostrate at their feet, I am sure they would both be made Ministers instantly, but this is obviously not possible since they refuse to collaborate.
Just like Chee and Jeyaretnam, I am sure there are many others who simply are unknown and their talents wasted to the island because of their refusal to play second fiddle.
Ultimately no honest human being true to himself and his conscience could with a straight face say that they support this regime. How could they when the rulers are millionaires and corrupt and there is no modicum of freedom whatsoever, an island with a state controlled press like in Notrth Korea and Kangaroo judges running around dishing Lee's son's justice.
As you can see the country is principally peopled by a second rate population, either uneducated workers or unconscionable hypocrites and opportunists prepared to live under Fascism. The best have either left or have been sidelined and ignored. Therefore the island has a very poor quality population, inferior stock both educationally and in character, which simply cannot expect to excel without the cream of society; because they have all left or have been silenced like Chee Soon Juan and Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth in Exile
Fremont California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Lee Kuan Yew's son of Singapore island orders his police to interrogate and silence 16 year old Amos Yee
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Lee Kuan Yew's son who has inherited Singapore island from his father, the former dictator, is once again going after 16 year old outspoken Singaporean boy Amos Yee. Readers would remember the last time some months ago, he was convicted and imprisoned for making a video accusing the late Lee Kuan Yew of being a dictator and comparing him with another dictator of sorts in England, Margaret Thatcher with a cartoon of him having sex with her.
None of this was false as anyone who understands Singapore knows what Lee Kuan Yew was. And drawing such a cartoon is totally innocuous, a normal occurrence today all over the world. But of course Lee Kuan Yew like his son now are so insecure that even the slightest criticism has to be silenced just as Kim Jong Un of North Korea does.
Now he is being investigated again and very probably will be charged and imprisoned again, accused of posting religious hate speech. We don't know if any of this is true, as Singapore is a place where they can tailor any evidence to suit the occasion when it comes to political dissent.
In my case, having identified me as a critic, while in Singapore on July 4, 2008, American Independence Day, they accused me of "knocking on a police car". When they found that they couldn't pin me down on that several policemen in unison testified identically that for some reason I behaved "disorderly" which they explained as "waving my hands in the air" and "shouting". As to why I should do that was never explained, and promptly convicted. You can read about my escapades with this very interesting regime here in my 2008 blogs.
Please see Amos Yee's latest troubles in the local state controlled newspaper Straits Times here http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/singaporean-17-believed-to-be-blogger-amos-yee-investigated-for-allegedly
I think we should all be grateful to Amos Yee. In an island where no one has any courage to call a rat when needed, all we have is this boy who stands up as David against a Goliath and who puts all Singaporeans to shame. The courage that he has is equivalent to that of the entire island put together, an island of sheep.
Singapore is place where Lee Kuan Yew's son who was literally given the island by his father is the most corrupt politician in all Asia if not the world. He pays himself no less than $3 million in salaries and an equally large amount in hidden perks and kickbacks. Yet no one has the courage to call him that except this 16 year old boy.
It is an island where there is no freedom of speech, expression or assembly and the entire press and media are state controlled. Yet no one dares to challenge them except this boy.
Tiny Singapore island, a classic fascist state, is paying a far greater price for this authoritarianism than you may think. The best and brightest are leaving the island not wanting to live under a dictatorship. the quality of its citizens is being diluted daily since the only ones who are prepared to come are the second rate Communist Chinese and unemployed Indians in India, people who cannot really improve the quality of manpower.
This dilution in the quality of its citizens has been going on for some time and progressively the island is going backwards, not forwards. It seems Lee Kuan Yew's son either doesn't know or he doesn't care.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Lee Kuan Yew's son who has inherited Singapore island from his father, the former dictator, is once again going after 16 year old outspoken Singaporean boy Amos Yee. Readers would remember the last time some months ago, he was convicted and imprisoned for making a video accusing the late Lee Kuan Yew of being a dictator and comparing him with another dictator of sorts in England, Margaret Thatcher with a cartoon of him having sex with her.
None of this was false as anyone who understands Singapore knows what Lee Kuan Yew was. And drawing such a cartoon is totally innocuous, a normal occurrence today all over the world. But of course Lee Kuan Yew like his son now are so insecure that even the slightest criticism has to be silenced just as Kim Jong Un of North Korea does.
Now he is being investigated again and very probably will be charged and imprisoned again, accused of posting religious hate speech. We don't know if any of this is true, as Singapore is a place where they can tailor any evidence to suit the occasion when it comes to political dissent.
In my case, having identified me as a critic, while in Singapore on July 4, 2008, American Independence Day, they accused me of "knocking on a police car". When they found that they couldn't pin me down on that several policemen in unison testified identically that for some reason I behaved "disorderly" which they explained as "waving my hands in the air" and "shouting". As to why I should do that was never explained, and promptly convicted. You can read about my escapades with this very interesting regime here in my 2008 blogs.
Please see Amos Yee's latest troubles in the local state controlled newspaper Straits Times here http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/singaporean-17-believed-to-be-blogger-amos-yee-investigated-for-allegedly
I think we should all be grateful to Amos Yee. In an island where no one has any courage to call a rat when needed, all we have is this boy who stands up as David against a Goliath and who puts all Singaporeans to shame. The courage that he has is equivalent to that of the entire island put together, an island of sheep.
Singapore is place where Lee Kuan Yew's son who was literally given the island by his father is the most corrupt politician in all Asia if not the world. He pays himself no less than $3 million in salaries and an equally large amount in hidden perks and kickbacks. Yet no one has the courage to call him that except this 16 year old boy.
It is an island where there is no freedom of speech, expression or assembly and the entire press and media are state controlled. Yet no one dares to challenge them except this boy.
Tiny Singapore island, a classic fascist state, is paying a far greater price for this authoritarianism than you may think. The best and brightest are leaving the island not wanting to live under a dictatorship. the quality of its citizens is being diluted daily since the only ones who are prepared to come are the second rate Communist Chinese and unemployed Indians in India, people who cannot really improve the quality of manpower.
This dilution in the quality of its citizens has been going on for some time and progressively the island is going backwards, not forwards. It seems Lee Kuan Yew's son either doesn't know or he doesn't care.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Lee Kuan Yew's son's Singapore is turning into the Lost Underwater City of Atlantis
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For Lee Kuan Yew's son who has inherited Singapore island from his father deceased, he has one more problem, like all the others, for which there is no answer. It is flooding.
As it is, it is already bad enough for him. Thanks to his father who thought turning the island into a Fascist state is the best way to stay in power, he is slowly realizing that repression does not always guarantee his security. The island today is one classic repressive Fascist state with no human rights whatsoever. No freedom of speech, expression, assembly, a free press or rule of law. The Constitution has been de facto abrogated. If fear can silence and subjugate the entire island population, it also results in huge disastrous consequences.
Not wanting to live under Fascism, the cream of the tiny island population are emigrating in droves for settlement in the West. They don't want their children to be brainwashed and subjugated by the all powerful government. They don't want their minds to be destroyed. They don't want success on condition of being a PAP ruling party card carrying sycophant.
They are refusing to have any children or even get married. The island has the lowest birth rate in the world and a fast aging society where in 20 years half the population would be over 50. Desperate to stop the total extinction of the local population, they are bringing in planeloads of Communist Chinese and Indians to replenish the population, except that all these immigrants are poor quality, lacking education, proficiency in English or skilled. You don't see Europeans Australians or Americans wanting to live in Singapore. No surprise at all, since who in his right mind would want to live in a society such as this.
To add to the problems of Lee Kuan Yew's son, here comes Mother Nature with a new impossible problem, daily flooding. The island is only a few inches or a few feet above sea level. It is tiny, no more than 277 square miles, and just a flat piece of land sitting right at the Equator. As a result you have torrential rains almost on a daily basis. As the Moon goes round the Earth twice a day, there are 2 high tides daily. When the Sun is lined up with the Moon, you have king tides, tides rising several feet above normal.
At high tide, sea water level rises and encroaches into land. If there is rain coinciding, which is torrential like a flood dropping from the sky, the water cannot escape into the sea. And Lee Kuan Yew's son's island is submerged under water. And this is happening almost daily. And it is a daily gamble trying to guess whether it will flood today, since it all depends if it will rain at today's tide.
See Straits Times article of Flooding on December 10, 2015 here http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/heavy-rain-causes-flash-floods-in-central-Singapore
See Channel News Asia of flooding on December 11, 2015 here.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heavy-downpour-causes/2338710.html
See Channel news Asia of flooding on December 5, 2015 here
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/flash-floods-seen-across/2321964.html
Severe flooding is now happening almost every day causing a heavy daily toll in damage and loss not to mention catastrophic danger to the entire island. The daily flood casualties are the motor vehicles. Severe damage is caused to thousands of cars each time there is a flood resulting in many being totaled and scrapped. The government provides no compensation and insurance does not cover the loss. Not only cars suffer damage, hundreds of businesses, shops and houses are damaged by flood water with no compensation from anyone.
What is more serious is the possibility of massive loss of life by drowning. You have Underground subways where the ground level entrance is only a few inches above sea level. In the event of a severe flood, which is going to happen more and more frequently, the underground train system will be flooded with trains full of people trapped underwater.
Flooding is a danger that is with us now with growing sea level rise. Year after year, day after day, the sea rises and Singapore floods get worse and worse. And the frequency of flooding is especially bad for Singapore sitting squarely at the Equator where torrential rain and thunderstorms are a daily occurrence.
And the sad fact is that no amount of engineering can solve Lee Kuan Yew's son's flooding problem. The simple fact of the nature of Singapore island's geography, the terrain and its location is its doom. As if Lee Kuan Yew's son did not have enough problems already. As for me sitting in California, I am watching the fun.
Lee Kuan Yew's son's Singapore is turning into the Underwater Lost City of Atlantis.
And if one lesson has to be learnt from all this, it is this. Fascism in 2015 does not work.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebookl: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
For Lee Kuan Yew's son who has inherited Singapore island from his father deceased, he has one more problem, like all the others, for which there is no answer. It is flooding.
As it is, it is already bad enough for him. Thanks to his father who thought turning the island into a Fascist state is the best way to stay in power, he is slowly realizing that repression does not always guarantee his security. The island today is one classic repressive Fascist state with no human rights whatsoever. No freedom of speech, expression, assembly, a free press or rule of law. The Constitution has been de facto abrogated. If fear can silence and subjugate the entire island population, it also results in huge disastrous consequences.
Not wanting to live under Fascism, the cream of the tiny island population are emigrating in droves for settlement in the West. They don't want their children to be brainwashed and subjugated by the all powerful government. They don't want their minds to be destroyed. They don't want success on condition of being a PAP ruling party card carrying sycophant.
They are refusing to have any children or even get married. The island has the lowest birth rate in the world and a fast aging society where in 20 years half the population would be over 50. Desperate to stop the total extinction of the local population, they are bringing in planeloads of Communist Chinese and Indians to replenish the population, except that all these immigrants are poor quality, lacking education, proficiency in English or skilled. You don't see Europeans Australians or Americans wanting to live in Singapore. No surprise at all, since who in his right mind would want to live in a society such as this.
To add to the problems of Lee Kuan Yew's son, here comes Mother Nature with a new impossible problem, daily flooding. The island is only a few inches or a few feet above sea level. It is tiny, no more than 277 square miles, and just a flat piece of land sitting right at the Equator. As a result you have torrential rains almost on a daily basis. As the Moon goes round the Earth twice a day, there are 2 high tides daily. When the Sun is lined up with the Moon, you have king tides, tides rising several feet above normal.
At high tide, sea water level rises and encroaches into land. If there is rain coinciding, which is torrential like a flood dropping from the sky, the water cannot escape into the sea. And Lee Kuan Yew's son's island is submerged under water. And this is happening almost daily. And it is a daily gamble trying to guess whether it will flood today, since it all depends if it will rain at today's tide.
See Straits Times article of Flooding on December 10, 2015 here http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/heavy-rain-causes-flash-floods-in-central-Singapore
See Channel News Asia of flooding on December 11, 2015 here.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/heavy-downpour-causes/2338710.html
See Channel news Asia of flooding on December 5, 2015 here
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/flash-floods-seen-across/2321964.html
Severe flooding is now happening almost every day causing a heavy daily toll in damage and loss not to mention catastrophic danger to the entire island. The daily flood casualties are the motor vehicles. Severe damage is caused to thousands of cars each time there is a flood resulting in many being totaled and scrapped. The government provides no compensation and insurance does not cover the loss. Not only cars suffer damage, hundreds of businesses, shops and houses are damaged by flood water with no compensation from anyone.
What is more serious is the possibility of massive loss of life by drowning. You have Underground subways where the ground level entrance is only a few inches above sea level. In the event of a severe flood, which is going to happen more and more frequently, the underground train system will be flooded with trains full of people trapped underwater.
Flooding is a danger that is with us now with growing sea level rise. Year after year, day after day, the sea rises and Singapore floods get worse and worse. And the frequency of flooding is especially bad for Singapore sitting squarely at the Equator where torrential rain and thunderstorms are a daily occurrence.
And the sad fact is that no amount of engineering can solve Lee Kuan Yew's son's flooding problem. The simple fact of the nature of Singapore island's geography, the terrain and its location is its doom. As if Lee Kuan Yew's son did not have enough problems already. As for me sitting in California, I am watching the fun.
Lee Kuan Yew's son's Singapore is turning into the Underwater Lost City of Atlantis.
And if one lesson has to be learnt from all this, it is this. Fascism in 2015 does not work.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebookl: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Ironically the authoritarian one party Singapore dictatorship is their own greatest threat
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the recent Singapore elections, Lee Kuan Yew's son's government once again rode into power, this time with an even greater majority. 70% of the electorate chose to continue living under a one party dictatorship, where there is no freedom of speech, expression or assembly; no rule of law or no free press.
Ordinarily any government should be swooning over backwards with joy with this success. But I am not so sure if this is indeed something to be joyous about or is not something more sinister leading them to their eventual downfall.
Let me go back a little in history. Adolf Hitler, another dictator in a Fascist regime like that in Singapore managed overwhelming economic progress. In fact in 1938, Nazi Germany was the most successful European country, far more successful than even England. Even Fascist Italy under Mussolini achieved tremendous success. But that was in a time when there was no Internet, and where a government with a state controlled media could make their citizens believe anything they want.
Singapore today like Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy is also an authoritarian one party state. However today one thing is different. We have the Internet. And the state controlled media is not in a position to make us believe anything they want.
And if you believe that an island such as Singapore needs most their highly skilled and educated population, for them Singapore is indeed a very distasteful place to live. Given a choice why would anyone with skills who is able to work anywhere in the world want to live under a dictatorship where he has no individual rights whatsoever, where he cannot obtain any independent news and where at the slightest expression of free speech, he can be sued for defamation and bankrupted by Lee Kuan Yew's son.
I left Singapore and took my family with me. I did not want to live in a society that denies me the right to free speech expression and assembly and I did not want my children to be subjected to such a life. And just like me, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of highly educated Singaporeans are leaving daily for settlement abroad, leaving behind the less skilled citizens who either are unable to leave or do not mind not having any freedom.
Some brain drain can be tolerated by large countries, but for a small island with a small population like Singapore, this a total catastrophe. They simply cannot withstand brain drain at this level.
Can you imagine what happens when this brain drain of best and brightest continue to leave at this alarming rate, leaving behind the unskilled and uneducated; more and more poorly skilled and educated and less and less educated citizens. The result a progressively less skilled and mediocre society.
As time progresses and more an more educated leave the island, you get a less innovative, less imaginative, less sophisticated and less competitive society. You end up a society of peasants.
In this way the overwhelming success for the dictatorship will likely to be the Achilles heel, the sword of Damocles that will eventually destroy this dictatorship.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
In the recent Singapore elections, Lee Kuan Yew's son's government once again rode into power, this time with an even greater majority. 70% of the electorate chose to continue living under a one party dictatorship, where there is no freedom of speech, expression or assembly; no rule of law or no free press.
Ordinarily any government should be swooning over backwards with joy with this success. But I am not so sure if this is indeed something to be joyous about or is not something more sinister leading them to their eventual downfall.
Let me go back a little in history. Adolf Hitler, another dictator in a Fascist regime like that in Singapore managed overwhelming economic progress. In fact in 1938, Nazi Germany was the most successful European country, far more successful than even England. Even Fascist Italy under Mussolini achieved tremendous success. But that was in a time when there was no Internet, and where a government with a state controlled media could make their citizens believe anything they want.
Singapore today like Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy is also an authoritarian one party state. However today one thing is different. We have the Internet. And the state controlled media is not in a position to make us believe anything they want.
And if you believe that an island such as Singapore needs most their highly skilled and educated population, for them Singapore is indeed a very distasteful place to live. Given a choice why would anyone with skills who is able to work anywhere in the world want to live under a dictatorship where he has no individual rights whatsoever, where he cannot obtain any independent news and where at the slightest expression of free speech, he can be sued for defamation and bankrupted by Lee Kuan Yew's son.
I left Singapore and took my family with me. I did not want to live in a society that denies me the right to free speech expression and assembly and I did not want my children to be subjected to such a life. And just like me, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of highly educated Singaporeans are leaving daily for settlement abroad, leaving behind the less skilled citizens who either are unable to leave or do not mind not having any freedom.
Some brain drain can be tolerated by large countries, but for a small island with a small population like Singapore, this a total catastrophe. They simply cannot withstand brain drain at this level.
Can you imagine what happens when this brain drain of best and brightest continue to leave at this alarming rate, leaving behind the unskilled and uneducated; more and more poorly skilled and educated and less and less educated citizens. The result a progressively less skilled and mediocre society.
As time progresses and more an more educated leave the island, you get a less innovative, less imaginative, less sophisticated and less competitive society. You end up a society of peasants.
In this way the overwhelming success for the dictatorship will likely to be the Achilles heel, the sword of Damocles that will eventually destroy this dictatorship.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean in Exile
Fremont California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Saturday, November 28, 2015
After the 2015 elections, Singaporeans resign to a life under permanent dictatorship
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For 50 years now, the entire history of Singapore island, it has been under a dictatorship, first under the father Lee Kuan Yew and since his death only recently, his son. At least over the years those who wished a life of democracy did try, although not hard enough for change. In earlier days we had Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party bravely breaking unjust laws such as anti-public protests, and public speaking, and going to jail for it. The Internet was abuzz with anti government statements and people thought that this time, there might have been real change.
Any hope in that direction was finally and conclusively dashed by the electorate voting overwhelmingly for Lee Kuan Yew's son's dictatorship with a 70% vote. Immediately thereafter any sentiment for democracy was quashed. The Internet with desire of democracy went silent as if it was lights out.
Chee Soon Juan, of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party who lost badly has turned out to be a sore loser. He has come up with a long list of reasons why he lost, such as an uneven playing field, gerrymandering and fear mongering by the establishment. But one fundamental piece of evidence that he cleverly refuses to see is that for whatever reasons, the people voted for the establishment and not for him. It would be far better for him to admit that fact and ask why they are doing so and try to address that.
Singapore government's total triumph at the elections may turn out to be a double edge sword. It may hurt the island far more than it may benefit them.
The Singaporeans who voted this administration into power are certainly different from the minority who voted against them. They are by and large ordinary people doing ordinary jobs and unlikely to have an advanced education. They feel voting for the administration would mean keeping their jobs, keeping their apartments and living their daily boring lives as they have done yesterday. To them ideals such as freedom of speech, expression, assembly or protest are unimportant. It doesn't matter to them that Lee Kuan Yew's son is one of the most corrupt leaders in the world paying himself millions in public funds. It does not matter to them that there is no rule of law or that the entire media is state controlled, no different from North Korea. They are in other words, a thoroughly obedient timid lot.
Such a society may be good for stability and order. But it is no good for individual ideas, innovation and independent thinking. Every single one of these people have no leadership whatsoever. They are only capable of following their leader.
This lack of independent thinking would result in their failing the global race for innovation and competitiveness. Free societies such as Australia and the West would always beat societies like that of Singapore because they are not afraid to think outside the box and question authority. In Singapore on the other hand, if you question authority, you either go to jail or face a defamation of character lawsuit and bankruptcy before Kangaroo courts.
It would also result in a growing brain drain to the West. No one independent thinking person would want to live or bring up their children in such a society where people are expected to obey unconditionally. More students would study in the West and not return while their parents would join them. This would result in a shrinking of already tiny section of Singaporeans who have a mind of their own.
The almost zero birth rate would decline even further requiring the government to import even larger numbers of immigrants from China, all of them who speak no English at all. And don't expect any independent thinking from these immigrants since they have lived their entire lives obeying the Chinese Communist Party.
It is ironic that the Singapore government have now an elections victory from which they literally cannot escape. By their victory they have sown the seeds for their own destruction, mounting brain drain, a society of mindless conformist orchestrated morons, simply a North Korea style government. If there is one difference between North Korea and Singapore, it is this. You can escape from Singapore but you cannot from North Korea.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont California
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
For 50 years now, the entire history of Singapore island, it has been under a dictatorship, first under the father Lee Kuan Yew and since his death only recently, his son. At least over the years those who wished a life of democracy did try, although not hard enough for change. In earlier days we had Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party bravely breaking unjust laws such as anti-public protests, and public speaking, and going to jail for it. The Internet was abuzz with anti government statements and people thought that this time, there might have been real change.
Any hope in that direction was finally and conclusively dashed by the electorate voting overwhelmingly for Lee Kuan Yew's son's dictatorship with a 70% vote. Immediately thereafter any sentiment for democracy was quashed. The Internet with desire of democracy went silent as if it was lights out.
Chee Soon Juan, of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party who lost badly has turned out to be a sore loser. He has come up with a long list of reasons why he lost, such as an uneven playing field, gerrymandering and fear mongering by the establishment. But one fundamental piece of evidence that he cleverly refuses to see is that for whatever reasons, the people voted for the establishment and not for him. It would be far better for him to admit that fact and ask why they are doing so and try to address that.
Singapore government's total triumph at the elections may turn out to be a double edge sword. It may hurt the island far more than it may benefit them.
The Singaporeans who voted this administration into power are certainly different from the minority who voted against them. They are by and large ordinary people doing ordinary jobs and unlikely to have an advanced education. They feel voting for the administration would mean keeping their jobs, keeping their apartments and living their daily boring lives as they have done yesterday. To them ideals such as freedom of speech, expression, assembly or protest are unimportant. It doesn't matter to them that Lee Kuan Yew's son is one of the most corrupt leaders in the world paying himself millions in public funds. It does not matter to them that there is no rule of law or that the entire media is state controlled, no different from North Korea. They are in other words, a thoroughly obedient timid lot.
Such a society may be good for stability and order. But it is no good for individual ideas, innovation and independent thinking. Every single one of these people have no leadership whatsoever. They are only capable of following their leader.
This lack of independent thinking would result in their failing the global race for innovation and competitiveness. Free societies such as Australia and the West would always beat societies like that of Singapore because they are not afraid to think outside the box and question authority. In Singapore on the other hand, if you question authority, you either go to jail or face a defamation of character lawsuit and bankruptcy before Kangaroo courts.
It would also result in a growing brain drain to the West. No one independent thinking person would want to live or bring up their children in such a society where people are expected to obey unconditionally. More students would study in the West and not return while their parents would join them. This would result in a shrinking of already tiny section of Singaporeans who have a mind of their own.
The almost zero birth rate would decline even further requiring the government to import even larger numbers of immigrants from China, all of them who speak no English at all. And don't expect any independent thinking from these immigrants since they have lived their entire lives obeying the Chinese Communist Party.
It is ironic that the Singapore government have now an elections victory from which they literally cannot escape. By their victory they have sown the seeds for their own destruction, mounting brain drain, a society of mindless conformist orchestrated morons, simply a North Korea style government. If there is one difference between North Korea and Singapore, it is this. You can escape from Singapore but you cannot from North Korea.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont California
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Singapore's broken national service policy
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Not a day goes by without Emails asking how to avoid national service. It appears as if nobody in Singapore island wants to serve. The national service system there is simply nonsensical and one can see why.
There is no problem getting enough professional pilots or naval officers. It is the army which consists almost entirely of conscripts that faces a crunch. The reasons as many.
Firstly you have an abysmally low birth rate, the lowest in the world and consequently insufficient young men. Secondly you have an ageing population who are too old to serve. Thirdly you have a totally discredited government, indeed a Fascist state with no democracy whatsoever, causing many to question why they should serve a country such as this. Fourthly you have sophisticated young men who have travelled to the West and are repulsed by the way they are treated in their own country and want no part of it.
Yet this desperate government, realizing they are in some real trouble, become the enemies of their own young men, trying to enforce the this totally broken system with threats of fines and imprisonment for failing to serve.
Here are a few things you may want to know. The Enlistment Act requires any Singapore citizen as well as second generation permanent residents to serve. Unlike citizens, permanent residents can avoid it simply by giving up their residence status subject to some penalties such as the inability to either study or wok in the island. The penalties for refusal for citizens are harsh, 2 years imprisonment and heavy fines.
You can avoid national service but it comes with some difficulty, which are not insurmountable. If you are studying abroad, simply do not return. They cannot have you extradited. While abroad, your own Embassy will be your main enemy in the sense they may not renew your passport. To overcome this, you somehow have to get valid residence status. You can do this by filing an asylum claim e.g. by raising a conscientious objector defense, or that you are a Jehovah Witness preventing you from taking up firearms. Although asylum laws do not consider refusal to do national service as a valid claim, in practice they will at least not forcibly send you back. Also in most European countries as well as United States or Canada, you can get status by marrying a local. This shouldn't be difficult especially since you are a young man.
One major downside of this is that no matter how long you stay aboard, you can never return to Singapore. If you do, you will arrested. You are in effect a lifelong fugitive from the island. Personally I don't think this is a big deal. You can go anywhere in the world even to Malaysia. In any case they can never forcibly get you to return.
It is encouraging to see more an more young men deciding to abscond from the island. I want to see the fall of this PAP one party fascist regime and the collapse of their national service policy would in some way precipitate that end.
It is a big adventure no doubt fraught with some risk to go and remain abroad to avoid national service. But I would encourage you to do it. The recent elections has made it abundantly clear that they are going to continue denying any semblance of democracy in the island, forever. So if you want to save yourself, go abroad and stay abroad. That way you not only save yourself, you are giving a solid blow to the solar plexus of the Lee regime, where it hurts.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Fremont (San Francisco) California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Not a day goes by without Emails asking how to avoid national service. It appears as if nobody in Singapore island wants to serve. The national service system there is simply nonsensical and one can see why.
There is no problem getting enough professional pilots or naval officers. It is the army which consists almost entirely of conscripts that faces a crunch. The reasons as many.
Firstly you have an abysmally low birth rate, the lowest in the world and consequently insufficient young men. Secondly you have an ageing population who are too old to serve. Thirdly you have a totally discredited government, indeed a Fascist state with no democracy whatsoever, causing many to question why they should serve a country such as this. Fourthly you have sophisticated young men who have travelled to the West and are repulsed by the way they are treated in their own country and want no part of it.
Yet this desperate government, realizing they are in some real trouble, become the enemies of their own young men, trying to enforce the this totally broken system with threats of fines and imprisonment for failing to serve.
Here are a few things you may want to know. The Enlistment Act requires any Singapore citizen as well as second generation permanent residents to serve. Unlike citizens, permanent residents can avoid it simply by giving up their residence status subject to some penalties such as the inability to either study or wok in the island. The penalties for refusal for citizens are harsh, 2 years imprisonment and heavy fines.
You can avoid national service but it comes with some difficulty, which are not insurmountable. If you are studying abroad, simply do not return. They cannot have you extradited. While abroad, your own Embassy will be your main enemy in the sense they may not renew your passport. To overcome this, you somehow have to get valid residence status. You can do this by filing an asylum claim e.g. by raising a conscientious objector defense, or that you are a Jehovah Witness preventing you from taking up firearms. Although asylum laws do not consider refusal to do national service as a valid claim, in practice they will at least not forcibly send you back. Also in most European countries as well as United States or Canada, you can get status by marrying a local. This shouldn't be difficult especially since you are a young man.
One major downside of this is that no matter how long you stay aboard, you can never return to Singapore. If you do, you will arrested. You are in effect a lifelong fugitive from the island. Personally I don't think this is a big deal. You can go anywhere in the world even to Malaysia. In any case they can never forcibly get you to return.
It is encouraging to see more an more young men deciding to abscond from the island. I want to see the fall of this PAP one party fascist regime and the collapse of their national service policy would in some way precipitate that end.
It is a big adventure no doubt fraught with some risk to go and remain abroad to avoid national service. But I would encourage you to do it. The recent elections has made it abundantly clear that they are going to continue denying any semblance of democracy in the island, forever. So if you want to save yourself, go abroad and stay abroad. That way you not only save yourself, you are giving a solid blow to the solar plexus of the Lee regime, where it hurts.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Fremont (San Francisco) California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
An inescapable electoral triumph for Singapore's ruling PAP
Ladies and Gentlemen,
September 11, 2015, a day of infamy anywhere else but not Singapore's PAP. The party founded by Lee Kuan Yew more than 50 years ago, not only won, but did so overwhelmingly at 70% vote count. As they have done for the past entire history of modern Singapore, they will now rule with renewed gusto. And this is bad news for anyone who loves freedom, as they stand for pure undiluted fascism, no freedom of speech, expression, assembly or the rule of law.
But there is another side to it. Can it be that their huge victory can in fact turn out in the long run to defeat them? I think, this victory, instead of boon, could instead hurt Singapore and make the problems it now faces only progressively worse.
Take the question of the island's huge brain drain. As many as several thousands annually who leave the island for settlement abroad principally do so because there is no democracy. It may not be so bad for a large country to lose such numbers but Singapore is a small island. With a clear sign from the results of this election that there is no chance at all for any democracy, even more people are going to leave, gradually emptying the island population of anyone with a head on his shoulders. This would require the island government to bring in even more immigrants from Communist China, which they are already doing, to make up the numbers, literally changing it into a Communist Chinese city.
Then you have the conscript army. The vast majority of young men do not want to be enlisted. They see no reason why they have to waste 2 years of their lives in a useless pursuit, especially when they have no respect for a Fascist government such as this. To make matters worse, the island has the lowest birth rate in the world adding to the dearth of conscript soldiers. And then you have the fastest ageing population anywhere in Asia. Young men who go abroad for an education never return and I get countless Emails asking me how to avoid National Service. I can say with some confidence that the national service system has totally failed and unless they do something about it, it is impossible to get a Singapore Chinese into a uniform. They rather be counting money.
Take a look at the lawyers in Singapore. A glace through the Singapore Law Society's lawyer list has names which I have never heard before, Caucasian and other foreign names. They don't sound Singaporean at all. The truth is the numbers of law students entering the profession is so low and those leaving are so high that they have simply no choice but to admit unemployed lawyers from Europe and elsewhere to fill in the blanks. As for them, it makes no difference if they happen to be in North Korea. After all Singapore is not their home and they can leave whenever they want. You can imagine the quality of lawyering.
It is the same in every other profession. Singaporeans capable of leaving want nothing to do with this Fascist police state, with no civil liberties whatever. In the not too distant future, you can expect Singapore to be something like Dubai or Abu Dhabi. A few local elite, primarily the Lee family and their relatives, and the rest guest workers who serve them. Just like in Dubai, they will let you live and work and when they don't like you, either punish you or send you home and bring others to replace you.
I am doing my best to encourage Singaporeans to stand up and demand your democratic rights. With my agitation over the years, I can confidently say that my actions have persuaded many to leave and will continue to do so. I would hope that with this writing on the wall of the recent elections, at least some Singaporeans who love their country would hopefully see the need to engage in public demonstrations and protests to demand their rights before it is too late.
Gopalan Nair
A Singaporean by birth
Fremont (San Francisco) California USA
Attorney at Law
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
September 11, 2015, a day of infamy anywhere else but not Singapore's PAP. The party founded by Lee Kuan Yew more than 50 years ago, not only won, but did so overwhelmingly at 70% vote count. As they have done for the past entire history of modern Singapore, they will now rule with renewed gusto. And this is bad news for anyone who loves freedom, as they stand for pure undiluted fascism, no freedom of speech, expression, assembly or the rule of law.
But there is another side to it. Can it be that their huge victory can in fact turn out in the long run to defeat them? I think, this victory, instead of boon, could instead hurt Singapore and make the problems it now faces only progressively worse.
Take the question of the island's huge brain drain. As many as several thousands annually who leave the island for settlement abroad principally do so because there is no democracy. It may not be so bad for a large country to lose such numbers but Singapore is a small island. With a clear sign from the results of this election that there is no chance at all for any democracy, even more people are going to leave, gradually emptying the island population of anyone with a head on his shoulders. This would require the island government to bring in even more immigrants from Communist China, which they are already doing, to make up the numbers, literally changing it into a Communist Chinese city.
Then you have the conscript army. The vast majority of young men do not want to be enlisted. They see no reason why they have to waste 2 years of their lives in a useless pursuit, especially when they have no respect for a Fascist government such as this. To make matters worse, the island has the lowest birth rate in the world adding to the dearth of conscript soldiers. And then you have the fastest ageing population anywhere in Asia. Young men who go abroad for an education never return and I get countless Emails asking me how to avoid National Service. I can say with some confidence that the national service system has totally failed and unless they do something about it, it is impossible to get a Singapore Chinese into a uniform. They rather be counting money.
Take a look at the lawyers in Singapore. A glace through the Singapore Law Society's lawyer list has names which I have never heard before, Caucasian and other foreign names. They don't sound Singaporean at all. The truth is the numbers of law students entering the profession is so low and those leaving are so high that they have simply no choice but to admit unemployed lawyers from Europe and elsewhere to fill in the blanks. As for them, it makes no difference if they happen to be in North Korea. After all Singapore is not their home and they can leave whenever they want. You can imagine the quality of lawyering.
It is the same in every other profession. Singaporeans capable of leaving want nothing to do with this Fascist police state, with no civil liberties whatever. In the not too distant future, you can expect Singapore to be something like Dubai or Abu Dhabi. A few local elite, primarily the Lee family and their relatives, and the rest guest workers who serve them. Just like in Dubai, they will let you live and work and when they don't like you, either punish you or send you home and bring others to replace you.
I am doing my best to encourage Singaporeans to stand up and demand your democratic rights. With my agitation over the years, I can confidently say that my actions have persuaded many to leave and will continue to do so. I would hope that with this writing on the wall of the recent elections, at least some Singaporeans who love their country would hopefully see the need to engage in public demonstrations and protests to demand their rights before it is too late.
Gopalan Nair
A Singaporean by birth
Fremont (San Francisco) California USA
Attorney at Law
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Friday, October 30, 2015
Democracy in Singapore is dead. Either stay and fight or leave the island
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over 50 years of Singapore's history, the ruling Lee Kuan Yew's PAP has systematically, relentlessly and with single-mindedness destroyed any semblance of democracy. With the recent elections of 2015 the death knell for any liberty was finally crushed. Since the 2011 elections where they got 60% of the votes, now they have 70% leaving them a path open to turning the island into a Stalinist Russia.
Today the island stands with no freedom of speech, no right to peaceful protest or assembly, no free press and no rule of law. The courts are merely a rubber stamp to legalize anything the state wants.
If you are prepared to live under such humiliating conditions, you can of course stay and live your slavish lives. But anyone who yearns to live as free men and not in a police state, there are only 2 options; either stand and fight for what is right or pack up and leave the island with your families for settlement in a freer society.
Standing and fighting would entail civil disobedience and civil unrest. The police of this state would arrest you and cause you all manner of hardship. In the hope that a momentum for freedom will take root, more Singaporeans agitation would turn the island into instability and uncertainty. Naturally this would mean a disruption of the economy, instability and loss of income. But I believe this is a price worth paying. Every dictatorship in the world was toppled causing a temporary disruption in the economy. But the island would recover from it and progress into a far better place, to an island with democracy and hope for all.
If you are not prepared to do this, then you must leave the island for the sake of yourselves and your children. A recent survey conducted in Australia on the Singaporean diaspora stated the main reason for leaving as their having no say in how the island is run. As you know the Singapore style government means they know everything and the people know nothing. Policies are decided daily and thrust upon the island's citizens over night without any input from the citizens. There can be no public criticism. It is as if the citizens are irrelevant and they alone decide what is best and how you should live. This leaves the average citizen no better than a 10 year old child only to be told what they should do next and what new laws are now in vogue.
The only ones to benefit from the island are the cronies and the elite who like the Chinese Mandarins of before are given supreme authority to decide anything and everything. The rest of the island are told simply to shut up and obey.
This sort of life is highly damaging to children. A child's education is not just to learn a set of rules but also the ability to think and form independent opinions. This is impossible in Singapore. Teachers are told to instill fear in the children for their government. They are told it is unwise to question authority and the best way to live is simply and obey and get in line. As a result children educated in Singapore have tertiary education and degrees, but they are incapable of independent thinking. Except for a life under Lee Kuan Yew's authoritarian Singapore, they are useless in any free society anywhere in the world because of their inability to think independently.
Let me give you an example. I live in San Francisco, Northern California. There are a few Singaporeans running around here. But you never hear of them. I presume they are all quietly working for either Singapore owned companies or for local companies. I suppose they do their jobs and quietly go home each day. They live uneventful lives. None of them make any waves. You never hear of them. I suppose you can imagine why. In order to succeed in a society such as the United States, you have to have certain qualities, such as courage, ability to think independently and to question authority. In other words to think outside the box. And this is precisely the department in which obedient Singaporeans who have lived lives prostrating under their masters fail miserably.
One striking fact that one notices of Singaporeans abroad is their inability to articulate. They are very poor speakers and shy and reluctant to stand out in public. I am sure you can see why. In a society such as Singapore where it is dangerous to stick out from the crowd, people tend to be silent instead of questioning. Indeed school teachers consider this a virtue. A good Singapore student is one who keeps his mouth shut, works hard and obeys authority. With such a character, you stand no chance in a competitive society such as the US where craziness can sometimes be a virtue.
A few days ago while driving and listening to the local public radio station KQED, I was surprised to hear some school teachers actually encouraging their students to fail. It went something like this. Students, they said should not be afraid to fail. In fact they should be encouraged to fail. They should fail as many times as they want, because the willingness to fail allows children to try new ideas, whereas fear of failure would prevent their taking risk. And risk is what drives society, not obedience. After all if you fail, you can always succeed since failure is not a sign of defeat for anyone.
I thought to myself, what brilliant advice this was. And I thought to myself that this was exactly what my life was. In Singapore I attended the elementary school now defunct Winstedt School 2 where I did brilliantly and went to Raffles Institution. In Raffles I thought I knew everything and completely ignored studies resulting in my failing the O levels very badly. I then did it again and did exceptionally well (Grade 1). I then went to A levels course but failed badly again. As a result I had to do it again in England where I did brilliantly. I then did the law studies at Hull University and barely passed. After than I did the Bar Finals in London and did brilliantly once more, securing a 14th place in order of merit among a class several hundred.
You see, you don't have to get it right the first time. If you want you can always get it right sooner or later.
But this is not the Singaporean mentality. If you don't get it right the first time, you are simply a dummy and deserve a life of everlasting mediocrity. Had I not left Singapore, I would be destined among the lowly classes eking out a living cleaning tables at food courts. Thanks to England, I have not only managed to become a lawyer, I have managed to stick at it for more than 30 years, 10 years in Singapore and 20 years in California and I hope to be at it for many more years. America gives one hope, Singapore drives you down to mediocrity and hopelessness.
If you care for yourselves and your children both the economic and mental outlook, leave the island for settlement abroad. There are many ways to do it. Today many first world democracies are looking for skilled workers. Students can secure places in foreign colleges and universities. But I would recommend not waiting until they reach college age but going when they are children. A child's mental outlook is molded at an early age when they are infants and teenagers. Once they reach college age, the damage caused by living in this one party police state greatly damages their mind permanently. It may be too late for them to cure themselves of this disease by the time they go to college.
In this day where the world is so connected, it doesn't really matter where one studies. You could easily study medicine in Poland and eventually work in the US by taking the necessary exams. A Singaporean graduate from France can easily work in Canada or every other country.
In order to do any of this both the parent and the child should have some courage and a sense of adventure. Unfortunately as these instincts are the very ones suppressed by the life under Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, I fear sadly that there may not be many takers for any of this. But if you are one of the few citizens of the island still capable of thinking independently, then go for it and emigrate.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Over 50 years of Singapore's history, the ruling Lee Kuan Yew's PAP has systematically, relentlessly and with single-mindedness destroyed any semblance of democracy. With the recent elections of 2015 the death knell for any liberty was finally crushed. Since the 2011 elections where they got 60% of the votes, now they have 70% leaving them a path open to turning the island into a Stalinist Russia.
Today the island stands with no freedom of speech, no right to peaceful protest or assembly, no free press and no rule of law. The courts are merely a rubber stamp to legalize anything the state wants.
If you are prepared to live under such humiliating conditions, you can of course stay and live your slavish lives. But anyone who yearns to live as free men and not in a police state, there are only 2 options; either stand and fight for what is right or pack up and leave the island with your families for settlement in a freer society.
Standing and fighting would entail civil disobedience and civil unrest. The police of this state would arrest you and cause you all manner of hardship. In the hope that a momentum for freedom will take root, more Singaporeans agitation would turn the island into instability and uncertainty. Naturally this would mean a disruption of the economy, instability and loss of income. But I believe this is a price worth paying. Every dictatorship in the world was toppled causing a temporary disruption in the economy. But the island would recover from it and progress into a far better place, to an island with democracy and hope for all.
If you are not prepared to do this, then you must leave the island for the sake of yourselves and your children. A recent survey conducted in Australia on the Singaporean diaspora stated the main reason for leaving as their having no say in how the island is run. As you know the Singapore style government means they know everything and the people know nothing. Policies are decided daily and thrust upon the island's citizens over night without any input from the citizens. There can be no public criticism. It is as if the citizens are irrelevant and they alone decide what is best and how you should live. This leaves the average citizen no better than a 10 year old child only to be told what they should do next and what new laws are now in vogue.
The only ones to benefit from the island are the cronies and the elite who like the Chinese Mandarins of before are given supreme authority to decide anything and everything. The rest of the island are told simply to shut up and obey.
This sort of life is highly damaging to children. A child's education is not just to learn a set of rules but also the ability to think and form independent opinions. This is impossible in Singapore. Teachers are told to instill fear in the children for their government. They are told it is unwise to question authority and the best way to live is simply and obey and get in line. As a result children educated in Singapore have tertiary education and degrees, but they are incapable of independent thinking. Except for a life under Lee Kuan Yew's authoritarian Singapore, they are useless in any free society anywhere in the world because of their inability to think independently.
Let me give you an example. I live in San Francisco, Northern California. There are a few Singaporeans running around here. But you never hear of them. I presume they are all quietly working for either Singapore owned companies or for local companies. I suppose they do their jobs and quietly go home each day. They live uneventful lives. None of them make any waves. You never hear of them. I suppose you can imagine why. In order to succeed in a society such as the United States, you have to have certain qualities, such as courage, ability to think independently and to question authority. In other words to think outside the box. And this is precisely the department in which obedient Singaporeans who have lived lives prostrating under their masters fail miserably.
One striking fact that one notices of Singaporeans abroad is their inability to articulate. They are very poor speakers and shy and reluctant to stand out in public. I am sure you can see why. In a society such as Singapore where it is dangerous to stick out from the crowd, people tend to be silent instead of questioning. Indeed school teachers consider this a virtue. A good Singapore student is one who keeps his mouth shut, works hard and obeys authority. With such a character, you stand no chance in a competitive society such as the US where craziness can sometimes be a virtue.
A few days ago while driving and listening to the local public radio station KQED, I was surprised to hear some school teachers actually encouraging their students to fail. It went something like this. Students, they said should not be afraid to fail. In fact they should be encouraged to fail. They should fail as many times as they want, because the willingness to fail allows children to try new ideas, whereas fear of failure would prevent their taking risk. And risk is what drives society, not obedience. After all if you fail, you can always succeed since failure is not a sign of defeat for anyone.
I thought to myself, what brilliant advice this was. And I thought to myself that this was exactly what my life was. In Singapore I attended the elementary school now defunct Winstedt School 2 where I did brilliantly and went to Raffles Institution. In Raffles I thought I knew everything and completely ignored studies resulting in my failing the O levels very badly. I then did it again and did exceptionally well (Grade 1). I then went to A levels course but failed badly again. As a result I had to do it again in England where I did brilliantly. I then did the law studies at Hull University and barely passed. After than I did the Bar Finals in London and did brilliantly once more, securing a 14th place in order of merit among a class several hundred.
You see, you don't have to get it right the first time. If you want you can always get it right sooner or later.
But this is not the Singaporean mentality. If you don't get it right the first time, you are simply a dummy and deserve a life of everlasting mediocrity. Had I not left Singapore, I would be destined among the lowly classes eking out a living cleaning tables at food courts. Thanks to England, I have not only managed to become a lawyer, I have managed to stick at it for more than 30 years, 10 years in Singapore and 20 years in California and I hope to be at it for many more years. America gives one hope, Singapore drives you down to mediocrity and hopelessness.
If you care for yourselves and your children both the economic and mental outlook, leave the island for settlement abroad. There are many ways to do it. Today many first world democracies are looking for skilled workers. Students can secure places in foreign colleges and universities. But I would recommend not waiting until they reach college age but going when they are children. A child's mental outlook is molded at an early age when they are infants and teenagers. Once they reach college age, the damage caused by living in this one party police state greatly damages their mind permanently. It may be too late for them to cure themselves of this disease by the time they go to college.
In this day where the world is so connected, it doesn't really matter where one studies. You could easily study medicine in Poland and eventually work in the US by taking the necessary exams. A Singaporean graduate from France can easily work in Canada or every other country.
In order to do any of this both the parent and the child should have some courage and a sense of adventure. Unfortunately as these instincts are the very ones suppressed by the life under Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore, I fear sadly that there may not be many takers for any of this. But if you are one of the few citizens of the island still capable of thinking independently, then go for it and emigrate.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Fremont, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Singapore General Elections 2015. A victory towards mediocrity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If Singapore's leaders of Lee Kuan Yew's Peoples Action Party are wallowing in their triumph, perhaps they should think again. Will their overwhelming triumph at the elections lead Singapore ahead or will it be their albatross around their necks to lead them backwards, not forwards?
For the last several decades, Lee Kuan Yew, the present Prime Minister's father had worked assiduously for one unwavering purpose, to turn the island into a total Fascist state, which it is now. The Constitution was carefully and meticulously dismantled. All the articles in them which guarantee civil liberties were all abrogated. Although there was freedom of speech, a separate section requires a police permit to speak thereby literally denying it. So was the case of the right to assembly, the right to peaceful protest and the right to demonstrate. Freedom of the press was taken away with the enactment of the Singapore Printing Presses Act requiring all newspapers to be licensed by the government literally turning the entire press to be state owned and controlled. News was effectively turned into state propaganda. The rule of law was denied turning the courts into rubber stamps for the government.
At the same time the Banking Act was amended to allow all kinds of money, both dirty and clean to flood into the island. It is home to the largest number of millionaires in the world turning the island into a haven for money launderers, drug smugglers and warlords from every corner of the world.
All this had a profound damaging effect on the people. Educated Singaporeans who were repulsed living in a fascist dictatorship where everything and everyone is state controlled began leaving the island in droves for settlement in the West. Some years ago it was reported that as many as a 1000 citizens emigrated abroad each year, a small number for a large country but a debilitating number for a tiny island. These were the cream of Singapore society, the professionals, the lawyers, doctors and scientists. We are not sure what the number is today but the recent election results no doubt will continue increasing the numbers leaving.
The abysmal low birth rate is literally turning the island local population into extinction. Despite huge amount of propaganda propping up the regime,. the locals simply refuse to procreate in sufficient numbers and it is believed that in a few decades, the island's local population will be reduced to zero. To counteract this slide to extinction, the government brings in planeloads of Chinese from mainland China, Indians from India and Filipinos to make up the numbers. These recent immigrants are totally economic migrants who have arrived in the island only because they were turned down by their preferred destinations of Australia, New Zealand Canada or the US. In other words second rate migrants who have no stake or even interest in the island except to make a buck and move on. They live and work in the island just because they have to, not because of the glory of the Republic of Singapore.
These destructive phenomena are entirely because of the island having gone into disrepute thanks to Lee Kuan Yew and now his son, the Prime Minister. Any discerning local citizen would find the very pillars of this government repulsive. Who would want to live in an island that punishes free speech through defamation actions in Kangaroo Courts? Where you can be arrested even though you peacefully stood at a street corner holding up a political placard. Where at the slightest indication of political opposition, you are liable to lose your job and eternally victimized in every aspect of your life. Where as an educated citizen, you are condemned to read nothing but state propaganda in the newspapers. Where success at any endeavor requires loyalty to Lee Kuan Yew's ruling PAP.
The 2015 elections has unwittingly sealed their fate towards mediocrity. Before the elections, the aspirations of the minority who believed democracy to be possible have been roundly dashed. The 70% vote of overwhelming victory for Fascism and dictatorship meant that there was no hope of the island ever achieving democracy in the foreseeable future. The majority of the islanders, it appears have willingly accepted their lives under the Fascist state.
What this means is dire and gloom. Even more local citizens would leave for democracy aboard. Which means even more Chinese mainlanders looking for fast buck will flood the island. Consequence, those with thought they had a stake in the island leave only to be replaced by temporary economic migrants. Realizing there is no hope of ever living in freedom and liberty, the island's birth rate will fall even lower and the path to extinction of the Singaporean race will speed up even more.
Educated and thinking Singaporeans would refuse to live this way and take their families and children for lives abroad.
What is going to happen very soon is a totally mindless society who have no choice to totally submit their minds and their actions to the ruling party philosophy. Just as in Nazi Germany the only way to survive was to completely espouse the philosophy of the Hitler's Nazi Party.
What is sad in this gloomy scenario is that the thinking and discerning opposition have no leaders whatsoever. Until recently the hope was in the Singapore's Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan who showed some spine in the face of these unforgiving punishing rulers. But even he has succumbed and literally given up. Having been trounced at the recent elections, it appears he too has gone into hibernation.
I can see this overwhelming victory for these Fascists in authority only as the beginning of the slide to the island's mediocrity. No country that loses it's best and brightest where the only avenue to success is to be a card carrying government supporter can ever hope to achieve any greatness. Because this need to submit to authority dampens the human spirit, instills fear among the population, a cowardly society living in fear can never achieve innovation, invention, competition nor greatness. In effect their overwhelming victory has become the albatross around their neck.
Gopalan Nair
Formerly Singaporean
Fremont, California near San Francisco
If Singapore's leaders of Lee Kuan Yew's Peoples Action Party are wallowing in their triumph, perhaps they should think again. Will their overwhelming triumph at the elections lead Singapore ahead or will it be their albatross around their necks to lead them backwards, not forwards?
For the last several decades, Lee Kuan Yew, the present Prime Minister's father had worked assiduously for one unwavering purpose, to turn the island into a total Fascist state, which it is now. The Constitution was carefully and meticulously dismantled. All the articles in them which guarantee civil liberties were all abrogated. Although there was freedom of speech, a separate section requires a police permit to speak thereby literally denying it. So was the case of the right to assembly, the right to peaceful protest and the right to demonstrate. Freedom of the press was taken away with the enactment of the Singapore Printing Presses Act requiring all newspapers to be licensed by the government literally turning the entire press to be state owned and controlled. News was effectively turned into state propaganda. The rule of law was denied turning the courts into rubber stamps for the government.
At the same time the Banking Act was amended to allow all kinds of money, both dirty and clean to flood into the island. It is home to the largest number of millionaires in the world turning the island into a haven for money launderers, drug smugglers and warlords from every corner of the world.
All this had a profound damaging effect on the people. Educated Singaporeans who were repulsed living in a fascist dictatorship where everything and everyone is state controlled began leaving the island in droves for settlement in the West. Some years ago it was reported that as many as a 1000 citizens emigrated abroad each year, a small number for a large country but a debilitating number for a tiny island. These were the cream of Singapore society, the professionals, the lawyers, doctors and scientists. We are not sure what the number is today but the recent election results no doubt will continue increasing the numbers leaving.
The abysmal low birth rate is literally turning the island local population into extinction. Despite huge amount of propaganda propping up the regime,. the locals simply refuse to procreate in sufficient numbers and it is believed that in a few decades, the island's local population will be reduced to zero. To counteract this slide to extinction, the government brings in planeloads of Chinese from mainland China, Indians from India and Filipinos to make up the numbers. These recent immigrants are totally economic migrants who have arrived in the island only because they were turned down by their preferred destinations of Australia, New Zealand Canada or the US. In other words second rate migrants who have no stake or even interest in the island except to make a buck and move on. They live and work in the island just because they have to, not because of the glory of the Republic of Singapore.
These destructive phenomena are entirely because of the island having gone into disrepute thanks to Lee Kuan Yew and now his son, the Prime Minister. Any discerning local citizen would find the very pillars of this government repulsive. Who would want to live in an island that punishes free speech through defamation actions in Kangaroo Courts? Where you can be arrested even though you peacefully stood at a street corner holding up a political placard. Where at the slightest indication of political opposition, you are liable to lose your job and eternally victimized in every aspect of your life. Where as an educated citizen, you are condemned to read nothing but state propaganda in the newspapers. Where success at any endeavor requires loyalty to Lee Kuan Yew's ruling PAP.
The 2015 elections has unwittingly sealed their fate towards mediocrity. Before the elections, the aspirations of the minority who believed democracy to be possible have been roundly dashed. The 70% vote of overwhelming victory for Fascism and dictatorship meant that there was no hope of the island ever achieving democracy in the foreseeable future. The majority of the islanders, it appears have willingly accepted their lives under the Fascist state.
What this means is dire and gloom. Even more local citizens would leave for democracy aboard. Which means even more Chinese mainlanders looking for fast buck will flood the island. Consequence, those with thought they had a stake in the island leave only to be replaced by temporary economic migrants. Realizing there is no hope of ever living in freedom and liberty, the island's birth rate will fall even lower and the path to extinction of the Singaporean race will speed up even more.
Educated and thinking Singaporeans would refuse to live this way and take their families and children for lives abroad.
What is going to happen very soon is a totally mindless society who have no choice to totally submit their minds and their actions to the ruling party philosophy. Just as in Nazi Germany the only way to survive was to completely espouse the philosophy of the Hitler's Nazi Party.
What is sad in this gloomy scenario is that the thinking and discerning opposition have no leaders whatsoever. Until recently the hope was in the Singapore's Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan who showed some spine in the face of these unforgiving punishing rulers. But even he has succumbed and literally given up. Having been trounced at the recent elections, it appears he too has gone into hibernation.
I can see this overwhelming victory for these Fascists in authority only as the beginning of the slide to the island's mediocrity. No country that loses it's best and brightest where the only avenue to success is to be a card carrying government supporter can ever hope to achieve any greatness. Because this need to submit to authority dampens the human spirit, instills fear among the population, a cowardly society living in fear can never achieve innovation, invention, competition nor greatness. In effect their overwhelming victory has become the albatross around their neck.
Gopalan Nair
Formerly Singaporean
Fremont, California near San Francisco
Monday, October 12, 2015
Singapore General Elections 2015. A Brief on Singapore politician Chee Soon Juan
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore elections have just been over. The voters have overwhelmingly voted for Lee Kuan Yew's son's party The Peoples Action Party (PAP) which has been ruling the island uninterrupted since 1959. This island government is for all intents and purposes Fascist.
There is no freedom of speech expression or assembly. The vast majority of Singaporeans either work for the government or in government linked companies. They fear retribution and loss of livelihood if seen to oppose the regime.
Even those working for private companies fear open opposition to the regime will result in retribution from the government. You have a judiciary which are simply Kangaroo judges in Kangaroo courts rubber stamping the wishes of the government.
All newspapers and media are state controlled. The elections are rigged so as to ensure the ruling party's victory. In these circumstances it must be abundantly clear especially for the mightily well read Chee Soon Juan that elections will take him nowhere.
I write about Chee because he is worth writing about. Among all the opposition politicians who are no better than helpless mice, at least he is seen to have the courage to stand up to the regime.
His career in opposition politics has been a life long tragedy. He has been at it for the last 25 years. During this entire time he has not managed to advance his party one inch. In fact his stewardship has in fact taken his party several steps back.
In this election he has reduced his support to a mere 2/3 of the electorate. Almost 75% of the voters voted against him and his party, a much worse result than in previous years. In other countries, such a devastating blow would have required his resignation but not so in Singapore His people are still with him, but to what purpose?
The fault with Chee is not the lack of knowledge. No one can dispute the fact that he is the most well read man in the entire island. Question is, with all that wisdom, why is he not able to make it happen?
I have personally known Chee during the short time I was in Singapore when they arrested me and threw me in jail for writing a blog post criticizing the judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean. I have also been following his activity for the last 25 years. This is what I can say of him.
What he lacks in not knowledge. He lacks the ability to understand his objectives and then the means to achieve it. Freedom House has quite rightly said that Singaporeans are incapable of changing their government through the ballot box. The Fascist regime is there to stay as long as the people simply contest elections and do no more.
What is needed is democracy first and then elections. What is needed is the right to freedom of speech, assembly and peaceful protest first. Because without these preconditions, elections are useless.
Chee has to ask himself the question whether he believes in democracy. Whether a democratic Singapore is ultimately for the good of the island. If that is decided, then he should do what is necessary to bring it about. Only then would elections means anything.
I have no doubt Chee believes this, that democracy is for the ultimate good of the island. Fascism is not. Why? Because with democracy the full potential of the human being can be released without fear of reprisals. New ideas means progress. It means competition. And progress and competition are good things to yearn for.
Chee's problem is that he is not master of his own will. He is swayed by what others tell him. For instance he has been told that the Chinese mentality, of which they are the majority in the island, are averse to confrontation and therefore not amenable to such things as civil disobedience.
He has been told that he would not have any support if he openly confronts the government through peaceful protests and demonstrations and therefore should do no more than contesting elections. But common sense would tell him that under these circumstances, when their very livelihood depends on the government, no one would dare openly challenge the government. Which explains why Hitler and Mussolini continued to receive universal support.
Although he initially had staged numerous protests and civil disobedience to demand justice, he gave it all up because he was told that it will not work. And he simply went along with it.
I am not sure if I am a good judge of human character but I will say this. Whether you are Chinese, Caucasian or Mulatto, we are all human beings. And human beings will ultimately support what is right and oppose what is wrong. And the other thing that Chee should know, which I believe he does, is that the majority do not always carry the day. It is justice that carries the day ultimately. And there is ample evidence in history to show that you don't need the masses to overthrow unjust regimes, it only takes a handful.
When Fidel Castro rose against Batista, he had only a handful of men. Over time it grew and he overthrew the mighty Batista. And why? Because he was right and Batista was wrong. You see this pattern repeated throughout the world in the millennium.
Despite Lee Kuan Yew's son putting food on the table, his regime is inherently unjust. Anyone with eyes can see that. Denying freedom of speech and peaceful assembly is wrong anywhere. And fighting for human freedoms is right, anywhere in the world, including Singapore.
My message to Chee is this. Use your head. You have a good head. Make up your mind what your objectives are. There is no doubt Chee's objectives are noble and honorable. Freedom is a good thing for the people of Singapore, there is no doubt about it. And since the regime is unwilling to give the freedom that people rightly deserve, you should demand it through every possible means, including civil disobedience protests strikes and every other means that you can think of.
As was seen in the overwhelming rallies during the elections, there are many Singaporeans who would be prepared to take the route of civil disobedience, since they have no other option under the Lee's overwhelming control over the island. They simply refuse to allow the citizens their fundamental rights.
During Mandela's trial at Rivonia, he admitted that he used violent means to overthrow the apartheid regime because had he played according to the rules then existing in South Africa, his people would never be able to gain their freedom.
I am not suggesting violent means like Mandela. I am advocating lawful peaceful means such as protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience. What you should do is to provoke the government and their police to act against you. When they do, the injustice becomes open to view. This means more people would see the injustice and more would join your ranks.
You should keep the clamor for freedom live on a daily basis on the streets for all to see. Provoking the issue in public on a daily basis. Forcing the government to use ever increasing repressive measures. And slowly turning the tide in your favor and against Lee's repression. Not simply going away and coming back in 2020 like all the other parties are going to do to contest elections and thereafter going away for another 5 years and reappearing.
In Cuba Castro's forces did not defeat the Batista regime in reality. Batista himself destroyed Batista. During the protests and agitation, the Cuban police became ever more brutal and their open brutality made the support of Castro to swell to such an extent that Batista collapsed under his own weight.
Chee should realize that he has no other option. If he waits for 2020 to try at the next elections, he would only lose once more. And he would be near 60. And he will leave politics leaving behind a wasted life, not having achieved nothing.
On the other hand if he decides on civil disobedience for democracy, he may have only a handful at first. But as Lee Kuan Yew's son uses force and more force to suppress the just aspirations of his people, his popularity would slowly grow and swell to numbers that will eventually destroy them. And even if what I say does not necessarily happen, what choice does Chee have anyway? Because if he simply waits to do the same thing in 2020, he knows he will fail again.
On the other hand if he wants to enter Parliament at any cost, then he should what the Workers Party does. An astute observer of Singapore would know that Workers Party did not win because they were good. They won because the Lee's party wanted them to win. It gives a much better impression to the world of Singapore if you had at least a few opposition members in Parliament.
And what better opposition can you get than the Workers Party who are in politics not to further the opposition cause but to further that of the ruling party. In fact it is well known that the PAP themselves had gone around urging people to vote the opposition as they dreaded the image of being a one party state with total control of the Parliament. So although they are in fact in total control, for international consumption, they can at least say that there is an opposition in Parliament.
So if Chee wants to be another Workers Party style politician, moderate your criticism of the rulers. Go once step further and praise them and hopefully they might admit you to the club.
Gopalan Nair
Fremont California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Singapore elections have just been over. The voters have overwhelmingly voted for Lee Kuan Yew's son's party The Peoples Action Party (PAP) which has been ruling the island uninterrupted since 1959. This island government is for all intents and purposes Fascist.
There is no freedom of speech expression or assembly. The vast majority of Singaporeans either work for the government or in government linked companies. They fear retribution and loss of livelihood if seen to oppose the regime.
Even those working for private companies fear open opposition to the regime will result in retribution from the government. You have a judiciary which are simply Kangaroo judges in Kangaroo courts rubber stamping the wishes of the government.
All newspapers and media are state controlled. The elections are rigged so as to ensure the ruling party's victory. In these circumstances it must be abundantly clear especially for the mightily well read Chee Soon Juan that elections will take him nowhere.
I write about Chee because he is worth writing about. Among all the opposition politicians who are no better than helpless mice, at least he is seen to have the courage to stand up to the regime.
His career in opposition politics has been a life long tragedy. He has been at it for the last 25 years. During this entire time he has not managed to advance his party one inch. In fact his stewardship has in fact taken his party several steps back.
In this election he has reduced his support to a mere 2/3 of the electorate. Almost 75% of the voters voted against him and his party, a much worse result than in previous years. In other countries, such a devastating blow would have required his resignation but not so in Singapore His people are still with him, but to what purpose?
The fault with Chee is not the lack of knowledge. No one can dispute the fact that he is the most well read man in the entire island. Question is, with all that wisdom, why is he not able to make it happen?
I have personally known Chee during the short time I was in Singapore when they arrested me and threw me in jail for writing a blog post criticizing the judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean. I have also been following his activity for the last 25 years. This is what I can say of him.
What he lacks in not knowledge. He lacks the ability to understand his objectives and then the means to achieve it. Freedom House has quite rightly said that Singaporeans are incapable of changing their government through the ballot box. The Fascist regime is there to stay as long as the people simply contest elections and do no more.
What is needed is democracy first and then elections. What is needed is the right to freedom of speech, assembly and peaceful protest first. Because without these preconditions, elections are useless.
Chee has to ask himself the question whether he believes in democracy. Whether a democratic Singapore is ultimately for the good of the island. If that is decided, then he should do what is necessary to bring it about. Only then would elections means anything.
I have no doubt Chee believes this, that democracy is for the ultimate good of the island. Fascism is not. Why? Because with democracy the full potential of the human being can be released without fear of reprisals. New ideas means progress. It means competition. And progress and competition are good things to yearn for.
Chee's problem is that he is not master of his own will. He is swayed by what others tell him. For instance he has been told that the Chinese mentality, of which they are the majority in the island, are averse to confrontation and therefore not amenable to such things as civil disobedience.
He has been told that he would not have any support if he openly confronts the government through peaceful protests and demonstrations and therefore should do no more than contesting elections. But common sense would tell him that under these circumstances, when their very livelihood depends on the government, no one would dare openly challenge the government. Which explains why Hitler and Mussolini continued to receive universal support.
Although he initially had staged numerous protests and civil disobedience to demand justice, he gave it all up because he was told that it will not work. And he simply went along with it.
I am not sure if I am a good judge of human character but I will say this. Whether you are Chinese, Caucasian or Mulatto, we are all human beings. And human beings will ultimately support what is right and oppose what is wrong. And the other thing that Chee should know, which I believe he does, is that the majority do not always carry the day. It is justice that carries the day ultimately. And there is ample evidence in history to show that you don't need the masses to overthrow unjust regimes, it only takes a handful.
When Fidel Castro rose against Batista, he had only a handful of men. Over time it grew and he overthrew the mighty Batista. And why? Because he was right and Batista was wrong. You see this pattern repeated throughout the world in the millennium.
Despite Lee Kuan Yew's son putting food on the table, his regime is inherently unjust. Anyone with eyes can see that. Denying freedom of speech and peaceful assembly is wrong anywhere. And fighting for human freedoms is right, anywhere in the world, including Singapore.
My message to Chee is this. Use your head. You have a good head. Make up your mind what your objectives are. There is no doubt Chee's objectives are noble and honorable. Freedom is a good thing for the people of Singapore, there is no doubt about it. And since the regime is unwilling to give the freedom that people rightly deserve, you should demand it through every possible means, including civil disobedience protests strikes and every other means that you can think of.
As was seen in the overwhelming rallies during the elections, there are many Singaporeans who would be prepared to take the route of civil disobedience, since they have no other option under the Lee's overwhelming control over the island. They simply refuse to allow the citizens their fundamental rights.
During Mandela's trial at Rivonia, he admitted that he used violent means to overthrow the apartheid regime because had he played according to the rules then existing in South Africa, his people would never be able to gain their freedom.
I am not suggesting violent means like Mandela. I am advocating lawful peaceful means such as protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience. What you should do is to provoke the government and their police to act against you. When they do, the injustice becomes open to view. This means more people would see the injustice and more would join your ranks.
You should keep the clamor for freedom live on a daily basis on the streets for all to see. Provoking the issue in public on a daily basis. Forcing the government to use ever increasing repressive measures. And slowly turning the tide in your favor and against Lee's repression. Not simply going away and coming back in 2020 like all the other parties are going to do to contest elections and thereafter going away for another 5 years and reappearing.
In Cuba Castro's forces did not defeat the Batista regime in reality. Batista himself destroyed Batista. During the protests and agitation, the Cuban police became ever more brutal and their open brutality made the support of Castro to swell to such an extent that Batista collapsed under his own weight.
Chee should realize that he has no other option. If he waits for 2020 to try at the next elections, he would only lose once more. And he would be near 60. And he will leave politics leaving behind a wasted life, not having achieved nothing.
On the other hand if he decides on civil disobedience for democracy, he may have only a handful at first. But as Lee Kuan Yew's son uses force and more force to suppress the just aspirations of his people, his popularity would slowly grow and swell to numbers that will eventually destroy them. And even if what I say does not necessarily happen, what choice does Chee have anyway? Because if he simply waits to do the same thing in 2020, he knows he will fail again.
On the other hand if he wants to enter Parliament at any cost, then he should what the Workers Party does. An astute observer of Singapore would know that Workers Party did not win because they were good. They won because the Lee's party wanted them to win. It gives a much better impression to the world of Singapore if you had at least a few opposition members in Parliament.
And what better opposition can you get than the Workers Party who are in politics not to further the opposition cause but to further that of the ruling party. In fact it is well known that the PAP themselves had gone around urging people to vote the opposition as they dreaded the image of being a one party state with total control of the Parliament. So although they are in fact in total control, for international consumption, they can at least say that there is an opposition in Parliament.
So if Chee wants to be another Workers Party style politician, moderate your criticism of the rulers. Go once step further and praise them and hopefully they might admit you to the club.
Gopalan Nair
Fremont California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Singaporeans living under a one party dictatorship have lost their ability to think rationally and common sense
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Unless the Singaporean is able to think rationally and exercise common sense as normal human beings, which they appear incapable of, they will forever live under a one party police state as they do now.
At the recent elections, the ruling Lee Kuan Yew's Peoples Action Party which has been running the island for the last 50 years uninterrupted, won again, this time, not surprisingly, with an increased majority. The reasons must appear obvious. Singaporeans have no constitutional rights whatsoever. No right to free speech, free assembly, peaceful protest, no means of challenging the ruling government whatsoever. Additionally there is no free press and no rule of law. The citizens are literally living as slaves and totally obedient to the ruling PAP.
They voted overwhelmingly for this one party state government under which they live with no rights at all! After all in reality, despite the elections, they have no real chance of voting for anyone else.
In Singapore where there is a total denial of human rights, the citizens have no opportunity to engage the government. Public speeches are disallowed. Anyone with a contrary opinion has no way either to make it known to the public, to engage the government or to have their views published in the media which is entirely state controlled. The opposition cannot engage the government on their views. Except for blogs and the social media, where even here, you can be sued for defamation, jailed and bankrupted, the citizens are simply prevented from expressing or promoting their views. The only time they are allowed to make speeches in public is a span of a mere 9 days in every 5 years during the elections, although even here, the speeches have to be muted and carefully moderated lest you are sued for defamation or worse arrested.
Surely anyone with common sense would know that such a system is either fascism or a dictatorship. And any right thinking person who wants to live a free man, like we all do would oppose this.
But the strange thing about the Singaporean is that he doesn't think this way, as a normal person anywhere else would. Through years of subjugation, his thought process is no longer normal. He is prepared to willingly accept these laws without question.
He simply obeys the law which prevents him from speaking publicly, although such a law is totally nonsensical.
Any other person in any other country would have looked at it this way. It is simply outrageous for any law to make it illegal for me to stand at a street corner and complain against the government. I am not hurting anyone by doing so and therefore a law which punishes me from doing something totally harmless is clearly wrong and no one needs obey. Therefore any ordinary rational foreigner would have no hesitation in breaking such a law but the Singaporean simply is incapable of acting in that fashion. He has undergone behavior training for so long and subjected to years of living under fear that his thought process has permanently shifted from the normal.
What harm am I doing anyone if I stood with a placard peacefully at Raffles Place at lunchtime with the words "Down Down PAP". No one is harmed by that and a law which makes it illegal is clearly an ass.
In Singapore it is illegal to assemble in a group in public even though you are entirely peaceful. What harm are you doing anyone else if 5 of you got together in a public place and held up anti- government posters, absolutely none. Yet Lee Kuan Yew's Son's government makes it illegal too and the people of Singapore on their part simply obey.
In Singapore even though the Constitution guarantees a free press, the entire press in the island is state controlled, yet the average Singaporean makes no complaint of this transgression.
What then happens as a result of these phenomena is the Singaporean during their entire lives are totally incapable and unable to exercise their right of self determination and are totally kept out of any participation in government. They allow the government to do entirely what they want by their complete inability to challenge the government even remotely their entire lives.
Singaporeans through years of living under such total control have lost their ability to think.
The recent elections in the island where the ruling party not only won as they have done for the past 50 years but had even increased their majority to 70% should have come as no surprise in an behavior trained island such as this.
Opposition political parties such as Chee Soon Juan's Singapore Democratic Party had worked very hard at the recent elections but had lost very badly. They got just 30%. I would have told them they had no chance at all and were simply wasting their time. What surprises me is this. Why does Chee Soon Juan, undoubtedly a man of immense wisdom is incapable of understanding this simple truth.
Chee Soon Juan would be not only wasting his time but that of his party if he continued in his merry way of waiting for 2020 to try his luck once more. In order to persuade the electorate, he should speak in public, make speeches, organize protests against government laws and policies and organize peaceful demonstrations if the state does not respond to his legitimate demands. These actions are necessary to put out his message to the public. And these actions, although perfectly legal under normally understood laws or morality, it so happens, are also crimes under Lee Kuan Yew's laws.
So until and unless Chee Soon Juan is prepared to break these laws, which are plainly illegal as they are, he would never be able to persuade his voters because he cannot get the message across effectively and will not be able to engage the government as he should.
What he has done so far is going from house to house asking for support. But why should they when he has not shown throughout his time as a citizen of Singapore any willingness to challenge the unjust policies by whatever lawful means necessary, which includes peaceful protests, public speeches and civil disobedience (disobedience to unjust laws). He should know that under the Constitution of Singapore, freedom of expression, assembly and protest are guaranteed Constitutional rights and the restrictions placed on them by this government are illegal.
Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party which is a party most representative of democracy in the island, should engage the government throughout the 5 years up till the next elections. Not just writing blogs and asking people to support him which is not enough; because no one need support him since he can do nothing for them.
There are several burning issues for which he has a huge support base, as was seen in his recent huge election rallies.
One such issue is immigration which is totally destroying the local population. Another is the lack of minimum wage and the plight of the poor.
Form the huge support he had at rallies, he knows he can garner huge numbers for protests for redress. These protests will also force the government to respond to these issues resulting in the government being held responsible for their actions, visibly in the public eye, throughout the 5 years, not just at election time. The trick lies in engaging the government throughout, not just during 9 days every 5 years.
Unless the people of Singapore and their leaders such as Chee Soon Juan are prepared to exercise their minds to rational thinking and do what is peaceful and just to challenge this government, not once in 5 years but throughout their lives in the island; unless the people of Singapore are able to use their common sense and thinking as rational normal human beings, Lee Kuan Yew's PAP will continue to rule over their lives in 2020 and beyond and they will continue to live as slaves as they do now.
And my advice to Chee Soon Juan is this. If you are going to do the same as you have done for the past 20 years, please leave politics and do something else to help yourself. And as for his supporters including the Dr. Paul Anand Thambiyah, I will say this. You are backing the wrong horse. You are wasting your time with Chee Soon Juan and his Singapore Democratic Party because he is leading you nowhere. You could spend your time better doing something useful, not something you know is going to fail again, 5 years time in 2020 and thereafter too. I strongly urge Chee Soon Juan to think rationally and logically, for once.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by Birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco, California
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Unless the Singaporean is able to think rationally and exercise common sense as normal human beings, which they appear incapable of, they will forever live under a one party police state as they do now.
At the recent elections, the ruling Lee Kuan Yew's Peoples Action Party which has been running the island for the last 50 years uninterrupted, won again, this time, not surprisingly, with an increased majority. The reasons must appear obvious. Singaporeans have no constitutional rights whatsoever. No right to free speech, free assembly, peaceful protest, no means of challenging the ruling government whatsoever. Additionally there is no free press and no rule of law. The citizens are literally living as slaves and totally obedient to the ruling PAP.
They voted overwhelmingly for this one party state government under which they live with no rights at all! After all in reality, despite the elections, they have no real chance of voting for anyone else.
In Singapore where there is a total denial of human rights, the citizens have no opportunity to engage the government. Public speeches are disallowed. Anyone with a contrary opinion has no way either to make it known to the public, to engage the government or to have their views published in the media which is entirely state controlled. The opposition cannot engage the government on their views. Except for blogs and the social media, where even here, you can be sued for defamation, jailed and bankrupted, the citizens are simply prevented from expressing or promoting their views. The only time they are allowed to make speeches in public is a span of a mere 9 days in every 5 years during the elections, although even here, the speeches have to be muted and carefully moderated lest you are sued for defamation or worse arrested.
Surely anyone with common sense would know that such a system is either fascism or a dictatorship. And any right thinking person who wants to live a free man, like we all do would oppose this.
But the strange thing about the Singaporean is that he doesn't think this way, as a normal person anywhere else would. Through years of subjugation, his thought process is no longer normal. He is prepared to willingly accept these laws without question.
He simply obeys the law which prevents him from speaking publicly, although such a law is totally nonsensical.
Any other person in any other country would have looked at it this way. It is simply outrageous for any law to make it illegal for me to stand at a street corner and complain against the government. I am not hurting anyone by doing so and therefore a law which punishes me from doing something totally harmless is clearly wrong and no one needs obey. Therefore any ordinary rational foreigner would have no hesitation in breaking such a law but the Singaporean simply is incapable of acting in that fashion. He has undergone behavior training for so long and subjected to years of living under fear that his thought process has permanently shifted from the normal.
What harm am I doing anyone if I stood with a placard peacefully at Raffles Place at lunchtime with the words "Down Down PAP". No one is harmed by that and a law which makes it illegal is clearly an ass.
In Singapore it is illegal to assemble in a group in public even though you are entirely peaceful. What harm are you doing anyone else if 5 of you got together in a public place and held up anti- government posters, absolutely none. Yet Lee Kuan Yew's Son's government makes it illegal too and the people of Singapore on their part simply obey.
In Singapore even though the Constitution guarantees a free press, the entire press in the island is state controlled, yet the average Singaporean makes no complaint of this transgression.
What then happens as a result of these phenomena is the Singaporean during their entire lives are totally incapable and unable to exercise their right of self determination and are totally kept out of any participation in government. They allow the government to do entirely what they want by their complete inability to challenge the government even remotely their entire lives.
Singaporeans through years of living under such total control have lost their ability to think.
The recent elections in the island where the ruling party not only won as they have done for the past 50 years but had even increased their majority to 70% should have come as no surprise in an behavior trained island such as this.
Opposition political parties such as Chee Soon Juan's Singapore Democratic Party had worked very hard at the recent elections but had lost very badly. They got just 30%. I would have told them they had no chance at all and were simply wasting their time. What surprises me is this. Why does Chee Soon Juan, undoubtedly a man of immense wisdom is incapable of understanding this simple truth.
Chee Soon Juan would be not only wasting his time but that of his party if he continued in his merry way of waiting for 2020 to try his luck once more. In order to persuade the electorate, he should speak in public, make speeches, organize protests against government laws and policies and organize peaceful demonstrations if the state does not respond to his legitimate demands. These actions are necessary to put out his message to the public. And these actions, although perfectly legal under normally understood laws or morality, it so happens, are also crimes under Lee Kuan Yew's laws.
So until and unless Chee Soon Juan is prepared to break these laws, which are plainly illegal as they are, he would never be able to persuade his voters because he cannot get the message across effectively and will not be able to engage the government as he should.
What he has done so far is going from house to house asking for support. But why should they when he has not shown throughout his time as a citizen of Singapore any willingness to challenge the unjust policies by whatever lawful means necessary, which includes peaceful protests, public speeches and civil disobedience (disobedience to unjust laws). He should know that under the Constitution of Singapore, freedom of expression, assembly and protest are guaranteed Constitutional rights and the restrictions placed on them by this government are illegal.
Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party which is a party most representative of democracy in the island, should engage the government throughout the 5 years up till the next elections. Not just writing blogs and asking people to support him which is not enough; because no one need support him since he can do nothing for them.
There are several burning issues for which he has a huge support base, as was seen in his recent huge election rallies.
One such issue is immigration which is totally destroying the local population. Another is the lack of minimum wage and the plight of the poor.
Form the huge support he had at rallies, he knows he can garner huge numbers for protests for redress. These protests will also force the government to respond to these issues resulting in the government being held responsible for their actions, visibly in the public eye, throughout the 5 years, not just at election time. The trick lies in engaging the government throughout, not just during 9 days every 5 years.
Unless the people of Singapore and their leaders such as Chee Soon Juan are prepared to exercise their minds to rational thinking and do what is peaceful and just to challenge this government, not once in 5 years but throughout their lives in the island; unless the people of Singapore are able to use their common sense and thinking as rational normal human beings, Lee Kuan Yew's PAP will continue to rule over their lives in 2020 and beyond and they will continue to live as slaves as they do now.
And my advice to Chee Soon Juan is this. If you are going to do the same as you have done for the past 20 years, please leave politics and do something else to help yourself. And as for his supporters including the Dr. Paul Anand Thambiyah, I will say this. You are backing the wrong horse. You are wasting your time with Chee Soon Juan and his Singapore Democratic Party because he is leading you nowhere. You could spend your time better doing something useful, not something you know is going to fail again, 5 years time in 2020 and thereafter too. I strongly urge Chee Soon Juan to think rationally and logically, for once.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by Birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco, California
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
A satire on Singapore's one party nanny state
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore picture's as a nanny state where nannies (Lee Kuan Yew's son and his selected friends known as the PAP) are the rulers and the citizens, 5 year old children who live in a nursery (the island of Singapore).
The nannies have complete control over the children who are not allowed freedom of speech or openly criticize their nannies. One such child, Roy Ngerng who criticized the chief nanny, Lee Kuan Yew's son, was recently sued and will soon be made a bankrupt. No child in the Chief Nanny's nursery is allowed to openly criticize any nanny.
The children are never allowed to protest publicly, organize speeches or write anything critical in newspapers of general circulation. All newspapers and Media are owned and controlled by the nannies.
In effect the children throughout their lives are totally controlled by their nannies. They have no say in how the nannies run their lives. However the nannies allow the children one privilege. They are allowed once in 5 years to form political parties, provided the nannies give permission and stand for elections against the nannies.
But the children have no chance of ever of beating the nannies as every child lives in apartments owned by the nannies, they work in companies owned by them and if they show any attempt of a challenge, would immediately be arrested and thrown in jail. For fear of losing their jobs and livelihood, the children always vote for the nannies. In any case, since the children have no experience whatsoever in government their entire lives, since the nannies never give them a chance, the children would rather vote for the nannies rather than the inexperienced children.
A week ago, the nannies held their elections where the nannies obtained an overwhelming 70% of the votes. As the children have no means of realistically challenging the nannies under these circumstances it is certain the nannies will always win. What the nannies want is for the children to do their jobs without complaining and allow the nannies to provide for them. The nannies have promised to provide jobs, housing and all necessities of life for the children provided they are obedient and quietly do their jobs and live their lives. The nannies get upset if you complain too much as this, they say, affects their ability to serve the children in the best way possible.
After the latest elections, many children have written their views on why the nannies have got a large percentage. Some children attribute this to the nannies being more attentive to the children needs. Some children have accused the nannies of not taking care of the public transport system due to repeated breakdowns. The nannies have promised that next time they would take better care of the transport. The children have also complained to the nannies that they are allowing too many foreigners into the island and the nannies have promised to take care of that too. In fact the Chief nanny has promised that he will take good care of the children with better housing better jobs and more money and expects even more children to vote for the nannies and whoever the nannies place in positions of authority.
Many children feel their lives have got better because of their nannies. When the Chief nanny's father Lee Kuan Yew died recently, there was outpouring of grief for him being the greatest and kindest nanny of all. How sad they were to have lost a nanny like him.
The children in the nursery are overwhelming happy to live under the compassionate loving care of such nannies. In fact the children voted a whopping 70% for the nannies at the recent elections. They look forward to many years of good life under such kind and loving nannies who will build roads for them, build the schools and provide jobs. There are some children in the nursery who are disobedient and had to punished. One such wayward child was Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party. This child made all sorts of accusations against the nannies and challenged the nannies at the recent elections. The overwhelming majority of children who are all grateful to the nannies trounced this wayward recalcitrant Chee Soon Juan at the elections by giving him even less than a quarter of the votes. The evidence shows the majority of the children detest this child Chee Soon Juan and would hope he would go away.
Since the elections, as always, things are going on as normal. The children have since stopped talking about the recent elections anymore and have gotten down to life as usual in the nursery. The trains are running, the buses are running, the people are working, the clocks are ticking and the children in the nursery have gone back to their daily lives under the kind and loving care of their nannies.
In five years time, in 2020, the children will be given another chance at the elections. In the meantime, they should not complain, openly criticize their nannies, form peaceful protests and not ask embarrassing questions and generally be quiet and obedient. The nannies will feed house clothe and take care of them as they have always done. The nannies have promised that the lives of the children will be even better than it ever was. As for the children, they are so happy to have such kind caring and loving nannies.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email : nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Singapore picture's as a nanny state where nannies (Lee Kuan Yew's son and his selected friends known as the PAP) are the rulers and the citizens, 5 year old children who live in a nursery (the island of Singapore).
The nannies have complete control over the children who are not allowed freedom of speech or openly criticize their nannies. One such child, Roy Ngerng who criticized the chief nanny, Lee Kuan Yew's son, was recently sued and will soon be made a bankrupt. No child in the Chief Nanny's nursery is allowed to openly criticize any nanny.
The children are never allowed to protest publicly, organize speeches or write anything critical in newspapers of general circulation. All newspapers and Media are owned and controlled by the nannies.
In effect the children throughout their lives are totally controlled by their nannies. They have no say in how the nannies run their lives. However the nannies allow the children one privilege. They are allowed once in 5 years to form political parties, provided the nannies give permission and stand for elections against the nannies.
But the children have no chance of ever of beating the nannies as every child lives in apartments owned by the nannies, they work in companies owned by them and if they show any attempt of a challenge, would immediately be arrested and thrown in jail. For fear of losing their jobs and livelihood, the children always vote for the nannies. In any case, since the children have no experience whatsoever in government their entire lives, since the nannies never give them a chance, the children would rather vote for the nannies rather than the inexperienced children.
A week ago, the nannies held their elections where the nannies obtained an overwhelming 70% of the votes. As the children have no means of realistically challenging the nannies under these circumstances it is certain the nannies will always win. What the nannies want is for the children to do their jobs without complaining and allow the nannies to provide for them. The nannies have promised to provide jobs, housing and all necessities of life for the children provided they are obedient and quietly do their jobs and live their lives. The nannies get upset if you complain too much as this, they say, affects their ability to serve the children in the best way possible.
After the latest elections, many children have written their views on why the nannies have got a large percentage. Some children attribute this to the nannies being more attentive to the children needs. Some children have accused the nannies of not taking care of the public transport system due to repeated breakdowns. The nannies have promised that next time they would take better care of the transport. The children have also complained to the nannies that they are allowing too many foreigners into the island and the nannies have promised to take care of that too. In fact the Chief nanny has promised that he will take good care of the children with better housing better jobs and more money and expects even more children to vote for the nannies and whoever the nannies place in positions of authority.
Many children feel their lives have got better because of their nannies. When the Chief nanny's father Lee Kuan Yew died recently, there was outpouring of grief for him being the greatest and kindest nanny of all. How sad they were to have lost a nanny like him.
The children in the nursery are overwhelming happy to live under the compassionate loving care of such nannies. In fact the children voted a whopping 70% for the nannies at the recent elections. They look forward to many years of good life under such kind and loving nannies who will build roads for them, build the schools and provide jobs. There are some children in the nursery who are disobedient and had to punished. One such wayward child was Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party. This child made all sorts of accusations against the nannies and challenged the nannies at the recent elections. The overwhelming majority of children who are all grateful to the nannies trounced this wayward recalcitrant Chee Soon Juan at the elections by giving him even less than a quarter of the votes. The evidence shows the majority of the children detest this child Chee Soon Juan and would hope he would go away.
Since the elections, as always, things are going on as normal. The children have since stopped talking about the recent elections anymore and have gotten down to life as usual in the nursery. The trains are running, the buses are running, the people are working, the clocks are ticking and the children in the nursery have gone back to their daily lives under the kind and loving care of their nannies.
In five years time, in 2020, the children will be given another chance at the elections. In the meantime, they should not complain, openly criticize their nannies, form peaceful protests and not ask embarrassing questions and generally be quiet and obedient. The nannies will feed house clothe and take care of them as they have always done. The nannies have promised that the lives of the children will be even better than it ever was. As for the children, they are so happy to have such kind caring and loving nannies.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email : nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
After the recent elections Singapore is on course to self destruct
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Although Singapore started off as an intended democracy replete with Constitutional rights of free speech expression assembly and the rule of law, it has been transformed over the entire 50 years of its history to a total dictatorship run by the Lee family and their PAP assisted by highly paid willing collaborators. Today it has no free speech, expression or assembly or the rule of law with the rulers totally corrupt paying themselves millions which they conveniently call a salary.
As a result there is a mounting brain drain which was reported as much as 1000 per year of the most highly educated and skilled among it's population all making a bee line to the West. This report of a 1000 was some years ago. Today we can expect the number to be several times that. With the results of the recent elections which gave the ruling dictators an even greater majority of votes, those yearning to be free have given up all hope and we can expect the brain drain to multiply several fold.
It is natural that with an increasingly educated English speaking population, they would want to have more freedom and a right to self determination and freedom of thought and action. No one would want to live in a society which totally controls their lives where in order to survive, one has to totally submit to the powers above.
As a result of the ongoing brain drain, the government is left with no option but to bringing in increasing numbers from the nearby impoverished countries to take up the slack. As a result of the increasing rate of immigration the society is being transformed into entirely something else. As the largest number of these recent immigrants are from China, the society is being transformed into a society where the ethos, norms and culture of the island is that of any city in China, no longer Singaporean. And as even more foreigners come in to live among native Singaporeans, they find this uncomfortable thereby pushing even more to escape to the West.
This dissatisfaction resulting from the lack of freedom and democracy is manifest in other ways too. The island has the lowest birth rate in the world, 1.2%, which means that births do not even replace those dying. The rate of marriage is extremely low too. The state's answer to this is simply to increase immigration into the country thereby alienating even more of the educated population.
As more people leave they bring in even more and the vicious cycle continues.
And then the elections are a complete farce. With the electorate prevented from organizing, forming individual opinions and ideas and engaging in any form of political activity, the government conducts elections once ever 5 years. Naturally the government will win all the seats since the electorate has been denied any chance to engage in political activity.
On top of that the government has a wide intelligence apparatus, to rival even the Soviet KGB or the East German Stasi, watching every move of its citizens resulting a blanket of fear in the society to engage in any activity seen contrary to that of the government. As the people live in fear of their government, there is no means for them to redress any of their grievances while the government continues to win every single elections every 5 years.
Another reason for the abysmally lack of childbirth or marriages is the fact that there is absolutely no safety net provided by the government for the disadvantaged. There are no minimum wage laws, no social security and those in financial straits are simply left to fend for themselves. One can in a large agricultural country at least move to the country side and live off the land. This is not possible in a tiny island with only concrete buildings.
The result of this sort of control over the entire island would mean, even more people would leave, the birth rate would continue to decline and the government's only option would be to do the same, which is to bring even more foreigners to replace those who keep leaving.
Today even the most loyal and patriotic among Singaporeans see no other alternative but to leave. Remaining would be to continue living under the yoke of this totalitarian regime. The 70% victory at the recent polls would mean that the local Singaporeans who want to live in a democracy have simply no hope of achieving it. The Internet which was rife and awash with criticism of the government has become totally silent after the PAP's victory as they know that it is simply a waste of time to clamor for democracy, an aim which is virtually unattainable.
Today it is reported that as much as 40% of the population are made up of recent arrivals who were the main cause of this high election support for the government, since new immigrants in any society, not having any stake in the country would naturally support whichever government is in power. With even more immigrants in the society, who would vote for the PAP, it is certain that the island would be turned into another Communist China where the entire country supports one political party in power.
With the local citizens finding themselves without any recourse to redress of grievances, one could possibly imagine serious upheaval and violent protests as a means to redress their plight. In the not too distant past there have been numerous instances of young Singaporeans vandalizing government property with graffiti and property damage and the government's response has always been a harsh suppression. There may come a time when the minority demanding political space would be pushed to a mass riot or mass violence. This is the natural reaction in any society where the state does not provide any grievance procedure for those disadvantaged.
Swiftly you are going to see an entire island of foreign Chinese displacing every single local while locals are all living in Australia and the West. This would also mean the losing of the island's competitive advantage with an island populated entirely with mindless conformists who trade their freedom for survival under Lee's PAP.
The recent elections should make the fact that it is impossible to introduce democracy through the ballot box. The only way to achieve it is through massive civil unrest, peaceful protests and demonstrations. The path to democracy in Singapore is through the streets, not through the ballot box. For those out there who yearn for freedom, this fact should be crystal clear by now. Waiting for 2020 for the next elections is hopeless; you would not only lose but thanks to the overwhelming majority of foreigners in the island who have no stake in their country, the vote for this totalitarian one party state would be 90%, not 70% as now.
My opinion for those who wish to live in a democracy and who wish to save their island or what is left of it, you have no choice but to take the bit between your teeth now. You have to engage in massive peaceful protests, even if it means being arrested and jailed. If you are not prepared to do that, the only other option is to pack up and leave Singapore. Either way the island is headed to self destruction.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Although Singapore started off as an intended democracy replete with Constitutional rights of free speech expression assembly and the rule of law, it has been transformed over the entire 50 years of its history to a total dictatorship run by the Lee family and their PAP assisted by highly paid willing collaborators. Today it has no free speech, expression or assembly or the rule of law with the rulers totally corrupt paying themselves millions which they conveniently call a salary.
As a result there is a mounting brain drain which was reported as much as 1000 per year of the most highly educated and skilled among it's population all making a bee line to the West. This report of a 1000 was some years ago. Today we can expect the number to be several times that. With the results of the recent elections which gave the ruling dictators an even greater majority of votes, those yearning to be free have given up all hope and we can expect the brain drain to multiply several fold.
It is natural that with an increasingly educated English speaking population, they would want to have more freedom and a right to self determination and freedom of thought and action. No one would want to live in a society which totally controls their lives where in order to survive, one has to totally submit to the powers above.
As a result of the ongoing brain drain, the government is left with no option but to bringing in increasing numbers from the nearby impoverished countries to take up the slack. As a result of the increasing rate of immigration the society is being transformed into entirely something else. As the largest number of these recent immigrants are from China, the society is being transformed into a society where the ethos, norms and culture of the island is that of any city in China, no longer Singaporean. And as even more foreigners come in to live among native Singaporeans, they find this uncomfortable thereby pushing even more to escape to the West.
This dissatisfaction resulting from the lack of freedom and democracy is manifest in other ways too. The island has the lowest birth rate in the world, 1.2%, which means that births do not even replace those dying. The rate of marriage is extremely low too. The state's answer to this is simply to increase immigration into the country thereby alienating even more of the educated population.
As more people leave they bring in even more and the vicious cycle continues.
And then the elections are a complete farce. With the electorate prevented from organizing, forming individual opinions and ideas and engaging in any form of political activity, the government conducts elections once ever 5 years. Naturally the government will win all the seats since the electorate has been denied any chance to engage in political activity.
On top of that the government has a wide intelligence apparatus, to rival even the Soviet KGB or the East German Stasi, watching every move of its citizens resulting a blanket of fear in the society to engage in any activity seen contrary to that of the government. As the people live in fear of their government, there is no means for them to redress any of their grievances while the government continues to win every single elections every 5 years.
Another reason for the abysmally lack of childbirth or marriages is the fact that there is absolutely no safety net provided by the government for the disadvantaged. There are no minimum wage laws, no social security and those in financial straits are simply left to fend for themselves. One can in a large agricultural country at least move to the country side and live off the land. This is not possible in a tiny island with only concrete buildings.
The result of this sort of control over the entire island would mean, even more people would leave, the birth rate would continue to decline and the government's only option would be to do the same, which is to bring even more foreigners to replace those who keep leaving.
Today even the most loyal and patriotic among Singaporeans see no other alternative but to leave. Remaining would be to continue living under the yoke of this totalitarian regime. The 70% victory at the recent polls would mean that the local Singaporeans who want to live in a democracy have simply no hope of achieving it. The Internet which was rife and awash with criticism of the government has become totally silent after the PAP's victory as they know that it is simply a waste of time to clamor for democracy, an aim which is virtually unattainable.
Today it is reported that as much as 40% of the population are made up of recent arrivals who were the main cause of this high election support for the government, since new immigrants in any society, not having any stake in the country would naturally support whichever government is in power. With even more immigrants in the society, who would vote for the PAP, it is certain that the island would be turned into another Communist China where the entire country supports one political party in power.
With the local citizens finding themselves without any recourse to redress of grievances, one could possibly imagine serious upheaval and violent protests as a means to redress their plight. In the not too distant past there have been numerous instances of young Singaporeans vandalizing government property with graffiti and property damage and the government's response has always been a harsh suppression. There may come a time when the minority demanding political space would be pushed to a mass riot or mass violence. This is the natural reaction in any society where the state does not provide any grievance procedure for those disadvantaged.
Swiftly you are going to see an entire island of foreign Chinese displacing every single local while locals are all living in Australia and the West. This would also mean the losing of the island's competitive advantage with an island populated entirely with mindless conformists who trade their freedom for survival under Lee's PAP.
The recent elections should make the fact that it is impossible to introduce democracy through the ballot box. The only way to achieve it is through massive civil unrest, peaceful protests and demonstrations. The path to democracy in Singapore is through the streets, not through the ballot box. For those out there who yearn for freedom, this fact should be crystal clear by now. Waiting for 2020 for the next elections is hopeless; you would not only lose but thanks to the overwhelming majority of foreigners in the island who have no stake in their country, the vote for this totalitarian one party state would be 90%, not 70% as now.
My opinion for those who wish to live in a democracy and who wish to save their island or what is left of it, you have no choice but to take the bit between your teeth now. You have to engage in massive peaceful protests, even if it means being arrested and jailed. If you are not prepared to do that, the only other option is to pack up and leave Singapore. Either way the island is headed to self destruction.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Monday, September 14, 2015
Singapore Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan should lead his people
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's Chee Soon Juan and his opposition Singapore Democratic Party has lost yet again at the polls with a further reduced margin. Under his leadership for 2 decades, they have not won a single seat. If he goes on with the way he has, he will not win the next election. Or even ever win any elections.
It is not for lack of trying. God knows he tried. But it is what he is doing that is the question.
Singapore is not a democracy. It is a Fascist dictatorship. Every aspect of life in the island is state controlled. People live in government housing. Their retirement funds are government controlled. Being the largest employer, the state controls their livelihood. There is no rule of law and judges are appointed to carry out government orders. Freedom of speech, assembly, peaceful protest are all denied. Critics are inevitably sued for defamation, bankrupted and thrown out of their jobs. Except for once in 5 years at election time, public speeches are prohibited. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to challenge government policies in a democratic way.
Chee Soon Juan knows this. Yet he complies with these unjust laws, spends his entire time as a boffin reading books, formulating ideas, giving speeches at foreign universities, and occasionally makes his rounds at public hawker centers asking people to vote for him, and every 5 years contests elections which he inevitably loses, like clockwork.
There is a glaring flaw in what he does. When the state controls their entire lives, simply writing blogs and asking people to support you makes no sense. Why should anyone support you just because you say so, when it is the government that gives you housing, puts food on the table and decides whether you should get a taxi license or not.
What I am trying to say is this. If Chee wants to be a leader, he should behave like one. From this recent elections, he knows there are serious faults with this government. For one the government's massive inflow of foreign labor has not only thrown thousands of locals out of jobs, it has seriously suppressed wages. So now he has a ready made audience in these oppressed Singaporeans. He should organize protests for these citizens to demand that the government listens.
Another burning issue is the rising cost of living literally pushing locals below the poverty line. So what should he do? He should champion the cause of these poor people by organizing protests and demonstrations to demand that the government make sure there is a minimum wage so people can at least survive.
Like this, through first hand knowledge from the elections, he knows there are crippling issues crying out for a leader to speak for them on the streets to demand justice. And when I mean speak for them, I don't mean writing blogs and learned treatises that Chee does. Instead he should engage in real activism on the ground, through peaceful protests and demonstrations to demand his people's rights.
If I could ask Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Fidel Castro or Che Guevara as to what they would do, I am sure they would say, just that. And mind you they all fought governments that were similar to that of today's Fascist dictatorial Singapore; they did not rise in free and democratic societies.
I know that any mention of peaceful protests in Singapore would immediately attract criticism with such claims as "Singaporeans do not like to protest", or "the Chinese do not like confrontation" etc., and immediately the idea is dampened. And unfortunately despite Chee's great wisdom, he goes along with this, just because that is the going mantra in the island.
Let me tell you that the Chinese or Singaporeans are no different from anyone else. We are all human beings and we will act like human beings, whether white man, black man, Mongoloid or Mulatoo.
And then of course there is the danger of what will befall Chee if he does this. It is certain that he will be arrested and imprisoned and so would his supporters. And it is also likely that his supporters would simply leave and he would be left alone or with just a handful. It is very likely that Chee's Singapore Democratic Party which he has nurtured cultivated and grown would disintegrate.
But then so what? The principle should be that one should do what is right, not what is popular. Even if Chee is imprisoned and his party disintegrates, in the end, no one can question that his action was the right one. And I have always believed that the path of the truth will eventually always prevail even it it takes longer. And the other advantage of this course of action is the people whom he supports would consider him their champion and his popularity on the ground can only increase over time because people will know that here is a man they could turn to who will take action for their rights. Not just a person who writes blogs and meets them occasionally asking for their support.
The other advantage is the fact that the demand for democracy would be kept alive thought the 5 years instead of silence for 4 years and 20 days and then 9 days of political rallies. This is what Chee Soon Juan is doing now and this is why he is not getting anywhere.
I am not suggesting that protests and demonstrations on behalf of his people would get him anywhere soon. But it will build his base, and garner real support, support that is personal that people can relate to, not just arguments and ideas.
He can also provide social services. Volunteer time to give free tuition classes. Provide financial assistance and groceries. Defend them against unjust court actions through volunteer legal services. I can imagine a great many other things he could do. He could demonstrate outside the government housing agency HDB when poor Joe Blokes is facing eviction. He could harass and corral the government into a corner unable to defend their unjust policies. He will come out a hero, even if a battered hero. He will become Singapore's Gandhi. And as Gandhi he will enter Parliament. But even if he does not enter Parliament, he will nevertheless be a Gandhi.
It will take time and a great deal of pain. But eventually I have no doubt that the unrelenting demand for his people's rights would begin to make a dent in Lee's Fascist dictatorial regime and they would have to concede their actions.
There is no problem in Chee getting sufficient supporters for a protest against massive immigration denying the citizen's jobs and income. There is no problem in Chee getting sufficient numbers to protest against the rising cost of living. Of course I know that such protests are illegal under Singapore's unjust laws. But then there are laws and there are laws. Chee should be ready and willing to break these unjust laws and by breaking them he will be seen as a true leader who is not afraid to stand his ground. Gandhi and Mandela would.
I have written several blogs about Chee Soon Juan. I believe that Chee is the only politician who has sufficient wisdom and experience to be a leader of his people. As for the others who have stood for elections, they are not worth even mentioning. They are just opportunists who crop up once every 5 years. As for Loh Thia Khiang, he is just another version of the ruling PAP. As for those who ran this time, you are not going to hear anymore of them until 5 years at the next elections.
I hope Chee reads this blog. I am afraid that if he complies with these rules that do not allow any political participation in the island, he will not only loose the next elections, he will go into oblivion. I do believe the axiom, when you are in a hole, stop digging.
I am keeping watch on Chee Soon Juan because only he can ensure that one day I can return to Singapore because as long as this Fascist government is in place, I am afraid for my liberty and well being if I ever step in there. But I do believe that I will one day return to Singapore, which can happen only if Chee succeds. I will tell you a story. Many years ago, when I was about 16 and living in Singapore, I was walking along Serangoon Road when I met a fortune teller on the street, seated on a sidewalk and reading your palm. Even then I always wanted to go abroad to Europe. So I asked him to read my palm. I asked him if I would ever go abroad to which he said I will travel to many countries. I then asked him where will I die thinking that I might die in Europe or America. To my astonishment he said I will die in Singapore! I think therefore, Chee Soon Juan might win after all since only through his victory can I ever possibly return!
* No anonymous comments please.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Singaporean by birth
American citizen
San Francisco, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Singapore's Chee Soon Juan and his opposition Singapore Democratic Party has lost yet again at the polls with a further reduced margin. Under his leadership for 2 decades, they have not won a single seat. If he goes on with the way he has, he will not win the next election. Or even ever win any elections.
It is not for lack of trying. God knows he tried. But it is what he is doing that is the question.
Singapore is not a democracy. It is a Fascist dictatorship. Every aspect of life in the island is state controlled. People live in government housing. Their retirement funds are government controlled. Being the largest employer, the state controls their livelihood. There is no rule of law and judges are appointed to carry out government orders. Freedom of speech, assembly, peaceful protest are all denied. Critics are inevitably sued for defamation, bankrupted and thrown out of their jobs. Except for once in 5 years at election time, public speeches are prohibited. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to challenge government policies in a democratic way.
Chee Soon Juan knows this. Yet he complies with these unjust laws, spends his entire time as a boffin reading books, formulating ideas, giving speeches at foreign universities, and occasionally makes his rounds at public hawker centers asking people to vote for him, and every 5 years contests elections which he inevitably loses, like clockwork.
There is a glaring flaw in what he does. When the state controls their entire lives, simply writing blogs and asking people to support you makes no sense. Why should anyone support you just because you say so, when it is the government that gives you housing, puts food on the table and decides whether you should get a taxi license or not.
What I am trying to say is this. If Chee wants to be a leader, he should behave like one. From this recent elections, he knows there are serious faults with this government. For one the government's massive inflow of foreign labor has not only thrown thousands of locals out of jobs, it has seriously suppressed wages. So now he has a ready made audience in these oppressed Singaporeans. He should organize protests for these citizens to demand that the government listens.
Another burning issue is the rising cost of living literally pushing locals below the poverty line. So what should he do? He should champion the cause of these poor people by organizing protests and demonstrations to demand that the government make sure there is a minimum wage so people can at least survive.
Like this, through first hand knowledge from the elections, he knows there are crippling issues crying out for a leader to speak for them on the streets to demand justice. And when I mean speak for them, I don't mean writing blogs and learned treatises that Chee does. Instead he should engage in real activism on the ground, through peaceful protests and demonstrations to demand his people's rights.
If I could ask Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Fidel Castro or Che Guevara as to what they would do, I am sure they would say, just that. And mind you they all fought governments that were similar to that of today's Fascist dictatorial Singapore; they did not rise in free and democratic societies.
I know that any mention of peaceful protests in Singapore would immediately attract criticism with such claims as "Singaporeans do not like to protest", or "the Chinese do not like confrontation" etc., and immediately the idea is dampened. And unfortunately despite Chee's great wisdom, he goes along with this, just because that is the going mantra in the island.
Let me tell you that the Chinese or Singaporeans are no different from anyone else. We are all human beings and we will act like human beings, whether white man, black man, Mongoloid or Mulatoo.
And then of course there is the danger of what will befall Chee if he does this. It is certain that he will be arrested and imprisoned and so would his supporters. And it is also likely that his supporters would simply leave and he would be left alone or with just a handful. It is very likely that Chee's Singapore Democratic Party which he has nurtured cultivated and grown would disintegrate.
But then so what? The principle should be that one should do what is right, not what is popular. Even if Chee is imprisoned and his party disintegrates, in the end, no one can question that his action was the right one. And I have always believed that the path of the truth will eventually always prevail even it it takes longer. And the other advantage of this course of action is the people whom he supports would consider him their champion and his popularity on the ground can only increase over time because people will know that here is a man they could turn to who will take action for their rights. Not just a person who writes blogs and meets them occasionally asking for their support.
The other advantage is the fact that the demand for democracy would be kept alive thought the 5 years instead of silence for 4 years and 20 days and then 9 days of political rallies. This is what Chee Soon Juan is doing now and this is why he is not getting anywhere.
I am not suggesting that protests and demonstrations on behalf of his people would get him anywhere soon. But it will build his base, and garner real support, support that is personal that people can relate to, not just arguments and ideas.
He can also provide social services. Volunteer time to give free tuition classes. Provide financial assistance and groceries. Defend them against unjust court actions through volunteer legal services. I can imagine a great many other things he could do. He could demonstrate outside the government housing agency HDB when poor Joe Blokes is facing eviction. He could harass and corral the government into a corner unable to defend their unjust policies. He will come out a hero, even if a battered hero. He will become Singapore's Gandhi. And as Gandhi he will enter Parliament. But even if he does not enter Parliament, he will nevertheless be a Gandhi.
It will take time and a great deal of pain. But eventually I have no doubt that the unrelenting demand for his people's rights would begin to make a dent in Lee's Fascist dictatorial regime and they would have to concede their actions.
There is no problem in Chee getting sufficient supporters for a protest against massive immigration denying the citizen's jobs and income. There is no problem in Chee getting sufficient numbers to protest against the rising cost of living. Of course I know that such protests are illegal under Singapore's unjust laws. But then there are laws and there are laws. Chee should be ready and willing to break these unjust laws and by breaking them he will be seen as a true leader who is not afraid to stand his ground. Gandhi and Mandela would.
I have written several blogs about Chee Soon Juan. I believe that Chee is the only politician who has sufficient wisdom and experience to be a leader of his people. As for the others who have stood for elections, they are not worth even mentioning. They are just opportunists who crop up once every 5 years. As for Loh Thia Khiang, he is just another version of the ruling PAP. As for those who ran this time, you are not going to hear anymore of them until 5 years at the next elections.
I hope Chee reads this blog. I am afraid that if he complies with these rules that do not allow any political participation in the island, he will not only loose the next elections, he will go into oblivion. I do believe the axiom, when you are in a hole, stop digging.
I am keeping watch on Chee Soon Juan because only he can ensure that one day I can return to Singapore because as long as this Fascist government is in place, I am afraid for my liberty and well being if I ever step in there. But I do believe that I will one day return to Singapore, which can happen only if Chee succeds. I will tell you a story. Many years ago, when I was about 16 and living in Singapore, I was walking along Serangoon Road when I met a fortune teller on the street, seated on a sidewalk and reading your palm. Even then I always wanted to go abroad to Europe. So I asked him to read my palm. I asked him if I would ever go abroad to which he said I will travel to many countries. I then asked him where will I die thinking that I might die in Europe or America. To my astonishment he said I will die in Singapore! I think therefore, Chee Soon Juan might win after all since only through his victory can I ever possibly return!
* No anonymous comments please.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
Singaporean by birth
American citizen
San Francisco, California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Singapore Democratic Party's Chee Soon Juan has lost again at the elections. Why?
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the last 25 years, almost an entire career, Chee Soon Juan, the highly educated and passionate politician wanting to bring democratic change to Singapore island has consistently failed in all elections. The question is why.
I was born and educated and was persecuted by the regime in the island for opposing their authoritarian government. I understand the system well to make this evaluation.
Singapore island today is a business center, where the educated and skilled upper and middle class do reasonably well, on condition they do not openly challenge the regime. On the whole, they have no qualms with the government.
Then there is almost a third of the population who live at or below the poverty line eking out a living. The second important fact is that people generally are not political philosophers and thinkers and they don't generally care too much about ideals such as democracy or human rights, as long as they can get by. And in Singapore although there are no human rights, the rule of law or an independent judiciary, these things do not resonate so much on the island's people as would bread and butter issues.
Chee Soon Juan has claimed all along to be a champion of the oppressed poor, of which there is a sizable population in the island.
The problem with him is that although he articulates the problems of the oppressed and makes speeches, writes learned treatises and blogs on the issue, expecting his people to read them and consequently support him, he does not really do anything tangible to alleviate their problems.
He appears to think that as long as you articulate these issues and problems and the need for change, the people would naturally gravitate towards him and make him their hero. This is where the fallacy lies. This is where he is wrong.
The other problem is Chee Soon Juan himself. He is not a man who is capable of forming his own opinions on the issues and follow it through regardless of what his supporters say. Instead he sways with the wind, doing one thing at times and changing tack completely because his supporters had told him otherwise.
Chee Soon Juan should know by now that half of his so called supporters are in fact Lee Kuan Yew's embedded moles whose job is to see to it that he destroys himself. I have grave suspicions of such people as Jeffrey George who is one of Chee's political handymen. He runs around seemingly running errands for Chee and goading him on on a path that takes him nowhere.
To give an example, Chee espousing the ideals of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela had set about a sustained course of civil disobedience believing, and rightly so, that without democracy, there is no point in elections. He believed and righlty so, that the first thing you have to address is democracy, from which all other grievances will be redressed.
Suddelnly post 2008, Chee changed tack althother. He gave up civil disobedience in the pursuit of democracy altogether, and decided to work to get into parliament simply by persuasion, but complying with the unjust laws that prevent him any space to achieve it.
Remember, Singapore has no right to free speech, expression or assembly and the courts are mere Kangaroo courts. His reason was that his supporters told him otherwise and he has to listen to his supporters. To give effect to his purpose, that he has given up on civil disobedience altogether, he purged anyone who supported him in that aim. Gandhi Ambalam his Chairman, Seelan Palay, Kai Xiong and many others were unceremoniously shown the door. I too was sent to Coventry.
Now having moderated his stand, presumably not to antagonize the government, given up on civil disobedience and played according to the PAP's rules, he finds himself not only having lost, but his support greatly diminished.
My advice to Chee Soon Juan is this. First you identify the problem. Then you look to means to solve the problem. And most importantly forget about focusing on getting into parliament, but instead focus on trying to be a champion of the people because once he achieves that, he will undoubtedly enter parliament. By focusing on trying to get into parliament without first creating a solid support base on the ground, he is effectively placing the cart before the horse.
A lot can be learned from leaders such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King. If Gandhi and Mandela had decided to work with the authorities, like Chee has decided to do, write learned treatises, blog posts and gave speeches at foreign universities like Chee does, India would still be British India and Mandela would still be under FW DeKlerk's South Africa under apartheid. These men have identified the problem and decided that they would use any means necessary to bring it about (unlawful and violent if necessary).
I am not by any means suggesting even for a moment that Chee should use violent means. But there are just laws and unjust laws. Just laws need to be followed, unjust laws need to be broken. These great leaders that I mentioned were never dissuaded from being imprisoned, tortured or even killed. They were prepared to do what is right, as long as it was right, even if it means breaking unjust laws.
Like these leaders, Chee should have a plan to help the oppressed, not just by talking to them but actually doing something to help them. He should set up an office or a base in one of the poorer sections of Singapore's state owned housing estates. He should be prepared to help anyone who was in need, by writing letters to government authorities for housing or a denial of a license or need for financial assistance. If the government does not respond, he should take it further by organizing a protest or a picket outside the housing authority demanding justice for the resident. Naturally he will be arrested under the unjust laws in the island but he should be prepared to suffer the punishment and consistently do it again for anyone who was in need.
There is also the public advantage of this course of action in public perception. He would seen as a man who really stood up for his people, relentlessly, and would come out as a champion of the oppressed. A man whom the oppressed can trust.
There is also the difficulty of the government in trying to deal with such a champion. With the entire Singapore population watching this injustice to the resident as well as to Chee, he would gain in popularity and more and more people would seek him as their champion against the oppression.
In time he would bee seen as a man who does some good for his people, not just speaking and persuading them as a snake oil salesman would do.
By actually standing up for the poor, not just in words but in action, he would soon get island wide support among the poor and slowly also the support of other sections of Singapore society.
Once he entrenches himself as a champion of the people, he should, if the government allows him to contest elections, which is unlikely, definitely win. But even if he is prevented from contesting elections by this Fascist regime, nothing is lost because he would still be the champion of his people.
Sooner or later, if he has the energy to persist in his cause for his people, this regime will be forced to concede. And at such time Chee would have such strong support on the ground, he would be the leader, with or without this government's consent.
There is no real reason for anyone to support him just because he went around talking to them and made them promises. Just as I would not care about a snake oil salesman who comes around telling me that I would be cured only if I bough his snake oil.
There is no doubt that such a course is an uphill battle, an uphill battle in any case where the government denies civil liberties and who control practically ever aspect of a citizen's life.
But it is a battle that can be won provided he has the courage and the persistence to stay the course. In Chee's case, it is not a difficult decision to make, since after all he has already spent 25 years, an entire career in his political pursuit. Another 25 years of fighting the PAP should not dissuade him. Furthermore Chee is not a stranger to arrest and imprisonment and the prospect of further punishment should not deter a man in Chee's circumstances.
I remember a quotation from a golfer who was asked what he wanted to be. He said he wanted to be a rich man and secondly the best golfer. And then he said, if he became the best golfer, he need not worry about his objective of being rich because that would automatically follow.
In Chee's case he should work towards being a champion of his people in their daily lives. Once this objective is achieved, he will surely win all his elections.
But most importantly, he should do what is right. Not just what others tell him to do, even if this means he is temporarily alone, a one man army.
The ground is in favor of Chee Soon Juan, just as the ground was in favor of Fidel Castro under the corrupt government of Batista, of Gandhi under the unjust colonial yoke, Mandela under the unjust apartheid regime and King under the unjust racial laws of discrimination. They saw their purpose and fearlessly worked for it, never mind what anyone else thought. Similarly Chee should see his cause and work at it, never mind what Jeffrey George and other PAP moles in his party has to say.
*No anonymous comments please.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
For the last 25 years, almost an entire career, Chee Soon Juan, the highly educated and passionate politician wanting to bring democratic change to Singapore island has consistently failed in all elections. The question is why.
I was born and educated and was persecuted by the regime in the island for opposing their authoritarian government. I understand the system well to make this evaluation.
Singapore island today is a business center, where the educated and skilled upper and middle class do reasonably well, on condition they do not openly challenge the regime. On the whole, they have no qualms with the government.
Then there is almost a third of the population who live at or below the poverty line eking out a living. The second important fact is that people generally are not political philosophers and thinkers and they don't generally care too much about ideals such as democracy or human rights, as long as they can get by. And in Singapore although there are no human rights, the rule of law or an independent judiciary, these things do not resonate so much on the island's people as would bread and butter issues.
Chee Soon Juan has claimed all along to be a champion of the oppressed poor, of which there is a sizable population in the island.
The problem with him is that although he articulates the problems of the oppressed and makes speeches, writes learned treatises and blogs on the issue, expecting his people to read them and consequently support him, he does not really do anything tangible to alleviate their problems.
He appears to think that as long as you articulate these issues and problems and the need for change, the people would naturally gravitate towards him and make him their hero. This is where the fallacy lies. This is where he is wrong.
The other problem is Chee Soon Juan himself. He is not a man who is capable of forming his own opinions on the issues and follow it through regardless of what his supporters say. Instead he sways with the wind, doing one thing at times and changing tack completely because his supporters had told him otherwise.
Chee Soon Juan should know by now that half of his so called supporters are in fact Lee Kuan Yew's embedded moles whose job is to see to it that he destroys himself. I have grave suspicions of such people as Jeffrey George who is one of Chee's political handymen. He runs around seemingly running errands for Chee and goading him on on a path that takes him nowhere.
To give an example, Chee espousing the ideals of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela had set about a sustained course of civil disobedience believing, and rightly so, that without democracy, there is no point in elections. He believed and righlty so, that the first thing you have to address is democracy, from which all other grievances will be redressed.
Suddelnly post 2008, Chee changed tack althother. He gave up civil disobedience in the pursuit of democracy altogether, and decided to work to get into parliament simply by persuasion, but complying with the unjust laws that prevent him any space to achieve it.
Remember, Singapore has no right to free speech, expression or assembly and the courts are mere Kangaroo courts. His reason was that his supporters told him otherwise and he has to listen to his supporters. To give effect to his purpose, that he has given up on civil disobedience altogether, he purged anyone who supported him in that aim. Gandhi Ambalam his Chairman, Seelan Palay, Kai Xiong and many others were unceremoniously shown the door. I too was sent to Coventry.
Now having moderated his stand, presumably not to antagonize the government, given up on civil disobedience and played according to the PAP's rules, he finds himself not only having lost, but his support greatly diminished.
My advice to Chee Soon Juan is this. First you identify the problem. Then you look to means to solve the problem. And most importantly forget about focusing on getting into parliament, but instead focus on trying to be a champion of the people because once he achieves that, he will undoubtedly enter parliament. By focusing on trying to get into parliament without first creating a solid support base on the ground, he is effectively placing the cart before the horse.
A lot can be learned from leaders such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King. If Gandhi and Mandela had decided to work with the authorities, like Chee has decided to do, write learned treatises, blog posts and gave speeches at foreign universities like Chee does, India would still be British India and Mandela would still be under FW DeKlerk's South Africa under apartheid. These men have identified the problem and decided that they would use any means necessary to bring it about (unlawful and violent if necessary).
I am not by any means suggesting even for a moment that Chee should use violent means. But there are just laws and unjust laws. Just laws need to be followed, unjust laws need to be broken. These great leaders that I mentioned were never dissuaded from being imprisoned, tortured or even killed. They were prepared to do what is right, as long as it was right, even if it means breaking unjust laws.
Like these leaders, Chee should have a plan to help the oppressed, not just by talking to them but actually doing something to help them. He should set up an office or a base in one of the poorer sections of Singapore's state owned housing estates. He should be prepared to help anyone who was in need, by writing letters to government authorities for housing or a denial of a license or need for financial assistance. If the government does not respond, he should take it further by organizing a protest or a picket outside the housing authority demanding justice for the resident. Naturally he will be arrested under the unjust laws in the island but he should be prepared to suffer the punishment and consistently do it again for anyone who was in need.
There is also the public advantage of this course of action in public perception. He would seen as a man who really stood up for his people, relentlessly, and would come out as a champion of the oppressed. A man whom the oppressed can trust.
There is also the difficulty of the government in trying to deal with such a champion. With the entire Singapore population watching this injustice to the resident as well as to Chee, he would gain in popularity and more and more people would seek him as their champion against the oppression.
In time he would bee seen as a man who does some good for his people, not just speaking and persuading them as a snake oil salesman would do.
By actually standing up for the poor, not just in words but in action, he would soon get island wide support among the poor and slowly also the support of other sections of Singapore society.
Once he entrenches himself as a champion of the people, he should, if the government allows him to contest elections, which is unlikely, definitely win. But even if he is prevented from contesting elections by this Fascist regime, nothing is lost because he would still be the champion of his people.
Sooner or later, if he has the energy to persist in his cause for his people, this regime will be forced to concede. And at such time Chee would have such strong support on the ground, he would be the leader, with or without this government's consent.
There is no real reason for anyone to support him just because he went around talking to them and made them promises. Just as I would not care about a snake oil salesman who comes around telling me that I would be cured only if I bough his snake oil.
There is no doubt that such a course is an uphill battle, an uphill battle in any case where the government denies civil liberties and who control practically ever aspect of a citizen's life.
But it is a battle that can be won provided he has the courage and the persistence to stay the course. In Chee's case, it is not a difficult decision to make, since after all he has already spent 25 years, an entire career in his political pursuit. Another 25 years of fighting the PAP should not dissuade him. Furthermore Chee is not a stranger to arrest and imprisonment and the prospect of further punishment should not deter a man in Chee's circumstances.
I remember a quotation from a golfer who was asked what he wanted to be. He said he wanted to be a rich man and secondly the best golfer. And then he said, if he became the best golfer, he need not worry about his objective of being rich because that would automatically follow.
In Chee's case he should work towards being a champion of his people in their daily lives. Once this objective is achieved, he will surely win all his elections.
But most importantly, he should do what is right. Not just what others tell him to do, even if this means he is temporarily alone, a one man army.
The ground is in favor of Chee Soon Juan, just as the ground was in favor of Fidel Castro under the corrupt government of Batista, of Gandhi under the unjust colonial yoke, Mandela under the unjust apartheid regime and King under the unjust racial laws of discrimination. They saw their purpose and fearlessly worked for it, never mind what anyone else thought. Similarly Chee should see his cause and work at it, never mind what Jeffrey George and other PAP moles in his party has to say.
*No anonymous comments please.
Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
A Singaporean by birth
Now American citizen
San Francisco California USA
Tel: 510 491 8525
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/singapore.dissident
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