Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me start by telling you a joke which explains what I am about to say.
A Jew prayed everyday without fail at the Wailing Wall for years, asking God to help him win the Lottery. An Angel felt sorry for him, and asked God if he could help him. God's reply was that he was well aware of this man, and would have loved to help him, if only he would buy a Lottery ticket!
And this is exactly the situation the opposition is in Singapore.
Here you have a situation where the PAP rigs the elections, controls the press, uses the judiciary to punish dissidents, discriminates against you if you are not a supporter, denies you the right to speech or protest and in every other way prevents you from ever winning the elections. It should have been clear to them by now that contesting the elections is not going to achieve anything. It can be a corollary to other actions, but doing it alone is not going to get you anywhere.
And as was the case with the Jew and the Lottery ticket, surely the Singapore opposition should by now realise that they have to buy that ticket, which is, they have to do something. They have to break the law unjustly imposed by the dictatorship and go out and peacefully protest the injustices. This would of course be breaking the law, but in Singapore this has to be done. Now, sad to say, they are in the same position as the Jew who simply refuses to buy that Lottery ticket.
So to Singapore's opposition I say this, buy that Lottery ticket. Break the law. Conduct peaceful protests, speeches, parades and walks all over Singapore, not just in Hock Lim Park but throughout the island.
Otherwise like that Jew, you would be praying for a change of government all your lives, but it simply will not happen.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Singapore's Loh Sze On Quentin's office unattended!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I just called Loh Sze On Quentin's, Lee Kuan Yew's judge's office today at Tel 63321270, the number which appears on the government website which has Arneda Jasman, presumably a Malay woman, as his secretary. She was not here. The response message mysteriously said that I had reached another number Tel 91850955. A woman when I called this number said, Arneda is on leave and this is her cell phone and that she was secretary to someone else. When I asked whom ,the call was disconnected.
You might want to try these numbers and have some fun. It seems to me that with so many people up in arms about his judgement in the Alan Shadrake case, both he and his secretary have decided to disappear!
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, CA
I just called Loh Sze On Quentin's, Lee Kuan Yew's judge's office today at Tel 63321270, the number which appears on the government website which has Arneda Jasman, presumably a Malay woman, as his secretary. She was not here. The response message mysteriously said that I had reached another number Tel 91850955. A woman when I called this number said, Arneda is on leave and this is her cell phone and that she was secretary to someone else. When I asked whom ,the call was disconnected.
You might want to try these numbers and have some fun. It seems to me that with so many people up in arms about his judgement in the Alan Shadrake case, both he and his secretary have decided to disappear!
Gopalan Nair
Fremont, CA
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew treating us as fools
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In my blog "Singapore says Social network working" Dec 03, 2010, I had pointed out how false Lee Kuan Yew's son, whom he appointed Prime Minister was when he said, in his state controlled paper, Straits Times, that the Singapore's disadvantaged are being taken care of, when in fact there is no social welfare to speak of, with many having to live in terrible poverty.
Even though every other Singaporean knows this is a lie, but because he controls all the newspapers, there is nothing that anyone can do to rebut it.
Another example of this appears in Singapore Democratic Party's website, of Dec 06, 2010, headed "Stage protests in ballrooms, really". In it, Dr. Chee Soon Juan writes about what transpired in the high Court, at his appeal hearing for his conviction for peaceful protest. Even though Article 14 of the Constitution, specifically guarantees freedom of assembly, the Singapore government deputy public prosecutor, Nor Ashikin Samdin, a local Singapore Malay woman, in her astonishing argument says, Dr. Chee should have had his protest in a private ballroom!
This unbelievable statement from Singapore's so called deputy public prosecutor raises some very disturbing issues. For one, it appears she does not understand the Constitution, perhaps never heard of it. Second she probably does not know any constitutional law, the backbone for a provision that guarantees free speech and assembly.
Singapore has had a limited form of self government in 1959 and independence in 1965 based on a Constitution that guarantees democracy, which is the basis for such fundamental rights as free speech and expression. From what this woman appears to say, she appears to think Singapore is none other than a dictatorship under Lee Kuan Yew and since he does not like people publicly criticizing him, they should all do it in private ballrooms!
And this is what happens under a dictatorial regime, like Singapore. People reach a point where they simply find living under a system where you are forced to listen to rubbish or propaganda daily, where the Media is completely controlled, simply intolerable. This sort of a system insults the people's intelligence, making the able and capable simply leave the country for the West.
What is left in the island is simply incompetence and ignorance, such as this woman arguing in a court of law that Dr. Chee should go on and hold a public protest in a private ballroom, when we know that she would never have uttered such nonsense had she known even the basics of constitutional law, politics or history.
We know that for decades Singapore's legal profession has been shrinking not expanding, even though the population has burgeoned to 5 million. It has today no more than, believe it or not, 3,000 lawyers a number completely inadequate. So what the government does to carry on, is to give jobs to women such as Nor Ashikin Samdin, who has no law at all in her head to pretend to act as Deputy Public Prosecutors.
I always have believed, as I do now, that surely this situation is untenable and cannot last. We have heard K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law claiming to increase the number of lawyers in Singapore but up till now, there has been nothing. Of course, he can say anything he wants in their state controlled papers since no one would be permitted a rebuttal, but the fact that he has to know is this; Singapore has a bad name as a place that uses the law to silence dissent. With a bad reputation like that, you will not only fail in getting locals to enter the profession, no foreigner with any qualifications would want to come.
Lee should realize that he is not only weakening himself and his government by this refusal to allow democracy in his island. If you had a free press in Singapore today, not just I but thousands of people would be pointing out the stupidity and incompetence of this woman, but today, except for a handful of people, no one can or dare criticize this woman and expose the pathetic state of the Singapore legal system.
The State Controlled Media will not publish any rebuttals, leaving the handful of critics who dare to criticize, no other option but to use the Internet. But even so, in Singapore even to do that entails great danger.
But the good news is this. If Lee Kuan Yew has to use women such as this to prosecute their cases, they have hit rock bottom in legal recruitment and the dearth of legal talent itself will bring them down. And second, I am sure, with increasing Internet use, while the government continues to use an iron grip to criminalize free speech or an independent press, there will come a breaking point very soon. It has to be. We will see 10 or more people breaking these unjust laws and protesting on the streets, which will open the floodgates. And we will see the fall of the dictatorship.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
In my blog "Singapore says Social network working" Dec 03, 2010, I had pointed out how false Lee Kuan Yew's son, whom he appointed Prime Minister was when he said, in his state controlled paper, Straits Times, that the Singapore's disadvantaged are being taken care of, when in fact there is no social welfare to speak of, with many having to live in terrible poverty.
Even though every other Singaporean knows this is a lie, but because he controls all the newspapers, there is nothing that anyone can do to rebut it.
Another example of this appears in Singapore Democratic Party's website, of Dec 06, 2010, headed "Stage protests in ballrooms, really". In it, Dr. Chee Soon Juan writes about what transpired in the high Court, at his appeal hearing for his conviction for peaceful protest. Even though Article 14 of the Constitution, specifically guarantees freedom of assembly, the Singapore government deputy public prosecutor, Nor Ashikin Samdin, a local Singapore Malay woman, in her astonishing argument says, Dr. Chee should have had his protest in a private ballroom!
This unbelievable statement from Singapore's so called deputy public prosecutor raises some very disturbing issues. For one, it appears she does not understand the Constitution, perhaps never heard of it. Second she probably does not know any constitutional law, the backbone for a provision that guarantees free speech and assembly.
Singapore has had a limited form of self government in 1959 and independence in 1965 based on a Constitution that guarantees democracy, which is the basis for such fundamental rights as free speech and expression. From what this woman appears to say, she appears to think Singapore is none other than a dictatorship under Lee Kuan Yew and since he does not like people publicly criticizing him, they should all do it in private ballrooms!
And this is what happens under a dictatorial regime, like Singapore. People reach a point where they simply find living under a system where you are forced to listen to rubbish or propaganda daily, where the Media is completely controlled, simply intolerable. This sort of a system insults the people's intelligence, making the able and capable simply leave the country for the West.
What is left in the island is simply incompetence and ignorance, such as this woman arguing in a court of law that Dr. Chee should go on and hold a public protest in a private ballroom, when we know that she would never have uttered such nonsense had she known even the basics of constitutional law, politics or history.
We know that for decades Singapore's legal profession has been shrinking not expanding, even though the population has burgeoned to 5 million. It has today no more than, believe it or not, 3,000 lawyers a number completely inadequate. So what the government does to carry on, is to give jobs to women such as Nor Ashikin Samdin, who has no law at all in her head to pretend to act as Deputy Public Prosecutors.
I always have believed, as I do now, that surely this situation is untenable and cannot last. We have heard K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law claiming to increase the number of lawyers in Singapore but up till now, there has been nothing. Of course, he can say anything he wants in their state controlled papers since no one would be permitted a rebuttal, but the fact that he has to know is this; Singapore has a bad name as a place that uses the law to silence dissent. With a bad reputation like that, you will not only fail in getting locals to enter the profession, no foreigner with any qualifications would want to come.
Lee should realize that he is not only weakening himself and his government by this refusal to allow democracy in his island. If you had a free press in Singapore today, not just I but thousands of people would be pointing out the stupidity and incompetence of this woman, but today, except for a handful of people, no one can or dare criticize this woman and expose the pathetic state of the Singapore legal system.
The State Controlled Media will not publish any rebuttals, leaving the handful of critics who dare to criticize, no other option but to use the Internet. But even so, in Singapore even to do that entails great danger.
But the good news is this. If Lee Kuan Yew has to use women such as this to prosecute their cases, they have hit rock bottom in legal recruitment and the dearth of legal talent itself will bring them down. And second, I am sure, with increasing Internet use, while the government continues to use an iron grip to criminalize free speech or an independent press, there will come a breaking point very soon. It has to be. We will see 10 or more people breaking these unjust laws and protesting on the streets, which will open the floodgates. And we will see the fall of the dictatorship.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Singapore Judge Loh Sze On Quentin, a pariah among the world's legal fraternity
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If there is one man, who completely turned himself and his reputation (if he ever had one) into an instant worldwide disgrace, it has to Singapore Judge Loh Sze On Quentin who jailed the English author Alan Shadrake, last month, for writing a book critical of Singapore's legal system and it's judiciary.
Today more and more countries are realizing that democracy is the answer for success, not fascism or dictatorship, and democracy's principle tool is freedom of speech. The right to criticize one's leaders, one's legal system and one's judges is one of the most important rights that people have, and a right which the courts themselves around the world uphold.
Alan Shadrake's Book "Once a Jolly Hangman" did not contain obscenities or intemperate language against judges, it merely pointed out that Singapore's legal system is biased against the poor, the disadvantaged and the politically unconnected, a book which would be protected in any other legal system in the world, except North Korea, Burma or in this case Singapore.
Loh Sze On Quentin, this local Chinese Singaporean judge with an English name, is not fooling himself or anyone by his judgement, a judgement which is itself based on lies and half truths and sometimes complete falsities. The judgement he claims is based on English Common Law of Contempt of court which is part of the law of Singapore; yet he does not say that in England itself no one has been convicted of a case like this for nearly a century!
The truth is Loh Sze On Quentin, is under orders from his master Lee Kuan Yew who runs Singapore and everything in it, who is unfortunately finding it increasingly difficult to govern with an increasingly questioning electorate. Therefore the only thing he can think of is to continue the old Chinese trick of killing a monkey to frighten the Singaporean chickens.
This judge has now suddenly become internationally notorious as that shameless spineless opportunist who is in truth a fascist politician, who has just sent an English writer to jail, because he offended Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew. With a label like that, I don't think he is going get any international awards for jurisprudence any time soon!
Had I been him, I would be seriously regretting not only my legal decision but also my decision to accept a judgeship when Lee Kuan Yew the strongman upon whom everything depends in that island, is just about to die, being 88. He would have been much better off remaining as that small time lawyer which he was, in his former firm Cooma Low and Loh, licking Lee Kuan Yew's boots. Let this be a lesson to everyone not to succumb to greed and avarice, as it always turns out bad.
PS I have just sent this post to Loh Sze On Quentin's court. I don't think he is in a position to do anything about it. This is an example of a frog who thinks he is king in his well.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
If there is one man, who completely turned himself and his reputation (if he ever had one) into an instant worldwide disgrace, it has to Singapore Judge Loh Sze On Quentin who jailed the English author Alan Shadrake, last month, for writing a book critical of Singapore's legal system and it's judiciary.
Today more and more countries are realizing that democracy is the answer for success, not fascism or dictatorship, and democracy's principle tool is freedom of speech. The right to criticize one's leaders, one's legal system and one's judges is one of the most important rights that people have, and a right which the courts themselves around the world uphold.
Alan Shadrake's Book "Once a Jolly Hangman" did not contain obscenities or intemperate language against judges, it merely pointed out that Singapore's legal system is biased against the poor, the disadvantaged and the politically unconnected, a book which would be protected in any other legal system in the world, except North Korea, Burma or in this case Singapore.
Loh Sze On Quentin, this local Chinese Singaporean judge with an English name, is not fooling himself or anyone by his judgement, a judgement which is itself based on lies and half truths and sometimes complete falsities. The judgement he claims is based on English Common Law of Contempt of court which is part of the law of Singapore; yet he does not say that in England itself no one has been convicted of a case like this for nearly a century!
The truth is Loh Sze On Quentin, is under orders from his master Lee Kuan Yew who runs Singapore and everything in it, who is unfortunately finding it increasingly difficult to govern with an increasingly questioning electorate. Therefore the only thing he can think of is to continue the old Chinese trick of killing a monkey to frighten the Singaporean chickens.
This judge has now suddenly become internationally notorious as that shameless spineless opportunist who is in truth a fascist politician, who has just sent an English writer to jail, because he offended Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew. With a label like that, I don't think he is going get any international awards for jurisprudence any time soon!
Had I been him, I would be seriously regretting not only my legal decision but also my decision to accept a judgeship when Lee Kuan Yew the strongman upon whom everything depends in that island, is just about to die, being 88. He would have been much better off remaining as that small time lawyer which he was, in his former firm Cooma Low and Loh, licking Lee Kuan Yew's boots. Let this be a lesson to everyone not to succumb to greed and avarice, as it always turns out bad.
PS I have just sent this post to Loh Sze On Quentin's court. I don't think he is in a position to do anything about it. This is an example of a frog who thinks he is king in his well.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Singapore says, Social Safety Net "Working"
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state owned and controlled newspaper the Straits Times Online edition of Dec 2, 2010 has this story "Social safety net "working"". The Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew's son, whom he appointed Prime Minister, has ordered his paper, to say that the poor are not neglected by his government, a statement which has not an iota of truth in it. Of course in a country where he controls every single newspaper, he can say anything he wants and not be any worse for it.
He says "Singapore's social safety net is working well" and "the Government will keep finding ways to improve it".
The fact is, if you knew Singapore like I do, it completely neglects it's poor, and the justification they use is to say, we are a "meritocratic society", which again is a completely false statement. Lee Kuan Yew cronies being given top jobs and anyone else asked to fend for themselves, is not meritocracy. There is another word for it. It is nepotism.
The truth is this. If you are lucky to have had an education and the willingness to shut your mind to any thing political, or the willingness to crawl, you would be able to make some sort of a living. On the other hand, if you were incapable of studying or you were stupid enough to go against the Big Man, you are in very serious trouble. You would probably be unemployed and without any help from friends and relatives, would just about starve. To live, you would have to completely demean yourself for any help, almost begging for a handout from the government, which in turn destroys your self respect, which in turn destroys your spirit, which in turn destroys you.
The whole basis of Singapore's approach to social welfare is wrong. It is based on a distrust of their own people, on a false justification that if ever you showed the slightest of generosity to the disadvantaged, you will immediately open the flood gates of a crutch mentality and every one would become lazy and Singapore as we know would collapse tomorrow.
So with this false premise in mind, the government, although well able to afford it, go out of their way to demand their poor to almost be dying before they are even given a crumb. The entire process of it is not only demeaning, it is dehumanizing.
Instead of the government working out a minimum amount of income necessary for a citizen based on family size, which is realistic, rather than expecting someone to live on bread and water; giving them a means test and paying out what is due with respect and dignity, Singapore has a system which in effect requires the poor to literally beg.
Although there is some sort of calculation to decide what one gets, it is actually way way below what is needed to survive as an ordinary human being. We hear many stories in blogs and the Internet of families living in the dark because they are unable to afford electricity, of people having to sit on the floor because they cannot afford furniture, of people having to live on one meal a day, and just drinking coffee and bread for supper.
And when this sort of life becomes unbearable, they can try, with no guarantee, to get some more help, but this requires standing in line outside their Lee Kuan Yew Minister or Member of Parliament's office for many hours, and begging for some more help, which usually turns out to be no more than a bag of rice, some cooking oil and soya sauce.
My question to Lee Kuan Yew and his son is this, why do you have to make your citizens crawl so low and even so they don't even receive the basics? Why can't you trust your people, care for them, and treat them well? Why do you have this obsession of thinking that the moment you are nice, your people would turn on you? And since you yourself take a salary of several millions a year, which turns out to be 6 times what President Obama gets and what the incomes of all the European ministers combined, which you know is theft or corruption, why can't you give a little for your fellow Singaporeans?
Lee Kuan Yew's son should know that generous social welfare, instead of creating a crutch mentality, in fact has the completely opposite effect. In Europe today, Germany has one of the best social welfare schemes. It has also almost free education, where almost everyone not only has gone to school, almost everyone has tertiary education; a large proportion of them with PhDs. Despite the free or subsidised universal education and a comfortable social welfare net, Germany continues to be most successful economy in Europe and it's largest exporter, with Germans enjoying one of the highest standards of living in Europe. And the reason for this, which Lee Kuan Yew's son does not understand, is the realization by the government that Germans care for their government and a realization by the people that their government cares for them.
Today in Singapore, many look upon me with envy, because I have managed to move to the United States. In fact, a survey not too long ago revealed that 3 out of 4 young people surveyed had said, if given a chance they would emigrate to the West.
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew should realize that a little caring for the disadvantaged, at least to a level necessary for normal life, has benefits which far outweigh anything undesirable. For one, their children have better lives and education, which results in better skilled future citizens. They appreciate what their country does for them and in turn reciprocate by doing what they can for their country. With their appreciation, Singapore no longer becomes a bad dream, and instead something they can be proud about. And as for the children who become the future adults in Singapore, they would probably do better than their parents who did not have it so good. Caring for your people can only be a win win situation, which Lee Kuna Yew nor his son do not appear to understand.
And as for the argument that Singapore would no longer be competitive if there is a decent social welfare in place, this argument has been disproved throughout the world. Everywhere you look, a decent welfare system in fact makes the country more competitive, not less. And this is because, the human spirit is such that it would find ways to re invent the wheel, to find alternative policies and ways to make a living and improve, but it can only do so, if there is mutual trust and respect, by the government for the people and the people for the government.
Singaporeans today hate their government and their government in turn is afraid of them. This accounts for the fact that emigration rates continue to mount, Singaporeans do not reproduce themselves and no one is getting married.
And one of the major problems the government has today is getting skilled English speaking workers. It is almost impossible to find any.
In this atmosphere of mutual distrust in Singapore, productivity can only fall, not improve, as shown by Singapore's falling productivity levels. And this proves the very point that I am trying to make, which is, a caring society has it's benefits.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Singapore's state owned and controlled newspaper the Straits Times Online edition of Dec 2, 2010 has this story "Social safety net "working"". The Singapore strongman Lee Kuan Yew's son, whom he appointed Prime Minister, has ordered his paper, to say that the poor are not neglected by his government, a statement which has not an iota of truth in it. Of course in a country where he controls every single newspaper, he can say anything he wants and not be any worse for it.
He says "Singapore's social safety net is working well" and "the Government will keep finding ways to improve it".
The fact is, if you knew Singapore like I do, it completely neglects it's poor, and the justification they use is to say, we are a "meritocratic society", which again is a completely false statement. Lee Kuan Yew cronies being given top jobs and anyone else asked to fend for themselves, is not meritocracy. There is another word for it. It is nepotism.
The truth is this. If you are lucky to have had an education and the willingness to shut your mind to any thing political, or the willingness to crawl, you would be able to make some sort of a living. On the other hand, if you were incapable of studying or you were stupid enough to go against the Big Man, you are in very serious trouble. You would probably be unemployed and without any help from friends and relatives, would just about starve. To live, you would have to completely demean yourself for any help, almost begging for a handout from the government, which in turn destroys your self respect, which in turn destroys your spirit, which in turn destroys you.
The whole basis of Singapore's approach to social welfare is wrong. It is based on a distrust of their own people, on a false justification that if ever you showed the slightest of generosity to the disadvantaged, you will immediately open the flood gates of a crutch mentality and every one would become lazy and Singapore as we know would collapse tomorrow.
So with this false premise in mind, the government, although well able to afford it, go out of their way to demand their poor to almost be dying before they are even given a crumb. The entire process of it is not only demeaning, it is dehumanizing.
Instead of the government working out a minimum amount of income necessary for a citizen based on family size, which is realistic, rather than expecting someone to live on bread and water; giving them a means test and paying out what is due with respect and dignity, Singapore has a system which in effect requires the poor to literally beg.
Although there is some sort of calculation to decide what one gets, it is actually way way below what is needed to survive as an ordinary human being. We hear many stories in blogs and the Internet of families living in the dark because they are unable to afford electricity, of people having to sit on the floor because they cannot afford furniture, of people having to live on one meal a day, and just drinking coffee and bread for supper.
And when this sort of life becomes unbearable, they can try, with no guarantee, to get some more help, but this requires standing in line outside their Lee Kuan Yew Minister or Member of Parliament's office for many hours, and begging for some more help, which usually turns out to be no more than a bag of rice, some cooking oil and soya sauce.
My question to Lee Kuan Yew and his son is this, why do you have to make your citizens crawl so low and even so they don't even receive the basics? Why can't you trust your people, care for them, and treat them well? Why do you have this obsession of thinking that the moment you are nice, your people would turn on you? And since you yourself take a salary of several millions a year, which turns out to be 6 times what President Obama gets and what the incomes of all the European ministers combined, which you know is theft or corruption, why can't you give a little for your fellow Singaporeans?
Lee Kuan Yew's son should know that generous social welfare, instead of creating a crutch mentality, in fact has the completely opposite effect. In Europe today, Germany has one of the best social welfare schemes. It has also almost free education, where almost everyone not only has gone to school, almost everyone has tertiary education; a large proportion of them with PhDs. Despite the free or subsidised universal education and a comfortable social welfare net, Germany continues to be most successful economy in Europe and it's largest exporter, with Germans enjoying one of the highest standards of living in Europe. And the reason for this, which Lee Kuan Yew's son does not understand, is the realization by the government that Germans care for their government and a realization by the people that their government cares for them.
Today in Singapore, many look upon me with envy, because I have managed to move to the United States. In fact, a survey not too long ago revealed that 3 out of 4 young people surveyed had said, if given a chance they would emigrate to the West.
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew should realize that a little caring for the disadvantaged, at least to a level necessary for normal life, has benefits which far outweigh anything undesirable. For one, their children have better lives and education, which results in better skilled future citizens. They appreciate what their country does for them and in turn reciprocate by doing what they can for their country. With their appreciation, Singapore no longer becomes a bad dream, and instead something they can be proud about. And as for the children who become the future adults in Singapore, they would probably do better than their parents who did not have it so good. Caring for your people can only be a win win situation, which Lee Kuna Yew nor his son do not appear to understand.
And as for the argument that Singapore would no longer be competitive if there is a decent social welfare in place, this argument has been disproved throughout the world. Everywhere you look, a decent welfare system in fact makes the country more competitive, not less. And this is because, the human spirit is such that it would find ways to re invent the wheel, to find alternative policies and ways to make a living and improve, but it can only do so, if there is mutual trust and respect, by the government for the people and the people for the government.
Singaporeans today hate their government and their government in turn is afraid of them. This accounts for the fact that emigration rates continue to mount, Singaporeans do not reproduce themselves and no one is getting married.
And one of the major problems the government has today is getting skilled English speaking workers. It is almost impossible to find any.
In this atmosphere of mutual distrust in Singapore, productivity can only fall, not improve, as shown by Singapore's falling productivity levels. And this proves the very point that I am trying to make, which is, a caring society has it's benefits.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Singapore Lee Kuan Yew's "instant" politicians.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many know that in Singapore, reality is not always what meets the eye. Research on the country would show a Constitution, grossly mutilated and hacked by numerous amendments literally taking away the rights immediately after they are given.
Article 14 of the Constitution says you have freedom of speech, while another part of it limits that right by some other law; while that other statute, takes away that right completely by requiring a government permit. In the end you notice you have no right to free speech at all. It is the same with every other right in that constitution. You can live in Singapore as long as you don't challenge Lee's power, while if you do, you will be punished by imaginary offenses and completely destroyed. You are a sort of a modern day slave. It is this double game which Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore plays on you which makes you realise that this piece of paper they call the Constitution, is simply worthless. You suddenly realize that, you might as well be in North Korea or Burma because it would have made no difference at all. In fact the North Koreans are at least more sincere, since they don't claim to be a democracy.
And then you have the elections which are required under the Constitution every 5 years. Also Singapore, according to it, is a democracy with different political parties eligible to form the government. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are 84 members of Parliament in the unicameral house. 82 of this number belong to Lee Kuan Yew's PAP, while 2 are from a perceived disguised opposition, because in truth Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong, the 2, are supporters of Lee Kuan Yew, but parading as something else. In fact this one party state has gone on ever since Singapore got it's self government in 1959, making it no different from the other dictatorships of the world. The only difference between Singapore and North Korea is the fact that you cannot escape from North Korea, while you can from Singapore, something many are doing in ever increasing numbers.
Lee Kuan Yew wins all the seats at elections not because he has better politicians, it is because it is simply arranged that way.
This is how Lee Kuan Yew does it every 5 years or so. First, he controls the entire media, which means his men are given full coverage in the press and extolled as the greatest men who ever lived while opposition politicians are labelled cheats and criminals, leaving them unable to rebut any of these lies and defamations.
Second, as he controls the judges, opposition politicians are punished and bankrupted in the courts. Since Singaporeans are aware of this and since voting an opposition candidate, if he wins, will likely attract the wrath and displeasure of the mighty Lee Kuan Yew, they decide voluntarily to vote only for PAP candidates since to do otherwise would be tantamount to hurting themselves.
As for PAP politicians, they are always someone whom no one has ever heard before. In Singapore unlike in other democracies, PAP candidates do not have to gain the support of their electorate. This is how it is done. Lee Kuan Yew, sends out his agents to scout the island for people with good educational qualifications. They are then invited to his palace where they are put through rigorous testing, both psychological and for social aptitudes. The main requirement is their willingness to do anything for Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP without question. In other words, it does not matter if someone had no interest whatsoever in politics, as along as they are greedy enough to do anything to please Lee Kuan Yew for money and career advancement.
These chosen PAP candidates are then fielded in elections and are invariably elected due to the advantage to the PAP in the unfair system, and secondly because the people themselves after long years of conditioning vote for them anyway, seeing no advantage in an opposition politician. If Lee Kuan Yew wanted to keep anyone out, he always succeeds. All he has to do is to state publicly that a certain Mr. X is a bad guy for that person to have no chance at all. The people are told that to have a prosperous life, it is essential to vote for Lee's choice of candidate.
Many of these PAP politicians, which I call "instant politicians" because they sprout out from the blue, have no interest in politics or even their society. They accept Lee's offer because there is profit in it, mind boggling unimaginably high salaries. Singaporeans do not respect them at all, but because they have no voice in saying it, with all the newspapers under Lee's control, apathy and indifference is the order of the day.
Singapore is not a participatory democracy, the people have no say in what the government does, just as the former Soviet Union or present day China. Lee Kuan Yew and his minions decide what is to be done, what roads to build, how many schools to build and how many hospitals and whatever else they think need be done after which his ministers and men simply implement it. Lee's philosophy is this; I will decide what is good for you, and you can stuff it. A good Singaporean in Lee Kuan Yew's books is one who appreciates what he does for you, showing both obedience and gratitude and above all silence.
Then there are a handful of Singaporeans, who are not prepared to live this, who believe that the Constitution gives them better. These are Lee's enemies. They refuse to be part of the quiet obedient lot, like Dr. Chee Soon Juan. He detests them and will do anything to silence them, using his wide array of dirty tricks in his bag. Chee has been sued repeatedly and bankrupted to the tune of several hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving him a bankrupt and disqualified from running for elections. So is his sister, Chee Siok Chin, also disqualified.
Just as Dr. Chee there are several other real politicians fighting for democracy in Singapore and who continue to suffer debilitating punishments and impoverishment, but yet continue to remain defiant in the cause of freedom. None of them have ever succeeded in winning any election. In fact it seems unlikely that they would ever win any elections in Singapore, unlike Lee Kuan Yew's "instant politicians".
It peeves me to see such ignoble and spineless gutless men and women win elections with ease licking Lee Kuan Yew's boots, while the true defenders of the people like Dr. Chee, have no chance at all. You can see the shame in the faces of men such K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law arguing bald lies such as, Singapore is so unique that even peaceful protests should be denied, that any attempt to criticize their judges should be punished, that Singapore is not suitable to have free press like other countries; statements which I am sure he himself knows are lies, but says it anyway.
And what is finally disappointing is the fact that despite the opposition knowing everything that I have written here and more, yet they are willing to go along with this ruse that Lee Kuan Yew is throwing at them as his "democracy". Why do they put up with it? Why do they even contest the elections when they know they are going to lose?
It must be quite obvious to anyone that Lee is not prepared to hand over his government to anyone. If elections did not go his way, he will simply stuff the ballot boxes. The opposition simply have no chance.
Anyone such as Gandhi would have called Lee's bluff and taken the fight elsewhere, to the streets. And I hope my call for civil disobedience will be heard.
Singapore is not made up entirely of such shameless boot licking "instant politicians" as the PAP ministers and a cowardly mass of people who are both ignorant and afraid to stand by principle. The Singapore diaspora, a very large one despite Singapore's small size, is made up today of hundreds of thousands even millions of capable men and women with pride who will not live under such a dictator, comprising of thousands of lawyers and professionals in all the English speaking capitals of the world who left and wish to have nothing to do with their former home. Mostly they simply vanish from the scene entirely not wanting to be heard at all. But mind you, they are there, even if you can't see them, a great loss to Singapore.
If Singaporeans are asked to state honestly who would protect them and stand by them, in times of calamity, PAP politicians or the opposition; I am sure the answer would be overwhelmingly for the opposition. If they were asked who would you trust more, Dr. Chee Soon Juan or PAP's K Shanmugam, I am sure the latter would not have got a single vote. But the tragic irony is that in Singapore's unfair electioneering system, a shameless bootlicker like K Shanmugam wins and Dr. Chee loses.
In the meantime, my advice to the next American tourist who pops in for a 4 day vacation is this, don't be fooled by the glass buildings on the waterfront. North Korea has them too.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Many know that in Singapore, reality is not always what meets the eye. Research on the country would show a Constitution, grossly mutilated and hacked by numerous amendments literally taking away the rights immediately after they are given.
Article 14 of the Constitution says you have freedom of speech, while another part of it limits that right by some other law; while that other statute, takes away that right completely by requiring a government permit. In the end you notice you have no right to free speech at all. It is the same with every other right in that constitution. You can live in Singapore as long as you don't challenge Lee's power, while if you do, you will be punished by imaginary offenses and completely destroyed. You are a sort of a modern day slave. It is this double game which Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore plays on you which makes you realise that this piece of paper they call the Constitution, is simply worthless. You suddenly realize that, you might as well be in North Korea or Burma because it would have made no difference at all. In fact the North Koreans are at least more sincere, since they don't claim to be a democracy.
And then you have the elections which are required under the Constitution every 5 years. Also Singapore, according to it, is a democracy with different political parties eligible to form the government. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are 84 members of Parliament in the unicameral house. 82 of this number belong to Lee Kuan Yew's PAP, while 2 are from a perceived disguised opposition, because in truth Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong, the 2, are supporters of Lee Kuan Yew, but parading as something else. In fact this one party state has gone on ever since Singapore got it's self government in 1959, making it no different from the other dictatorships of the world. The only difference between Singapore and North Korea is the fact that you cannot escape from North Korea, while you can from Singapore, something many are doing in ever increasing numbers.
Lee Kuan Yew wins all the seats at elections not because he has better politicians, it is because it is simply arranged that way.
This is how Lee Kuan Yew does it every 5 years or so. First, he controls the entire media, which means his men are given full coverage in the press and extolled as the greatest men who ever lived while opposition politicians are labelled cheats and criminals, leaving them unable to rebut any of these lies and defamations.
Second, as he controls the judges, opposition politicians are punished and bankrupted in the courts. Since Singaporeans are aware of this and since voting an opposition candidate, if he wins, will likely attract the wrath and displeasure of the mighty Lee Kuan Yew, they decide voluntarily to vote only for PAP candidates since to do otherwise would be tantamount to hurting themselves.
As for PAP politicians, they are always someone whom no one has ever heard before. In Singapore unlike in other democracies, PAP candidates do not have to gain the support of their electorate. This is how it is done. Lee Kuan Yew, sends out his agents to scout the island for people with good educational qualifications. They are then invited to his palace where they are put through rigorous testing, both psychological and for social aptitudes. The main requirement is their willingness to do anything for Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP without question. In other words, it does not matter if someone had no interest whatsoever in politics, as along as they are greedy enough to do anything to please Lee Kuan Yew for money and career advancement.
These chosen PAP candidates are then fielded in elections and are invariably elected due to the advantage to the PAP in the unfair system, and secondly because the people themselves after long years of conditioning vote for them anyway, seeing no advantage in an opposition politician. If Lee Kuan Yew wanted to keep anyone out, he always succeeds. All he has to do is to state publicly that a certain Mr. X is a bad guy for that person to have no chance at all. The people are told that to have a prosperous life, it is essential to vote for Lee's choice of candidate.
Many of these PAP politicians, which I call "instant politicians" because they sprout out from the blue, have no interest in politics or even their society. They accept Lee's offer because there is profit in it, mind boggling unimaginably high salaries. Singaporeans do not respect them at all, but because they have no voice in saying it, with all the newspapers under Lee's control, apathy and indifference is the order of the day.
Singapore is not a participatory democracy, the people have no say in what the government does, just as the former Soviet Union or present day China. Lee Kuan Yew and his minions decide what is to be done, what roads to build, how many schools to build and how many hospitals and whatever else they think need be done after which his ministers and men simply implement it. Lee's philosophy is this; I will decide what is good for you, and you can stuff it. A good Singaporean in Lee Kuan Yew's books is one who appreciates what he does for you, showing both obedience and gratitude and above all silence.
Then there are a handful of Singaporeans, who are not prepared to live this, who believe that the Constitution gives them better. These are Lee's enemies. They refuse to be part of the quiet obedient lot, like Dr. Chee Soon Juan. He detests them and will do anything to silence them, using his wide array of dirty tricks in his bag. Chee has been sued repeatedly and bankrupted to the tune of several hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving him a bankrupt and disqualified from running for elections. So is his sister, Chee Siok Chin, also disqualified.
Just as Dr. Chee there are several other real politicians fighting for democracy in Singapore and who continue to suffer debilitating punishments and impoverishment, but yet continue to remain defiant in the cause of freedom. None of them have ever succeeded in winning any election. In fact it seems unlikely that they would ever win any elections in Singapore, unlike Lee Kuan Yew's "instant politicians".
It peeves me to see such ignoble and spineless gutless men and women win elections with ease licking Lee Kuan Yew's boots, while the true defenders of the people like Dr. Chee, have no chance at all. You can see the shame in the faces of men such K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law arguing bald lies such as, Singapore is so unique that even peaceful protests should be denied, that any attempt to criticize their judges should be punished, that Singapore is not suitable to have free press like other countries; statements which I am sure he himself knows are lies, but says it anyway.
And what is finally disappointing is the fact that despite the opposition knowing everything that I have written here and more, yet they are willing to go along with this ruse that Lee Kuan Yew is throwing at them as his "democracy". Why do they put up with it? Why do they even contest the elections when they know they are going to lose?
It must be quite obvious to anyone that Lee is not prepared to hand over his government to anyone. If elections did not go his way, he will simply stuff the ballot boxes. The opposition simply have no chance.
Anyone such as Gandhi would have called Lee's bluff and taken the fight elsewhere, to the streets. And I hope my call for civil disobedience will be heard.
Singapore is not made up entirely of such shameless boot licking "instant politicians" as the PAP ministers and a cowardly mass of people who are both ignorant and afraid to stand by principle. The Singapore diaspora, a very large one despite Singapore's small size, is made up today of hundreds of thousands even millions of capable men and women with pride who will not live under such a dictator, comprising of thousands of lawyers and professionals in all the English speaking capitals of the world who left and wish to have nothing to do with their former home. Mostly they simply vanish from the scene entirely not wanting to be heard at all. But mind you, they are there, even if you can't see them, a great loss to Singapore.
If Singaporeans are asked to state honestly who would protect them and stand by them, in times of calamity, PAP politicians or the opposition; I am sure the answer would be overwhelmingly for the opposition. If they were asked who would you trust more, Dr. Chee Soon Juan or PAP's K Shanmugam, I am sure the latter would not have got a single vote. But the tragic irony is that in Singapore's unfair electioneering system, a shameless bootlicker like K Shanmugam wins and Dr. Chee loses.
In the meantime, my advice to the next American tourist who pops in for a 4 day vacation is this, don't be fooled by the glass buildings on the waterfront. North Korea has them too.
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Foreign Policy Magazine votes Gopalan Nair "World's Top Dissidents"
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The respected Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington DC Magazine of May 07, 2010, has voted Gopalan Nair one of the "World's Top Dissidents". Among others voted are Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma; Simar Samer, Afghanistan; Arnold Tsunga, Zimbabwe; Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia; Shirin Ebadi, Iran; and Gopalan Nair, Singapore.
This is what Foreign Policy Magazine said about Gopalan Nair, Singapore:
Gopalan Nair: Nair, a former opposition politician, is known throughout Singapore's embattled blogosphere for his fierce promotion of human rights and blunt criticism of founding leader and current "minister mentor" Lee Kuan Yew. In September 2008, Nair was sentenced to three months in jail for defaming a judge in a blog entry. On March 6, he published a hoax post on his blog indicating that Lee had suffered a heart attack and had been brought to Singapore General Hospital. Nair's motive? It was, he says, "a deliberate attempt to highlight how tenuous Singapore really is, with all power in the island vested in one man, and the dire consequences to the island of his parting. And especially so as [Lee] is 87." Nair lives in California and has been a U.S. citizen since 2004.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/07/the_worlds_top_dissidents?page=0,6
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
The respected Foreign Policy Magazine, Washington DC Magazine of May 07, 2010, has voted Gopalan Nair one of the "World's Top Dissidents". Among others voted are Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma; Simar Samer, Afghanistan; Arnold Tsunga, Zimbabwe; Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia; Shirin Ebadi, Iran; and Gopalan Nair, Singapore.
This is what Foreign Policy Magazine said about Gopalan Nair, Singapore:
Gopalan Nair: Nair, a former opposition politician, is known throughout Singapore's embattled blogosphere for his fierce promotion of human rights and blunt criticism of founding leader and current "minister mentor" Lee Kuan Yew. In September 2008, Nair was sentenced to three months in jail for defaming a judge in a blog entry. On March 6, he published a hoax post on his blog indicating that Lee had suffered a heart attack and had been brought to Singapore General Hospital. Nair's motive? It was, he says, "a deliberate attempt to highlight how tenuous Singapore really is, with all power in the island vested in one man, and the dire consequences to the island of his parting. And especially so as [Lee] is 87." Nair lives in California and has been a U.S. citizen since 2004.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/07/the_worlds_top_dissidents?page=0,6
Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.
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