Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits times online edition of Nov 11, 2009 has this story "Get best into local universities".
At a local Singaporean graduation ceremony, Mr. Dhanabalan, one of the senior members and close associates of the Singapore strongman, Lee Kuan Yew, said that in the future, the best students will be required to attend Singapore's universities and not overseas European, Australian and North American Universities as they did in the past.
In the past, students were given scholarships to study in western countries.
And the students themselves preferred to go abroad.
A western college degree made them more mobile and accepted anywhere in the world; whereas a Singapore college degree was seen as third world and second rate.
Moreover, because of the bad name that Singapore now has for being seen as a repressive place intolerant of dissent, it's degrees too have become increasingly suspect in the free world.
How can a student be expected to think independently if merely to question authority could mean a prison sentence.
But now Mr. Dhanabalan says "I personally don't think it is a good idea."
He said "We need people at the top who have experience of the world as well as a good understanding of Singapore".
But of course, you know the real reason. The tide is turning. They are getting desperate. Once the student has gone abroad and smelt the fresh air of freedom, they are not prepared to live in this tin pot tyrant city. The are tired and fed up of the senile octogenarian strutting around with a whip and beating everyone into line.
They are sick and tired of these sycophants like these Dhanabalans and Jeyakumars earning a living by boot licking Lee Kuan Yew. They want freedom. Almost to the last student, everyone who goes abroad never returns. They all break their scholarship bonds.
They refuse to serve a government for which they no longer have any respect.
They are fed up of Singapore's corrupt judges putting Dr. Chee Soon Juan and myself in prison. They are fed up of the lack of human rights. They are fed up of reading propaganda.
These inept Lee Kuan Yew's men hope that by sending them to Singapore universities, they can be brainwashed into docility which is not achieved by sending them overseas. Western Universities make them think and question the men in authority which makes bullying them difficult.
Frankly, I don't think I have to say anymore. This measure of trying to give local scholarships will not achieve anything. It is just too little too late. Singapore is just a stupid place with stupid repressive policies.
The repression, intolerance and corruption of the government has gone on for too long. It has been discredited beyond repair. It is too late now. Merely stopping overseas scholarships will not achieve anything. It is merely a drop in the bucket.
No I don't have any thing more to say about this. Except to say that it will fail. Singapore will end up with a population of coolies and Mandarin speaking slaves; and temporary workers who come for a stint.
And it's students and educated will continue to leave, with or without foreign scholarships.
And they will thank you for continuing with your stupid policies.
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 10, 2009
To intending immigrants. Avoid Singapore. It is not a nice place to live.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore has been trying to attract more qualified immigrants to the island.
Reasons are, increasing numbers of educated citizens leaving the country to settle elsewhere like Australia and New Zealand, and second, insufficient babies being born. The birth rate in Singapore Island is the lowest in the world!
This is not because there is famine or civil war in the island. It is because many Singaporeans do not want to live in a politically repressive society, which Singapore is. They want to be free. So they leave Singapore in ever increasing numbers.
Except for the family of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s ruler, and those politically connected to them, those remaining in Singapore are unhappy. So they refuse to have children.
So in order to replace those Singaporean citizens who leave, they try to bring in people like you.
Let me tell you why these problems exist and warn you against immigrating to Singapore. Singapore is not a good place to live for you and for your family.
You may not be able to know this and think there is nothing wrong with the place. This is because the government carefully tries to paint a picture of goodness to foreigners in the hope you will not see the truth beneath the surface.
Here is the truth. I was born and lived in Singapore. I know.
1. Singapore is a brutal society with brutal laws.
It is lawful punishment to beat criminals who have committed crimes.
The painful and brutal beating causes them to have permanent injuries for the rest of their lives.
Hundreds and thousands of people in the island have been beaten in this fashion.
It also has the highest execution rate in the world where hundreds of people are executed each year by hanging for even petty crimes such as minor drug offenses.
Even teenagers are executed.
I am sure you would not want to bring up a family in such a society and in the midst of many people who have been brutalized, tortured and hanged. It is not a society that good people with good family values would want to associate with.
2. It is a country which does not have the rule of law. The judges are corrupt and decide cases to please the Lee Kuan Yew family, the rulers of Singapore. This means if you have a dispute in the courts, without government connections, you will lose.
The government uses the courts and their judges to punish government opponents. You cannot criticize the government. If you do, you will be punished.
You are expected each day to do your work and go home quietly. You are not supposed to think about government policies. You are not allowed to question, or criticize. This applies to all, both immigrants and citizens.
You would not want yourselves and your families to live in a society where you have to completely submit to the orders of the government. If you or your family has a dispute with the government and it is not what they want, you cannot win. In other words, you and your family will live literally as slaves in Singapore.
3. There is no independent press in Singapore. All newspapers are owned by the government.
It means you will never be able to know what the truth in the island is. You will only know what is told to you by the government owned newspapers which is nothing more than propaganda.
It is possible for you to read the Internet but you never still know whether it is the truth or not, as most writers on the Internet are themselves afraid of being caught and punished by Lee Kuan Yew.
I don't think you would want your children to live in a society where they cannot find the truth that goes on in the island.
4. Your children would not get a good education. This is because the teaches are afraid to teach their children to speak the truth. For instance, they would tell your children not to criticize the government even if they were wrong.
The teachers would be punished if they taught their students to speak their minds openly without fear.
Lee Kuan Yew demands that the teachers teach their children to submit to government’s authority, regardless of what you think. I am sure you would not want your child to grow up as fearful as a mouse, because that is what the people are in that island today.
5. Singaporeans are a people of fear. They fear everyday of their lives. They fear that the government is watching them. If you bring your child to this island, they will grow up such timid souls which I am sure you do not want.
6. It is a criminal offense to publicly criticize the government. Even if you are alone and peacefully protested in public, you would be arrested.
Singapore government demands that everyone in the island simply obey whatever they say without complaint. This sort of existence is bad no matter where you are from. It is also bad for your family and your children.
7. There is no social security at all in Singapore. If you have a job you can feed your children. If not you will be a destitute.
Those who have lost their jobs have to line up at the government officer's premises and beg for money. There is no guarantee that you will get anything. If you don’t you and your children will have nothing to eat.
8. Coming to Singapore is all right for bachelors and single people coming for a short time to earn a little money and return. If you are from the People’s Republic of China, Burma, India, Philippines or Sri Lanka, and you think you can earn more than you can in your native country, it is a good idea to come temporarily.
If you lose your job, you can always go back and your family will not suffer by being here.
9. There is no guaranteed tenure for your stay in Singapore. If you are a temporary worker or a permanent resident, as they have no set laws about any of this, they could in fact send you home any time.
You should not put you wife and children through this uncertainty, not knowing when you will be kicked out.
10. Even if you were given citizenship, it is not permanent. They can anytime strip you of your citizenship and send you home.
11. Unless you are a single person, the cost of living in Singapore is too high for a family and you would hardly make any money. In many cases, because of the lower cost of living in your native countries, you are better off staying at home.
In Singapore, transportation costs, apartment rental, food and other items are more expensive than back home.
If you are single bachelor, and are prepared to live rough and cheaply, you could save some money.
12. Singapore’s crime rate is high. Today there are numerous daily cases of people held up at knife point or snatch thieves who steal your purse and necklace. The Singapore courts punish hundreds of these criminals daily but only few of these crimes are reported in the local newspapers.
As the crime rate is increasing so much, I believe the state controlled newspapers are not reporting most of them so as not to alarm the public. But the truth is, Singapore is becoming increasingly dangerous.
13. It is also too crowded. The island is only 16 miles from north to south and 26 miles east to west. Yet, in it presently already live 4.8 million people!
Life in such crowded conditions is not only unhealthy; it is not conducive to living.
14. Singapore today is finding it extremely difficult to attract good educated people to live there permanently. Many have already known the bad side of Singapore and others have even personally experienced it.
As time goes on, they would find it almost impossible to get things done, because of the lack of qualified people. They have got a bad name and it is spreading.
15. There is severe and serious racial discrimination against non- Chinese. If you are from India or from other countries other than China, my advice is not to come to Singapore.
There is an official housing policy not to let people who are not Chinese live anywhere they want. You will required to live in certain designated areas in government housing known as HDB.
You will also be discriminated in jobs, as many employers will advertise specifically for Chinese only and even if they don’t when they see you, they will turn you away.
Since there are no laws against racial discrimination and since the government themselves do it, you have no recourse against this unfairness. You and your children would be very disappointed.
16. It is an island that heavily relies on prostitution to survive. There is a large swathe of area specially set aside for this. It is called Geylang. There on a daily basis prostitutes can be seen glaringly for all to see, walking the streets and calling out at men for business.
It is almost impossible for good people to avoid this place altogether. If you are from a good moral background, you would not want your children to live in a society as immoral as this. This is shameless vulgarity.
17. If you can, there are other countries such as Australia and New Zealand which are true democracies. There your children will have good schools with good teachers and they will not have to live in this environment of fear in Singapore. They are true democracies. Also there will not be such official brutality and cruelty in the country with government beatings and hangings amongst you.
If you want to live in a civilized society for you and your family, my advice is to avoid Singapore.
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 has been trying to attract more qualified immigrants to the island.
Reasons are, increasing numbers of educated citizens leaving the country to settle elsewhere like Australia and New Zealand, and second, insufficient babies being born. The birth rate in Singapore Island is the lowest in the world!
This is not because there is famine or civil war in the island. It is because many Singaporeans do not want to live in a politically repressive society, which Singapore is. They want to be free. So they leave Singapore in ever increasing numbers.
Except for the family of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s ruler, and those politically connected to them, those remaining in Singapore are unhappy. So they refuse to have children.
So in order to replace those Singaporean citizens who leave, they try to bring in people like you.
Let me tell you why these problems exist and warn you against immigrating to Singapore. Singapore is not a good place to live for you and for your family.
You may not be able to know this and think there is nothing wrong with the place. This is because the government carefully tries to paint a picture of goodness to foreigners in the hope you will not see the truth beneath the surface.
Here is the truth. I was born and lived in Singapore. I know.
1. Singapore is a brutal society with brutal laws.
It is lawful punishment to beat criminals who have committed crimes.
The painful and brutal beating causes them to have permanent injuries for the rest of their lives.
Hundreds and thousands of people in the island have been beaten in this fashion.
It also has the highest execution rate in the world where hundreds of people are executed each year by hanging for even petty crimes such as minor drug offenses.
Even teenagers are executed.
I am sure you would not want to bring up a family in such a society and in the midst of many people who have been brutalized, tortured and hanged. It is not a society that good people with good family values would want to associate with.
2. It is a country which does not have the rule of law. The judges are corrupt and decide cases to please the Lee Kuan Yew family, the rulers of Singapore. This means if you have a dispute in the courts, without government connections, you will lose.
The government uses the courts and their judges to punish government opponents. You cannot criticize the government. If you do, you will be punished.
You are expected each day to do your work and go home quietly. You are not supposed to think about government policies. You are not allowed to question, or criticize. This applies to all, both immigrants and citizens.
You would not want yourselves and your families to live in a society where you have to completely submit to the orders of the government. If you or your family has a dispute with the government and it is not what they want, you cannot win. In other words, you and your family will live literally as slaves in Singapore.
3. There is no independent press in Singapore. All newspapers are owned by the government.
It means you will never be able to know what the truth in the island is. You will only know what is told to you by the government owned newspapers which is nothing more than propaganda.
It is possible for you to read the Internet but you never still know whether it is the truth or not, as most writers on the Internet are themselves afraid of being caught and punished by Lee Kuan Yew.
I don't think you would want your children to live in a society where they cannot find the truth that goes on in the island.
4. Your children would not get a good education. This is because the teaches are afraid to teach their children to speak the truth. For instance, they would tell your children not to criticize the government even if they were wrong.
The teachers would be punished if they taught their students to speak their minds openly without fear.
Lee Kuan Yew demands that the teachers teach their children to submit to government’s authority, regardless of what you think. I am sure you would not want your child to grow up as fearful as a mouse, because that is what the people are in that island today.
5. Singaporeans are a people of fear. They fear everyday of their lives. They fear that the government is watching them. If you bring your child to this island, they will grow up such timid souls which I am sure you do not want.
6. It is a criminal offense to publicly criticize the government. Even if you are alone and peacefully protested in public, you would be arrested.
Singapore government demands that everyone in the island simply obey whatever they say without complaint. This sort of existence is bad no matter where you are from. It is also bad for your family and your children.
7. There is no social security at all in Singapore. If you have a job you can feed your children. If not you will be a destitute.
Those who have lost their jobs have to line up at the government officer's premises and beg for money. There is no guarantee that you will get anything. If you don’t you and your children will have nothing to eat.
8. Coming to Singapore is all right for bachelors and single people coming for a short time to earn a little money and return. If you are from the People’s Republic of China, Burma, India, Philippines or Sri Lanka, and you think you can earn more than you can in your native country, it is a good idea to come temporarily.
If you lose your job, you can always go back and your family will not suffer by being here.
9. There is no guaranteed tenure for your stay in Singapore. If you are a temporary worker or a permanent resident, as they have no set laws about any of this, they could in fact send you home any time.
You should not put you wife and children through this uncertainty, not knowing when you will be kicked out.
10. Even if you were given citizenship, it is not permanent. They can anytime strip you of your citizenship and send you home.
11. Unless you are a single person, the cost of living in Singapore is too high for a family and you would hardly make any money. In many cases, because of the lower cost of living in your native countries, you are better off staying at home.
In Singapore, transportation costs, apartment rental, food and other items are more expensive than back home.
If you are single bachelor, and are prepared to live rough and cheaply, you could save some money.
12. Singapore’s crime rate is high. Today there are numerous daily cases of people held up at knife point or snatch thieves who steal your purse and necklace. The Singapore courts punish hundreds of these criminals daily but only few of these crimes are reported in the local newspapers.
As the crime rate is increasing so much, I believe the state controlled newspapers are not reporting most of them so as not to alarm the public. But the truth is, Singapore is becoming increasingly dangerous.
13. It is also too crowded. The island is only 16 miles from north to south and 26 miles east to west. Yet, in it presently already live 4.8 million people!
Life in such crowded conditions is not only unhealthy; it is not conducive to living.
14. Singapore today is finding it extremely difficult to attract good educated people to live there permanently. Many have already known the bad side of Singapore and others have even personally experienced it.
As time goes on, they would find it almost impossible to get things done, because of the lack of qualified people. They have got a bad name and it is spreading.
15. There is severe and serious racial discrimination against non- Chinese. If you are from India or from other countries other than China, my advice is not to come to Singapore.
There is an official housing policy not to let people who are not Chinese live anywhere they want. You will required to live in certain designated areas in government housing known as HDB.
You will also be discriminated in jobs, as many employers will advertise specifically for Chinese only and even if they don’t when they see you, they will turn you away.
Since there are no laws against racial discrimination and since the government themselves do it, you have no recourse against this unfairness. You and your children would be very disappointed.
16. It is an island that heavily relies on prostitution to survive. There is a large swathe of area specially set aside for this. It is called Geylang. There on a daily basis prostitutes can be seen glaringly for all to see, walking the streets and calling out at men for business.
It is almost impossible for good people to avoid this place altogether. If you are from a good moral background, you would not want your children to live in a society as immoral as this. This is shameless vulgarity.
17. If you can, there are other countries such as Australia and New Zealand which are true democracies. There your children will have good schools with good teachers and they will not have to live in this environment of fear in Singapore. They are true democracies. Also there will not be such official brutality and cruelty in the country with government beatings and hangings amongst you.
If you want to live in a civilized society for you and your family, my advice is to avoid Singapore.
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.
Law Society Singapore vs Gopalan Nair, my Email to Singapore ICA copied to Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The following is my Email to Singapore Immigration and Customs Authority (ICA) for a confirmation of my travel arrangements to Singapore.
I have copied this Email to the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals and again reminded them, it is their duty as the Tribunal in charge of this case to ensure that all evidence needed for me to defend myself is provided to me, and my travel to Singapore is guaranteed.
So far, they are simply refusing to provide any assistance.
For instance both the courts have not provided any court transcripts and are demanding that I go to Singapore personally to collect them, or send someone there personally. As I live in California, this is obviously impossible.
I have also Emailed both courts with copies sent to the Tribunal asking that they mail the court transcripts to me at my address, since going there is impossible. To date, neither the courts nor the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal has replied.
As far as this Email below to the Singapore Immigration and Customs Authority goes, I have written to them to confirm my safe passage to Singapore, that I will not be arrested and that my expenses for travel will be paid.
I have copied this Email to the Singapore Tribunal so that they cannot deny that I have sent the EMail. It is the Tribunal's responsibility to do all this and they are clearly refusing to do so, thinking perhaps that this way they will get the upper hand in the matter.
I am sure the reader can see this merry go round on their part, which only goes to confirm once again that the rule of law is seriously absent in that island.
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.
Travel to Singapore.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:26 AM
From: "Gopalan Nair"
To: ica_feedback@ica.gov.sg
Cc: angela_chopard@supcourt.gov.sg, yogeswari_n_vadivellu@supcourt.gov.sg
Hello head, ICA Singapore.
Although it is should be the reponsibility of the Disciplinary Tribunal Singapore to arrange for my safe passage to Singapore, please confirm that I will be allowed safe apaasage into Singapore. The dates are from Feb 22, 2010 to Feb 26, 2010 or March 8, 2010 to March 12, 2010.
Also please confirm that as, according to the Singapore government, I have committed further criminal offences under your Singapore law since my return to California USA, that is, Singapore's claim that I "insulted" your judge Judith Prakash in my blog, and that I had committed contempt of court of your judge Leslie Chew, by posting criticisms of your judges on my blog Singapore Dissident and withdrawing my apology to him last year, in my blog Singapore Dissident, please confirm that I will not be arrested again if I return to your country.
Also please note that as these disciplinary hearings have been commenced by your government, please confirm that you will be paying my air fare, to and fro from Singapore for this and my hotel expenses, in a 5 star hotel there, including a reasonable sum of daily expenses while I am there.
I am certainly not prepared to expend my own money to go to Singapore for this, since it is not my responsibility to do so.
This Email is copied to Angela Chopard and her co-worker Yogeswari N Vadivellu of the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals. In this manner, the Tribunals will be notified that I had written to you.
Please answer these questions to the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals. I have requested that all communication in this matter be between the Tribunals and me. It is their responsibility to arrange these affairs to ensure that I am given an opportunity to defend these accusations. To date, they seem to be avoiding their responsibility.
I will be posting this Email in my blog, the Singapore Dissident.
Yours Sincerely,
Gopalan Nair
The following is my Email to Singapore Immigration and Customs Authority (ICA) for a confirmation of my travel arrangements to Singapore.
I have copied this Email to the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals and again reminded them, it is their duty as the Tribunal in charge of this case to ensure that all evidence needed for me to defend myself is provided to me, and my travel to Singapore is guaranteed.
So far, they are simply refusing to provide any assistance.
For instance both the courts have not provided any court transcripts and are demanding that I go to Singapore personally to collect them, or send someone there personally. As I live in California, this is obviously impossible.
I have also Emailed both courts with copies sent to the Tribunal asking that they mail the court transcripts to me at my address, since going there is impossible. To date, neither the courts nor the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunal has replied.
As far as this Email below to the Singapore Immigration and Customs Authority goes, I have written to them to confirm my safe passage to Singapore, that I will not be arrested and that my expenses for travel will be paid.
I have copied this Email to the Singapore Tribunal so that they cannot deny that I have sent the EMail. It is the Tribunal's responsibility to do all this and they are clearly refusing to do so, thinking perhaps that this way they will get the upper hand in the matter.
I am sure the reader can see this merry go round on their part, which only goes to confirm once again that the rule of law is seriously absent in that island.
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.
Travel to Singapore.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:26 AM
From: "Gopalan Nair"
To: ica_feedback@ica.gov.sg
Cc: angela_chopard@supcourt.gov.sg, yogeswari_n_vadivellu@supcourt.gov.sg
Hello head, ICA Singapore.
Although it is should be the reponsibility of the Disciplinary Tribunal Singapore to arrange for my safe passage to Singapore, please confirm that I will be allowed safe apaasage into Singapore. The dates are from Feb 22, 2010 to Feb 26, 2010 or March 8, 2010 to March 12, 2010.
Also please confirm that as, according to the Singapore government, I have committed further criminal offences under your Singapore law since my return to California USA, that is, Singapore's claim that I "insulted" your judge Judith Prakash in my blog, and that I had committed contempt of court of your judge Leslie Chew, by posting criticisms of your judges on my blog Singapore Dissident and withdrawing my apology to him last year, in my blog Singapore Dissident, please confirm that I will not be arrested again if I return to your country.
Also please note that as these disciplinary hearings have been commenced by your government, please confirm that you will be paying my air fare, to and fro from Singapore for this and my hotel expenses, in a 5 star hotel there, including a reasonable sum of daily expenses while I am there.
I am certainly not prepared to expend my own money to go to Singapore for this, since it is not my responsibility to do so.
This Email is copied to Angela Chopard and her co-worker Yogeswari N Vadivellu of the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals. In this manner, the Tribunals will be notified that I had written to you.
Please answer these questions to the Singapore Disciplinary Tribunals. I have requested that all communication in this matter be between the Tribunals and me. It is their responsibility to arrange these affairs to ensure that I am given an opportunity to defend these accusations. To date, they seem to be avoiding their responsibility.
I will be posting this Email in my blog, the Singapore Dissident.
Yours Sincerely,
Gopalan Nair
Monday, November 9, 2009
Singapore's Law Minister a poor specimen of a lawyer.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Singapore state controlled media repeatedly depicts K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's recently handpicked Minister for Law as brilliant lawyer, an asset to Singapore and praises, flowers, garlands, etc etc.
Recently I happened to look at a video of him speaking in Parliament. He did not come across as that gift to mankind, as Lee Kuan Yew's newspapers make it out.
For one, his spoken English was seriously wanting. He spoke in Parliament as if he was reading out a prepared text and that too badly.
Of course, I understand it is a dictatorship, and no one can effectively challenge him for whatever nonsense he may say; as you would expect in a dictatorial monologue of sorts.
But still, it would have been good for him to put some life to his speeches, for the show of it at least, which did not occur to him.
Frankly, if he was to be listened to by native English or American speakers, they may not even recognize it as English.
But the other thing I wanted to say was his clearly visible lack of general knowledge; which should be expected of a Minister for Law of any country.
Recall the recent meeting in Singapore of the New York Bar Association at which he spoke.
He was, as you know trying very hard to persuade the American lawyers, 200 of them or so that Singapore, unlike what everyone else suspects to be otherwise, is in fact a democracy.
He started off by giving a lecture in the history of the island from 1959.
In 1959, he said, Singapore was nothing more than a backwater, but today, it has progressed from that to an island with glass towers that line the waterfront and MRT trains.
This history lesson took no less than half his talk.
The point which he was trying to make is to say that because the island has progressed from a mere fishing village to what it is today, therefore it has the rule of law and therefore the Americans were all wrong in thinking it is otherwise.
In this argument, Mr. K Shanmugam not only shows his lack of wisdom for a Minister of Law, (he is a product of the University of Singapore), he also shows the University produces very poor lawyers like him.
He completely lacks any history which we would have expected of any lawyer, let alone a good one. And he totally misjudges the wisdom of his American audience by thinking they are no better than him!
Any good lawyer, who should know at least something of history, would have known that economic success is no yardstick for rule of law and justice in a country.
Fascist countries like Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini achieved tremendous economic success. But they shamelessly misused the law, using it as a political tool to silence dissent, just as Singapore does today.
So when he makes the argument of economic success in Singapore he completely forgets that the Americans are fully aware of the abuse of the law in Singapore and they are aware also that pure economic success can be achieved by harsh and intolerant political systems without any rule of law whatsoever.
American lawyers unlike these Singapore ones are taught that a good lawyer not only knows the law, he also knows some other things too. A lawyer just as any other professional should have a desire for knowledge and should continue seeking it.
K Shanmugam, the Minister for Law was either not aware that American lawyers unlike him also know some history, he completely underestimates them by assuming total ignorance on their part of Singapore’s disgraceful track record in silencing dissent.
He spends a lot of time trying to convince the American lawyers that New York has more crime than in Singapore.
This is either a lie or completely taken out of context. Of course there are certain areas of New York which are not so safe.
At the same time, there are areas of New York which are much safer than Singapore’s Toa Payoh or for that matter any other Singapore HDB housing estate.
I live in Fremont, California. Unlike in Singapore where my car would be stolen if I left it unlocked; where I live, I can leave the keys in my car unattended anytime.
A man like K Shanmugam, who may have traveled outside Singapore, should be expected to know that there are pockets of good and bad areas in any country in the world.
And to say, plainly that New York is not as safe as Singapore is a lie which he knows very well.
The statistics to prove this fallacy, which K Shanumgam used, as expected of this one party Singapore dictatorship, are conveniently fixed to give a good impression, whereas the Americans have a bit more pride and self respect to ensure the statistics are not cooked.
Of course, the Americans are fully aware of this charade and as expected of gentlemen, they quietly had a laugh to themselves at this rather dumb Minister for Law.
It is not only Mr. K Shanmugam that appears wanting as a lawyer, I have seen many others from the University of Singapore or the present National University of Singapore who appear no more than mechanics so to speak. In other words students who are taught the legal subjects but have no knowledge or for that matter any interest in anything else. No history, no philosophy, no nothing.
I realize K Shanmugam had a difficult brief. Singapore’s name is so tarnished worldwide that it is an almost impossible task to argue otherwise.
But still arguing a point which the audience already knows is flawed, is surely insulting their intelligence and making yourself look a fool.
Or perhaps Singapore’s Minister for Law K Shanmugam was not aware that the American lawyers, unlike him, have heard of fascism.
Lee Kuan Yew has made a mistake in appointing this man for this job. He would not only continue making a fool of himself in public like he did before the New York lawyers who recently visited Singapore, if he goes on like this, he would be giving Singapore a worse name than it already has.
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 Singapore state controlled media repeatedly depicts K Shanmugam, Lee Kuan Yew's recently handpicked Minister for Law as brilliant lawyer, an asset to Singapore and praises, flowers, garlands, etc etc.
Recently I happened to look at a video of him speaking in Parliament. He did not come across as that gift to mankind, as Lee Kuan Yew's newspapers make it out.
For one, his spoken English was seriously wanting. He spoke in Parliament as if he was reading out a prepared text and that too badly.
Of course, I understand it is a dictatorship, and no one can effectively challenge him for whatever nonsense he may say; as you would expect in a dictatorial monologue of sorts.
But still, it would have been good for him to put some life to his speeches, for the show of it at least, which did not occur to him.
Frankly, if he was to be listened to by native English or American speakers, they may not even recognize it as English.
But the other thing I wanted to say was his clearly visible lack of general knowledge; which should be expected of a Minister for Law of any country.
Recall the recent meeting in Singapore of the New York Bar Association at which he spoke.
He was, as you know trying very hard to persuade the American lawyers, 200 of them or so that Singapore, unlike what everyone else suspects to be otherwise, is in fact a democracy.
He started off by giving a lecture in the history of the island from 1959.
In 1959, he said, Singapore was nothing more than a backwater, but today, it has progressed from that to an island with glass towers that line the waterfront and MRT trains.
This history lesson took no less than half his talk.
The point which he was trying to make is to say that because the island has progressed from a mere fishing village to what it is today, therefore it has the rule of law and therefore the Americans were all wrong in thinking it is otherwise.
In this argument, Mr. K Shanmugam not only shows his lack of wisdom for a Minister of Law, (he is a product of the University of Singapore), he also shows the University produces very poor lawyers like him.
He completely lacks any history which we would have expected of any lawyer, let alone a good one. And he totally misjudges the wisdom of his American audience by thinking they are no better than him!
Any good lawyer, who should know at least something of history, would have known that economic success is no yardstick for rule of law and justice in a country.
Fascist countries like Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini achieved tremendous economic success. But they shamelessly misused the law, using it as a political tool to silence dissent, just as Singapore does today.
So when he makes the argument of economic success in Singapore he completely forgets that the Americans are fully aware of the abuse of the law in Singapore and they are aware also that pure economic success can be achieved by harsh and intolerant political systems without any rule of law whatsoever.
American lawyers unlike these Singapore ones are taught that a good lawyer not only knows the law, he also knows some other things too. A lawyer just as any other professional should have a desire for knowledge and should continue seeking it.
K Shanmugam, the Minister for Law was either not aware that American lawyers unlike him also know some history, he completely underestimates them by assuming total ignorance on their part of Singapore’s disgraceful track record in silencing dissent.
He spends a lot of time trying to convince the American lawyers that New York has more crime than in Singapore.
This is either a lie or completely taken out of context. Of course there are certain areas of New York which are not so safe.
At the same time, there are areas of New York which are much safer than Singapore’s Toa Payoh or for that matter any other Singapore HDB housing estate.
I live in Fremont, California. Unlike in Singapore where my car would be stolen if I left it unlocked; where I live, I can leave the keys in my car unattended anytime.
A man like K Shanmugam, who may have traveled outside Singapore, should be expected to know that there are pockets of good and bad areas in any country in the world.
And to say, plainly that New York is not as safe as Singapore is a lie which he knows very well.
The statistics to prove this fallacy, which K Shanumgam used, as expected of this one party Singapore dictatorship, are conveniently fixed to give a good impression, whereas the Americans have a bit more pride and self respect to ensure the statistics are not cooked.
Of course, the Americans are fully aware of this charade and as expected of gentlemen, they quietly had a laugh to themselves at this rather dumb Minister for Law.
It is not only Mr. K Shanmugam that appears wanting as a lawyer, I have seen many others from the University of Singapore or the present National University of Singapore who appear no more than mechanics so to speak. In other words students who are taught the legal subjects but have no knowledge or for that matter any interest in anything else. No history, no philosophy, no nothing.
I realize K Shanmugam had a difficult brief. Singapore’s name is so tarnished worldwide that it is an almost impossible task to argue otherwise.
But still arguing a point which the audience already knows is flawed, is surely insulting their intelligence and making yourself look a fool.
Or perhaps Singapore’s Minister for Law K Shanmugam was not aware that the American lawyers, unlike him, have heard of fascism.
Lee Kuan Yew has made a mistake in appointing this man for this job. He would not only continue making a fool of himself in public like he did before the New York lawyers who recently visited Singapore, if he goes on like this, he would be giving Singapore a worse name than it already has.
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.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Is Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew telling us that he vets permanent residents good enough.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of Nov 9, 2009 carries the story, "PRs vetted carefully. Contributions are key, he says, in response to fears over immigration".
The all powerful Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew took the trouble to send this message to his “digits”, at a Tanjong Pagar GRC event on Sunday night. He was trying to assuage the concern of many Singaporeans of the indiscriminate flood of foreigners being given permanent residence, some even within a week of arrival and immediately thereafter citizenship. The numbers have increased to such alarming levels in the tiny island of only 3.5 million native Singaporeans(with foreigners 5 millions) that today one in three people in the tiny island is a foreigner and if this dangerous trend continues, half or the majority of citizens of Singapore will be recent arrivals.
But Lee Kuan Yew's simple dismissive answer to this growing fear is that there is nothing to worry about. He says he has the situation well under control, whatever that means. Permanent residents he says are well vetted by them (meaning Lee Kuan Yew's employees) and only those who have contributed to Singapore will be allowed citizenship. In other words, what he is saying is simply this. Leave it to me, and I will take care of it.
But my dear tyrant, Lee Kuan Yew, are you not being too presumptive? Too self assuring? Too arrogant? Is it simply enough for you to say this, for the people to simply accept? Is Singapore a country of laws, and if so, is it not your responsibility to make it known what these contributions are meant to be? Are you not required to tell all foreigners the criteria to become permanent residents and thereafter the criteria for citizenship? Should there not be laws and regulations listing exactly what they are? And should you not make it known? Or is what you say, simply enough?
I would tell Lee Kuan Yew that it is not enough merely for him to say this. He should lay it out what exactly they are, so that every aspiring foreigner can know before hand the criteria for selection for permanent residence and citizenship. You have none of these things. No one knows, except for your assurance that you will vet them. Vet them on what basis, you do not say. What exactly are the criteria, you do not say.
We all know this is a whole load of bull. Looking at the standard of the foreigners who have received permanent residence, it is impossible to say why some get it and some don't. Why some get it, in a week since arrival and why some never get it even after years. Why ignorant Chinese nationals not knowing a word of English get it in double time, while non Chinese Indonesians never get it. Why no Malay from Malaysia gets it, when Chinese Malaysians get it in a week. Why there are no one from Pakistan, none from Afghanistan, why none from Iran. Why is the immigration selective? Why are there Burmese but very few Sri Lankans? Or have you prejudged all Afghanis to be trouble makers? Similarly for Iranians? Pakistanis? Perhaps they will not be as docile as you would want?
You do not have any Europeans, Australians or new Zealanders or British. Maybe a handful who have married Singapore Chinese women because they are more submissive than their European counterparts. And the reason simply is this. Singapore is not a place to live for a people who have a choice. Educated smart people can live in their own countries or go to the United States, which is a democracy and where they don’t have to live in fear of an octogenarian strutting around with a whip, keeping everyone in line.
The sort of immigrants you get is second rate, just like the government you have; the uneducated Chinese peasants, the same sort from India and Burma and the Malaysian Chinese who feel discriminated by the Malays in their country, who now have a chance to discriminate the Malays in Singapore. Every single immigrant who chooses to live in Singapore are all from poverty stricken neighboring countries who yearn for a chance to live anywhere else other than their own. They lack real skills and they really will not be accepted anywhere else other than Singapore.
No one knows what really goes on in the selection of PRs and citizens; except for Lee Kuan Yew’s word, that they are all well vetted!
Malays from Indonesia and Malaysia, no matter what their qualifications are not accepted because Lee wants to keep their numbers down. In keeping with his plan of having Singapore population predominantly Chinese, (which by the way is clearly unconstitutional) even totally illiterate Chinese peasants are given fast track path to PR status and citizenship.
This is racial discrimination against non Chinese. This is not fair. This is not transparent. This is not the rule of law. This is arbitrary rule according to Lee Kuan Yew's fancy. First world, it is not.
But in the end, Lee Kuan Yew is merely scraping the barrel with this sort. Unless he introduces real democracy, the really capable would never want to come and live there. Singapore will always be known as a country that brutally beats convicted criminals, hangs petty drug mules, criminalizes chewing gum, uses the law to silence dissent and denies basic human rights to their citizens. Simply not a country that a capable citizen of the world would want to come to.
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 controlled newspaper the Straits Times online edition of Nov 9, 2009 carries the story, "PRs vetted carefully. Contributions are key, he says, in response to fears over immigration".
The all powerful Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew took the trouble to send this message to his “digits”, at a Tanjong Pagar GRC event on Sunday night. He was trying to assuage the concern of many Singaporeans of the indiscriminate flood of foreigners being given permanent residence, some even within a week of arrival and immediately thereafter citizenship. The numbers have increased to such alarming levels in the tiny island of only 3.5 million native Singaporeans(with foreigners 5 millions) that today one in three people in the tiny island is a foreigner and if this dangerous trend continues, half or the majority of citizens of Singapore will be recent arrivals.
But Lee Kuan Yew's simple dismissive answer to this growing fear is that there is nothing to worry about. He says he has the situation well under control, whatever that means. Permanent residents he says are well vetted by them (meaning Lee Kuan Yew's employees) and only those who have contributed to Singapore will be allowed citizenship. In other words, what he is saying is simply this. Leave it to me, and I will take care of it.
But my dear tyrant, Lee Kuan Yew, are you not being too presumptive? Too self assuring? Too arrogant? Is it simply enough for you to say this, for the people to simply accept? Is Singapore a country of laws, and if so, is it not your responsibility to make it known what these contributions are meant to be? Are you not required to tell all foreigners the criteria to become permanent residents and thereafter the criteria for citizenship? Should there not be laws and regulations listing exactly what they are? And should you not make it known? Or is what you say, simply enough?
I would tell Lee Kuan Yew that it is not enough merely for him to say this. He should lay it out what exactly they are, so that every aspiring foreigner can know before hand the criteria for selection for permanent residence and citizenship. You have none of these things. No one knows, except for your assurance that you will vet them. Vet them on what basis, you do not say. What exactly are the criteria, you do not say.
We all know this is a whole load of bull. Looking at the standard of the foreigners who have received permanent residence, it is impossible to say why some get it and some don't. Why some get it, in a week since arrival and why some never get it even after years. Why ignorant Chinese nationals not knowing a word of English get it in double time, while non Chinese Indonesians never get it. Why no Malay from Malaysia gets it, when Chinese Malaysians get it in a week. Why there are no one from Pakistan, none from Afghanistan, why none from Iran. Why is the immigration selective? Why are there Burmese but very few Sri Lankans? Or have you prejudged all Afghanis to be trouble makers? Similarly for Iranians? Pakistanis? Perhaps they will not be as docile as you would want?
You do not have any Europeans, Australians or new Zealanders or British. Maybe a handful who have married Singapore Chinese women because they are more submissive than their European counterparts. And the reason simply is this. Singapore is not a place to live for a people who have a choice. Educated smart people can live in their own countries or go to the United States, which is a democracy and where they don’t have to live in fear of an octogenarian strutting around with a whip, keeping everyone in line.
The sort of immigrants you get is second rate, just like the government you have; the uneducated Chinese peasants, the same sort from India and Burma and the Malaysian Chinese who feel discriminated by the Malays in their country, who now have a chance to discriminate the Malays in Singapore. Every single immigrant who chooses to live in Singapore are all from poverty stricken neighboring countries who yearn for a chance to live anywhere else other than their own. They lack real skills and they really will not be accepted anywhere else other than Singapore.
No one knows what really goes on in the selection of PRs and citizens; except for Lee Kuan Yew’s word, that they are all well vetted!
Malays from Indonesia and Malaysia, no matter what their qualifications are not accepted because Lee wants to keep their numbers down. In keeping with his plan of having Singapore population predominantly Chinese, (which by the way is clearly unconstitutional) even totally illiterate Chinese peasants are given fast track path to PR status and citizenship.
This is racial discrimination against non Chinese. This is not fair. This is not transparent. This is not the rule of law. This is arbitrary rule according to Lee Kuan Yew's fancy. First world, it is not.
But in the end, Lee Kuan Yew is merely scraping the barrel with this sort. Unless he introduces real democracy, the really capable would never want to come and live there. Singapore will always be known as a country that brutally beats convicted criminals, hangs petty drug mules, criminalizes chewing gum, uses the law to silence dissent and denies basic human rights to their citizens. Simply not a country that a capable citizen of the world would want to come to.
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. Even further resignations from the ever dwindling Singapore legal profession.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have known Venogopal Ragavan, a Singapore lawyer who is now in his 60s, while I was practicing law in Singapore. What he told me a few days ago on the phone did not come as a surprise; it was another of this government's series of stupid policies that inconvenience Singapore lawyers unnecessarily. Now, it appears every lawyer has to deposit with the Government Medisave Program 7% to 8% of their annual income as security for their medical expenses! And listen to this; if they did not, they cannot practice law in Singapore!
This requirement is not only stupid, it is completely unwarranted. What, may I ask, has contributing to medisave got anything to do with practicing law! And if Singapore requires lawyers, as well as cooks, hairdressers and lion tamers to contribute to Medisave, then they should have rules to require this. But prohibiting a lawyer from practicing his profession is a punishment totally unrelated to medisave. Does it also mean, an air-conditioning technician or a Cantonese noodle cook should also stop work if there is no money in medisave? And does it not occur to these million dollar ministers that if they do not work, you would be in fact be making sure they don't have any money to eat, let alone depositing money in this government account.
According to Mr. V Ragavan this sum to be deposited can amount to as much as $30,000 to $40,000 and for some even more. And together with the already existing money they have to pay to get their yearly law practicing certificates which amount to $6,000 a year, the total amount is simply beyond the means of many lawyers, especially those who do not have the Lee Kuan Yew/ PAP connections like Mr. V Ragavan.
I tell you, I do not know anywhere else in the world where it costs so much to practice law, when the legal work available is almost non existent for the ordinary lawyer. As you know, with the bulk of the legal work being Lee Kuan Yew's government contracts, it all goes to people who are sycophants like Davinder Singh and Hri Kumar of Drew and Napier. Essentially bootlickers who make a living that way.
And if you are foolish enough, or brave enough, depending on which way you look at life, you have nothing to look for in Singapore's legal market. As it is, the courts charge an arm and a leg merely to file a law suit in the courts, thousands in the High Court and hundreds of dollars in the Subordinate Court. And if you were an ordinary regular bloke with no connections, you are probably going to lose your case anyway, so why bother. As for criminal cases, no need to hire a lawyer since whatever the prosecutor says goes unless you are the newspaper editor of a Singapore Chinese daily who got away after killing a pillion motorcycle rider, while on a cell phone! You can read about this abuse of the law in my blog about this woman Chinese editor who got away.
All in all, Singaporeans have come to know there is no need to squander hard earned money in law cases in Singapore, because you simply cannot win in Lee's courts. Best to simply eat humble pie and take what comes.
According to Mr. Ragavan, many lawyers especially senior ones who are not making any money, when they should be, except for Lee Kuan Yew's selected few, are simply calling it a day. As many as 300 to a 1,000 lawyers have left or will leave by the end of this year when the payment has to be made. Tell me, with an already world record for insufficient lawyers, 3,000 in a country of 5 million, with the drain of this impending number, how many lawyers will actually be left in that island? An island which according to the recently appointed Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law Mr. K Shanmugam, is a London of the East!
Mr. Ragavan is Venogopal Ragavan of the firm RS Balan in Chin Swee Road, a cheap office premises next to Lee Kuan Yew's Subordinate Courts. His phone number is 67344207. I have not got his permission to mention him, but being a lawyer, I expect him to stand up against any reprisals from Lee Kuan Yew. He tells me that he too is contemplating giving it up. And looking at the bleak situation as it is, I tend to agree.
He says, if you were a bachelor like him, and you don't use up the money and die, it will revert to Lee Kuan Yew and his government. Surely that alone should be a reason to refuse to pay and give up practice altogether.
After my writing this, I don't expect my old friend to speak to me anymore. This can be expected after all, in Lee Kuan Yew's fear ridden Singapore.
And by the way, I guess you noted the absence of any report of this in the state controlled newspapers. After all it is not very good news, is it?
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.
I have known Venogopal Ragavan, a Singapore lawyer who is now in his 60s, while I was practicing law in Singapore. What he told me a few days ago on the phone did not come as a surprise; it was another of this government's series of stupid policies that inconvenience Singapore lawyers unnecessarily. Now, it appears every lawyer has to deposit with the Government Medisave Program 7% to 8% of their annual income as security for their medical expenses! And listen to this; if they did not, they cannot practice law in Singapore!
This requirement is not only stupid, it is completely unwarranted. What, may I ask, has contributing to medisave got anything to do with practicing law! And if Singapore requires lawyers, as well as cooks, hairdressers and lion tamers to contribute to Medisave, then they should have rules to require this. But prohibiting a lawyer from practicing his profession is a punishment totally unrelated to medisave. Does it also mean, an air-conditioning technician or a Cantonese noodle cook should also stop work if there is no money in medisave? And does it not occur to these million dollar ministers that if they do not work, you would be in fact be making sure they don't have any money to eat, let alone depositing money in this government account.
According to Mr. V Ragavan this sum to be deposited can amount to as much as $30,000 to $40,000 and for some even more. And together with the already existing money they have to pay to get their yearly law practicing certificates which amount to $6,000 a year, the total amount is simply beyond the means of many lawyers, especially those who do not have the Lee Kuan Yew/ PAP connections like Mr. V Ragavan.
I tell you, I do not know anywhere else in the world where it costs so much to practice law, when the legal work available is almost non existent for the ordinary lawyer. As you know, with the bulk of the legal work being Lee Kuan Yew's government contracts, it all goes to people who are sycophants like Davinder Singh and Hri Kumar of Drew and Napier. Essentially bootlickers who make a living that way.
And if you are foolish enough, or brave enough, depending on which way you look at life, you have nothing to look for in Singapore's legal market. As it is, the courts charge an arm and a leg merely to file a law suit in the courts, thousands in the High Court and hundreds of dollars in the Subordinate Court. And if you were an ordinary regular bloke with no connections, you are probably going to lose your case anyway, so why bother. As for criminal cases, no need to hire a lawyer since whatever the prosecutor says goes unless you are the newspaper editor of a Singapore Chinese daily who got away after killing a pillion motorcycle rider, while on a cell phone! You can read about this abuse of the law in my blog about this woman Chinese editor who got away.
All in all, Singaporeans have come to know there is no need to squander hard earned money in law cases in Singapore, because you simply cannot win in Lee's courts. Best to simply eat humble pie and take what comes.
According to Mr. Ragavan, many lawyers especially senior ones who are not making any money, when they should be, except for Lee Kuan Yew's selected few, are simply calling it a day. As many as 300 to a 1,000 lawyers have left or will leave by the end of this year when the payment has to be made. Tell me, with an already world record for insufficient lawyers, 3,000 in a country of 5 million, with the drain of this impending number, how many lawyers will actually be left in that island? An island which according to the recently appointed Lee Kuan Yew's Minister for Law Mr. K Shanmugam, is a London of the East!
Mr. Ragavan is Venogopal Ragavan of the firm RS Balan in Chin Swee Road, a cheap office premises next to Lee Kuan Yew's Subordinate Courts. His phone number is 67344207. I have not got his permission to mention him, but being a lawyer, I expect him to stand up against any reprisals from Lee Kuan Yew. He tells me that he too is contemplating giving it up. And looking at the bleak situation as it is, I tend to agree.
He says, if you were a bachelor like him, and you don't use up the money and die, it will revert to Lee Kuan Yew and his government. Surely that alone should be a reason to refuse to pay and give up practice altogether.
After my writing this, I don't expect my old friend to speak to me anymore. This can be expected after all, in Lee Kuan Yew's fear ridden Singapore.
And by the way, I guess you noted the absence of any report of this in the state controlled newspapers. After all it is not very good news, is it?
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.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Lee Kuan Yew's foreign talent policy destroys Singapore.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Straits Times, Singapore's state controlled newspaper printed in it's online edition the story "Why we need immigrants".
Goh Chock Tong, the Senior Minister, told an Indian gathering at Bradell Heights Community Club that unless Singapore continues to import increasing numbers of foreign immigrants, it will "go the way of the dinosaurs". To justify his argument, he gave figures of people over 65 increasing by 100,000 and people under 15 shrinking by 50,000. He says the reproduction figure has simply refused to increase which means more people die than born. He went on to say that people are needed to build the MRT, the glass towers and the services and there are insufficient Singaporeans.
In my view, this is perfect recipe for disaster, which by the way, has already begun.
For a highly educated and experienced million dollar minister to say this, we can only conclude that he is not being entirely honest.
If he were to ask himself why do Singaporeans leave the country en masse which is the major reason for the population decline, why do people not have children, why does 3 out of 4 young people interviewed want to emigrate if given the chance? In other words why do Singaporeans hate Singapore so much? Why?
I bet he knows the answer. And if he truly addresses those questions, Singaporeans would remain in the country and procreate. They would be happy. But there is one down side to it of course; Goh Chock Tong and his good friend Lee Kuan Yew would be kicked out and perhaps tried, convicted and imprisoned. Not wanting that of course, he comes up with this stop gap measure of bringing in more and more foreigners which is nothing more than temporary first aid. By the time it all eventually collapses, which will not be overnight, he would either be dead and gone or into exile. That is why he continues with this deliberate plan to keep increasing foreigners. It keeps him and his friends at the top safe for the moment. He is being deliberately dishonest in this.
We all know why native Singaporeans are beginning to hate their government and therefore, their country. For one, it is the ongoing day light robbery of the men in white (Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP). No single Singaporean can accept the fact of Lee Kuan Yew and his friends paying themselves millions while the majority of others have to eke out a living as best they can. In order to inflict the maximum pain on his people while he and his friends wallow in luxury, he makes sure of deliberately increasing taxes, utility bills, transportation costs, medical fees, and you name it. The people naturally ask what need is there to squeeze the last penny out of the poor while he and his friends continue to grab more than they could possibly spend?
While they live their unimaginable lives of luxury, the poor are being kicked out of their jobs because a foreigner has taken it; while they have no social security or unemployment assistance whatsoever. A destitute unemployed uneducated citizen is told that it is all his own fault and he should go and line up ever day at his PAP Member of Parliament’s office for a few crumbs of bread which he may or may not get. Now what about his children? They starve.
Then he deliberately discredited the very foundations of state, such as the judiciary and the civil service. He requires his judges to be beholden to him and to abuse the law; resulting in opposition politicians unjustly bankrupted and jailed on a daily basis while his own get preferential treatment. I had given an example of the corrupt judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean giving judgment for Lee Kuan Yew's son's company Fraser and Nave and Asia Pacific Breweries when they were sued by certain foreign banks. Please read my earlier blog on this case.
The people have no means of venting their grievances in this state controlled island. The newspapers are state controlled and will not print anything negative of the government. The judiciary is corrupt. The civil service is politicized which means only government cronies and supporters get benefits while others are disadvantaged. There is blatant and open racial discrimination. Malays and Indians are disadvantaged in jobs, housing and benefits, what little there is.
There are adverts in the state controlled press for job vacancies which disqualify Singaporeans from applying; jobs reserved for foreigners only.
The HDB Singapore’s government housing monopoly gives choice locations to the Chinese, while the Malays and Indians are required to disperse and live among them. This is especially difficult for the Malays and Indian Muslims as they do not eat pork which the Chinese relish.
The students are deliberately not taught the skills that are needed in Singapore. Goh Chock Tong rightfully says that foreigners are needed in construction. Why, because Singaporeans do not have these skills. There are no vocational schools and if there are, they deliberately do not teach these skills. There are insufficient mechanics, insufficient technicians and insufficient skilled people in every line of work. And if there are, they are not well trained. There is no certification process for vocational jobs. What little they know is what they picked up from experience. And there are insufficient lawyers because the law has been completely discredited.
Even a boy can tell Goh Chock Tong why there is this massive loss of people from Singapore. The reason is himself, and his boss Lee Kuan Yew. It is their very presence which causes masses to leave and not to have children.
You can solve this problem in one stroke. Stop abusing the law. Introduce the rule of law. Tell your judges to stop their corruption. Stop paying yourself millions. Build schools, real schools and educate the masses. Stop persecuting political opponents. Free the press. Allow free speech, expression and assembly. Give people some security in their lives; introduce a minimum wage and social security for the unemployed. Stop racial discrimination. Stop favoring foreigners at the expense of Singaporeans. Give jobs to Singaporeans first before foreigners. And last but not least, stop you arrogance. Do it and Singapore’s problems would be solved overnight.
Let me tell you what is going to happen with these increasing foreigners. The only ones who will sink roots are the illiterate Chinese speaking imports. Not a single educated foreigner will stay. They may come not knowing what Singapore really is. But when they know what it really is, an island under the grip of the Lee family with no rights whatsoever, they will go the way they come. And while that goes on, increasing Singaporeans will continue to leave.
At a point, foreigners and their offspring will equal native born Singaporeans. These people will have no loyalty and Singapore will turn into a revolving door, people coming and people leaving. And those leaving will continue to discredit Singapore in their native countries after knowing what it truly is. And among the Singaporeans leaving, some would turn out to be bloggers like the Singapore Dissident, continuing to expose the rot within.
It is not something that can survive. Dubai can be contrasted to Singapore. There, the royalty keep their power while the natives are very well taken care of. Unlike Singapore, no citizen of Dubai wants to leave his country. Surrounded by oil money, they have no worries on that score. Their people are contended and foreigners do the work. Dubai has the money to last this way. Singapore does not have that luxury.
Singapore is not Dubai and can never expect to be one. There is no oil money here. Singapore is not an emirate and we do not have an emir. So when Lee Kuan Yew behaves like a king, this antagonizes the people, resulting in hatred and contempt. Singapore unlike Dubai is supposed to have a free press, fundamental human rights, and a democracy. When these things are denied Singaporeans, they will resist and if not, they will leave and not have any children. Foreigners cannot solve the problem. In any case, no educated foreigner would want to sink roots here. The only ones are the coolies from China and India. And they cannot advance Singapore.
Don't say that I did not tell you. Your policies are doomed to failure. And I hope Singaporeans will have the courage to resist to save their island.
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 Straits Times, Singapore's state controlled newspaper printed in it's online edition the story "Why we need immigrants".
Goh Chock Tong, the Senior Minister, told an Indian gathering at Bradell Heights Community Club that unless Singapore continues to import increasing numbers of foreign immigrants, it will "go the way of the dinosaurs". To justify his argument, he gave figures of people over 65 increasing by 100,000 and people under 15 shrinking by 50,000. He says the reproduction figure has simply refused to increase which means more people die than born. He went on to say that people are needed to build the MRT, the glass towers and the services and there are insufficient Singaporeans.
In my view, this is perfect recipe for disaster, which by the way, has already begun.
For a highly educated and experienced million dollar minister to say this, we can only conclude that he is not being entirely honest.
If he were to ask himself why do Singaporeans leave the country en masse which is the major reason for the population decline, why do people not have children, why does 3 out of 4 young people interviewed want to emigrate if given the chance? In other words why do Singaporeans hate Singapore so much? Why?
I bet he knows the answer. And if he truly addresses those questions, Singaporeans would remain in the country and procreate. They would be happy. But there is one down side to it of course; Goh Chock Tong and his good friend Lee Kuan Yew would be kicked out and perhaps tried, convicted and imprisoned. Not wanting that of course, he comes up with this stop gap measure of bringing in more and more foreigners which is nothing more than temporary first aid. By the time it all eventually collapses, which will not be overnight, he would either be dead and gone or into exile. That is why he continues with this deliberate plan to keep increasing foreigners. It keeps him and his friends at the top safe for the moment. He is being deliberately dishonest in this.
We all know why native Singaporeans are beginning to hate their government and therefore, their country. For one, it is the ongoing day light robbery of the men in white (Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP). No single Singaporean can accept the fact of Lee Kuan Yew and his friends paying themselves millions while the majority of others have to eke out a living as best they can. In order to inflict the maximum pain on his people while he and his friends wallow in luxury, he makes sure of deliberately increasing taxes, utility bills, transportation costs, medical fees, and you name it. The people naturally ask what need is there to squeeze the last penny out of the poor while he and his friends continue to grab more than they could possibly spend?
While they live their unimaginable lives of luxury, the poor are being kicked out of their jobs because a foreigner has taken it; while they have no social security or unemployment assistance whatsoever. A destitute unemployed uneducated citizen is told that it is all his own fault and he should go and line up ever day at his PAP Member of Parliament’s office for a few crumbs of bread which he may or may not get. Now what about his children? They starve.
Then he deliberately discredited the very foundations of state, such as the judiciary and the civil service. He requires his judges to be beholden to him and to abuse the law; resulting in opposition politicians unjustly bankrupted and jailed on a daily basis while his own get preferential treatment. I had given an example of the corrupt judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean giving judgment for Lee Kuan Yew's son's company Fraser and Nave and Asia Pacific Breweries when they were sued by certain foreign banks. Please read my earlier blog on this case.
The people have no means of venting their grievances in this state controlled island. The newspapers are state controlled and will not print anything negative of the government. The judiciary is corrupt. The civil service is politicized which means only government cronies and supporters get benefits while others are disadvantaged. There is blatant and open racial discrimination. Malays and Indians are disadvantaged in jobs, housing and benefits, what little there is.
There are adverts in the state controlled press for job vacancies which disqualify Singaporeans from applying; jobs reserved for foreigners only.
The HDB Singapore’s government housing monopoly gives choice locations to the Chinese, while the Malays and Indians are required to disperse and live among them. This is especially difficult for the Malays and Indian Muslims as they do not eat pork which the Chinese relish.
The students are deliberately not taught the skills that are needed in Singapore. Goh Chock Tong rightfully says that foreigners are needed in construction. Why, because Singaporeans do not have these skills. There are no vocational schools and if there are, they deliberately do not teach these skills. There are insufficient mechanics, insufficient technicians and insufficient skilled people in every line of work. And if there are, they are not well trained. There is no certification process for vocational jobs. What little they know is what they picked up from experience. And there are insufficient lawyers because the law has been completely discredited.
Even a boy can tell Goh Chock Tong why there is this massive loss of people from Singapore. The reason is himself, and his boss Lee Kuan Yew. It is their very presence which causes masses to leave and not to have children.
You can solve this problem in one stroke. Stop abusing the law. Introduce the rule of law. Tell your judges to stop their corruption. Stop paying yourself millions. Build schools, real schools and educate the masses. Stop persecuting political opponents. Free the press. Allow free speech, expression and assembly. Give people some security in their lives; introduce a minimum wage and social security for the unemployed. Stop racial discrimination. Stop favoring foreigners at the expense of Singaporeans. Give jobs to Singaporeans first before foreigners. And last but not least, stop you arrogance. Do it and Singapore’s problems would be solved overnight.
Let me tell you what is going to happen with these increasing foreigners. The only ones who will sink roots are the illiterate Chinese speaking imports. Not a single educated foreigner will stay. They may come not knowing what Singapore really is. But when they know what it really is, an island under the grip of the Lee family with no rights whatsoever, they will go the way they come. And while that goes on, increasing Singaporeans will continue to leave.
At a point, foreigners and their offspring will equal native born Singaporeans. These people will have no loyalty and Singapore will turn into a revolving door, people coming and people leaving. And those leaving will continue to discredit Singapore in their native countries after knowing what it truly is. And among the Singaporeans leaving, some would turn out to be bloggers like the Singapore Dissident, continuing to expose the rot within.
It is not something that can survive. Dubai can be contrasted to Singapore. There, the royalty keep their power while the natives are very well taken care of. Unlike Singapore, no citizen of Dubai wants to leave his country. Surrounded by oil money, they have no worries on that score. Their people are contended and foreigners do the work. Dubai has the money to last this way. Singapore does not have that luxury.
Singapore is not Dubai and can never expect to be one. There is no oil money here. Singapore is not an emirate and we do not have an emir. So when Lee Kuan Yew behaves like a king, this antagonizes the people, resulting in hatred and contempt. Singapore unlike Dubai is supposed to have a free press, fundamental human rights, and a democracy. When these things are denied Singaporeans, they will resist and if not, they will leave and not have any children. Foreigners cannot solve the problem. In any case, no educated foreigner would want to sink roots here. The only ones are the coolies from China and India. And they cannot advance Singapore.
Don't say that I did not tell you. Your policies are doomed to failure. And I hope Singaporeans will have the courage to resist to save their island.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
