To,
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20500
Jan 22, 2009 First Class
Mail
Dear President Obama,
I would like to congratulate you in becoming the President of the
United States. In your presidency, you carry the hope of many
around the world who seek freedom. I believe that with your
presidency, we can achieve a new age where freedom will be the
bedrock upon which everything else will depend.
This letter is a plea to you to help the countless people in
Singapore who are suffering under the crushing yoke of Lee Kuan
Yew's dictatorship. One of his victims is myself.
I wish to tell you my story.
I am an American citizen, born in Singapore and formerly a
Singapore citizen. I lived most of my life in Singapore, and was
educated there. I then went to England to read law and was admitted
to the English Bar. Thereafter I returned to Singapore, was
admitted to the Singapore Bar, and practiced there law until 1991,
when I came to the United States, obtained asylum for the
persecution I suffered for my political beliefs. I was admitted to
the California Bar and have been practicing law here ever
since.
On May 26, 2008, I went to Singapore to observe a defamation of
character trial in which the Minister Mentor of Singapore Lee Kuan
Yew and his son, the Prime Minister were suing Dr. Chee Soon Juan
and his sister Miss Chee Siok Chin who are opposition politicians,
for having written an article critical of them.
Being a lawyer and someone personally involved in Singapore
politics, this trial was of particular interest for me, especially
since it was publicized that Dr. Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin
will be cross examining Lee and his son. This particular hearing
was to decide the quantum of damages the court will award to the
Lees since they had already won this lawsuit earlier. This hearing
was scheduled to be heard by Judge Belinda Ang Saw Ean in the
Singapore High Court from May 26, 2008 to May 28, 2008. I planned
my trip to Singapore to last from May 26, 2008 to June 1, 2008, a
period of 7 days to enable me to attend the trial as an observer
and return after spending the remaining few days in
Singapore.
I was in Justice
Belinda Ang Saw Ean's court for all 3 days listening to the trial.
Throughout the 3 days, this Judge was completely biased in favor of
the Lees. She did not give the Defendant Dr. Chee Soon Juan or his
sister Miss Chee Siok Chin any meaningful opportunity to defend
themselves. Anyone who had observed the trial would have walked
away with the same opinion. Full details of Judge
Ang's complete abdication of her judicial responsibility is well
documented in Dr. Chee Soon Juan blog, http://www.yoursdp.org/.
On the 29th of May, 2008 in Singapore, after the court hearing was
over, I wrote a blog post on my blog "Singapore Dissident", http://www.singaporedissident.blogspot.com/
entitled
Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court in which I
criticized her conduct in her judicial capacity during the 3 days
of trial. I am attaching a copy of this blog post.
On Saturday May 31, 2008 at about 8.30 pm, while I was descending
from my 7th Floor hotel room at Broadway Hotel, Serangoon Road,
Singapore, I was arrested by 5 plain clothes policemen when the
elevator door opened at the ground floor lobby. I was handcuffed,
pushed back into the elevator, rode to the floor where my room was
ransacked and my American passport and personal documents
confiscated. I was then driven in their police car to Central
Police Station where I was kept in solitary confinement for 6 days
during which time I was repeatedly interrogated day and night and
accused of having sent Emails to this judge and others, which I
never did. I was charged for this. The charge read that I had
insulted the judge in the Emails.
When I denied ever sending any Emails, I was charged under the
Sedition Act of Singapore for having insulted this judge and told
that I will be sentenced to a prison term of up to 3 years if
convicted. Subsequently, they reverted back to the Email charge.
Finally I was charged for having insulted this judge because I had
written this blog post in my blog.
The Singapore Constitution has a provision like in most other
constitutions of the world guaranteeing free speech, expression and
assembly. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights guarantees
this right to every person in this world regardless of race creed
or religion. In my writing this blog post in criticism of this
judge, I was acting just as any other human being is entitled to
act.
After holding me in solitary confinement for 6 days, they
officially charged me in court on June 5, 2008. I was then released
on bail. My case was fixed for hearing before Judge Kan Ting Chiu
on September 08, 2008. Although I had made several requests for my
case to be heard sooner so that I can return to my law practice in
California, the court simply refused. Two attempts for the court to
release my passport to enable me to travel to the US in the interim
to take care of business, even though supported by the American
Embassy were also ignored.
This meant that I had to remain in Singapore throughout this period
which will result in my suffering severe financial harm due to
neglecting my practice this entire time of 6 months. I was not able
to earn any income from my US practice as well as having to
maintain myself to live in Singapore during these months.
Eventually the case came to trial. Judge Kan Ting Chiu was
determined to send me to prison. No amount of argument by me in
saying that writing a blog post was lawful criticism and a human
right, made any difference to him. On the 17th of September 2008,
he sentenced me to 3 months imprisonment, a sentence much harsher
than even thieves and robbers receive.
On the 20th of November 2008, I was released from prison, allowed
to remain in Singapore for 5 days until the 26th of November 2008
when I was permitted to leave Singapore. The Singapore Immigration
Department has placed a condition that I am not allowed to enter
Singapore again unless I have the written permission of the
Singapore Immigration and Customs Authority. This effectively means
that I am banned from ever returning to my country of birth.
Since my return to Fremont, California on November 26, 2008, I have
been trying to rebuild my law practice which has been shattered. I
have also been financially ruined by my forced stay in Singapore
for 6 months, from which I am trying to recover.
Despite Lee Kuan
Yew's attempts to show Singapore as a democracy, it is far from it.
Today, Singaporeans live in mortal fear of their government. The
constitution is completely ignored. Singapore Parliament is merely
a rubber stamp, the country being run entirely on the dictates of
this one man, Lee Kuan Yew. Although the constitution guarantees
freedom of speech and expression, the law requires permits to
engage in such activity and permits are never granted. With one
party rule, the people have no legal means to voice their dissent.
Dr. Chee Soon Juan and other activists have engaged in peaceful
protests for which they have been repeatedly charged and sent to
prison. At this very moment, Singapore human rights activists, Dr.
Chee Soon Juan, Gandhi Ambalam, Chee Siok Chin and Yap Keng Ho are
undergoing a trial for having engaged in a peaceful assembly, one
of the many they have suffered.
In Singapore today, there is no free press. Every single newspaper
and news media is controlled by the government. The judiciary is
entirely politicized and they invariably abuse the law to punish
political opponents. The Internal Security Act, giving the
government the right to detain people without trial is being used.
There are a number of people presently detained in Singapore under
this law. The police force is being used as Lee Kuan Yew's private
army to arrest detain and charge his political
opponents.
Dear President, you have said it is your intention to try to uplift
people oppressed under the yoke of dictators. You have said you
believe strongly in the right of people to achieve their self
determination, to live as men and not slaves. This letter that I
write carries the hopes of thousands of Singaporeans yearning to be
free, to live as free men and women endowed with the human rights
they rightly deserve.
Singapore unlike other countries has no hinterland, no farmland, no
place where people can survive without government recognition. It
is a concrete island where one has no choice but to submit to Lee's
dictates, because inviting the wrath of Lee Kuan Yew would mean
being destitute. There are people who are able to emigrate leaving
Singapore for a freer life elsewhere. But for the vast majority,
leaving Singapore is impossible. They have nowhere else to go. And
so they live in submission and fear of Lee Kuan Yew's rule.
You have also said you intend to look into tax havens and money
laundering centers where foreigners invest to avoid paying taxes in
their own countries. It is very well documented that Singapore
banks maintain large investments belonging to Burmese drug lords.
The US has placed sanctions against the Burmese government. By
Singapore permitting these assets from Burma to remain in
Singapore, it is clearly hurting the purpose of the US sanctions.
American and European businessmen, in order to avoiding taxes in
their own countries also bank their moneys there. I hope your
office will look into this and demand that Singapore comply with
international standards of financial responsibility and stop
profiting from illegal funds.
A free and democratic Singapore is a boon for the US, not a bane.
Trade between the US and Singapore will increase, not decrease if
Singapore becomes a democracy. Nothing is lost and everything is
gained by this.
Even though I am an American citizen, Singapore is dear to my
heart. It was the place where I was born. I hope to see
Singaporeans proud and free, standing up tall as men and women, not
the sheepish lives they live now. Dear President, please do what
you can for the people of Singapore. Our hopes ride with you.
Thank you Mr. President.
Gopalan Nair
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2009/01/
