Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:
[b]The equally ridiculous reasons given to justify
Singapore's repressive laws.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore like Burma requires any assembly of 5 or more persons to
apply for government permit first; without which it becomes an
illegal assembly; rendering them to liable arrest and imprisonment.
The Singapore Democratic Party under Dr. Chee Soon Juan and even
the Workers Party have over the years applied for permits for
peaceful assembly which have all been routinely denied. The last
application by the Singapore Democratic Party was for a peaceful
protest during the World Trade meeting in Singapore last
year.
In every denial letter from the Singapore government, the standard
excuse is the fear of disturbances and violence. And in every case,
it is abundantly clear that there is not going to be any. And yet,
each and every time, the government dishes out the same nonsense;
that is, the fear of disorderly behaviour. Even though everyone in
Singapore as well as the government themselves knows, it is a
lie!
It is the same thing for permits applied for public speaking. As
you know in Singapore, a permit is required for public speaking.
And each time one is applied for by the opposition, it is
invariably denied. The reason is the same. The government says it
fears that the speech will turn others into violence and mayhem.
Yet in every case, there is nothing to show any probability of
violence at all.
To solicit funds from the public, one needs a permit. But if it is
applied for by opposition politicians it is always denied. And in
many cases the government gives no reason at all. I have come
across these denials so many times that I almost know it by heart.
" After considering your application very carefully, we regret to
inform that your application is denied" is usually the
answer.
Printing presses need a permit. And if it is applied for by the
opposition, it is denied. The usual reason given is the fear of
subversive literature. But what is subversive is not not
explained.
The Law Society of Singapore is the equivalent of any Bar
Association of a country. A body to manage the legal profession and
maintain professional standards among other things. Even though it
is an association of lawyers, you will be surprised to know that
under Singapore law, this body is not permitted to comment on
legislation! The government's argument is that unless it is a
political party, no incorporated or unincorporated association is
permitted to officially comment on legislation. Any self respecting
lawyer would have cried out with indignation at this outrageous
intrusion on their rights as lawyers. But the President of the Law
Society of Singapore, Mr. Michael Sydney Hwang finds no problem at
all with this law. He just like the other lawyers in Singapore are
not prepared to stand in the way Lee Kuan Yew and whatever he
intends to do with the lives of Singaporeans. A shameful bunch of
lawyers.
A licence is required to form a society. In the application, the
names of the proposers and members and their details have to be
submitted. The reason given by Lee Kuan Yew's government for the
law, is the need to stop subversive activities prejudicial to the
state. What really happens is this. When the opposition political
parties apply to form societies, their names and particulars
submitted allow the government to keep surveillance on the members.
And then to sue them for meritless defamation of character charges,
file cooked up criminal charges against them for illegal activity,
imprison them and impoverish them. In order to do that, Lee needs
to know who they are. And the application forms provide that.
These ridiculous excuses put out by this government on a routine
basis means that now, the people have lost all respect for it. This
government itself has reached a stage that they too are not
bothered one bit, whether they are taken seriously; or laughed
at.
The Singapore government has lost credibility among its people. The
people know that these permit denials are simply to deny the
opposition a voice in the public. They fear that if the public are
allowed to hear what the opposition have to say, they may lose
their positions. Not wanting to lose their positions, they have
enacted these repressive laws and have no shame in routinely
dishing out some nonsense to justify them. Which by the way, no one
believes.
The Singapore courts too have lost all respect. Singapore is famous
for defamation of character lawsuits. Lawsuits brought by Lee Kuan
Yew and his family members against those who criticize him. In each
and very case, one can see no defamation at all. In one of Dr.
Chee's cases, he was found guilty of defaming Mr. Goh Chock Tong,
presently the Senior Minister, because he asked Mr. Goh about
details of the loan Singapore government made to the late
Indonesian dictator Suharto. This, believe it or not, was found
defamatory and Dr. Chee was ordered to pay Mr. Goh half a million
dollars.
In another case against Dr. Chee, Singapore High Court Judge
Belinda Ang held him liable for defamation without even a trial!
The Judge sat in her private office in the court (not the
courtroom), heard what Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's lawyer had to say; and
without even giving Dr. Chee a chance to speak, ordered him to pay
the usual half million dollars to Lee Kuan Yew! The whole thing was
over in 5 or 10 minutes!
When 4 Singapore Democratic Party protesters filed suit in the High
Court for an order that their dispersal by Singapore riot police
was illegal since they broke no law, Judge VK Rajah made an
astonishing statement that Singapore laws did not give anyone the
right to protest! And after having said that he ordered them to pay
the court costs of several thousand dollars. Not able to pay, they
have all been made bankrupt!
This is a government that has lost it's credibility. It has reached
a stage where it no longer cares what the people think of it! And
all this nonsense by the Singapore government is known to the rest
of the world through the global mass media. Just like me, the rest
of the world is laughing at the nonsense put out by this
government. Yet, they don't seem to care one bit.
It is a sign of a government that knows it has lost. And having
lost, there in nothing they can do, but to carry on and hope for
the best. Surely, a very sad position to be in.
Gopalan Nair
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2008/01/equally-ridiculous-reasons-given-to.html[/b]
Sg is what it is becos of the 'majority' (in english this means
out of only those who voted, the over 50% who supported.).
For many reasons, these peeper made the choice.
is there ugly sg'rean ? impossiber right? u no belif the me
meh?
