Erwin-Rommel,
Good to see that you are cool-headed after all. *PHEW* (JIC FYI, I
don't like Mr J's attitude either, even though I am an
abolitionist)
1) 46% ain't a minority if u consider the 7% which are undecided.
1% diff ain't much.
2) Perhaps if we took a tougher stand against Myanmar and
Cambodia's opium production... It's not that we totally have *no*
control; it's just that we like being seen as the weaklings so that
we can justify our policies. For example, I was watching Discovery
Channel's documentary on the History of Singapore on Sunday. It
reminded viewers that Singapore justifies NS with the claim of
rogue Muslim neighbours, when in actual fact the real military
threat to us is rather low.
Similarly, did u read TODAY yesterday? There was a commentary which
pointed out that Australia was as concerned about stopping the drug
trade as Singapore is. The Aussies agreed that Ngyuen should be
punished, just as they agreed McCrea should be punished. What they
- a significant 46% of them at least - objected to was the form of
punishment. Your statement kind of implies - maybe unintentionally
- that Australians wished Ngyuen to be set free. Not even the most
extreme abolitionist would ask for that.
By just siezing the drugs and jailing Ngyuen for life, we would
equally have kept the drugs from harming other innocents.
3) There is nothing about pardoning the criminals here; you , like
other retentionists around here, blow the issue out of scope.
4) That comment wasn't very nice, but neither have our comments of
the Australians been either. Although I concede that Mr Robinson
could have used a more diplomatic phrasing, nonetheless we mustn't
forget that "rogue" (or a synonym of it) were what PAP and its
supporters (not all Singaporeans, as retentionists like to
generalize) used against Australia; I mean, look at this forum
alone.
And anyway, Mr Robinson wasn't the only person who condemned the
death penalty. The Pope himself wrote a letter to Mr Nathan
pleading for Ngyuen's clemency, and certainly the Pope is
(hopefully) in no way politically-motivated, as he is representing
the values of his faith. Please differentiate the Australians from
the Australian government, ruling or opposition.
5) Nope, it wasn't a political move, just as this wasn't a
political move. Singaporeans need to learn how to differentiate
between "social" and "political", although politics is a subset of
sociology.
the pikamaster
