A vanished earl and a murdered nanny, 36 years ago

A scandal involving a vanished earl and a murdered nanny took place in Belgravia, London in November 1974. 

Read all about it here.

I could have known about it then. However, I did not, until now, thirty-six years later. Just an interesting little fact of my life.

Josaphat, Christian Saint, was Buddha

Barlaam and Josaphat (Wikipedia article) is a Christianized version of the story of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. In the Middle Ages the two were treated as Christian saints, being entered in the Greek Orthodox calendar on August 26, and in the Roman Martyrology in the Western Church as "Barlaam and Josaphat" on the date of November 27.

An intriguing instance of how legends of Christian saints and martyrs arose, and how Buddhist tradition influenced Christianity.

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: Giant leap in school excellence, but people are still dumb

I am the product of the better sector of an overall mediocre school system in Singapore in the years 1962-73, in the "survival driven" phase of the system's history. 

This blog provides an insight into how Singapore's school system has evolved, since 1959, to become "world-class" as measured by student achievement today.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (2009), released in Dec 2010, provides yet another indication that our schools are doing very well indeed, ranking second, fourth, and fifth in mathematics, science, and reading respectively in a worldwide assessment. (A surprise for me: Shanghai tops all three rankings, in mathematics, science, and reading.)

However, I am not at all impressed by the quality of the young mind as educated by our "excellent" school system. Neither is the quality of the Singaporean mind, in general, other than mediocre. Why?

Free, open and honest political and social discourse is completely absent in the government controlled media, schools and universities, and society at large. This deliberate fostering of a docile populace is the core reason.

This leads me to a point I made in a previous post, to wit:

NUS (National University of Singapore) and NTU (Nanyang Technological University) are considered "world-class" universities (see THE World University Rankings 2010), and the Singapore school students achieve "world-class" results (for example). The Singaporean society is vastly better educated (by an educational system that excels in producing a capable workforce) now than in 1959 (when PAP gained power) or 1965 (at Independence).

Are Singaporeans still as "immature" and "stupid" as they were fifty-one years ago (when they voted the PAP into power)? When will they become wise?

For how long does the governing elite intend to arrogate to itself the right to suppress all dissent in the name of the ignorant and gullible masses?

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: Teo Soh Lung and the so-called "Marxist conspiracy"

An Open Wound

 By Andrew Loh -
Posted by theonlinecitizen on June 28, 2010  (source)



“Operation Spectrum (Wikipedia) is an open wound… a little black hole in history,” playwright Alfian Sa’at said in his introductory speech at The Legends Hotel at Fort Canning on Saturday. He was addressing more than 150 people in the audience which had turned up for the launch of the keenly-awaited book by ex-ISA detainee, Ms Teo Soh Lung.

“Operation Spectrum or the Marxist Conspiracy is one big lie,” said Mr Sa’at, unequivocally. He questioned why, if the “conspiracy” was true, the Internal Security Department is not “wearing it as a badge of honour”. Referring to the arrests and detention of the 24 people in 1987 and 1988, and the questions which have thus far remained unanswered, Mr Sa’at called for a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the arrests. Otherwise, he said, “this government does not have moral legitimacy.”

“As a society I do not think we can move forward unless we come to terms with it,” he added.

The book, Beyond The Blue Gate (a reference to the colour of the gate at Whitley Detention Centre), is Ms Teo’s personal account of her ordeal under detention at the centre in 1987 and 1988. She, along with 23 others, was arrested by the Internal Security Department (ISD) and accused of “[acting] in a manner prejudicial to the security of Singapore… being involved in a Marxist conspiracy to subvert the existing social and political system in Singapore, using communist united front tactics, with a view to establishing a Marxist state.” She was also accused of “infiltrating” the Workers’ Party, then led by the late Mr JB Jeyaretnam, and for making use of the Law Society “as a political pressure group” to destabilize the government.

In Beyond The Blue Gate Ms Teo addresses these charges – which she and the other detainees were never given opportunities to address in open court – and gives readers insights into her life in the cell at the detention centre. The first part of the book is from her personal diary – notes which she made soon after her release on 26 September 1987.  The second section of the book, originally titled “Might is right”, was completed in 1991, a year after she was released from a second detention order.

“Immediately after my release on 1 June 1990,” she writes in the book, “I had applied to the Internal Security Department for permission to leave Singapore for a holiday in Australia.” Her request was rejected.

Unable to leave Singapore, she decided to devote her time to writing about her ordeal. “In a way, I was helped by the ISD,” she told the audience on Saturday. With a S$4,000 gift from her sister, she purchased a computer and learnt to use it. Her friends and family had meticulously kept records of her arrest – court documents, lawyers’ attendance notes, letters, notes kept by her siblings, news-cuttings, magazines, parliamentary debates, reports and articles.

“I spent several hours a day writing,” Ms Teo recounted to the audience how the beginnings of the book came about. “I wrote and wrote and wrote,” she said. “I kept the manuscript after completion and for many years, did not look at it. In 1999, I took it out but put it away because I could not bear to read it. It was only a year after my retirement in 2007 that I read the manuscript again.”

She then decided that she would have it published. “[I] owe it to my family, friends and lawyers who worked so hard for my release,” she says in Beyond The Blue Gate. “Furthermore, the young people are curious about Singapore’s past and they too would like to know about what happened in 1987 and 1988 which saw the arrest and imprisonment without trial of 24 people under the Internal Security Act and the exile of many others.”

At the book launch on Saturday, several former detainees were present as well. These included Mr Vincent Cheng, who was accused of being the ring-leader of the alleged conspiracy, Ms Wong Souk Yee, a playwright, and Mr William Yap, editor and translator. So too was Dr Lim Hock Siew [picture right, with Vincent Cheng], a founding member of the PAP and who was detained under the ISA by the government for almost 20 years, from 1963 to 1982, under the infamous Operation Coldstore (see here for more about Dr Lim).

Letters of support from those who were associated with the episode were also read out at the book launch. These included messages from Mr Francis Seow, who represented Ms Teo in 1987 and who was himself arrested and detained for 72 days under the ISA and who now is in exile in the States; Queens Counsel Anthony Lester, who was Ms Teo’s counsel after Mr Seow was detained; several of Ms Teo’s co-detainees at Whitley, including Ms Tang Fong Har, who is now in exile; and Ms Margaret John, from Amnesty International.

It has been 23 years since the “Marxist” arrests in 1987 and the “open wound” which Mr Sa’at referred to is felt most keenly and deeply by the former detainees. “Like rape victims, some still cannot speak of the episode,” Ms Teo told the audience on Saturday. “Today six of the 24 arrested have left Singapore.”

Ms Teo, who was 38 when she was arrested and detained, called for the ISA to be abolished, to applause from the audience.

“It is hard for me to link her to being a Marxist,” Mr Andrew Ong told The Online Citizen (TOC). Mr Ong was about nine years old when the arrests took place but he has known Ms Teo since 1996. That was when he sought her help when he ran into trouble as a teenager. “She is a simple person, down to earth,” he says. To him Beyond The Blue Gate is an important addition to the discourse in Singapore’s history.

Mr Loh Kah Seng, a historian , agrees. “Ms Teo’s book gives a perspective from the side of the detainees,” he says. It is thus a “useful addition”, which is also more accessible to the public. However, whether the book will resolve historical issues, as he put it, is “questionable”. We will still need access to state records, he says.

Perhaps resolving historical issues will happen one day, but for now it is necessary that former detainees be given a voice to tell their sides of events – events which have wider implications and consequences for our society. Indeed, the “Marxist Conspiracy” is one such instance where its effects were felt, for example, throughout civil society in Singapore for many years after that episode in 1987/88.

Beyond The Blue Gate is a riveting account of what takes place in the darker bellies, as it were, of Singapore’s penal system. It shows how unbridled power, when unleashed on ordinary citizens, have consequences which perhaps even its wielders may not fully realize. It also forces us to question our blind trust and faith in those in authority. Will they always do the right thing? And are we, ordinary citizens, complicit in the ordeal of those who are on the receiving end of such unbridled power – through our nonchalance and disinterest when such instances occur right in our midst?

“My case officer was really a kind and gentle Buddhist could not give me a satisfactory reply. All he could say was that the government had their way of doing things. Although I think they were wrong, they themselves thought it was right to detain me.

Sometimes we went on to discuss the question of conscience. He would say that the government was not an individual. They decide collectively and hence no minister would feel guilty about my incarceration. Only I, as an individual, had to suffer.

He reminded me that the Chinese character for ‘government’ has two mouths.”

- Teo Soh Lung, Beyond The Blue Gate -

_____________________________________________

Pictures courtesy of Function8

Beyond The Blue Gate (ISBN 978-981-08-8215-0) is available as follows:

a) Contact Rizal via cellphone: 91460944 or email: isrizal@function8.org
b) Online purchase through Ethos Books Online
c) Bookstores: Kinokuniya (Takashimaya, Ngee Ann City), Select Books (Tanglin Shopping Centre)
d) At Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd, 65 Ubi Crescent, #06-04 Hola Centre, Singapore 408559

related blog post: here

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: Free to demonstrate in hotel ballrooms

During the appeal in the High Court on Dec 3, 2010, Dr Chee Soon Juan pointed out that it was ultra vires (beyond the power) of the Constitution for the PAP to ban all demonstrations and protests as Article 14 clearly guarantees citizens the right to freedom of speech and assembly.

Not true, Deputy Public Prosecutor NorAshikin Samdin rebutted, "They are free to do a demonstration in a hotel ballroom."

The Singapore government legal eagles in action: idiotic, moronic and farcical.

Read: Stage protests in ballrooms? Really?  and  The Online Citizen.

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: Jailing social workers (Operation Spectrum)

In 1987, even highlighting the plight of the poor in Singapore could land you, and did land twenty-two social workers and activists, in jail without trial. What a despicable act of a thoroughly despicable power elite.

Beyond the Blue Gate: Recollections of a political prisoner  is a new memoir by Teo Soh Lung, detained under Operation Spectrum in May 1987 for an alleged Marxist plot to overthrow the Singapore government by force. How mindless and gullible the government must have believed the people to be.

Read about the book launch here. Let's see if court proceedings against Teo, as against Alan Shadrake, to intimidate dissenters and suppress the truth, would ensue.

Book Reviews (source)

Lawyer Teo Soh Lung’s memoir of her 21 May 1987 arrest and framing by the Singapore authorities as part of the so-called ‘Marxist Conspiracy’ is a remarkable document. Not only does it show how a person of courage and integrity can speak truth to power, but it also illustrates how that power corrupts and destroys the souls of those who wield it unscrupulously. One day a Singaporean Truth and Reconciliation Commission will determine the truth of the PAP years. Until this happens, this memoir will serve as an essential benchmark.

                 -- Peter Carey, Fellow Emeritus, Trinity College, Oxford

                                                     and historian of Southeast Asia  

Teo Soh Lung’s book should be read by all people who are interested in democracy and the rule of law. Not only is it a poignant personal account of official ill treatment, but it is a brilliant testimony to the cruelty of authoritarianism, even, indeed especially -- when it comes in the guise of legal due process. This is perhaps the most shocking aspect of her story: the abuse of the law in a republic which is democratic in theory, but sacrifices its most democratic citizens to the whims of the rulers.
 
      -- Ian Buruma, Henry R Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights and Journalism, Bard College

Ian Buruma is among the top 100 global thinkers of 2010 as selected by the Foreign Policy magazine  (source), an intellectual, and a great scholar.

                                              

Gender pattern in US PhDs

Women have steadily increased their share of PhDs granted in the US over the last thirty years.

However, the differences among the academic fields remain marked. Men dominate in engineering (80%) and physical sciences (70%), and women dominate in education (67%). Women slightly outnumber men (52-58%) in the remaining fields of social sciences, life sciences, and humanities.

(source in the Huffington Post)

Singapore Police in action: The great escape of a terrorist, the great capture of a critic

Though utterly incompetent in the Mas Selamat saga (read the excellent Mr Brown), the Singapore police are excellent at apprehending and harassing Alan Shadrake, a 76 year old critic of the Singapore judiciary.

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: The jailings of Gopalan Nair and Alan Shadrake

A recent parallel with Alan Shadrake is Gopalan Nair, a lawyer and critic of the Singapore judiciary, jailed in Singapore in September 2008 for expressing his views in his blog.

Such suppression of free thoughts and their free expression is the most infuriating and contemptible action of a big bully.

The respected Foreign Policy magazine (Washington, DC. May 07, 2010 issue)  listed Gopalan Nair, formerly of Singapore, among the "World's Top Dissidents", in the company of Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Simar Samer of Afghanistan, Arnold Tsunga of Zimbabwe, Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, and Shirin Ebadi of Iran.

This is what Foreign Policy said about Gopalan Nair:

Gopalan Nair, a former opposition politician, is known throughout Singapore's embattled blogosphere for his fierce promotion of human rights and blunt criticism of founding leader and current "minister mentor" Lee Kuan Yew. In September 2008, Nair was sentenced to three months in jail for defaming a judge in a blog entry. On March 6, he published a hoax post on his blog indicating that Lee had suffered a heart attack and had been brought to Singapore General Hospital. Nair's motive? It was, he says, "a deliberate attempt to highlight how tenuous Singapore really is, with all power in the island vested in one man, and the dire consequences to the island of his parting. And especially so as [Lee] is 87." Nair lives in California and has been a U.S. citizen since 2004.

Foreign Policy article

Gopalan Nair's blog

Video interview (YouTube) on his arrest and trial in Singapore for blogging

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: The Arrest of Alan Shadrake

(Source: The Online Citizen)

In view of the bail bond of $80,000 likely to be imposed on Alan Shadrake and the strenuous objection by the Attorney General’s Chamber, the British author has decided not to apply to leave Singapore. Instead, he reveals in Court today his intention to take legal action against Singapore in the European courts for malicious prosecution.

The following is a transcript of Alan Shadrake’s affidavit filed in Court in the afternoon of Dec 2, 2010.



I, Alan Shadrake do solemnly and sincerely affirm and say as follows:-

1.  I am the Respondent in these proceedings.

2.  The matters deposed to herein are true and where they are, based on documents in my possession, they are true to my best information, knowledge and belief.

3.  I crave leave to reply to Kwok Charn Kong’s affidavit filed or 30 November 2010.

4.  According to my mobile phone, the time of my arrest was 6.30am on the morning of Sunday, July 18. I had got to sleep about three hours earlier at around 3.30am. The next thing I was aware of was hearing a series of loud bangs on my hotel room door with shouts of ‘open up, this is the police.’ When I staggered to the door still half asleep four men in plain clothes barged into the room. One was holding an envelope and he told me he had a warrant for my arrest. When I asked why he replied ‘For illegal communication’ and when I asked what that meant he said he would explain later. Then they all started ransacking the room, pulling off bed-sheets, looking under the bed and in the wardrobe and drawers and at the same time I was harassed to get dressed quickly and pack my belongings.

5. I wanted to shower but they refused to let me do this and would not let me use the bathroom with the door closed. They gave me only enough time to pee and clean my teeth, I was not allowed to shave or shower. This constant bullying harassment went on all the time until I had packed all my possessions. My two mobile phones and my passport were taken from me at the same time. I did not take my prescription drugs, as Mr Kwok claims – he was not there anyway -because with a combination of three I have to take one of them in particular with food. It was too early anyway. I usually take the first batch around 9am at breakfast.

6.  I was then bundled down the stairs to a side entrance where a car was waiting and I sat between two officers on the back seat. At police HQ I was taken to room on the 18th floor. All my possessions were taken from me including my wallet, credit cards, cash, and laid out on a table in front of me. All the items were photographed and then I was photographed. After this I was taken to a cell and had to sit or lie on a concrete floor. If Mr. Kwok says I was able to sleep for a total of 9 hours during my almost two day stay there, he is wrong. I could not sleep at all. I was given some cold rice and soggy vegetable and a cup of some liquid which might have been coffee. Shortly after, I was taken to see the doctor who examined me. I was then escorted back to my cell. A little later a guard came to the cell, handcuffed me and took me to a room where my prescription drugs were being held. There I was supervised taking the Morning combination: Norvasc, Co-Approval and Coversyl. All this time I was wearing only a pair of briefs, light trousers and a thin T-Shirt. My belt, shoes and socks also had to be surrendered.

7.  Later that morning, possibly around 10am, I was taken to an ‘interview’ room and told to sit at a table under an air vent. I immediately felt a jet of cold air down the back of my neck. Officer Kwek came into the room and introduced himself as the investigating officer. He gave me three envelopes containing papers outlining three charges against me arising from my book Once a Jolly Hangman. I noticed that he was warmly dressed with his zip-up jacket collar turned up. He then began asking questions concerning some of the statements I made in the book. He told me I could make changes and I understood that if any errors had been made that this would entail one complete statement with the errors removed. But later he said all the statements – errors or not – would be printed as one and that I would not be able to have a copy. The questioning went on all day with normal breaks. The total time each day was approximately ten hours. I did not say in the Affidavit that I was starved or prevented from using the toilet but that this whole ordeal was brutal and uncivilized. Lord Anthony Lester, a human rights lawyer in London, told me during a telephone call after my release that it reminded him of a famous book The Trial and described my questioning as ‘Kafkaesque’. This is a term similar to ‘Orwellian’ – from ‘l984′ the futuristic book. by George Orwell – about authoritarian societies based on Machiavellian principles and techniques and which I understand are not – surprisingly – banned in, Singapore, (perhaps they are used as police text books), but the techniques – the use of fear and threats – appear to be thriving as they did in the Middle Ages.

8.  I must also repeat that if I were a dangerous terrorist with bombs and guns in my suitcase, an armed bank robber or money launderer I would not be in a position to complain. I am a 76 year old writer – and people of my age usually have all kinds of ailments. My medical problems concern my long term heart disease and my risk of developing colon cancer again – twice so far over the past eight years. In August I underwent a colonoscopy procedure at Gleneagles Hospital. Ten days later I almost bled to death in the street – the result of something going wrong with the operation. Had I not been rushed to the emergency ward I would have collapsed and died before anyone would know the cause. A doctor and nurse at Gleneagles said had I arrived half an hour later, it would have been too late. This is just one example of the stress this persecution has caused me over the past four months. Someone should have used their common sense when planning my arrest. It could have been done in a very civilized manner especially as Singapore continually proclaims itself to be a civilized, ‘First World’ country. If not as strong as I am, I could very likely have had a heart attack there and then that morning.

9. Concerning the timing of my arrest, the Straits Times published a report issued by the CID that I was arrested at 8.30am. Mr. Kwok says it was 7.40am. I say it was 6.30am and I will stick to my version of what time it was. I was there and I have no reason to change the time – as it seems the CID now has.

After almost two days in custody either lying on a concrete floor or being interrogated, I was released on bail at close on midnight having at that late hour to find a hotel which would admit me, without a passport. I did not surrender this document as a condition of bail, as it had already been confiscated along with all my other possessions. The bail was also conditional that I returned to continue the interrogations every day. At the same time I had to change hotels almost everyday. I was not given any special time to do this and the pressure on me to ‘cooperate’ continued until my lawyer M Ravi complained to Officer Kwek and sent him my medical reports which explained the many procedures I was undergoing and about to undergo to ensure my heart condition stabilized. This was successful after being prescribed four special heart muscle strengthening vitamins and an additional blood thinner.

10.  This ordeal continued until Friday morning when I decided to see my GP at Silver Cross Clinic, Bukit Timah, where I used to live. I was extremely fatigued and had worrying chest pains. After various tests and reading my six year record on the clinic’s database, she made an appointment for me to see my long-term cardiologist, Dr. Peter Yan, at Gleneagies Hospital. My GP and Dr. Yan recommended that the interrogations should stop until my heart condition was under control. He put me through many tests, including an MRI, a 24-hour heart monitor, and two treadmill tests. At one stage he described my heart beat as being ‘all over the place.’ He prescribed four special heart strengthening vitamins plus an additional blood-thinner which, together with my five prescription drugs, at a cost of $800.00 per month. The total medical costs involving four doctors and specialists at Gleneagles and Mount E hospitals total almost $15,000 which has caused an overdraft at my bank.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the ordeal I was put through – and which is continuing unabated as far as the AG’s Chambers is concerned – has had a deleterious effect on my general health. I have in my possession four finisher’s medals for half marathons in Singapore – all of which were completed in less than three hours. Today I can hardly walk 500 meters without feeling thoroughly fatigued. This confirms my belief that the barbaric ordeal I have been put through has had a very serious effect on my health and that a pacemaker and double angioplasty should be obtained as soon as possible.

11.  However, once I felt more comfortable and relaxed after the medical treatment which stabilized my heart condition, I twice suggested to Officer Kwek that if he wanted to continue with interrogations I would be willing to cooperate provided they were not long and exhausting as before. He referred me to my lawyer M. Ravi I did not say at any time that Officer Kwek behaved in an uncivilized manner towards me. I was referring to the barbaric method of arresting me at dawn, harassing me to get dressed and packed, put in a cell for almost two days unable to shower or shave and with only a concrete floor to sleep on. In addition to this I found it extremely uncomfortable sitting under a cold jet of air from the vent – deliberately, I have since been told – which is one of the Machiavellian methods used to undermine the morale of those under being interrogated. When I complained, Officer Kwek allowed me to sit at the end of the table away from the air vent. However, the room was still very cold and uncomfortable. To say that I was allowed to have toilet breaks and given refreshments at intervals, however, is rather strange. I thought eating and relieving oneself is a normal human need and I hope, had I been starved and prevented from going to the toilet while being interrogated in a cold room, is something even Singapore would not have perpetrated. Again, I would like to emphasize that I am not a terrorist, a bank robber, rapist, or ‘overstayer’ and there was no need to treat me in such an ugly and uncivilized manner,

12.  Then for the Attorney General to ‘remind’ me of my rights to request the return of my passport without conditions in order that I may spend Christmas with my family and seek further medical attention in the UK, as Dr. Yan advised me to consider in the near future, then rescind the offer by making it impossible by imposing an $80,000 bond is further evidence of Singapore’s duplicity in the administration of justice. This also helps to confirm much of what I have said in my book Once A jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock.

13. In view of all the above, I have instructed my legal advisors in Singapore and London to begin proceedings for malicious prosecution.

14.Annexed herewith, Exhibit “A”, are copies of the numerous letters (inclusive of fax transmissions) sent, by my counsel Mr. M. Ravi, to the police, entailing the extent to which the police had harassed me in the name of investigations and the extent to which my counsel had to go to preserve my health and sanity,

Affirmed by the abovenamed
ALAN SHADRAKE

The Insider

The Asian insider: unconventional wisdom for Asian business   by Michael Backman:

 http://books.google.com/books?id=vH-TDxqX0lYC&dq=The+Asian+insider%3A+unconventional+wisdom+for+Asian+business&q=gave+Dhanabalan+a+tight+slap#v=snippet&q=gave%20Dhanabalan%20a%20tight%20slap&f=false

Details:
*Part 1: http://i30.tinypic.com/dmsi8w.jpg

*Part 2: http://i25.tinypic.com/207krw2.jpg

*Part 3: http://i28.tinypic.com/ilkl7b.jpg

The above details are from "Governance in Singapore" (2002) by Ross Worthington (amazon).

Where I found the links: http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/03/%e2%80%9csingaporeans-unite%e2%80%9d-inside-scoop-on-the-familee/  (with even more details)

ps. http://jaundicedlenses.blogspot.com/2005/08/did-loong-slap-dhanabalan.html

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: Remembering President Ong Teng Cheong

The late President Ong Teng Cheong (term of office: 2 September 1993 – 1 September 1999) deserves our respect for willing to stand up to his former colleagues in the cabinet in his effort to consolidate and realize the constitutional roles of the presidency. One senses the hypocrisy and arrogance of the cabinet and the ruling party in obstructing him.

The constitution was amended during and after Ong's term as president to weaken the power of the elected presidency. (Wikipedia)

Among the five former presidents who have died, Ong is the only president who did not receive a state funeral. He received a state-assisted funeral instead.

                                                                        --- the Temasek Review (source)

* Ong's interview with Asiaweek, March 2000: here

Behistun Inscription and Rosetta Stone

(source)

The Behistun Inscription (photo above) and the more well-known Rosetta Stone played strikingly parallel roles in the decipherment of unknown ancient scripts.

The Behistun Inscription by Darius the Great (reigned 522-486 BC) of the Persian Achaemenid Empire includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a later form of Akkadian).

It played a crucial role in deciphering the Elamite and Babylonian scripts, and thus in the understanding of ancient Mesopotamia.

Likewise the Rosetta Stone records a decree of King Ptolemy V of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in 196 BC in three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic, and ancient Greek.

It was instrumental in deciphering the Egyptian scripts, and thus in the understanding of ancient Egypt.

The more obscure (compared with the Rosetta Stone) story of the Behistun Inscription is well told in Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon by Lesley Adkins.

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: What official media suppressed

Workers' Party Rally, 2006

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: The Case of Chee Soon Juan

Dr Chee Soon Juan (born 1962, PhD University of Georgia 1990), was a lecturer in neuropsychology at the National University of Singapore when he joined an opposition political party in Singapore in 1992.

Being intelligent, well-educated, articulate, young, and ethnically Chinese, he probably posed an unprecedented threat to the Singapore governing elite.

His Department Head at the National University of Singapore (NUS), S. Vasoo, was a PAP (the ruling party) MP.

In 1993, Dr Chee was sacked by NUS for using Singapore $226 (US$ 137) of his research fund to mail his wife's dissertation.

Even granting that Dr Chee erred (which he disputed), this is the most grossly disproportionate punishment that I have ever heard of in academia anywhere in the whole world.  Can anyone doubt the real motive behind the sacking?

The litany of legal proceedings against Dr Chee, as detailed below, began then.

Quoting from East meets West: human rights and democracy in East Asia by Daniel A. Bell (p274):

SUMMARY CHRONOLOGY OF DR CHEE’S
CONVICTIONS AND ACCUSATIONS

(Source: Annex B, http://www.robertamsterdam.com/2009.Nov04.Repression_of_political_freedoms_in_Singapore.CheeSoonJuan.pdf )

1  Date, charge, punishment

1993, defamation, ordered to pay US$350,000 in damages

1996, contempt of Parliament, fined US$17,000 by Parliament

1999, speaking in public without a permit, jailed 7 days

1999, speaking in public without a permit, jailed 12 days

1999, selling books, fined US$400

2002, attempting to hold a rally on May Day, jailed 5 weeks

2003, speaking on Muslim schoolgirls’ head scarves, fined US$2,000

2006, defamation, ordered to pay US$350,000 in damages

2006, contempt of court, jailed 8 days

2006, attempting to leave country without permit, jailed 3 weeks

2007, speaking without a permit, jailed 5 weeks

2008, defamation, ordered to pay US$400,000 in damages

2008, contempt of court, jailed 12 days


2 On-going trials

participating in the assembly with 18 others outside
Parliament House on 15 March 2008

participating in a procession with 18 others outside
Funan Centre on 15 March 2008

attempting to participate in a procession at
Speakers' Corner during the WB-IMF
meeting on 16 September 2006

speaking in public without a permit
during SDP’s newspaper sale at Blk 269
Queens Street
on 12 April 2006

speaking in public without a permit
during SDP's newspaper sale at Blk 269
Queens Street
on 16 November 2005

participating in an assembly without
permit at the entrance of City Hall MRT,
Raffles City Shopping Centre on 10
September 2006

3 Awaiting trial or appeal

speaking in public without a permit
during SDP's newspaper sale at Blk 105
Yishun Ring Road
on 16 April 2006

speaking in public without a permit
during SDP's newspaper sale at Blk 260
Bangkit Road
on 15 April 2006

speaking in public without a permit
during SDP's newspaper sale at Blk 19
Marsiling Lane
on 9 April 2006

speaking in public without a permit
during SDP's newspaper sale at Blk 494
Jurong West Street 42
on 13 November 2005

4 Current police investigations

distributing fliers at Toa Payoh Central on
National Day; assembly without a permit
on 9 August 2008

holding a vigil outside of Central Police
Station at Cantonment Road;
Participating in an assembly without a permit
on 3 June 2008

holding a one-man protest against Burma at the
Istana Park; providing
public entertainment without a license
on 15 October 2007

participating in a protest against Burma
outside the Istana; public assembly
without a permit; public procession
without a permit
on 8 October 2007

participating in the Burma petition-signing
campaign outside the Burmese Embassy;
holding an assembly without a permit
on 30 September 2007

distributing fliers at Orchard Road
outside Takashimaya Shopping Centre;
participating in an assembly without
permit
on 31 March 2007

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: A Canadian critique

WHITE PAPER ON

THE REPRESSION OF POLITICAL FREEDOMS IN SINGAPORE

•

THE CASE OF OPPOSITION LEADER DR CHEE SOON JUAN

OCTOBER 2009

AMSTERDAM & PEROFF (Canadian law firm)

PDF download:  here

Censorship in Singapore: a Chronology

Censorship in Singapore: a Chronology:  http://lastboy2005.blogspot.com/2007/02/censational_21.html

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: No private screening of uncensored films

On May 17, 2008, the Singapore authority stopped the private screening of "One Nation Under Lee," an uncensored film, organized by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), an opposition party.

In this age of social media and citizen journalism on the Internet, we get to witness close-up the law in action, as never before possible, and form our own opinion.

Scenes showing the SDP film being seized by the Singapore authority:  Part 1, Part 2

"One Nation Under Lee", the film that might threaten the ruling party's grip on power, is on YouTube.

  * In 5 parts (higher definition): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5;  or

  * Complete (lower definition)

Gallery of corrupt politicians and officials in Singapore

Gallery of corrupt politicians and officials in Singapore: http://swordofdemocles.blogspot.com/2005/09/real-rogues-gallery.html

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: A Chronology 1994-2006

Suppressing dissent in Singapore: A Chronology 1994-2006
                                                   (source 1, source 2, source3)

“You can get anything you want in Singapore. You can travel, you can bring it in. You can – you can organize what you want. You can say anything you want, and all sorts of things are said and debated in Singapore.”

              - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, interview with Charlie Rose, Aug 2005

“No group is oppressed, suppressed or depressed. Instead we have a political culture that values integrity, meritocracy and fairness.”

              - Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, speech at the 50th Anniversary of
                  the People’s Action Party, Nov 2004

__________________________________________
Oct 1994 : In connection with a commentary he wrote in the International Herald Tribune stating how judiciaries in some Asian countries are compliant to ruling powers, American academic Dr.Christopher Lingle was questioned for 90 minutes by the Singapore police for possible contempt of court and criminal defamation. Within a week, he returned to the United States. Dr.Lingle and the Singapore printer were subsequently fined for ‘contempt of court by way of scandalising the judiciary’ and ordered to pay the government’s legal costs, totalling in excess of $100,000. Dr Lingle did not return to Singapore to face the charges.

Dec 1994 : Although the International Herald Tribune published an apology for the above article, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew filed a civil libel suit. The IHT agreed to pay the Senior Minister US$213,000 in damages plus costs for the civil suit.

Feb 1995 : Singapore police mounted a major crackdown codenamed “Operation Hope,” raiding private homes where Jehovah’s Witnesses members were holding prayer meetings. Officers seized bibles, religious literature, documents and computers, and eventually brought charges against 69 members, many of whom went to jail. A month later, 73 year old grandmother Yu Nguk Ding was arrested for carrying two “undesirable publications” – one of them a bible printed by the group. She spent a week in jail rather than pay a fine.

Jul 1995 : Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, won a libel suit against the International Herald Tribune for an article, published in August 1994, suggesting that the younger Lee was appointed to his post on account of his father. The High Court awarded a record judgment of $950,000. The Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ), Asiaweek, and the Far Eastern Economic Review remained gazetted in 1995.

Nov 1995 : Parliament censured Dr Chee Soon Juan and the Singapore Democratic Party for allegedly endorsing attacks on the judiciary made by Chee’s fellow panelists, dissident Francis Seow and academic Dr Christopher Lingle, at a forum held at Williams College, USA. Government leaders said that the failure of Chee and other SDP leaders to contradict the attacks made by Seow and Lingle constituted positive assent by “clever omission.”

Jul 1996 : The SBA (Singapore Broadcasting Authority) issued a set of broad regulations for the internet. Prohibited material was defined as “objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public order, public security and national harmony.” Authorities underlined that the Sedition Act also covers the internet. The guidelines were subsequently elaborated on in SBA’s Internet Code of Practice in 1997.

Aug 1996 : The Government denied the Singapore Democratic Party a request to produce and distribute video tapes on the grounds that visual images can be used to evoke emotional rather than rational responses. Moreover, according to the Government, the use of videos could allow political parties to sensationalize or distort information to capture the maximum attention of the viewer.

Dec 1996 : Parliament levied fines in excess of $36,000 against Dr Chee Soon Juan and three other SDP members, claiming that they had committed perjury and other offenses during the proceedings of a special parliamentary committee examining government health care subsidies.

Dec 1996/Jan 1997 (General Elections) : Despite being returned to power on polling day due to lack of opposition representation, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong threatened to turn constituencies into slums lest the rest of the electorate voted the ruling People’s Action Party.

The Elections Department, under direct command of the Prime Minister’s Office, redrew electoral boundaries. Amongst others, residents of Braddell Heights, located in central Singapore, suddenly found themselves registered as voters under Marine Parade, a constituency on the east coast helmed by PM Goh.

The Workers’ Party complained to the police that PM Goh and other PAP leaders had been speaking to voters inside a polling station on polling day, an act deemed illegal under the Parliamentary Elections Act. But the Public Prosecutor ruled that the PAP ministers had been inside the polling stations as opposed to “loitering” on the outside, so no offence had been committed.

Name-calling by the PAP dominated hustings as Workers’ Party candidate Tang Liang Hong was labelled an “anti-Christian, anti-English-educated and Chinese-language chauvinist.” But it wasn’t the PAP men who got sued. A group of senior PAP leaders – PM Goh Chok Tong, SM Lee Kuan Yew, DPM Lee Hsien Loong and eight other MPs – sued Tang for allegedly defaming them in a police report which he had filed to seek police protection. The police had handed Tang’s report to PM Goh and SM Lee. Citing death threats, Tang fled to Malaysia shortly after the election results were announced. He did not return home that night and has remained in exile ever since.

For producing the police report at the election rally, Workers’ Party leader JB Jeyaretnam was also sued. All in all, PAP leaders filed a total of 21 defamation suits against both Tang and JBJ.

Jan 1997 : While on their way to meet Tang Liang Hong in Johor Bahru, Mrs Tang Liang Hong and her daughter were stopped by immigration officers at the causeway exit. Her passport was confiscated. On her return home, they found a group of lawyers representing PM Goh Chok Tong, SM Lee Kuan Yew other PAP leaders waiting to serve 13 worldwide Mareva Injunctions to freeze their assets. Shortly after, Inland Revenue officials stormed into their house and carted away tons of documents and articles. A similar raid was carried out at Tang’s office in the city.

Apr 1997 : PAP leaders cancelled the passport of Mrs Tang Liang Hong because her name appeared as a co-trustee in one of Tang’s documents. If she was allowed to leave Singapore, PAP leaders had feared that they may be unable to recover damages from Tang.

July 1997 : Political prisoner Chia Thye Poh was allowed to travel to Germany to study but was not allowed to make any public statements or address public meetings. He also needed written permission to take part in any political activity or be a member, adviser, helper, official or participant in any organisation or association. Chia, previously an opposition Member of Parliament – was detained without trial in 1966 at the age of 26.

Aug 1997 : The Singapore Government demanded that the Foreign Correspondents Association cancel a speech by then Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. The group’s executive committee acceded to the Government’s demand.

Aug 1997 : The Internal Security Department, Singapore’s secret police, was alleged to have burglarised the home of an American academic helping political exile Tang Liang Hong take up a six-month fellowship at an American university. The break-in, which seemed intended to find computer files and other records listing people interested in Singapore affairs, was investigated by local police and the FBI. According to a recent US State Department’s human rights report on Singapore, it is “widely believed that the authorities routinely conduct surveillance on some opposition politicians and other critics of the Government.” The same report also stated that the ISD is believed to run a network of part-time informants in the US, Australia and other countries.

Sept 1997 : JB Jeyaretnam was found guilty of defaming Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at an election rally when he told the crowd police reports had been filed against the PM and his PAP colleagues. He was ordered by Justice J. Rajendran to pay $20,000 in damages plus legal fees. After a subsequent appeal by Mr Goh, the damages awarded were increased five-fold, to $100,000.

Nov 1997 : The High Court ordered political exile Tang Liang Hong to pay the PAP leaders $4.53 million in damages.

1997/98 : In 1997 two persons were detained and in 1998, four were detained under the Internal Security Act, all for alleged espionage. Of these six, two remained in detention at the end of 1998. The names of the six detainees remained undisclosed.

Feb 1998 : Tang Liang Hong was declared bankrupt by the High Court after failing to pay $739,976 in damages and interests owed to PAP leaders. Assets belonging to him and his wife were seized. In addition, he was charged with thirty-three counts of tax evasion and there is presently an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Mar 1998 : The Films Act was amended to ban political films and videos. The Government justified the ban as protecting politics from sensationalism, innuendo, and inaccuracy. The legislation defines a party political film as one “made by any person and directed toward any political end in Singapore” or one that contains “partisan or biased references on any political matter.”

Mar 1998 : The Singapore Government asked foreign TV stations to restrict coverage of political parties that do not have a wide following. “If we are not careful, foreign broadcasters, like foreign newspapers, can undermine some of our important social and other policies,” the Straits Times quoted Minister George Yeo as saying.

July 1998 : The Government passed the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, the Electronic Transactions Act and the National Computer Board (Amendment) Act. Under the amended CMA , the police now has lawful access to data and encrypted material in their investigations of offenses under the CMA as well as other offenses disclosed in the course of their investigations. Under the ETA, the police has been given broad powers to search any computer for an offence related to the act without a warrant.

Sept 1998 : The Undesirable Publications Act was amended to include CD-ROMS, sound recordings, pictures, and computer-generated drawings, and to raise the fine for distribution or possession of banned publications. The Government also publicized the list of banned English-language publications, which is made up primarily of sexually-oriented materials, but also includes some religious and political materials.

Nov 1998 : Political detainee Chia Thye Poh was granted unconditional release. He had spent 22 years, six months, two weeks and four days in jail, mostly in solitary confinement. He then spent another 9 years in Sentosa under severe restrictions.

“The best years of my life were taken away just like that without a charge or trial. As a victim of the notorious Internal Security Act, I sincerely call on the government to abolish the act,” said Mr Chia.

Dec 1998 : JB Jeyaretnam and Workers’ Party were ordered by the High Court to pay ten members of a committee which organised the first Tamil Language Week in 1995, including PAP MP R. Ravindran, $265,000 in defamatory damages plus legal costs for the 14-day trial.

Feb 1999 : Opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan was jailed twice for giving two speeches at Raffles Place without a licence. For both convictions he was fined a total of $3,900 but chose instead to serve two prison terms of seven and 12 days respectively. Chee’s colleague, Wong Hong Toy, was also imprisoned for 12 days after refusing to pay a fine for adjusting the microphone and the volume of the speaker. Amnesty International named both men prisoners of conscience.

Mar 1999 : The ten members of the Tamil Language weekly filed a petition with the High Court to wind up the Workers’ Party after it failed to pay over $500,000 in libel damages and legal costs.

Mar 1999 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was fined for selling his book, To Be Free, without a permit. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge as book stores and vendors had refused to sell his books out of fear of prosecution.

May 1999 : When JB Jeyaretnam and Dr Chee Soon Juan applied to register Open Singapore Centre, an official said the application would have to be sent for clearance to the Internal Security Department.

May 1999 : After a law student complained to police that someone with an account in the Home Affairs Ministry had hacked into her computer, the Ministry disclosed that it had secretly scanned the computers more than 200,000 SingNet and SingTel Magix customers, ostensibly for viruses. Singnet apologised to its customers – by email – and says the security check has since been abandoned.

However, according to a recent US State Department’s human rights report on Singapore, the “Internal Security Department and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Board, have wide networks for gathering information and highly sophisticated capabilities to monitor telephone and other private conversations and conduct surveillance. It is believed that the authorities routinely monitor telephone conversations and use of the Internet.. The law permits government monitoring of Internet use.”

May 1999 : In a Straits Times interview, Minister George Yeo warned Singaporeans: “We have had occasions to tell women’s magazines not to get involved in partisan matters. If we did not do this, every political party will use women’s magazines to get their views across. I do not think that is healthy for Singapore…If you are a civic organisation, whether you are an organisation, if you want to get yourself involved politically, please get into the political arena and not hide behind a religious group, a tuition class, or a theatre troupe.”

Aug 1999 : The police rejected two applications by Dr Chee Soon Juan to hold public rallies.The application was rejected because the venues were outdoors, and there was “a potential for trouble” and public “inconvenience,” said the head of the police licensing division. But in a letter to the Home Affairs Ministry, Chee said officials and MPs from the ruling People’s Action Party “routinely give political speeches in outdoor areas.” Public gatherings of more than five people in Singapore require a police permit.

Sep 1999 : Mrs Tang Liang Hong lost her appeal for damages from PAP leaders, whom she claimed had caused her financial loss. The Court of Appeal also found that she was not entitled to damages for mental distress and anxiety.

Sep 1999 : Elected President Ong Teng Cheong resigned but not before criticising the PAP Government for not providing details of Singapore’s financial reserves. They had told him that it would take “52 man-years” to provide the information.

In rapid succession, Parliament passed four constitutional amendments to grab back some of the powers that had been vested in the elected president, like his right to veto both defense spending and laws that curtailed his own authority. In a news conference, Ong said that some Ministers and public officials had treated his office as a “nuisance.”

“The elected presidency was Lee Kuan Yew’s initiative. He came out with the idea way back in ‘82, ‘83,” said Mr Ong.

2000 : According to the US State Department’s human rights report on Singapore, the Singapore Government released a statement confirming that an individual detained by the Internal Security Act in 1998 was still in detention.

May 2000 : Parliament passed the Political Donations Act. Apart from disallowing political organisations from receiving foreign funding, the Act also prohibits anonymous contributions of more than $5000 in any financial year. The Home Affairs Minister has the freedom to define which civil societies are political in nature and are thus bound by the law.

Nov 2000 : Following a four-hour standoff at the Drama Centre, police arrested the president of a theatre company after she tried to rehearse a banned play about marital violence in Singapore’s Indian Muslim community. The government said the ban was necessary because artistic works must “respect religious sensitivities in multiracial and multi-religious Singapore.” Ms S. Thenmoli, who heads the Agni Kootthu theater group, was given “a stern warning in lieu of prosecution.”

Dec 2000 : A Radio Corporation Singapore (RCS) radio report on a Human Rights Day event at Speakers Corner was re-edited after the first report went on air containing comments by JB Jeyaretnam and a letter by Kofi Annan. Shortly after, a spokesperson for RCS said that the journalist Fauziah Ibrahim had “resigned.”

Dec 2000 : On Dec 31, police arrested and later charged 15 Falungong adherents for conducting a protest without a permit; only 2 of those arrested were Singapore citizens. The 15 persons arrested had participated in an assembly of 60 Falungong members who sought to draw attention to the arrest and killing of Falungong members in China. The group had not sought a permit, asserting that police had not responded to their previous efforts to obtain permits. In March 2001 seven of the group were sentenced to 4 weeks in jail for refusing to hand over placards to the police.

Jan 2001 : JB Jeyaretnam was declared bankrupt after missing by one day the deadline for a $23,450 payment to eight claimants, members of the organising committee of Tamil Language weekly of 1995. As a bankrupt he is effectively disqualified from elections.

Feb 2001 : Police called up two activists from the Open Singapore Centre and Think Centre for questioning in connection with the above Human Rights Day event at Speakers Corner. In a strongly worded release, the Singapore Police Force pointed out that “it is one thing to have a group of people gather to hear a person or persons speak; but quite another when people come together for a specific cause, and in the process, they chant slogans, display placards and show gesticulations, such as clenching of fists. Police treat such actions as indicative of a demonstration or of disorderly behaviour.”

Feb 2001 : Police rejected a permit by Think Centre who had wanted to protest outside a Singapore radio station next month to mark World Press Day.

Feb 2001 : The Public Entertainments and Meetings Act was revised to double the fines for holding a public talk or delivering a political speech without a police permit from $5,000 to $10,000.

Mar 2001 : The Government named Open Singapore Centre and Think Centre political associations, so making them ineligible to receive foreign funding. “An organisation which is not registered as a political party but carries out activities to influence the domestic political process should logically also be prohibited from accepting donations,” the Government said in a statement.

Apr 2001 : Police summoned political discussion group Roundtable members Kevin Tan and Zulkifli Baharudin for questioning following an event in November to discuss freedom of assembly. Police had wanted to investigate whether the event had provided public entertainment without a license.

Apr 2001 : Parliament passed a law that allows punishment of foreign news broadcasters deemed to be “engaging in the domestic politics of Singapore.” The rules are similar to those placed on the foreign print media in 1986.

Apr 2001 : Government officers raided Ngee Ann Polytechnic and confiscated film equipment and tapes after three lecturers had made a documentary about JB Jeyaratnam. The three were told that they could be charged in court if they went ahead with a planned screening of the film at the Singapore International Film Festival. They submitted written apologies for making the film and withdrew it from the Festival.

July 2001 : JB Jeyaretnam lost his Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat in Parliament after he lost a final appeal against a bankruptcy order. He has been subjected to lawsuits, fines and jail throughout his political career and is estimated to have paid more than $1.6 million in damages and costs so far. Three months later, he resigned from the Workers’ Party.

Aug 2001 : Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng warned that Singapore could face the chaos that hit Indonesia after the fall of Suharto if there were too much emphasis on democracy, human rights and press freedom. “We do ourselves a great disservice if we import unthinkingly and wholesale fashionable and hollow abstractions…So do not believe those few Singaporeans who tell you that with democracy, human rights and press freedom a hundred flowers will bloom and Singapore will prosper,” said Mr Wong.

Aug 2001 : Parliament passed new laws to restrict political campaigning on the internet. All political websites are to register with the authorities. Non-party political websites are not allowed to campaign for any party, such as displaying party banners and candidate profiles. Election surveys and exit polls are banned.

Aug 2001 : Sintercom, a popular political discussion website, shut itself down after eight years due to pressure by the Government to register as a political site.

Aug 2001 : The Singapore Democratic Party called off a planned political rally after a permit from the police came too late. Approval from the police licensing division had come only four days before the planned rally. “Approval for political rallies is rare in the strictly-governed city-state where the government has been accused of restricting freedom of speech,” reported AFP.

Oct 2001 : Despite earlier promises to allow overseas voting, Parliament passed a bill to suspend overseas voting for citizens in the coming general elections, citing security concerns due to ongoing US military strikes in Afghanistan.

Oct 2001 (General Elections) : Snap elections were called 17 days before polling day – the shortest in Singapore Elections history. Parties were given only 9 days to campaign. Election deposits for each candidate were increased to $13,000, up from $5000 in 1997.

A Workers’ Party team of candidates were disqualified by the Elections Department from contesting after submitting incomplete forms, resulting in the opposition contesting only two-thirds of the total number of seats, the lowest since 1968.

Under the New Singapore Shares scheme implemented before polling, Singaporeans were given between $200 and $1,700 worth of shares which could be converted to cash.

Non-party political websites were prohibited from political campaigning, while exit polls and appeals for funds over the Internet were banned. Restrictions were also imposed on campaigning via mobile text messaging service. Citing terrorist scare, police banned lunchtime rallies at the central business district.

Dr Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party was labelled a “cheat, congenital liar and political gangster” by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Defamation suits followed, and again it wasn’t Lee who got sued. Chee was sued by both PM Goh Chok Tong and SM Lee Kuan Yew for questioning a $17 billion loan to former Indonesian President Suharto in 1997.

15 men and a woman were arrested for alleged “rioting” after an opposition rally. The police said the arrests occurred after about 200 people had gathered at a roadside and waved flags in support of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). The crowd held up traffic and tapped on windows of passing cars, the statement added.

The US State Department’s human rights report on Singapore’s electoral system noted that “the PAP completely controlled key positions in and out of government, influenced the press and courts, and limited opposition political activities,”

Nov 2001 : Police arrested internet critic Robert Ho Chong at his home after being charged with an offence punishable by up to three years in jail. The 51-year-old former journalist had posted articles before the general elections urging opposition candidates to enter polling stations, as did the PAP leaders in the 1997 elections. The police classified Ho’s article as an attempt to incite violence or disobedience to the law that was likely to lead to a breach of peace.

Dec 2001 : Singapore security police detained without trial fifteen suspected Jemaah Islamiah members. Thirteen of whom were ordered subsequently to preventive detention for a period of 2 years; two others were released with restrictions on their travel and their contacts. In August of 2002, additional terrorist suspects were detained. Three were subsequently released with restrictions. The Government does not allow human rights monitors to visit prisons although previous cases of torture in prisons have been documented by Amnesty International.

Jan 2002 : The Government attacked Muslim website fateha.com for postings which allegedly condones violence. Information Minister David Lim called for fateha to be registered as a political website. “Spreading anything that goes against the public interest, public order or national harmony would be in breach of the SBA’s Code of Practice,” reported the Straits Times.

Jan 2002 : The Ministry of Education suspended four 6-year-old girls after their Muslim parents had refused to heed school warnings regarding the headscarves ban in public schools. One subsequently returned to school in June, and another moved to Australia in July. The parents of the other two challenged the ban, and attempted to bring in longtime Malaysian opposition leader and lawyer Karpal Singh to present their case. However, the application for Singh’s employment permit was refused.

Feb 2002 : Dr Chee Soon Juan’s application to admit Queen’s Counsel Stuart Littlemore to represent him in the defamation suit brought by PM Goh Cok Tong and SM Lee Kuan Yew was rejected by the High Court. The court demanded that he post a $10,000 bond before appealing against the ruling.

May 2002 : The police aborted a Labour Day rally outside the Istana State compound by arresting speakers Dr Chee Soon Juan and Gandhi Ambalam. The two men were whisked away into a police van moments after they arrived at the scene. The police had earlier turned down Chee’s application to stage the ‘People Against Poverty’ rally on the grounds that it might disrupt law and order.

May 2002 : The court again rejected Dr Chee Soon Juan’s bid to have QCs Martin Lee (Hong Kong) and William Henric Nicholas (Australia) represent him in his legal battle against PM Goh and SM Lee. Judicial Commissioner Tay Yong Kwang had ruled that the cases were “not complex” enough to warrant the admission of QCs. Both Mr Lee and Mr Goh were represented by Senior Counsel and PAP MP Davindar Singh.

Jun 2002 : UnionWorks’ Mandarin radio station was fined $15,000 for adding “injections of personal remarks and observations by the newsreader, which were unwarranted in normal news bulletins,” said the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA).

Jul 2002 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was charged and convicted with violation of the Public Entertainment and Meetings Act for speaking at the Speakers’ Corner in February to criticize the government’s enforcement of the headscarves ban in public schools. The $3,000 fine imposed on Chee meant that he cannot stand in a parliamentary election for 5 years.

Jul 2002 : The police again raided internet critic Robert Ho’s home and confiscated his computer for two articles posted on soc.culture.singapore. On the same night, social activist Zulfikar Mohamad also had his computer carted away by the police for an article posted on fateha.com. Both postings had raised the issue of nepotism. The two men were being investigated for criminal defamation which can result in a prison sentence of up to 2 years, a fine, or both. Mr Ho complained that, 2 weeks after seizure of his computer, authorities had compelled him to stay in a mental facility for more than a week. Zulfikar Mohamad has since left for Australia.

Aug 2002 : Bloomberg news service publicly apologized and agreed to pay $595,000 in damages to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew for an internet-distributed column which had alleged that Ms Ho Ching, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, was promoted to the senior position in government investment firm Temasek Holdings because of her relationship with the senior leadership.

Aug 2002 : The court ruled that there will be no trial for the defamation suits brought by PM Goh Chok Tong and SM Lee Kuan Yew against Dr Chee Soon Juan. In a summary judgment pronounced by the registrar, Chee was found guilty of defamation.

Sep 2002 : Ho Peng Kee, the People’s Action Party second organising secretary, dismissed a proposal by groups such as the Feedback Unit and Roundtable for an independent electoral commission to oversee the running of national polls. Singapore’s Elections Department comes directly under the command of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Oct 2002 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was charged under Public Entertainment and Meetings Act for holding an unauthorized “People Against Poverty” rally on Labour Day outside the Istana. Chee was fined $4500 and his colleague Gandhi Ambalam was fined $3000. Chee chose to serve a 5-week prison sentence rather than pay the fine. Amnesty International issued a scathing attack on the Singapore Government, saying that the detentions “typify a pattern of unreasonable restriction on public gatherings and on the free expression of opinion”.

Oct 2002 : In response to calls to allow bar-top dancing in pubs, Minister of State Vivian Balakrishnan told Parliament “If you want to dance on the bar top, some of us will fall off that bar top. Some will die as a result… Usually it is a girl with a short skirt who’s dancing on it, who may attract some insults from other men. The boyfriend starts fighting. Some people will die. Blood will be shed for liberalising the policy.”

Nov 2002 : A report by the Asian Human Rights Commission stated that Dr Chee Soon Juan was being “incarcerated in a poorly ventilated 7 foot x 15 foot cell with two other prisoners. Having been assigned to a straw mat next to the toilet “bucket”, he sleeps only two to three hours each night. Dr Chee is afflicted with nausea and dizziness, and he lost 10kg of weight during his first ten days of incarceration.”

Dec 2002 : Police rejected an application by JB Jeyaretnam to hold an anti-GST march on the grounds of maintaining “law and order”, despite JBJ’s assurance that “no one will be carrying any sticks or shouting anything, except perhaps the slogan ‘Say No to GST’.”

Dec 2002 : Muhamad Ali Aman, recently-appointed Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Alliance, was expelled by his union after he refused to resign over ties with the opposition. He was a branch chairman of a union which comes under the purview of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), an affiliate of the PAP Government. Following Aman’s dismissal, Melvin Tan, a member of the Workers’ Party, resigned from his union post.

Feb 2003 : On the weekend of 17 February 2003, while six million people all over the world were out on the streets in anti-war demonstrations, Singapore police arrested six Singaporeans who had turned up or were en-route to the US Embassy, and which prompted Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng to decree that “the government does not authorise protests and demonstrations of any nature.”

US Ambassador Franklin Lavin saw it differently, “I don’t see why a group of people who want to stand in front of my Embassy and tell me they don’t agree with a policy of my country should not be able to do so. The right of peaceful expression of opinion is an important element of a successful society”

Feb 2003 : The Ministry of Defence disallowed a woman to open her home to the public for an anti-war candle-light vigil because her rented home was located within the Seletar Army Camp. An army spokesman told the press that “certain activities are not allowed within that area.” Police spokesman, Philip Mah, referring to venues outside army jurisdiction, added, “When you have an assembly of five or more people in a location where the public can have access to, a permit is required under the law.”

Apr 2003 : The police denied the Open Singapore Centre its application to hold a march for May Day. The OSC has applied for the march to take place starting at the Ministry of Manpower and ending in front of Parliament House where a rally will take place.

Sept 2003 : Think Centre’s application for a proposed display of dolls to mark Children’s Day at Raffles Place and Stamford Road was rejected by the police on grounds of “law and order considerations”.

Oct 2003 : Information Minister Lee Boon Yang publicly reprimanded a London-based writer, Michael Backman, over the latter’s article on Today, which had said that Singapore still maintains “the old-fashioned, outmoded trappings of a Third World dictatorship.” Mr Lee told the Singapore Press Club audience that Backman “had clearly crossed the line and engaged in our domestic politics.” He further said that one rule “that remains firmly in place is the requirement that foreign journalists stay out of Singapore’s politics.”

Nov 2003 : Following a report in Today newspaper on the trauma of SM Lee Kuan Yew in London after his wife had suffered a stroke, an advisor to Mr Lee reprimanded Today editor Mano Sabnani for allowing the report to be published. The young journalist who wrote the story, Val Chua, reportedly had her press card suspended.

Nov 2003 : The police rejected three applications by a White Ribbon Campaign group to stage outdoor events to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women. Police had first denied the group a permit for a march – and later turned down its application to hold a children’s drama presentation – because such events could threaten “law and order.” The group then applied to hold an outdoor children’s choir performance, but that was also rejected.

Nov 2003 : The Computer Misuse Act was amended to allow government agencies to patrol the internet and swoop down on hackers suspected of plotting to use computer keyboards as weapons of mass disruption. Violators of the Act such as website hackers can be jailed up to three years or fined up to $10,000. A PAP MP described the Act as “the cyberspace equivalent of the Internal Security Act.” An online poll by internet portal Yahoo Singapore showed that 70 percent of respondents felt the new laws gave the authorities too much power, and they were afraid they were being watched.

Nov 2003 : Labour Minister Ng Eng Hen accused the Air Line Pilots’ Association-Singapore of being “self-serving and confrontational” after its members voted to sack its entire leadership over controversial wage cuts imposed by Singapore Airlines. The Government then announced it will amend the Trade Unions Act in a bid to restrict members’ rights.

“(SIA) Pilots believe they are special, they got huge egos, I am told…I can assure you that in Singapore, when we decide that they are breaking the rules of the game, the unspoken rules as to how we survive, how we have prospered, then either their head is broken or our bones are broken,” SM Lee Kuan Yew told an audience at the World Brand Forum.

Dec 2003 : The Government banned a public forum entitled “Democracy in Burma: How can Asians help?” In a terse reply, the police stated that the application by the Open Singapore Centre was rejected because the “proposed event is likely to be contrary to the public interest.”

Mar 2004 : The Government revoked the permanent residency of SIA pilot Captain Ryan Goh after the ministry deemed him an “undesirable” immigrant. SM Lee Kuan Yew had previously singled him out as “the instigator” to get the previous leaders of the pilots union sacked.

Mar 2004 : Young drama group The Fun Stage’s planned series of talks and forums on gay representation, entitled The Lover’s Lecture Series, was denied a licence by Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (Pelu). Pelu said the talks involving academics, critics and theatre practitioners “were contrary to the public interest.”

Apr 2004 : Gay rights group People Like Us’ second bid to register itself as a society was rejected. Its first application was turned down in 1997. According to the Societies Act, groups may be turned down because they are either likely to be used for unlawful purpose or purposes “prejudicial to public peace, welfare and good order,” or are likely to act against “national interests.”

Aug 2004 : Shortly after Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in as the country’s new Prime Minister, he promised an “open and inclusive society.”

But his father, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, told an international audience at the Global Brand Forum that “political reform need not go hand in hand with economic liberaliastion.” He also invoked the ghost of Deng Xiaoping and said, “He took over, and he said: ‘If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it.’”

Sept 2004 : Despite amending the law to allow certain interest groups to register on a fast track, the Government announced that the following will not be included – groups whose activities relate to human rights, political rights, civil rights, animal and environmental rights, gender issues, religion, ethnicity and martial arts.

Sept 2004 : The Economist paid $390,000 in damages plus legal costs to PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew for an article it ran mentioning “a whiff of nepotism” upon the appointment of the Prime Minister’s wife, Ho Ching, as chief executive of Temasek Holdings.

Sept 2004 : The Government extended for another two years the detention of 17 suspected Jemaah Islamiah members held under Internal Security Act. Eighteen other suspected members remain under ISA detention.

Nov 2004 : The Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision to deny the application by JB Jeyaretnam to be discharged from bankruptcy. His liabilities are estimated at more than $600,000.

Dec 2004 : Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew issued a stern warning to foreign media against meddling in Singapore’s politics. In a forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association, Lee said, “We are not that daft. We know what is in our interest and we intend to preserve our interests and what we have is working. You are not going to tell us how to run our country.”

Dec 2004 : Police rejected an application by a Hong Kong based gay portal to hold a Christmas party as “the event is likely to be organised as a gay party which is contrary to public interest.”

Jan 2005 :The Internal Security Department arrested two Singaporeans for alleged involvement in terrorist groups, bringing the total number of ISA detainees to 36.

Jan 2005 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was ordered by the High Court to pay $500,000 in damages plus legal costs to MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong.

Mar 2005 : The High Court dismissed a defamation lawsuit by Dr Chee Soon Juan against MM Lee Kuan Yew. Chee had filed the counter suit in 2001 after Lee had called him a “political gangster, a liar and a cheat”.

Mar 2005 : Police rejected an application by a local gay Christian support group to hold a concert because the Media Development Authority said that the show would “promote a homosexual lifestyle.”

Mar 2005 : Chief Justice Yong Pung How sued his former remisier, Mr Boon Suan Ban, for defamation because Mr Boon was apparently pestering the Chief Justice on an outstanding financial matter when Mr Yong was the chairman of a bank. The Attorney-General charged Mr Boon for criminal defamation. The financier was subsequently acquitted because he was of “unsound mind”, but was ordered to be detained at the Institute of Mental Health where he now remains at the President’s pleasure. In June, CJ Yong ordered all court files relating to the case sealed.

Mar 2005 : The police rejected an application by JB Jeyaretnam for a march to protest the Government’s decision to allow casinos to be built, saying it would have disrupted civil order.

Apr 2005 : The Government barred Amnesty International’s Tim Parritt from speaking at a public forum entitled “Death penalty and the rule of law in Singapore”. The police justified the ban by saying that it does not need a foreigner to lecture it on its criminal justice system.

May 2005 : Student blogger Chen Jiahao received an email from Mr Philip Yeo, a powerful state executive, who threatened to sue Chen because he had made disparaging remarks in his blog about Mr Yeo’s company. The blogger apologised and shut down his website.

May 2005 : Police threatened filmmaker Martyn See with prosecution for a film he made about Dr Chee Soon Juan. See was forced to withdraw the film from the Singapore International Film Festival after authorities warned that he could be jailed for up to two years or fined up to $100,000 if it was screened. See withdrew his entry but got a call from the police for questioning anyway.

May 2005 : Two Falungong practitioners were imprisoned for handing out VCDs and gathering in public without permits. Singapore Falun Buddhist Society spokeswoman Diana Wang said in a statement that Singapore was the only country outside China that had brought charges against Falungong practitioners for carrying out “truth-clarification” activities. Handing out VCDs without a license is punishable by a fine of up to $40,000, or a one-year jail term, or both.

May 2005 : American activist Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan was denied entry and deported from Singapore. The government said that he has been banned indefinitely for interfering in the nation’s domestic politics. Mr Yeshua had been invited to conduct a non-violence workshop for Singaporean activists.

May 2005 : In its annual report, Amnesty International criticized Singapore for its highest rate of executions in the world, and for its “broad array of restrictive laws” that curtail the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

Jun 2005 : Police denied the gay group Fridae permission to organise a public party, saying that this would be contrary to public interests.

Jun 2005 : Police warned would-be protesters at the Olympic vote held in Singapore that they would be arrested. A group of small businesses had threatened to stage protests against London’s bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Jul 2005 : Police attended and videotaped Dr Chee Soon Juan’s book launch on non-violence. They also seized a VCD and took down the particulars of the speakers. Investigations are on-going.

Aug 2005 : Police threatened organisers of an anti-death penalty concert that it would not give the licence if the photograph of Shanmugam Murugesu was not removed from the concert posters. The police said that they did not want to glorify an executed person. Shanmugam was executed in May 2005 after he was convicted of smuggling marijuana into Singapore.

Aug 2005 : Riot police, in full battle gear, were sent in to break-up a peaceful protest by four activists who were protesting against the non-transparent nature of charity organisation NKF, and government institutions such as the CPF, GIC and HDB. About 40 police officers were deployed. They confiscated the protesters’ T-shirts and placards.

Aug 2005 : Filmmaker Martyn See was questioned for the second time by the police and was asked to surrender his video camera and six existing tapes used as part of his banned documentary. Police also called up blogger Mr Jacob George and filmmaker Ms Tan Pin Pin for questioning in relationship to See’s making of his film. Investigations are on-going.

Sep 2005 : Police launched investigations into cardboard cut-outs of white elephants displayed in front of a railway station. The cartoons were put up to protest the non-opening of the Buangkok MRT station.

Sep 2005 : FinanceAsia.com, an Asian online publication, issued an apology and agreed to pay an unspecified amount of damages and legal costs to PM Lee Hsien Loong, SM Goh Chok Tong and MM Lee Kuan Yew for an article about the Lee family and Temasek Holdings.

Oct 2005 : Two bloggers who allegedly posted racist remarks online were sentenced to jail under the Sedition Act, a colonial-era law used by the British to fight communist insurgency, and invoked for the first time since independence. In the same month, sedition charges were also brought against another blogger who allegedly posted inflammatory remarks about Muslims. The district court placed the 17-year old student on probation.

Oct 2005 : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told the Foreign Correspondents Association that Singapore will not adopt a Western liberal democracy with a multi-party system during the next 20 years.

Oct 2005 : Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng announced in Parliament that people who are arrested in Singapore have no right to immediate legal counsel. Giving the accused access to lawyers during investigations could impede police work, said Mr Wong.

Oct 2005 : Senior lecturers at Warwick University in the UK voted against setting up a branch campus in Singapore due to worries about limits on academic freedom.

Oct 2005 : The outgoing US ambassador to Singapore criticised Singapore’s restrictions on free speech in a rare public rebuke. Ambassador Franklin Lavin said Singapore’s 20th-century political model may prove inadequate for the 21st century, warning that the government “will pay an increasing price for not allowing full participation of its citizens.”

Nov 2005 : The Government criticised Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for giving it low marks on press freedom. RSF had placed Singapore at 140 out of 167 countries. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong defended Singapore’s pro-government media by echoing Lee Kuan Yew’s 1959 statement to the foreign press, “You are not going to teach us how we should run the country. We are not so stupid. We know what our interests are and we try to preserve them”.

Nov 2005 : Information Minister Lee Boon Yang told Parliament that the ban on satellite TV in homes is still valid as “we must remain vigilant against external influences which may seek to split and divide our society.”

Dec 2005 : The Singapore Government rejected appeals from the United Nations, two Popes, human rights organisations and the Australian government to spare the life of Australian citizen Nguyen Tuong Van, who was executed on December 2 after being convicted of smuggling heroin through Singapore’s Changi Airport. More than 400 prisoners have been hanged in Singapore since 1991, the highest per capita rate of execution in the world, according to Amnesty International.

Dec 2005 : The Media Development Authority ordered Mr Benny Lim, a theatre director, to remove all references to the death penalty in his new play.

Dec 2005 : High Court Judge VK Rajah dismissed an Originating Motion taken up by three of the four peaceful protesters against the Home Affairs Minister and the Police Commissioner. Mr Rajah ruled that Singapore citizens had no right to stage protests because this would undermine the stable and upright stature of Singapore.

Jan 2006 : US billionaire philanthropist George Soros told a Singapore audience that the city-state could not be an open society as long as its leaders use libel suits against opposition politicians. “The use of libel …can be a tremendous hindrance to freedom of expression. Obviously, Singapore doesn’t qualify as an open society,” said Soros.

Jan 2006 : The police warned a group of schoolgirls that the wearing of T-shirts en masse might be misconstrued by some as an offence under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public & Order & Nuisance) (Assemblies & Processions) Rules. The students had planned to help raise money for charity by selling white elephant T-shirts at the Buangkok MRT station’s inauguration ceremony.

Jan 2006 : Singapore was singled out by a rights group for its denial of individual rights. The Asian Human Rights Commission described the city-state as a place where “freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the capacity to assert one’s rights do not exist at all.”

Jan 2006 : Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament that the Government will not hesitate to cane and imprison protesters who commit violent acts during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting to be held in Singapore later this year.

Jan 2006 : The Economist apologized to MM Lee Kuan Yew and agreed to pay damages for statements in the magazine’s obituary on Devan Nair, Singapore’s former president.

Feb 2006 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was declared a bankrupt by the High Court after he failed to pay $500,000 in libel damages awarded to MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong. “Almost all of Singapore’s leading opposition figures have faced legal action at some time by prominent members of the ruling PAP,” reported Reuters.

“Not only did I not have legal representation but I also did not get a trial. It is well-known that Singapore has detention without trial. Now it seems that we also have defamation without trial,” said Chee.

Feb 2006 : Dr Chee Soon Juan was charged with contempt of court for a statement he made at the above bankruptcy hearing in which he alleged that the judiciary is not independent and fair, especially in cases involving opposition politicians. The Attorney-General is pressing for a jail term.