tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8081742307252789733.post-69648183293157357622008-06-23T06:57:00.000-07:002008-06-23T07:54:14.276-07:00Ladies and Gentlemen,<br /><br />During the 3 day assessment of damages hearing in the High Court, Judge Belinda Ang presiding, in the Lee Kuan Yew vs Dr. Chee Soon Juan matter, Dr. Chee asks Lee Kuan Yew why did he say in his Affidavit that he (Dr. Chee) "hates" Lee Kuan Yew.<br /><br />Then Dr. Chee tells Lee that truly, he does not hate him at all. He (Dr. Chee) in fact feels very sorry for him. Dr. Chee tells him that he (Lee Kuan Yew) cuts a pathetic figure. And that Dr. Chee is really sorry for him.<br /><br />Dr. Chee is absolutely spot on here. We should indeed fell sorry for the poor old man. You see, since 1959, Lee has been holding on to power. During this time, he has built an infrastructure and brought some modernity to the island. He feels he has done well. He says he has the support of the people and the people respect him. Nothing can be further from the truth. His actions betray his weakness. Only a weak ruler will resort to violence, brutality and resort to the courts to cripple his opponents. A strong ruler who has the support of the people need not stoop so low. Someone who wrote to me compared him to Mugabe. He says they are not too dissimilar. Mugabe uses guns to stay in power. Lee uses the courts. The diagnosis is the same. Both are weak men who can only remain in power by intimidation, torture, bankruptcy and subjugation. Powerful men need not resort to this.<br /><br />Look at Lee's record. Singapore is already in the Guinness Book not only for the largest number of defamation actions brought on by a ruler of a country, but also for its staggering amounts; no less that one half million dollars each time. Does Lee ever believe that Dr. Chee can pay any of this? Of course not. The whole idea is not the money. It is to ensure that Dr. Chee can never stand of elections again. What a shameful man Lee Kuan Yew is. He ensures Dr. Chee Soon Juan can never oppose him in elections. To achieve that shameful objective, he uses the courts to finish him off. The same with JB Jeyaretnam. Till today I cannot understand why Jeyaretnam decided to pay the totally illegal damages. Yes, illegal is a strong word but apt nevertheless. In all the series of court cases against JB Jeyaretnam, not even once did JB Jeyaretnam ever defame Lee Kuan Yew, that is of course if you use the normal definition of the word "defame" and not the totally Alice in Wonderland meaning given to it by Singapore.<br /><br />Take my case. I did say in my blog that since Lee Kuan Yew had said, in no uncertain terms, during the 3-day damages hearing recently in the High Court, that if anyone defamed him in a blog, and if they were identified, he will sue them; I had therefore challenged him to sue me as he had threatened. Instead of suing me, he goes on to order his police to arrest me on some dubious charge that I insulted a judge in my blog. Is this a sign of a man in control of himself or that of a man who is so unsure of himself that he has to resort to bullying each time someone challenges him? And mind you, I am so far a thoroughly insignificant soul compared to the others he has gone after previously, such as Dow Jones, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street, JB Jeyaretnam and Dr. Chee. All these people are giants compared to me in the scope of things. Why then pick on me?<br /><br />The answer cannot be clearer than it ever was. Lee can only remain in power through instilling fear in his citizenry. And one way to do it is to go after anyone who criticizes, hoping that that others would be sufficiently scared off by news of what has happened to me.<br /><br />But my answer to Lee is this. It is not going to work. You have done this once too often. And Singapore's young are bolder than what you think. This action against me is already turning out to be counter productive. Just after my case, I have heard that even more are packing off for Australia and elsewhere. This is something that Lee cannot stop. His mistake was making English the lingua franca. With English Singaporeans can leave anytime and be accepted around the English speaking world. The Chinese imports from mainland China is not a replacement. They neither have English nor the capability.<br /><br />Second, more and more young people are swelling the ranks of the SDP. They are coming forward. Instead of being intimidated, they are turning out to be lions. Not just any lion but African lions. The really brave type.<br /><br />I understand that Lee Kuan Yew has been traveling to places such as Sydney with hat in hand, begging Singaporeans to come back. They are not coming back. And one more reason for them not to come back is the case Singapore Public Prosecutor vs. Gopalan Nair for writing a blog!<br /><br />Gopalan Nair<br />SingaporeGopalan Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15399145588654603667noreply@blogger.com