They are protesting the rise of sharksfin prices?????

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24764076@N02/2342098794/sizes/l/

Singapore – and the Singapore Police – have to move on, allow protests and redefine their (the police) role.

Fundamentally, if protests are peaceful, they should be allowed to take place. The police’s job is to make sure civilians are not hurt – and not to stop such protests.

The objective was about raising real issues about price increases, pressuring for a stop in these price increases and galvanising collective support – unity is strength.

As the government is too involved in many aspects of our life,
some of these price increases are controllable as they are provided by GLC (e.g utilities, buses, telephone, conservancy, property tax etc) and also in respect to the hugh budget surplus accumulation / reserves. Howelse is it going to be re-distributed back to the citizens if not in this difficult time.

Surely, those officers in blue uniform (or plainclothes) and their superiors know about the recent wave of price increases in this and that. The police has an important role to play in preventing real crimes but to block real social issues of being highlighted / displayed in a peaceful manner is clearly not their role.

A behaviour (even innocent ones and bad social habits like spitting, buying and selling chewing gum, speaking loudly, flushing the toilet after use, eating in MRT etc) can always be legislated to be an offence and Singapore has plenty of these for the police to act if they really want to be technical about it to the extreme ridicule.

The answer is that it is not handled by minister.
Every ‘LEEgalised’ protest is backed by minister and gahmen so far. Putting own people is less dangerous, and even more useful for promoting party brand and interest. Even more so with the ShitTime showing the frontpage of how good and world-class is the Leegalised protest with the smiling face of the minister.

This answers my first question….

Who want CSJ as PM?

Who will take the other key critical positions?

Why did no passerby come to their aid?

Why was it not posted on BBC or CNN but only on IHT and some other news sites?

Why was there no condemnation from President BUsh, PM Brown or the UN?

Why wasn’t there any sanctions imposed?

You wait lor. I wait Chee 15 years liao. He got change anything? Still same same.

SDP like PAP: PAP think it is right all the time. SDP also think it is right all the time.

SDP is different from PAP meh?

WHY IS IT AN OFFENCE TO HAVE A PEACEFUL PROTEST ON WORLD CONSUMERS’ DAY IN SINGAPORE?

I believe that the arrest was politically motivated and deliberate.

As for the system – I suggest you read the article in Yawning Bread (The Mathematics of Elections) on how the current system is skewed to favour the incumbent PAP.

I think what CSJ has done is to expose the nature of Singaporeans. We are a materialistic and selfish lot. Singaporeans are NOT prepared to make sacrifices. Maybe thats why people migrate. Why put up a political fight when you can enjoy the good life in Australia or America ?

BTW – yes I am a real PhD. My title as Dr is REAL.

Yeah – cut the debate. Its getting stale. Lets just see the next election.

The wayang is getting stale. The motives for arguing is obviously to make opposition look bad.

I’m moving on.

Rigging would mean the ruling party employs dishonest tactics in an election such as tampering with ballot boxes to turn the favour against opposition candidates.

Fear to vote against the PAP is something else and that applies even if elections are free of fraud. Without GRCs, gerrymandering, Singapore shares/NSS/ERS, PAP could still win hands down.

One said to me a few days ago that fear may be used by some voters as an excuse to reject voting for the opposition.

By acknowledging their “fear”, they shift the blame to themselves as “cowards” and a courtesy gesture to opposition candidates whom they do not trust their constituency with, in order not to insult them.

Hence, the opposition needs to gain trust.

In case you forget the WP’s view on public protests, here is a re-posting of what Andrew Loh posted earlier. You seem not to have read it. So let me do you a little favour and re-post it:

Sylvia Lim on amendments to the Penal Code, 22 Oct 2007:

“Being a member of such an assembly will see stakes rise from a max of 6 months jail to 2 years jail, a 4X increase. Joining an unlawful assembly knowing it has been commanded to disperse, will go up from 2 years to 5 years.

….

Sir, let us distinguish between gatherings which are violent such as rioting, and those which are peaceful.

The constant refrain of fearing law and order problems makes a mockery of licensing law – why have a law saying a permit is needed, when it is seldom granted? Minister for Law mentioned on Fri that Singapore needed controls as we were a densely populated country. But so is Hong Kong.

As our society continues to evolve, the time is surely ripe for us to allow peaceful outdoor protests as a form of expression. By all means, we can have rules about how, where and when such processions may be held, but wider law reform is needed.

S 141 should be restricted to offences which threaten the public peace, and other laws such as the Miscellaneous Offences Act which require permits for peaceful assemblies should be modified.”

First things first, are you a REAL doctor? (You accused others of not using their real name. So I ask you, are you a REAL doctor?)

Second, former WP sec gen JBJ Jeyaretnam has already shown, through all of his years, that his methods did not work – methods similar to Chee’s. So why are you insisting that the present WP do the same?

You say the WP cannot get more members into parliament. Well, are you a futurist? The WP, as far as I know, started their new approach only recently. 2000-something. How long has it been? You expect change overnight?

Thirdly, you talk so much but in the same breath you declare that you are too much of a coward to participate in Chee’s protests. Isn’t that a whole lotta fun????

I guess Singaporeans are too afraid and too materialistic to make sacrifices for change. And I guess the SDP will continue to make protests – but to no avail from Singaporeans who are too selfish to make sacrifices.

At the end of the day – Singaporeans deserve the current PAP Government.