It also does not matter if you have achieved first rated (or 1st in your class or cohort) in your PSLE, GEO ‘O’ or ‘A’, university and holding a PHD.

It is not how you start the race. Results are measured on how you end the race.

All these achievements (indicative) are all history. It is the value or dis-value that your are bringing to the table now which is more important and each person has a different concept of value (or dis-value) in accordance with his own situation which may not coincide nicely as per the definition of our dear leaders .

I never said the rulers of any SEA country were democratic in principle. What i will say is that we have been spared the effects of neo-liberalism that has plagued Latin American and African Nations.

Or perhaps you all can believe GN that we never progressed economically.

Another question: Why couldn’t Ling How Dong, the SDP’s clear success story, hold on to his seat in parliment. Fault of the leadership again? or did he not have the grace of opponents washing hands?

Whether Chee can be a Gandhi, King & Aun San Suu Kyi. Only time will tell.

It will be the collective will of the people which is going to determine that – and not yours and mine alone. For every person like you who may disagree with Chee, there is always some other person who feels for him.

Chee has some situation that common people (not all of course) can relate to and you may have a situation that you can relate to with the system.

Nobel Prize can only be given once in a year in each of the different categories and I also cannot recall any of our leaders receiving any either.

If the system keeps on treating him like that and his case happens to be publicized to an outrageous level in the international areana at the right time / moment, he may well get nominated / selected one fine day. Fat hope? I would not want to count on that as life likes to throw out new surprises and you never know that the Nobel Prize committee may just give it to him just to drive some point across.

Strategic interests make the world go round..in this aspect, we’ve done pretty well to capitalise on our position.

The same reason why the US supports the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein of Iraq and the King of Saudi Arabia. Except that we do not have oil but a deep sea harbour.

Following suit, let’s take what GN said. Albania has a higher democratic ranking than a certain island. Does that mean Albanians are happy and free and have a better life that the city state islanders?

Infant mortality rate:
total: 19.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.74 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) (Of Albania from CIA world factbook)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$11.2 billion (2007 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
5% (2007 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$5,500 (2007 est.) (Albania)

Vs:

Infant mortality rate:
total: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$222.7 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$153.5 billion (2007 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
7.5% (2007 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$48,900 (2007 est.)
(island)

“why there is no harsh criticism of East Asian Human Rights”
The history of Chinese and Asia traditional and culture might shred some light to it. Respect to the authority, obedient to senior, loyalty, no questioning of authority and senior etc have been passed down generation from generation, and education has been used to imbue such moral and practise.

Politically ? Yes, they are of the same musical chair.

East Asia never grew economically to all of you.

a wrong is a wrong. whether it is recognized or not change the fact that it is wrong. don’t you think something is wrong with singapore?

as a Singaporean I could agree with you. I have been reading The Singapore Miracle and it reveals the shocking truth. Do I believe the book ? Why not ? After all it quotes source from MSM, well-known magazine, LKY, ministers, and more importantly, some of which can be seen it from the ground. If this book is rubbish, it will have been banned or sued by LKY, ministers. Rather it is available in Border and some Popular bookstores show how true it is.

Singapore is a great marketing story that very successful due its control of mainstream media. I live till 2000 believing the hype and deceit of the government, now I know they are all mainly for themselves. I believe Singapore will go far if it is politically opened but now I almost lost hope of it. The society created by the coffers has deteriorated due to its love of materialism and $$$, and the great influx of foreigner means it is going to go downstream further since Singapore doesn’t has a strong culture in the first place.

Surreal and pathetic, isn’t it ?

How sad.

I do not think that Dr Chee will get a nobel prize not because he does not deserve it but because the situation does not warrant it.

Why Chee has not received any Nobel Prize or Congressional Award unlike Aun San Suu Kyi?”

The answer is simple. There is no sign of mass violence or death arising from the protest against the government in Singapore. The government does not resort to violence (at least as seen from public) to suppress protest (at least not now, hopefully not in the future eg LKY says that military will interfere due to freak result in election).”If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it.” – Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew evoking the ghost of Deng Xiaoping whilst endorsing the Tiananmen Square massacre, Straits Times, Aug 17, 2004 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew

Note that those who achieve nobel prize put their own life before others, and usually the emotional and physical struggle to obtain the freedom against oppression touch those around the world so hard to warrant them of Nobel Prize. And Nobel Prize is not something that just give easily. This doesn’t mean that we should downplay those who did not achieve Nobel Prize for their effort.