Gopalan Nair speaks
Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 11:42 am | 231 views
Video by Seelan Palay.
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16 Responses to “Gopalan Nair speaks”
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The guy who said all PRCs are speis and PRC citizens are aimed at spreading communism
Whatever Gopalan speaks has very little merit to me….desertee Singaporean now a American should very well know its consequences when you deliberately belittle the judiciary of any country…a lawyer by practice should be very well aware of suits, ethical behaviour and proper ettiquette…..
A true soldier stands his ground to fight till the end but do not deserts…than gather courage, joining a mislead members and bickers non-sensical remarks…
a tourist ought to act like one and now paying a price he richly deserves…..
I feel that Mr Nair has a lot of guts in speaking his mind about our ‘government’, and having read to some extent the past contents of his blogs, I feel he should KNOW BETTER, what kind of ‘people’ he is dealing with and should not have come here expecting FAIR and JUST treatment or epxecting any degree of respect of his RIGHTS as an American or as a Human.
The Law here is indeed very ’special’. Unique only in Singapore. He should have known this. He should have known he is dealing with a bunch of Egoistic elitist people, which can be bother thick and thin skinned.
Guts my foot. He is hardly American despite waving that passport.
Nobody is asking anyone to agree with what he did or say. Instead why can’t anyone view this from a humanitarian perspective? They choose to keep him here by taking his passport away and since they refuse to provide him with the basics such as accommodation, then they should grant him the request to go home for a period of time to sort out the rental of his law firm and such. Money is running out and he needs to move from one place to another while waiting for them to charge him. Honestly they are trying to break his spirits in a manner that I see as disgusting.
Indeed he used to be Singaporean and is now an American but most of all, he is a human being like the rest of us.
Don’t get it why the most of us rave and be proud when foreigners send praises our way and declare criticisms from them as “foreign intervention”.
I think it is pretty amazing that somebody can be charged for “gesticulating wildly with his hands” and shouting at strangers who are trying to beat you up without identifying themselves!
Rachel Zeng is right. It is not Nair, it is about humanity. Nair only demonstrate that Singapore government does not have humanity when it come to anyone willing to stand against the oppressive regime. Won’t the same thing that use against Nair be used against fellow citizen one day ?
Really unique “First world” country. Anything that PAP says can only be defined in their own dictionary and nowhere else.
It’s also about being stupid and saying PRCs are spies.
I mean, you release him, and then next minute he will write that all Muslims are spies. I’m sure you would like that
I guess he could have chosen not to speak for Singaporeans, and the poor will still be poorer, and the undeserving ministers will still be undeserving.
It’s very very similar to Goplan Nair’s case. There is little rights in Singapore. Just be good citizen, follow law and take the bad medicine. It is actually good for you.
Not sure if you have read the Norwegian boys who didn’t do NS case in SG. Here are the details which ST doesn’t want you to know:
Mr. Bugge’s comments:
I am the Father of these three young men. Please let me clarify some facts that did not appear in the original article in S.T., or appear to have registered by most posters.
The case of my sons is NOT first and foremost about whether they should serve NS, and where, it is about the right of those born in Singapore with one parent Singaporean and the other foreign, and there are more and more of them.
In our case our three sons were born here in 1975, 1977 and 1978. They became Norwegian Citizens upon birth as they had to follow Father’s Passport under the immigration rules then, at the peak of the “Stop at two / Two is enough” campaign. They have always held Norwegian Passport and chose to retain that at the age of 21. They are residents of Norway and all three has done their NS in Norway, as is their obligation under Norwegian Law. ( hmm, if these boys have norwegian passport, how can sgp insists these boys serve ns ? )
They were effectively Dual Citizens until they reach the legal age of 21, upon which they HAD to chose one and renounce the other, before they reach the age of 22. Norway and Singapore does not allow dual citizenship after that age unless in special cirumstances. This is per Singapore’s Constitution and according to UN Human Rights Charter, and is not disputed.
Today two of them are professional soldiers and are still serving in the Norwegian Army’s “Rapid Deployment Battalion”, ready to go anywhere their country elect to send them on short notice.
The oldest is a 12 year veteran and Second Lieutenant, the youngest has abt. 10 years service and is now Sargent. They have been in active peace keeping service in Bosnia, Lebanon, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Both are due back in Afghanistan soon, for the 3rd and 4th time respectively. This time to train the Afghan Army.
Are these your typical “defaulters”? No, they are three young men that has been caught up in a web of draconian NS rules that does not take into account the rights dual citizens have to chose, and the obligations they have to their the country who’s citizenship they hold. If they had chosen to become Singapore Citizen at 21, they would have done their NS her without fail and may have enrolled in the Army here, who knows.
In case they should come back her, serve their NS and still want to retain their Norwegian Citizenship at the end of it, would they be allowed to do so? No, they would they be stripped of their Singapore Citizenship and possibly deported as “non-desirables”. Even punished for having held dual citizenship after the age of 22?
You can say that the NS rules are not draconian, but it affects these three young men adversely in all ways. They are unable to travel to Singapore for a family visit, although they hold only Norwegian passport, and have always done so. If they should seek a job that involves travel to these parts, they may not be able to do so as they risk arrest, if they should land in Singapore.How would this look on a job application? “I can travel to any country in the world, but not to Singapore, because I would be arrested on arrival because I happened to have been born there”.
With the present discussion of the negative “brain drain” from Singapore and how to get overseas Singaporeans to return, the first place to look is at the NS “problems” that keeps more and more from returning, especially mixed couples with young sons who are, or will come, in the same situation as our three sons.
But NS is NOT the issue here. The issue is the rights of individuals to chose their own destiny. Any dual citizen who intend to remain in Singapore after the age of 21 would be eligible for the draft, whether he holds Singapore passport or not. If he is residing outside Singapore and does not hold Singapore passport at that age, he should be allowed to return and serve, or renounce his right to a Singapore passport and be free of any NS obligations.To “punish” young men for being born here serves no purpose and is not according to UN Human Rights Charter, or indeed according to the Singapore Constitution, which allow freedom of choice at/after 21 years of age.
I have called Singapore home for about 40 years and understand the need for a strong defense, and the draft to ensure the necessary manpower, with strict Laws and enforcement to ensure that. But the way it is being done now does not serve the purpose. To force reluctant foreign nationals into service is not productive as they may not be around if the need should arise to defend the country, or indeed be willing to.
As for our three sons, they would probably try to get back here and volunteer, if Singapore should be attacked. That is in their character and they are well trained for the task.
Does anyone knows what is going to happen to Gopalan Nair? This is sad. Does it mean that anyone who is with the opposition parties or supporters should leave this country & take up citizenship elsewhere?
“They became Norwegian Citizens upon birth as they had to follow Father’s Passport under the immigration rules then, at the peak of the “Stop at two / Two is enough” campaign.”
Did the children went back to Norway immediately upon birth or still stay in Singapore for few years ?
As much as we have our pros and cons with the government or with the Ministers or with the law or with the courts - thats fine - let us debate it, argue it or even bicker about it BUT not foreigners especially those who chose to abandon their citizenship for another home another country. They have plentiful of reasons for leaving home for another - that is respected - so be it BUT NOT come back, ckeeky enough, and butt us on issues that should be best and rightfully addressed by us…we live and fight it out here! We are well-minded people with well-minded government with well-minded governance to keeping us where we are today, regionally and internationally. Sure, every household has its own squabbles, issues and sometimes a fight - it does not give a third person the right to enter the home to arbitrate or poke one nose without been welcomed in the first place. Do we let a stranger walk into our home, say what one wants, smear and embarass any one of us and walk out without facing our wrath…and here this is what G Nair has done…. G Nair has always been on the opposition from onset, as a Singaporean and as an American citizen,,as the former we welcome but as the latter, he needs reprimanding and taught to restraint. Our once solid opposition political parties are now lost sheeps without able leaders! and we don’t need a foreigner to do that!!!
You are not a Singapore citizen anymore, Singapore government is honorably elected by the people of Singapore. Please respect the citizen of Singapore and our law. We don’t need American’s way of “right” to be practice here.
While there is the plus points of freedom of speech, comments like PRCs in Singapore are spies and agents of communism hardly is beneficial