~Kong Soon Tan/President of Think Centre~
Think Centre (TC), one of Singapore’s oldest political NGO, welcomes and applauds the announcement by the Malaysian government to repeal the controversial 51-year-old law allowing detention without trial and ease other legislations curbing civil liberties. The ISA allows an individual to be held virtually indefinitely for acts considered a threat to national security or to prevent such acts. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak added that the Banishment Act would be repealed while he will do away with the need for annual publishing permits under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). He also said that the Police Act would be amended to allow for freedom of assembly according to international norms, although street protests would still be outlawed.
Since TC’s founding in 1999, one of the first human rights issues that it championed for, is the abolishment of the ISA. In 2000, TC drew widespread international attention when it initiated a peaceful demonstration as part of its “Abolish ISA” campaign at the nation state’s Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park. Several TC leaders were however called up by the police for investigations in the aftermath of the demonstration.
In the past decade, TC has continued to champion tirelessly for the abolishment of this and other related legislations that run contrary to the fundamental principles of human rights such as the right to life, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly etc. While TC does not support any form of indefinite detention without trial, any new legislation that would ensure detentions should only be carried out by Court orders in the face of threats to national security or sovereignty. As such, powers of detention should never be vested with the Executive or the Police.
In this regard, TC urges the Singapore government to follow Malaysia’s lead in repealing the ISA and other legislations curbing civil liberties and infringing fundamental human rights of its people. In this new political norm whereby a new social compact has been forged after a watershed year of electoral progress, TC appeals to the Government to review and rethink its approach to management of civil and political rights of Singaporeans. This same call will be championed without fear or favour by TC in its upcoming oral intervention at the Universal Periodic Review plenary, before the U.N Human Rights Council this September.
“Singapore will seriously consider abolishing the Internal Security Act if Malaysia were to do so”, then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong informed visiting Malaysian journalists, according to a report in Straits Times, dated 3 February 1991. However a statement released today by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the ISA disappointingly appears to be a recantation of what, the now Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had promised twenty years ago. PM Lee should seriously make good on his words to consider abolishing the Internal Security Act now that Malaysia has announced that it will repeal the Act.
As 2011 has shown, Singapore society has come of age in terms of civil and political engagement. If the Government truly wishes to re-make Singapore into a place we call home, it must first cast away archaic legislations such as the ISA and keep up with liberalisation of democratic norms. Doing so will allow Singapore to transform itself into a truly modern, mature and functioning democracy.
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I think we (they)are all going about the ISA the wrong way. We all feel the ISA is still relevant to combat terrorists, gangland activities, etc. The criticism is that it used to detain individuals with different political idealogy. And there are no safegards against wrong detention.
Read the Malaysian anouncement carefully.
They are reviewing other laws as well like the right to assemble and protest,
the promise that no individual will be
detained because of his political idealogy, and detention can only be carried out by judicial procedure.
Come on, even Myanmar has lifted its ban on foreign news website!
Follow Malaysia? Must be kidding.
The religious fanatics hide there. They were brought back one after another after some behind the scene hard bargaining took palce.
These JI Islamists are out to target the infidels (kafirs) i.e. the non-Muslims!
Reasons don’t prevail among the hard core. They are bent on creating Islamic States with Sharia Laws offering their lives to god for the missions.
They don’t target Islamic Malaysia. They HIDE there. In Indonesia, they target specific places like Hindu Bali, the American Embassy, etc.
Fortunately, we have the JI behind bars for rehabilitaion and counselling before they can actualise their Yishun MRT or Changi Airport blueprints.
Think oif the u8ntold miseries in blood and loss lives and the destruction of the economy had the JI’s plans materialised.
This is no JOKE! Think about your children, relatives, friends, neighbours, etc., who could have been blown to pieces when the MTR blew up.
Remember Singapore is not a haven for terrorists given the ISA. No terrorist can walk out scot free on the tongue of a smart defence lawyer to carry out his mission. Simpy too much at stake here. This is serious matter for a resposible government to manage. Prevention is BETTER than cure!
It is all a matter of mindset. If a leader is highly negative in his outlook on life due to his own legal eduction, he tends to follow a control paradigm, so whatever he does it will be based on kiasu control and punishment of people.
The result is a stifling of creativity and empowerment of people.
His kiasu no-welfare policy is one such example of control mindset. The result is government will win and people will be subjected to long-term pain which result in all taxes paid being hoarded for the government’s own convenience and purposes of claiming surplus and success.
Just look at his latest kiasu policy on increasing birth rates. It fails to work largely because it is highly based on control mindset. If he is more creative he should have worked towards reducing the one-way taxing policy that result in rising costs burden. By reducing the costs people will be able to get married and birth rates will normalize.
Just relax and don’t be so kiasu about threats and security and let go. Things will be better taken care of through empowerment of people.
The inistence of security control of people is only attributable his own background training, experiences.
ISA is the result of his own paranoid negative views about people and society, he will do well.
Don’t POLITICE the ISA if Singaporeans know what’s good for everyone here. Outside monikers may want to see our demise?
Some terror detainees have walked out on restriction orders but I believe there are several hard-core ones who stay put because they strongly refuse to reject violence in their religious cause.
I can’t comment on the early days of Singapore cos I don’t know much. Maybe the extreme left Barisan Socialis? That’s history. Right?
This is modern Singapore where our kids backpack and walk safely to and fro schools and on buses and trains. And office workers do likewise with families awaiting them home for dinner reunions.
Btw was the vocal Jeyeratnam ever been charged under the iSA? Chee? Chiam? Low? Cheo, Ling, etc.? Which political party politician(s)in the last 45 years?
Raymond, 22 catholics were detained for being Catholics. 22 families were destroyed. You need more evidence?
Some were not catholics, lawyers representing them were also jailed. Francis Seow was also thrown in, a former attorney general. Need more evidence?
mr sinnapan samydorai- you are behind time.
i suggest you move on and live in the current world and not in the world of the apes.
the think centre is dead and gone- defunct in singapore.
nobody recognises the think centre anymore ever since james gomez dissapered into thin air.
so stop issuing all these stupid statements.
singapore will not abolish the isa and i suggest you dont waste your time trying to flog this issue.
. There are people still alive who had suffered under the ISA who have contributed somewhat piecemeal accounts of the acts of the ISA under the instructions of LKY and his henchmen. LKY has produced a number of books about himself, none of which recounts his role in the incarceration of these people. It is as if his doppelganger is at work in the parallel world of the ISD. The former President Nathan is known to be involved in the ISD too, let us see whether his part in the administration of the ISA is recorded in his biography. Even Goh Chok Tong is known to be one of the prime movers in the ISD but I doubt he would be pleased to admit to it. We are dealing here with Jackal and Hyde personalities. It behoves Singaporean to get the truth out into the open now when the most of victims and their executors are still alive. Otherwise no matter the weight of truth, the PAP propaganda machine will weave their version of the Singapore story, which will be the one that omits the ISA in its making. The lives of those spent in our defense will be wasted and derided by the jackals as so much garbage.
A culture has grown around the Internal Security Act with LKY as its chief priest. With this Act he commands respect far beyond what the citizenry is willing to vouchsafe him or anyone else. For who would willingly tolerate the demonic power of an Act which claims the right to reduce anyone to a nonentity, nay of less value than a dog. With this Act he could put any man behind bars and talk to him no more. He could do that to any man or woman he pleases. Because a whole army of sycophants would go to work for him on the ISA, starting from the AG. The value to LKY of such a piece of legislation has been immeasurable. It enabled him to commandeer paid officials of the State to guard his pedestal of power. The culture of apprehension at will has spread all over the sphere of Law to include the judiciary. Too much is built by the ISA to risk the dismantling of the ISA in Singapore.There are people still alive who had suffered under the ISA who have contributed somewhat piecemeal accounts of the acts of the ISA under the instructions of LKY and his henchmen. LKY has produced a number of books about himself, none of which recounts his role in the incarceration of these people. It is as if his doppelganger is at work in the parallel world of the ISD. The former President Nathan is known to be involved in the ISD too, let us see whether his part in the administration of the ISA is recorded in his biography. Even Goh Chok Tong is known to be one of the prime movers in the ISD but I doubt he would be pleased to admit to it. We are dealing here with Jackal and Hyde personalities. It behoves Singaporean to get the truth out into the open now when the most of victims and their executors are still alive. Otherwise no matter the weight of truth, the PAP propaganda machine will weave their version of the Singapore story, which will be the one that omits the ISA in its making. The lives of those spent in our defense will be wasted and derided by the jackals as so much garbage.Let us not be delayed and misled by the PM’s cowardly offer to scrap the holy grail of the PAP.
The ISA was used against political opponents. The PAP government had been lambasted internationally for its poor human rights record. It switched tactics by using kangaroos to whack its rivals.
Since the ISA is hardly used, the government should abolish it and come up with more specific laws like the Anti-terrorist Act.
You think that the worst use of the ISD is against political opponents? You are wrong. Lately the ISD has a commercial arm or the whole of it is commercialized. If someone engages a ‘top’ law firm, they will give him a package deal. The deal would include the ISD harassing his enemies by hauling them up for interviews, by stopping them at checkpoints, by writing lies into their personal computerized records so that their whole lives are monitored and their career interfered with.Who are the law firms capable of calling upon the ISD? They are the ones who handled the top PAP members’ defamation cases. The ISA is not irrelevant, it is fatal to our civic life. Communists, Marxists and Muslim terrorists exist by turns for the ISD to use. That they also prey on the ordinary citizen is little known. This is a personal experience.
One time when I called up a number given to me by the ISD in case I am harassed, the voice in the phone told me arrogantly that he is not my Talisman. I escaped problems with my life unscathed. But will you when your turn comes. Surely some day you will be involved in a little litigation about some non criminal matter and you will be surprised that the ISD comes knocking at your door too. The genie has come out of the bottle to infect the whole landscape of the justice system.
The ISD no longer focus on enemies of the State but on the enemies of their friends. That’s why Mas Selamar so easily escaped from a prison toilet.
Who would rejoice and celebrate if the ISA is repealed here?
The JI and its affiliates of course.
We don’t know if there are any sleeper cells here lying dormant?
If I were the JI it would be back to the drawing board given that the ISA is now gone. Right?
If you are a loving and caring parent just PICTURE the carnage of 9/11. Just next door the Bali bomb blast and the one outside the American Embassy in Indonesia. The buses and train blasts in the UK and France by Islamic extremists recently.
You won’t want to make it any easier for the terrorists or be somewhat a facilitating party for them to achieve their diabolical objectives. Do we?
Can we sleep soundly at night if our children are out riding the train home AFTER the ISA?
Parents, Husbands, Wives, Grandmas, Grandpas don’t want to miss their loved ones forever. Not careful we ourselves will reap what we sow. I’ve watched the anguish, agony, pain, despair, on the faces of people when the attack had taken place at the London tube.
Put everything aside. Think. it’s time to use our HEAD for our family’s sake now because we are indeed living in a very dangerous place where real green crocodiles lurk. Stick out the heads and the ISA will hook them up for good.
Let not history repeats itself. “Repeal” is cheap. Words are cheap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3AR-EJUSP8
Pre-crime legislation: how many false positives?
The ISA is vanguard of a culture of oppression for 50 years. For instance you are not allowed to say that judges are corrupt when in fact some of them are very corrupt. These judges are willing to do anything required of them by the Ruling Party. Of course the Ruling Party has made the Judges sacred as it is the heart of their machinery of oppression. Let us go on to other parts of the machinery. Do you know that some Law firms who have close connections with the Ruling Party such as lawyering for the the members of the Ruling Party ( in eg their defamation cases against opposition people) are able to commandeer the ISD and other State Institutions to run errands for them for their corporate business, using State Resources and taxpayers’ money? The ISD is virtually a department of these elite Law firms, an army ever-ready to do their bidding to soften their targets before Court Hearings. Do you know that conflict of interest is commonplace in Singapore as many elites hold private sector interests as well as decision making positions in Government posts, and make use of their Government positions to enhance their private business? Do you know that the elites who manage our national business enterprises are connected to each other even by blood or marriage? Do you know that the greed of the Ruling party boiled over in 1994 when they wrote their own salaries through a rubberstamp Parliament? Do you now conclude that all these gagging of the populace is to facilitate further schemes of enrichment for themselves? If no one talks about it, why Singapore can be sold off to the highest bidder, that is to the hordes of foreign talents. And anything else that works to enrich themselves can be done pronto with no protest or objection. Do you think that the longevity of the Ruling Party in Singapore has not some resemblances to those ruling in Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia etc? The only difference is in the degree of oppression for here there is yet no genocide, assassination and other forms of physical violence against the citizenry. But bankruptcy through Court proceedings, detention by the Political Police (ISD) without trial, attachment of the computer identity records without known criminality so as to harass certain of the citizenry etc may be worse than violent death at the hands of powerful elites crouching for prey in every corner of the urban landscape.ALL THESE THINGS ARE ENABLED BY THE ISA DIRECTLY OR VIA A CULTURE OF OPPRESSION.
Today the opposition are labelled Muslim terrorists, yesterday Marxists, earlier still, communists, all enabled by the Internal Security Act. The Act imprisons people without any specification. The numbers of such incarcerated are recorded in the memory of the Nation and we will seek redress in due course. No one doubts that there are Muslim terrorists in our midsts but please don’t oppress us by labeling plain opposition, dissenters, protestors and litigators Muslim Terrorists. The ISA should be replaced by a more specific Act so that the PAP and its cohorts will have to strain their brains a bit more whenever they wish to silence their opponents. International Human Rights community are now aware that Singapore is not the goody goody state it pretends to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrYKQiyeNv0
How the new ISD will work.
The argument put up by the PAP government that Singapore ISA is different from Malaysian ISA is all bullshit that tries to cheat he people with this classic argument. A white horse is not a horse. Come on! All horses irrespective of its color is a horse. Therefore, an ISA is an ISA irrespective of whether it is in Malaysia or Singapore or the one used by the British colonials in their fights against the communists immediately after WW2. LHL has no balls compared to Najib.
Today’s Straits Times dishes out tonnes of rubbish to support PAP’s bid to retain the ISA!!! If ISA is to solely deal with terrorism, why not replace it with an Act that specifically deals with that??? Answer: PAP wants to use ISA to fix its political opponents
Since the ISA is hardly used against opposition opponents, then all the more this stupid Act should be abolished, or repealed or replaced by what Titiana suggested, with an anti Terrorist Act.
Solves everything isn’t it.
It’s hardly used after the Marxists’ arrest because of international human rights pressure, not because hardly used to contain opposition. Already they change tactics by running them down to bankcruptcy or exiling them overseas, so no logical need to retain this Act, unless they reserving it “to fix its political opponents”.
ISA is just a weapon of the PAP. Without ISA, PAP is nothing. Think that LKY and PAP is charismatic? Take away his weapon and see if he can still be charismatic.
Malaysia is getting much more democratic than SG, no doubt surprising and disappointing LSH, who now has to eat his won words.
Think centre should do more real thinking – can the deaf hear? Do you think the incumbents will do anything detrimental to their grip on power? Or worse, replace ISA with something more heinous!
Remember what happened when calls were made to close the income gap? GST was imposed & it’s multiplier effects made the lives of poor people even more miserable!
TC should think before they say anything that only make things worse!
After GE2011 and PE2011, the PAP has put back their old clothings, they have nothing to risk, LKY back to action, WKS back in PMO advising PM on China matters when he cannot even speak proper mandarin, I doubt he can read Chinese, let alone giving PM advices, most likey just in PMO to collect pay. TT missing in action. Singaporean are back to old shit led by PAP.
Following Malaysia is recipe for disaster simply because their bureaucracy and judicial processes are even less transparent. The Malaysian government retains a modicum of flexibility to operate under emergency circumstances, even after reform, because they can work through the system. If Singapore follows Malaysia’s example wholesale, we would have tied our own hands and severely limited our options to deal with emergency cases, if it ever arises. On this basis alone, I would not hurry to jump on the bandwagon.
This is definitely not a negative mindset or paranoid thinking. This is a real and human need to anticipate possibilities and account for complications. Otherwise, humans would not be living in man-made fortresses but in amazon rainforests. A better example of paranoid thinking would be unproven conspiracy theories.
ISA has served us well since inception, why abolished? People planning to cause troubles are calling for abolishment? People who want peace will want ISA remain.
Good thing should stay, who is afraid of ISA? only people like CSJ and TJS, let it be this way otherwise people like them would have done 10 times more action for nothing which can benefit Singaporean.
there are many ways to deal with the opposition party and isa will be used as the last resort when everything failed which is unlikely the case.
don’t aboilish isa and let it stay to get the currupted official when it is hard to prove that they are corrupted and a danger to the country falls.
@ want peace
These people don’t and won’t get it. They see themselves as the voice of reason, calling for the abolishment of an outdated and repressive instrument. If this is a paradigm of positive thinking, I really hope that Singapore can somehow split into 2 so each of us can make our own choices, as to what we can and cannot live with. Then everyone can be happy without having to insult one another.
Will ISD investigate the recent brotherhood activities of YP members with the youth wing of communist China have in any way jeoparized our national interests for which the Marxist conspirators were originally detained without trial under ISA ?
ISA is an unjust law which leads to abuse of power. Any form of unjust laws and regulations will not help to bring about political stability. The greatest threat to security of any nation is not the people but abuse of power.
If our leaders are truly interested in looking into resentments of the people and find solutions to them, they should honorably fulfill their promises of change.
Any form of unjust and high-handed use of power should be abolished. Good leaders do not need such powers to govern the country. It is their good personal connduct, virtue and righteousness that truly make them good and effective leaders not unjust laws and use of power.
Do they have all such talent and quality to lead the people?
They cannot hide their past misdeeds and try to look good. Two wrongs do not make one right.
Robert,
Please share with me, what is the sucess rate of the strawmen under your employment?
I’m not arguing with you whether our leadership should fufil their promises. I am stating that I am not in a hurry to jump on the bandwagon and stating my rationale for that.
This is why I said a split would make everyone happy.
ISA is like opium to the ruling party;it is much like the GRC N FT .
like any form of addiction,the ISA is not a healthy habit.
bad and negative addcitive habits should be kicked so as to bring back health to OUR SOCIETY once again.
the govt talks about ‘competition’ from FTs that will incite singaporeans to be ‘HUNGRY’ N PUSH HARDER,DRIVE HARDER AND STRIVE HARDER.
WHAT THEN is the PAP doing by keeping thigs like ISA N GRC that have slacken our NEW GUARD ministers as compared to the OLD GUARDS who brought Singapore to what it is today?
ISA N GRC are both baggage thta need to be trhown out as garbage in order for our people,ministers included,to EXCEL.
@Robert Teh
You nailed it.
Kaisu-ism is the heart of the policies of our Elites. They have to have total control over DAFT people in order for the Kiasu policies to work in squeezing-dry the people while fattening their bank accounts through their obscene pay!
ISD should definitely investigate the YP activities in China. The minister-in-charge is very answerable.
Yes, go ahead and label anyone less envious than yourself, while packaging it under the shiny label of societal justice or natural justice. I can label people just as well as you can, conspiracy theorists, whiners, trolls, daft people. I’m sure you are capable of forming an Athens of your own envisioning, but at the end of the day, you’ll end up putting to death another Socrates, who is just of your own kind. So much for wisdom and honesty.
Paranoia17 September 2011
Robert,
I’m not arguing with you whether our leadership should fufil their promises
………………….
you meant the pap governors is NOT oblidged to fullfill 1 promise to the singapoorium @ all? yet hav the authenthecity to hold our cpf$ with full power?
are you callin for reformacy or you are tellin us theprimemister just replaced colonel gadaffi?
can leekingyou devignise your sister or daughter without YOUR approval?
yes or no will do?
chou Ah Lian17 September 2011
Good thing should stay, who is afraid of ISA? only people like CSJ and TJS,
……………….
wah drcheesoonjuan hav the flyin chopstick techniques while tanjaysee hav the macdonald plastic knife throwin tatics..
where is your manhood? stored in a majerin tin in sentosa ir casino hotel safe perhaps?
@Paranoid
Robert,
Please share with me, what is the sucess rate of the strawmen under your employment?
I’m not arguing with you whether our leadership should fufil their promises. I am stating that I am not in a hurry to jump on the bandwagon and stating my rationale for that.
This is why I said a split would make everyone happy.
…………..
If you truly want to know, I would say that no strawman wins any race.
Frankly, we have heard all these for past 46 years. This is how our type of government deal with feedbacks or criticisms. They are too proud to accept any mistakes or criticism. They have a standard reply to all based on selective statistics or comparision and worse case scenario. By these two standard replies they deny all problems to save face. As a result, serious problems faced by people are postponed with no effective solutions for all these years.
If we really must praise our government, giving them credit where due, your praise have to be credible and not sycophantic.
A truly effective leader does not need to get people to sing praises for him. People will praise them with their heart. He does not need to keep up with all kinds of legalistic tweaking and gerrymandering using laws to control people to serve their own narrow interests.
A truly effective leader leads by setting good examples with honesty, integrity and personal sacrifice.
Dr. Catherine Lim was right when she criticize our leaders for their divide and rule elitist policies some years ago.
She was vindicated in this criticism in the GE 2011. PM Lee himself expressed surprises with the level of resentments witnessed and made many apologies. This fact clearly proved one thing – autocratic rule was wrongful and something has to be done quickly to change the wrongs.
I do hope those who are doing well in our societies from the elitist government know what they are praising for. If they are sent here to counter criticism there is nothing for me to say anything. These people have their conscience.
If you truly want to know why am I not being grateful, I am to a certain degree but not blindly grateful.
Right now the root causes of all the mistakes made have yet to be solved. It is not in anyone’s interests whether he is from the 60% or 40% to try to cover up mistakes. Let’s go for change.
ISA has been used against ordinary citizens like those purportedly in a Marxist plot. ISA instill fears in the average S’porean and makes them think twice before speaking up for injustice in S’pore. They do not want their lives suddenly destroyed by people in power.
ISA is a really evil tool.
Politicians like CSJ and Jeya are ready to sacrifice themselves to stand up for the right of S’porean.
This is why, S’porean should see through all this brain washing in the press and respect these opposition politician who are willing to speak up for us.
Over the years, Msia has slowly but gradually overtaken SG as a better place to live in.
Take a holiday there and see for yourself. The pace of life is slower and much better.
Sg leader continued obsessions with getting medals for Sg is on the contrary, making life in SG getting worse and worse.
Robert,
You make more sense now. I agree with you that our leadership is imperfect and poor when it comes to participation and feedback. I’m also Singaporean, I’ve the grievances that most people have.
You are mistaken about my assumption. I am not assuming that you are ungrateful, but not confident that abolishment will work out for the best. My area of disagreement is, I don’t see this as negative or kiasu but realism. Secondly, I think rather than abolishment, we really need accountability/ transparency to prevent abuse of its power.
I understand you think differently, you made yourself pretty clear. ISA is not something that will benefit us and we need to change our mindset. I can only say, my opinion differs and although it comes close to official rhetoric, I speak only for myself.
@Paranoid
It is ok. We have different views. We can agree to disagree. Only that based on past records, I am not that confident our autocratic ruler being so overly obsessed with his own glory will ever admit mistakes.
Alas, I am proud to be a Malaysian. My Government has done the right thing to abolish the ISA.
My observation is that the ISA was used effectively to dismantle the Communists of Malaya. Almost all of them Chinese. They brought their baggage from China. Maoism and Marxism.
Amongst the Chinese most of them assisted the Communists out of kinship, ideology and sometimes fear.
The British deployed many strategies including ISA.
The British rewarded Communist Traitors with huge sums of monies and the strategy worked well. Today these Communist Traitors generation are rich amongst the Chinese communities in Malaysia.
Your LKY informed the British to arrest a lot of opposition Barisan Nasional Party Members on the pretext of being pro-communist. LKY was also one of them but quickly detached himself and became a staunch Capitalist. His Capitalism was to exploit Singaporeans to the maximum. Today my Singaporean friends say these words “Singapore Government very rich but ordinary Singaporeans very poor”.
In Malaysia we had used ISA very rarely unlike in Singapore. We had never used it as a threat to scare Malaysians. It is very evident in the large scale non violent processions and strikes. We also have to bear in mind the size of Singapore. For such a small country and population ISA had been used to demoralize diametrically Opposed Leaders.
Anyway the evidence of good living is not the number of millionairs per square kilometer but rather how many with an average income of M$2,500/- are able to own a house, a car, a motorcycle and other household items.
I feel lucky to be a Malaysian. Bersatu Malaysia !!!!!
A TOTAL “YES!!!” to ABOLISH ISA!!! All the wrong arrests of innocent people in the past are evidences that ISA DOES NOT WORK AT ALL!!! In fact it is A VERY DEVILISH ACT AND EXCUSE by pap to abuse its power!!! I am so glad that Malaysia has taken such a bold step to replace it with fairer laws. CHEERS FOR MALAYSIA!!! I am so happy for you Malaysians :-)))
Before ISA being abolish in SG, I urged the authorities to used in on PRC’s family that hijacked our bus last year, detained 200 PRC workers that protest outside MOM, FTs artist that draw pictures on trains, Micheal Lim Peng Liang and lastly my useless son Steven Kho. These are the suckers that threatens our National harmony and unity.
We are all chickens in a chicken coop. Every now and then one or a few chickens are caught and brought away. We are not even allowed to cluck about it because of the defamation laws. Then we read in the papers that so and so are Marxists trouble makers. They dare not yet openly say that these people are Muslim trouble makers because this chicken coop is located in the middle of the Malay Muslim Chicken World, unless they are very sure. So a little good they do by nabbing Muslim chicken terrorist and a lot of bad they do by demolishing their political chicken opponents. Now when a neighbouring coop promises to release the chickens, there is a lot of clucking in our coop. The head chicken who is a dragon of a chicken ( birds are supposed to be evolved from reptiles)lets out some clucking about freeing his chickens off the Internal Security Chicken Act and the clucking in our coop intensifies. Hokkien chickens have the saying that beheading a chicken in full view of chickens keep them in a state of good behaviour. Let us create a crises, call it Chicken Heart and we can swoop down on a few of them and cut their throats. This will quieten the rest till the next chicken election.
We are all chickens.
@papaya yaya – A pot calling the kettle black.
Abang, those days of Malaysian Indian estate workers who toiled for 10 hours and menom samsu was a long time ago. They were replaced by the Indonesians and the Bengaladeshis in the estate.Now they are estate owners and farmers.
Samy Velu was once a leading well loved and respected Malaysian Indian leader. Yes he had been one of the longest serving Minister. You see what happened. After serving some 30 years he started wearing Armani suits and weaved his hair. Started hoarding money to remain in Power. Any dissenters in his Party were silenced with his own Mobsters. He witheld monies alloted to his fellow Indians in order to punish their rebellion. See what happened he had been discarded as thrash. For Malaysia he alone brought in alot of business. Some 25% Public Works of laying highways in India were done by Malaysian contractors. Still the Malaysian Indians threw him out without any regret.
DO YOU SEE SOME SIMILARITY AMONGST YOUR OWN POLITICIANS? Hehehehe.
Anyway Abang thanks for employing Malaysian Indians in Singapore. It elevated them quickly in the economic ladder. I know of some of Malaysian Indian friends are highly placed in your society. Mr Puthuchery is one of them.
Thank you for your brand of Meritocracy/Repentance in unjustly banning his father and uncle to Malaysia through your ISA.
Mamaks in Malaysia have assimilated to become in this thread’s expression ‘A TRUE BLUE MALAYSIANS’. Before I use my Kris he is prepared to stand in front me and use his Aruwal (Malaysian Indians version of Kukrit). Malaysian Indians have intermarriages and have been even associated with royalty. If they are good survivors and blend with the natives whats wrong with that.
What about your MPs and Ministers? No corruption? MPs in your country get regular pay and have their own businesses also. Your MPs sit in many boards holding directorship and receiving annual fees not corrupting them. How can they be not bias if these companies infringe your laws. You mean to say silence it up. Yeah you can with your ISA and compliant Media. Your elected President has been alloted 3 units of a development by SPH even before it was launched. How come?????????
We came to know that till today you guys don’t know your savings account.
Singaporeans wail and squeal on their perceived injustices but dare not leave their pigeon hole (apartments). Read more of Lat’s comics you will see what I mean.
I came across some your readers post on Malaysian Insider website where they boasted about their Military Power and how they will blast off Malaysia with their superior airforce.
To us it is nothing but adeks yelling at the top of their voice for attention.
Singapore has a history of misbehaved Chief Ministers who had squandered its wealth. So as your elder brother I will tolerate your immaturity. If you guys are left in the cold one day, we are just one phone call away. Jaga
I now answer the MHA. The MHA as reported in the Online Citizen mentioned 30 days against 60 days comparing the ISA of Singapore and Malaysia. What about 30 years incarceration without identifying and proving the charge?It is the ISA Advisory Board to all intents and purposes that recommends the release of the detainee, the President in this and in any other actions is purely an added layer of ceremonial buffoonery.In the end it is the ISA which moves to detain and release people. You have described glorious works of the ISD in the realm of protecting society against subversion, espionage and terrorism and preventing an Al-Qaeda bombing of certain public buildings. I do not doubt that this is all true. But what about the incarceration of early political opponents of the PAP, your Marxists hoax, etc, can you come out with an appraisal of these detentions? Can you tell me how come the ISD is at the beck and call of certain law firms, interviewing, intimidating and humiliating citizens on their behalf in advance of Court Hearings? As usual you will not respond to my queries. I will respond for you. The British has left us the ISA for our protection against the enemies of the day, but you the Government has made it a tool to prey on the citizenry. The ISA continues to be relevant for our protection against the violent actions of the likes of Muslim Terrorists and other criminals, but not in your hands. Like the concept of democracy, Rule of Law and other norms of civilized life which you have subverted and perverted, you have corrupted ‘state security’ to mean the security of certain closely connected elites to hold on to power over the honeypots of the State. Let there be hell to pay.
Please c..lah.. do you really really think the Pappies are going to listen to you or anyone.
They have won the GE.
They got their man voted in as President, thanks to some dim witted folk.
The emperors have put back their old clothes on.
You and me count for nothing.
ITS THEIR COUNTRY. ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT. That way, your blood pressure will be stable.
Tan Jee Say and WP, I have read your articles and I am amazed that you have not realized to this day that the whole of the civic and legal systems in Singapore are suffused through and through with the pungent will of the Ruling Party, to wit, to grip the seat of power forever. We expect a great deal more from you in the form of a workable scheme to rid us of this abominable apparatus and bring the culprits to Justice. WP’s suggestion of using the Courts and an Advisory Board to decide whether a person is a terrorist Muslim or otherwise is not full proof because the Courts are run by corrupt compliant judges and the members of any Advisory Board will in all probability bend over backwards to please the Ruling Party because their livelihoods are bound up with the Government. TJS’s suggestion for a commission of inquiry suffers from the same weakness of using the very same people involved in the mischief to investigate the mischief.
When all is said and done, we the citizenry wish to be protected from acts of terror by terrorists and acts of terror by the Government.
I have the feeling that we need outside help, perhaps the UN Human Rights Council to sort the matter out.
@Doppeldanger
I think many people can see your point – abuse of political power for ruling party’s own purpose of political manipulations and controls to stay in power is the root cause of our current problems and our becoming a divided society.
Sad to say, nothing much will change without admissions of the root of evils of our autocracy.
Which one of the autocrats have admitted his mistakes?
Does Kim Jong Ill admit his mistakes? Did Suharto admit his mistakes? Did Than Swe admit his mistakes.
Our autocrat will never admit his following mistakes:-
(1) Use of civil libel laws to eliminate political oppositions.
(2) Tweaking and gerrymandering of laws to stay in power.
(3) Use of fear tactics with selective statistics and worse case scenario making western democracy the scapegoat and co-options of the institutions at the expense of rights and freedoms of the people.
As long as the government is run with such evil autocratic rule with such manipulations to day in power, there is no future for the citizens.
ISA and all the GLCs are the by-products or symptoms of such evil autocratic rule. It is not enough to merely remove the ISA or protect the reserves with a more empowered EP.
The autocracy itself has to go and power brought back to the people in the form of greater participation of all by a system of checks and balance.
@Robert Teh, I agree with you that the things we can see and suffer from are merely the symptoms of a deep malaise in governance. Thus the invasion of two million foreigners in 5 years in the name of economic necessity, the extra-planetary Ministerial salaries extracted by fraud on a helpless citizenry, colossal losses of State Reserves, conflicts of interests by elites holding multiple hats, possible nepotism in the highest places, compliant judiciary etc are all symptoms of a disease affecting long stayers at the seats of power. The ISA has been their enabling tool ostensibly a force against the enemies of the State but actually focused on the sons of the soil. Abolishing the ISA is but a first step towards the democracy that is much derided by the powers of this State. Even after the ISA is gone,if ever, the separate facets of the malady as enumerated above has to be worked on and rooted out. Looks to me from where I stand to be a hopeless task.