Singapore Rebel : Speak truth unto power

Video : Dr Chia Thye Poh

2011-12-21T18:44:00.001+08:00

Detained without trial by Lee Kuan Yew's government for 32 years, Dr Chia Thye Poh was the longest-serving political prisoner of Singapore. This video documents his first public appearance since his release in 1998.

Photo : Dr Lim Hock Siew quoted by the Straits Times. Full article here.

Award for Asia’s ‘forgotten’ man

2011-12-19T18:15:00.002+08:00

School honours ex-Jurong MP, confined under Singapore’s ISA for 33 years

RAM ANAND
Monday, December 19th, 2011 14:05:00

Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR: Chia Thye Poh may be forgiven for thinking that after 33 years in confinement, people from both ends of the Causeway have relegated him to the annals of history.

On the evidence of the reception he received at the Confucian Private Secondary School in Lorong Hang Jebat here yesterday, the 70-year-old is still fondly remembered, at least by the 400 people attending an award presentation.

Chia is Asia's longestserving political prisoner, detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act (ISA) from 1966 to 1998, with the last nine years under house arrest on Sentosa Island.

He was detained after being suspected to be an ally of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and viewed as posing a terrorism threat to the republic.

Yesterday, the former Jurong MP, between 1963 and 1965, was awarded the Lim Lian Geok (LLG) Spirit Award at the school's function hall.

Chia largely spoke on the influence the former Nanyang University had on him and how its spirit would "live on".

"I remember when the then governor of Singapore, Sir William Goode, wanted to come to the university's launch in 1956, his motorcade was delayed by more than two hours because of the immense traffic of people who came for the launch," he said in his acceptance speech.

"Nantah (Nanyang) was the wish of over three million Chinese citizens in Southeast Asia. The spirit of this university will never die."

The university ceased to exist in 1980 when the Singapore government merged it with the University of Singapore.

This was Chia's first public appearance as he spent his years of renewed freedom pursuing a doctorate at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands.

He was a former Barisan Sosialis party member and part of a movement that protested alleged ‘undemocratic' acts by the then Singapore premier, Lee Kuan Yew.

Chia had opposed Singapore's separation from Malaysia, and campaigned for the sustainability of Nanyang University, which was then Singapore's only Chinese language postsecondary institution.

Asked if he would make his first public appearance in the island nation, he said he would wait for the "right occasion" to do so.

The LLG award, now in its 24th edition, annually honours individuals who have served the Chinese culture or people at large.

It was first given out in 1988 in memory of the late Chinese educationist Lim Lian Geok and is largely viewed as the highest honour in the Malaysian Chinese community.

_____________________________________________________________

The ballad of Chia Thye Poh
December 19, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

(Adapted by Kua Kia Soong from The H-Block Song, Dec 18, 2011)

“I am a proud yet simple man
In the lion city my life began
A caring teacher I became
In search of truth and peace -

And when my age was tender still
My country’s wrongs my mind did fill
By tens of thousands patriots’ trills
And my questions would not cease …

Chorus:

Don’t shed no tears for my plight
I’ll boldly serve my time
Let Harry brand our noble fight
Thirty two years of crime…

“I learned of many years of strife
Of cruel laws, injustice rife
I saw in Vietnam how they ruled
The same colonial way –

Protestors beaten, tortured, maimed
Divisions nurtured, passions flamed
Outraged, provoked, rights, cause defamed
This is the conqueror’s way…

(chorus)

“They locked me up in sixty six
On trumped up charges hard to stick
They tried to force me to confess
To all their made-up lies -

I stand for human dignity
For freedom, just democracy
I know that through those years deprived
My spirit will touch lives…”

(chorus)

Chia Thye Poh, 70, the longest-serving political prisoner in Asian history, was awarded the Lim Lian Geok (LLG) Spirit Award on Dec 18, 2011 by the LLG Cultural Development Centre. The former Singapore Member of Parliament was detained for 32 years from 1966 to 1998 by Lee Kuan Yew’s government, a much longer term compared to Nelson Mandela’s 28 years of detention. The citation for the award read:

“… for upholding his belief in democracy, without compromising and never losing faith throughout the 32 years of unjust detention without trial.”

In 1963, many activists in Singapore were arrested and detained. Chia selflessly stood in for a detained candidate in the general elections and was elected Member of Parliament on a Socialist Front ticket. He was thus also a Malaysian member of parliament from 1963 to 1965 when Singapore was part of Malaysia.

A defender of the freedom of expression and justice, he was banned from entering Malaysia after he had delivered a speech at the Perak division of the Labour Party of Malaysia on April 24, 1966.

He was arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) by the Singapore Government on Oct 29, 1966 which allows for indefinite detention without trial. In May 1989, he was placed under house arrest in the island of Sentosa for nine more years.

After 32 years of incarceration, he was finally granted unconditional freedom on 27 November 1998. Immediately after his restriction order was lifted, Chia issued a statement condemning the ISA. Soon after, he went to Netherlands and completed his Master’s and PhD degrees at the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague.

Established in 1988, the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award is the highest honour in the Malaysian Chinese community bestowed on those who live up to the spirit of Lim Lian Geok, the civil rights leader of Dong Jiao Zong in the fifties and sixties.

His citizenship was revoked by the Alliance government in 1961 because of his opposition to the 1960 Rahman Talib Report that aimed to convert the Chinese secondary schools to national schools. Since his passing in 1985, Lim Lian Geok has been beatified as the “Soul of the Malaysian Chinese”.

__________________________________________________________________________

Straits Times, Dec 20, 2011_______________________________________________________________________

Chia Thye Poh commended

Largely blackout by English media, Lianhe Zaobao reports that Chia Thye Poh receives the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award.

毕业自南洋大学的新加坡前政治拘留者谢太宝，获马来西亚林连玉基金颁发“林连玉精神奖”，以赞扬及肯定他对母语教育的爱护与坚持。

现年70岁的谢太宝领奖时说：“对于母语教育及南洋大学，我是蒙恩受惠的多，反哺回馈的少，与那些长年累月为华教和南大默默奉献的人比较，我实在渺小得很。这份荣誉应该属于所有热爱母语教育及南大的人们。”

谢太宝于1941年出生于新加坡，1961年毕业于新加坡南洋大学，是第三届物理系学士，1963年以22岁之龄中选裕廊区国会议员。1966年10月29日，他被新加坡政府以内安法令扣留，1998年才获释。

谢太宝得奖的理由是“良心政治犯，坚持理想，坐穿牢底，体现南大精神，与林连玉威武不屈、富贵不淫的精神一致”。此次得奖也是他自1966年被监禁以来，首次公开发表演说。

他说：“大学不是象牙塔，大学的价值不在于她的良好设备，更重要的是在于她的精神，在于她能够感受时代的脉搏和人民的呼唤，为社会培养爱国爱民、贡献人类进步及世界和平的人才。”

他指出，南洋大学的创办，正如该大学创办人陈六使所说，结合“三百多万华人的胆”，凝聚“三百多万华人的志”，但却在1980年被新加坡政府关闭。

对此，他引述马国华族族魂林连玉所言：“可以摧毁我们的躯体，但南大精神却将永存。”

Translate as below.
Former political detainee Chia Thye Poh receives the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award in view of his love and fight for the mother tongue (Chinese) education.

Chia said "I have receives much but contributed little towards Chinese and Nanyang University. Compared to those who sacrifices long time in silence, I am really nothing. This award should be rightly belonged to those who love Chinese education and Nanyang University".

Chia was borned in Singapore, graduated 1961 from Nanyang University, 3rd batch of physics graduate. During 1963, he won a seat of parliament representing Jurong constituency. He was arrested on 1966 under ISA and was released as late as 1998.

The reason for winning the award is being "prisoner of conscience, perseverance in idealism, fearless under incarceration, manifesting the spirit of Nanyang University. This is coherent with Lim Lian Geok spirit of standing firm under pressure of physical harm and under the lure of wealth".

Chia said "University is not an ivory tower. The value of university does not depend of good facilities, but most importantly on character, on its zeitgeist, and on answering the call of people; on cultivating people into somebody who are patriotic, who love human values, who contribute to human advancement and to the peace of the world".

He pointed that the founding of Nanyang University is as what Tan Lark Sye had said, the crystallization of the guts and aspiration of 3 million Chinese". It was force out of business by Singapore government.

He cited a phrase from Lim Leong Geok "One can destroy our body, but our spirit will prevail".

Chia is coming back home.
Malaysian newspaper reported. Asked if he would make his first public appearance in the island nation, he said he would wait for the "right occasion" to do so.

Dr Chia Thye Poh

2011-12-16T11:42:00.002+08:00

by Teo Soh Lung

On Sunday, 18 December 2011, Dr Chia Thye Poh, 70, will receive a very special award, the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award in recognition of his courage, integrity and belief in democracy.

[ The ceremony will take place in Kuala Lumpur this Sunday 18th December.
Venue: Confucian Private Secondary School, Lorong Hang Jebat, adjacent to Jalan Petaling, Chinatown, KL.
Time : 10 am
All are welcome. ][ Link ]

Chia was elected a member of the Singapore Legislative Assembly for the constituency of Jurong on 21 September 1963. He was only 22 years old and was one of 13 successful Barisan Sosialis candidates in that general election. Ong Eng Guan of the United People’s Party was the 14th opposition member in the Assembly. The PAP had 37 seats with Lee Kuan Yew as the prime minister. Chia was also a member of the Federal Parliament when Singapore was part of Malaysia.

Prior to Chia's election to the Assembly, frequent arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA) had almost wiped out the entire leadership of the opposition. In Operation Cold Store (2 February 1963), more than 120 people were arrested. This was followed by arrests every year and two major swoops in September 1963 and October 1963 (Operation Pecah). Even before the first session of the Assembly was convened, three Barisan members of the Assembly, namely Loh Miaw Gong, Lee Tee Tong and S T Bani were arrested and imprisoned under the ISA. Two other members, Chan Sun Wing and Wong Soon Fong escaped arrests. When they subsequently wrote to the Speaker of the House enquiring if they could have his assurance that they would not be arrested if they returned to Singapore, the Speaker would not guarantee their safety. They thus remained outside Singapore till today. The number of Barisan members in the house was dramatically reduced to eight.

During the campaign for the general election in September 1963, the issue of independence through merger with Malaya was simultaneously canvassed. A wash-out referendum conducted by the ruling P.A.P. resulted in Singapore joining Malaysia on grossly unfair and unjust terms. It also resulted in confrontation with Indonesia which feared a strongly armed neighbour.

When the house sat on 9 December 1963 to debate on the address of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara’s speech, young Chia was the first opposition speaker to take the floor, moving a motion to add a note of regret to the address :

“; but this Assembly regrets that the Government in helping to impose Malaysia on the people has caused great difficulties and hardships to them in Singapore and urges the Government to take immediate steps to persuade the Central Government to get rid of foreign interference, negotiate with the Indonesian Government, and resolve all existing differences to our mutual benefit, and so help to bring stability, peace and prosperity to South-East Asia.”

Chia gave his speech in Mandarin and was exceedingly eloquent. He spoke on a wide range of issues. He opposed violence and was appalled at the millions contributed by Singapore to Malaysia for the expansion of the armed forces. He said in the Assembly on 9 December 1963 :

“… let me first remind the House that the financial arrangements under the Malaysia Agreement have literally robbed Singapore of a huge chunk of its revenue. We pay the Federation Government $117 million outright. In addition, we pay for developments of Federal departments in Singapore ($9.5 million) as well as the annually recurrent expenditure of State-cum-Federal departments ($15 million approximately).

If we add the $30 million so called loan to the Borneo territories, then the sum given away by Singapore to the Federation comes to about $170 million! $170 million of our money given away! If this money were truly used for construction and development, at least we would be consoled by the fact that our money was put to good use. But it is clear that most of our money will not be spent on construction and development, but on the expansion of armed forces and for the suppression of the national liberation struggle in Borneo! This is not the way how our money should be spent. Expenditure on armed expansion will only benefit the big arms industries in the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. Our Party had repeatedly warned against this during the debate on the Malaysia Agreement! Now all can see that what the Barisan has all along said is 100 per cent correct. The P.A.P. must be condemned for having signed away all this money of the people of Singapore! …”

On how to deal with the Indonesian confrontation, he was firmly of the view that Singapore should take steps to make peace. He said:

“… The interests of the people demand that we prevent the present friction from developing further into open conflict and war with Indonesia. Only peace will being happiness and prosperity to the people. So let all of us in Singapore make our full contribution to the defence of peace in the region…”

In numerous speeches in the Assembly, Chia spoke about the unjust and unfair manner in which the PAP called the general election. He protested against the PAP’s use of the ISA against Barisan members, candidates and trade unionists and torture inflicted on detainees.

He held his ground against older and seasoned ministers like Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Ong Pang Boon and Toh Chin Chye. When Rajaratnam stood up once to interrupt his speech, he was not intimidated. He refused to give way and remained standing. The Speaker had to tell Rajaratnam to back off as Chia was not giving way.

Chia’s clear mathematical mind, his agility and ability to work out figures and summarised them in simple percentages must have terrified lawyers like Lee Kuan Yew and E W Barker. He understood the intimidating methods used by the P.A.P. at that time. He was clear that the ruling party then was not achieving independence for Singapore when it decided to join Malaysia. He said:

“We in the Barisan have always fought against colonialism and imperialism, and the P.A.P. attempts to deceive the people about having achieved independence (by reading a proclamation on 31st August) will not be able to prevent them from continuing the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle.

We in the Barisan have consistently fought for the basic rights and interests of the people. We fight for the workers, farmers, intellectuals, national businessmen. We shall do our best to safeguard their interests, and we shall continue to struggle for justice, equality, democracy, peace and freedom for the people.

The P.A.P. always uses the Communist bogey to frighten and intimidate the people. And indeed because of its control of the State propaganda apparatus, it has to a certain extent succeeded. But however the P.A.P. may care to play on the theme of the Communist bogey, with the hope of isolating the Barisan and gaining support for itself, it cannot cover up the fact that “poverty in the midst of plenty and unemployment in the face of affluence” are urgent problems which have to be faced, tackled and resolved. Labelling the Barisan pro-Communist simply because we want to help solve these basic problems, cannot deceive the people for any length of time. P.A.P. lies might deceive some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time. But they cannot deceive all the people all the time. P.A.P. lies will all be exposed . Truth will out and truth will triumph.”

Chia and the Barisan Sosialis were subsequently proven right for opposing merger on the terms agreed to by the P.A.P. Singapore was asked to leave Malaysia in August 1965.

It may have been the brilliance of Chia that in order to avoid debates with him, the house rarely sat. In 1964, the house met solely for the debate on the annual budget. But it could also be the P.A.P. style of ruling – that decisions be taken without debates since they had an overwhelming majority in the house. The house was thus mainly used to debate the annual budget and to enact laws.

It was probably out of frustration about the lack of opportunity to debate on important issues in the house that led Chia or the Barisan to submit a letter to the Speaker on 8 October 1966. The material part as quoted in Hansard (col. 342 of 26 October 1966) read :

“… the Party” (i.e. the Barisan Sosialis) “has decided that all Barisan ‘MPs’ will resign their ‘Parliamentary’ seats as from today. …”

The letter was signed by Chia but not the rest of the other eight Barisan members. Whether that letter constituted a resignation of Chia is debateable. The Speaker rightly refused to accept the resignation of the eight until personal letters of resignation were received subsequently. He however accepted the resignation of Chia on 18 October 1966, the same day as a letter of resignation signed by Lee Tee Tong was received by the Speaker. (Col. 344 of 26 October 1966). Why 18 October 1966 and not 8 October 1966 (the date of receipt by the Speaker) is also a mystery.

Tragically, on 29 October 1966, Chia was arrested under the ISA and imprisoned without trial for 26 years. Ironically, towards the latter part of his imprisonment, the P.A.P. insisted that Chia renounce violence. He refused since he had never advocated violence. It was clear from his speeches in the Legislative Assembly that he is a man of peace and did not believe in arms and violence. For his principle, Chia lost 26 years of the prime of his life and was subjected to severe restrictions for another 6 years. He left Singapore to pursue a Master and then a doctorate degree from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague after restrictions on his freedom to travel were lifted.

A true hero of Singapore, I salute Dr Chia for his courage, integrity and sacrifice for Singaporeans. When he graduated from Nanyang University at the age of 20 and embarked on a teaching career, the world was so bright for him and his family. Effectively trilingual, he is proficient in English, Malay and Chinese. But for cruelty of the P.A.P., Chia would have made enormous contributions to our country and the region.

I heartily congratulate Dr Chia on his receiving the Lim Lian Geok Spiritual Award.

[1] The award ceremony will be held at the Confucian Private Secondary School, Lorong Hang Jebat, 50150, Kuala Lumpur on 18 October 2011 at 10 a.m.

Tributes to Francis Khoo (1947 - 2011)

2011-11-28T16:29:00.000+08:00

A memorial service for Francis Khoo will be held in Singapore at a date to be announced. Contact : franciskhoomemorial@gmail.com

A Tireless Advocate of Justice for Palestinians

http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/12/02/a-tireless-advocate-of-justice-for-palestinians/

by FRANKLIN LAMB

Francis Khoo Kah Siang passed away on November 20, 2011. He will be missed because he leaves a void for many of us who were and remain inspired by his work for Palestinian rights. Francis Khoo is an icon of countless others, who like himself, are neither Arab nor Muslim, neither from the Middle East nor culturally or politically connected to Palestine by birth, but who support the Palestinian cause.

Many of us, but especially Westerners and Americans it seems, learn essentially nothing about the Nakba in school. Yet many, often quite by chance and for one reason or another, have come into contact with the Question of Palestine and, learning about the great injustice that has befallen the Palestinian people, could not remain indifferent or idle. Francis was one of these.

But by the time we finally met, which was just fourteen months before his sudden and untimely death last month, I knew what kind of a person he was and something about his lifelong quest for justice. Over the past half-decade I learned something about his remarkably work through my friend, his wife, the gifted orthopedic surgeon and well known humanitarian, Dr. Swee Chai Ang, who for three decades has embraced and supported Palestinian refugees both with lifesaving medical care under heavy and indiscriminate bombardment inside Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp and Gaza Hospital in Beirut, and with her indefatigable work for the refugees’ return to Palestine. The latter included lectures and appearances around the World, sometimes in the company of Francis.

It was in September of 2010 that I met Francis in person when he came to Beirut for the 28th annual commemoration of the September 1982 Sabra-Shatila Massacre. He attended a reception at the office of the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign and participated in a heavy schedule of activities during his visit.

All the while he was in Lebanon he was on peritoneal dialysis for kidney failure which he administered himself three to four times a day. On the bus south, to visit Palestinian camps, Francis entertained the passengers with songs, including Beladi (‘my land’) the beautiful Arabic anthem of the Palestinian revolution, followed by a soliloquy on the origin of the song and his interpretation.

Few of the passengers on the bus had much idea about Francis’ background. He was born into a closely knit, devoutly Catholic Singapore Peranakan family. As a lad he sang in the Singing Khoos with his brothers and at an early age developed a passion to work for the rights of the oppressed. Once admitted to the Singapore Bar, Frances began working on sensitive civil rights cases that many other lawyers preferred to avoid.

Francis had earlier developed a reputation as a defender of the downtrodden and while as an undergraduate at University, or later as Vice President of the Student Law Society, he opposed the introduction of the Suitability Certificate, fought the abolition of the jury system in Singapore and condemned the indiscriminate criminal 1972 Christmas Day bombing of Hanoi ordered by President Nixon.

Before long Francis found himself being accused of violating Singapore’s Internal Security Act which, particularly during the 1977-1987 period, was used to arrest hundreds of Singaporeans who were held without trial. Following their January 1977 marriage, his young wife Dr. Swee Chai Ang, was also sought by authorities who came for her and threatened to handcuff her while she was in the operating theatre performing surgery. Eventually, and following torture, Dr. Swee was released as part of a government scheme to try to lure back to Singapore Francis, who by then had escaped and left for England and he began his 34 years of exile from his country. Swee joined her loved one and they developed their careers in London.

Francis’ niece recently wrote that, “They could kick Francis out of Singapore, but they could not kick the Singaporean out of Francis,” as he followed events in his country, frequently wore his Peranakan skirt — the Sarong, and wrote about his homeland including the well-known song, “And Bungaraya Blooms All Day.” Francis had hoped that 2011 would be the Singaporean Spring.

Some friends saw a parallel between Francis’ wish to return to his homeland and his decades of advocacy of the Palestinians Right of Return.

Francis Khoo, was a gifted humanist. With many talents that included using his legal education to challenge injustices and using his energy and organizational abilities to defend the oppressed such as the UK’s striking miners in 1985, working as Director of War on Want, established by the late British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, co-founding with his wife and their friends Pamela and Derek Cooper, Medical Aid for Palestinians and serving as its Vice Chairman from 1984 to 2007, and donating his times and abilities to numerous other charities.

Francis’ passions included writing, especially articles, poetry and songs, photography, and drawing. He possessed a particularly unique skill as explained by his niece Melissa, currently doing her residency in surgery and using the medical term ‘eidetic memory’ in describing her uncle’s photographic memory, that gave Francis the ability to recall images, sounds or objects with remarkable precision.

Francis Khoo lived a full and valuable life and left this world a better place because of his lifelong labors for justice. Those of us who share his commitment to the liberation of Palestine and the full return of her six million refugees will pay him tribute by continuing his work for peace and justice.

FRANKLIN LAMB volunteers with the Palestine Civil Rights Campaing in Lebanon.

__________________________________________________________________

A tribute to Francis Khoo Kah Siang
by Tan Wah Piow

We take the opportunity of this gathering to pay our respects and register our tribute to Francis Khoo, husband of Ang Swee Chai and a patriotic son of Singapore.

Born on the 23.10. 1947, Francis sadly died unexpectedly in London last Sunday 20 November 2011.

Some of us who had the privilege of knowing him, and had worked with him during the 1970s will feel the great loss of a passionate, courageous and creative advocate for change.

I first met Francis in 1973, he was then a 26 year old young lawyer and an active member of the Student Christian Movement in Singapore, He was then an important source of inspiration amongst his peers. He helped to organise the demonstration outside the American embassy protesting against the US bombing of north Vietnam, a rare anti-war event in Singapore.

In 1974 he represented one of the two workers from the American Marine factory who, together with me, were victims of a frame-up stitched up by the Singapore government controlled trade union. The trial brought Francis closer to the student leadership at the University of Singapore. 1974 was a time of economic recession in Singapore, hence a time of intense political persecution against dissent. He had already made his mark in 1971 when he, together with 4 others, tried to form a cooperative to revive the Herald newspaper, which was closed down by the authorities in a crackdown of the independent press.

Although for a period in the 1970s he suffered malicious, unjustified and unfounded slanders to his integrity as a political activist, Francis was able to rise above them, thanks to his deep political commitment and faith.

In February 1977, the Singapore government launched one of their periodic sweeps under the draconian powers of the ISA. Scores of people were detained without trial. Francis knew he would be arrested due to his active political dissent. He managed to escape to the UK. He and Swee Chai were newly weds then. When the Singapore Government realised that Francis had escaped from their clutches, they arrested Swee Chai instead. They released Swee Chai on the understanding that she would coax him to return to Singapore. Francis and Swee Chai were reunited and they sought asylum in the UK.

Cut off from his Singapore base, Francis quickly adapted to life abroad redefining his role as a humanitarian internationalist, immersing himself in many worthy causes including helping Amnesty International to launch the Lawyers’ Group and spoke at several of their International Human Rights Days. In the late 1980s, he became the Director of War on Want. He was also active in local social issues and was chairman of RADICLE, the London-wide charity providing services and accommodation for teenage mothers, drop-in centres and support for the elderly. His most enduring achievement was, together with Swee Chai, setting up Medical Aid for Palestinians, which is now a well supported charity giving much needed help to the Palestinian people.

Francis Khoo was politically a socialist and spiritually a Christian humanist. His 34 years exile did not diminish his commitment and concern for Singapore and Malaysia. Despite the exile, he maintained close contacts with family and political friends. He will always be remembered by friends and comrades for his deep convictions, amiable attitude, love for life and food, and for his song, “the Bunga Raya” and for his poems.

Francis selflessly supported the work of his beloved wife who spared no effort or time in promoting the Palestinian cause. His life, and the way he chose to live it, will remain an inspiration to us all.

Tan Wah Piow
26.11.2011

--------------------------------------------------------------

This eulogy was published by the Straits Times, 25 Nov 2011.

Francis Khoo Kah Siang, 23 October 1947 to 20 November 2011
by Ang Swee Chai

It must be so bizarre that the one person who loves you beyond words and whom you also love the most in this world goes on to make you a widow – and without polite notice!
So it is the case with my beloved. As I stepped off the plane, I received a text message sent a few hours ago that he “cannot come”. As I came into the house, I smelt delicious chicken macaroni soup freshly cooked in the kitchen. There was some left in a bowl which he must had eaten from to stem his hunger as the plane was delayed. But there was no answer to my call, except from our agitated cats. Yes, my beloved had died in the room upstairs.

Did he choose to die before I got to him to spare me the pain of resuscitating him? Was it Divine Mercy that he was taken home to God so painlessly, silently, and alone before medical science complicated his humanity? Was it to spare his wife anxious moments waiting at the hospital intensive care? Could I not just cradle him in my arms in these last precious moments on earth? Only at our re-union with our Maker and with each other can these questions be answered. For now, I am grateful to be able to look after him on this last lap of his earthly journey as he returns to the One who created him.

As news of his death broke out, thousands of emails, letters, text messages, phone calls, flowers poured from all parts of the world and all walks of life. From heads of states, diplomats, politicians, and friends employed and unemployed. I am not only overwhelmed by the volume but by the affection and admiration they held for him. Friends and family are flying in from all over the world. I have managed only to reply to just over a thousand messages over the last 48 hours. The rest might have to wait for their reply until the funeral is over.

So who was this Francis Khoo?

He was the fourth generation of an established Singapore Peranakan family. It is a close knit family. As a boy he sang in the Singing Khoos with his brothers Lawrence and Victor, and the family is devoutly Catholic. As he grew up he began to acquire a strong sense of justice – beyond merely legal. Of course he was a lawyer, but even in University as Vice President of the Students’ Law Society, he served a greater justice. He opposed the introduction of the Suitability Certificate, the abolition of the jury system, and later on the heavy bombing of Hanoi on Christmas day. His other nterests include photography – he patented a pocket camera at the age of nineteen. He loved drawing, writing and ran the St Joseph Institution school paper and the university Undergrad.

Despite all the above “distractions”, he qualified and was called to the bar. Within months of arriving as a junior lawyer in his firm, he took on the legalities of forming a Citizens’ Co-op to save the Singapore Herald, the liberal English daily closed by the government.

In 1974, I met him at a Justice and Peace meeting. His deep commitment to social justice was to him a Christian obligation. The first commandment is to love God; the second is to love your neighbours as yourself. Two weeks later I read in the Straits Times that my new acquaintance was to defend a controversial trial in which factory workers and a student leader were charged with rioting. I called him to ask him to re-consider since he might invite personal repercussions. Being a “kiasu” (law-abiding timid ) Singaporean, I sensed that the government wanted the workers and the student leader imprisoned, and to defend them would be seen as being anti-government and the consequences would be dire!

He patiently explained that everyone is entitled to legal defence – and no one should be deemed guilty until proven beyond reasonable doubt. These workers were poor and established lawyers would not take their case on and someone just got to do it, in the interest of justice. If he had to pay the price of doing so, he would accept it!

I am still not sure when my admiration for him turned to love. In 1976 when I sensed that he might be detained under the Internal Security Act I asked him to marry me, so that if he were to be arrested I can visit him in prison and at least be his link to the outside world. We married on 29 January, 1977.

The arrest came, and he managed to escape. I was detained shortly afterwards and questioned about him. Upon my release I joined him in exile in the United Kingdom.

Francis started his live in exile as a cleaner in a Central London Hotel. He then went on to work as an administrator in a British Charity, Medical and Scientific Aid for Vietnam. Two years later he was journalist for an international third world magazine, South. From there he went on to direct War on Want, a prominent international NGO founded by the late British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. Apart from chairing numerous charities he was co-founder and Vice Chairman of the British Charity, Medical Aid for Palestinians from 1984 to 2007. He had to step down as new British Charity Commissioner Legislation advised against office bearers serving more than 9 years , He had served 23 years!

From War on Want he returned to legal practice in London until his failing health forced him to stop work. Despite this, his work for many charities continued.

He wrote many poems, songs and articles. He sang for many including the wives of the striking miners. One of his songs Father Christmas in the Slag Heap brought the whole of Hemsworth, a town faced with pit closure, to tears during their poverty stricken Christmas in 1984. He also sang at canteens catering meals for the aged. His songs and writings are available to the Singapore public for those who are interested.

He suffered renal failure from 1998, went on dialysis, but had a successful renal transplant on the NHS in July 2011 – the generous gift of an anonymous British woman donor. The day before his death he was at the Annual General Meeting of Living Stones, a charity to which he was trustee. His diary is full of future engagements including the Haldane Law Society, charities for the homeless, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Scottish Parliament, and the House of Commons - plus supporting me in dozens of public lectures and talks. It is full of engagements until end of September 2012.

His untimely death left a huge void in all our lives. We are all in a state of shock. But by God’s grace, time will make it possible for his memory to overwhelm the pain of our loss. My tribute to him will be to continue to serve the cause of peace and justice. I also hope to be the widow who will take his ashes back to his beloved Singapore after his 34 years of exile.

Dr Ang Swee Chai
(Mrs Francis Khoo)
22 November 2011

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No barrier to lawyer's widow returning here, MHA says
Sunday Times

The Government has made it clear that there is no barrier to Dr Ang Swee Chai returning to Singapore. The widow of lawyer Francis Khoo placed an obituary in The Straits Times on Friday in which she wrote of her hope of taking her husband's ashes back to Singapore. Mr Khoo fled Singapore in 1977 to avoid being questioned by the Internal Security Department. He died of a suspected heart attack last Sunday, leaving behind his wife who had joined him in London in 1977. He was 62. Responding to queries from The Sunday Times, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said 'there is no barrier to her return'.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

How the Straits Times reported it, Nov 22 2011.

Photos : Lee Kuan Yew's Analects

2011-11-09T18:40:00.000+08:00

More open letters to Teo Chee Hean

2011-11-09T18:22:00.003+08:00

For Teo Chee Hean (4) - Making use of the Church?

by Teo Soh Lung

Referring to the arrest of the alleged Marxists on 21 May 1987, Minister Teo Chee Hean said in parliament:

“When the Government did move against this group in the mid-1980s, it made clear that it was not acting against genuine social activists or members of the clergy, but only those who were covertly pursuing their subversive Marxist political agenda by hiding within the church organisations. Appreciating the sensitivities involved, the Government made every effort to explain to the Church leadership that this was not targeted at the Church. The Church leaders and the Vatican itself acknowledged this publicly… “ (para 18).

It was by chance that I read the notes recorded by the ISD of the meeting between the late Archbishop Gregory Yong, Fr Giovanni D’Aniello of the Holy See, several representatives of the Catholic Church and the then prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew with the director of ISD and other officials at the Istana two weeks after 16 alleged Marxists were arrested. The notes reminded me of the hours I stood before the former prime minister and his colleagues at the parliamentary select committee hearing on the Legal Profession Amendment Bill in 1986 and the interrogation I was subjected to by ISD officers at Whitley Road Centre.

As Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, one would have expected His Holiness to be treated with courtesy, respect and patience. If the notes are accurate, the Archbishop and his colleagues were treated like political prisoners. They were “imprisoned” for nearly three hours at the Istana. The hot and cold tactics used by ISD interrogators were used on those eminent Church leaders. The Church was praised and then threatened. When threats failed, words softened. Ideas that the Church was being used by communists were subtly suggested. The “culprits” who the government alleged necessitated the arrests in 1987 shifted from the 16 detainees to four Catholic priests. Just study this passage and you will understand what I mean:

“PM said that he was not interested in VINCENT CHENG and his group, but he had to deal with them in a way that would make it less likely for others to follow in their wake. He was however more concerned about the involvement of several priests and that the Archbishop had been told about them by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in JUL 86. PM said that he took the matter so seriously that when the Pope visited Singapore, he informed the Pope that the Church was a source of strength for Singapore but that there were now problems coming from the Church and that the Archbishop knew about it. PM said that the Archbishop was told about Fr EDGAR D’SOUZA, Fr PATRICK GOH, Fr JOSEPH HO and Fr AROTCARENA. PM then read out the Church’s press statement issued on 28 MAY 87 in which the Church stated that:

“The Catholic Church ….. must continue its mission of spreading its teachings on matters pertaining to justice as they apply to social, economic and political issues …. To the best of our knowledge, the full-time workers have been fully committed to the work of the Catholic organisation in which they served. The six voluntary workers have generously contributed their time and talents to specific work in the Catholic organisation with which they were associated. We hope and pray that justice will be done and be seen to be done.””

I was surprised that instead of arresting the four priests who were “creating problems” for the prime minister in 1986, 16 people were arrested in their stead! Was the government afraid of the Catholic Church? Did the prime minister think then that slaughtering 16 chickens would make the Church compliant? I don’t know. The notes were full of contradictions. It was familiar style. Even the issue of who initiated the meeting at the Istana had to be altered. The person in charge could say anything and no one, including His Grace, was brave enough to correct any error or contradiction.

And so statements were made and then contradicted. Like a theatre performance, actors appeared suddenly and key players bowed out only to return after a change of costume. The intervals were meant to temporarily relieve anxiety from the “prisoners”, giving them short respite. At the same time, (I suspect) ,it enabled the interrogators to plan their next move and change their tact. While political prisoners were interrogated in freezing cold rooms with spotlights shining into their eyes, the “interrogation” of Church leaders were done in the comfort of the Istana. The techniques used however, were the same. Documents were produced to His Holiness who must read them quickly.

“… PM pointed out that the Archbishop had read ISD’s documents in 3 meetings with MHA officials…” Wow, three meetings to read, digest and be convinced about a conspiracy to overthrow the government!

From the notes, I gathered that agreements had to be reached quickly and statements issued for public consumption. Time was of the essence, at least on the part of the prime minister. It was either His Grace issued a statement there and then or the Church would be seen as being on a collision course with the government. The strange and bewildering Kafkaesque atmosphere was sufficient to frighten the Archbishop and the representative from the Holy See.

During the meeting, the Archbishop had read from a prepared statement defending the 16 arrested. I reproduce part of the notes:

“… The Archbishop said that the Church had given the Government the benefit of the doubt because they believed that it was a responsible Government. He ended that just as the Government could not condone corruption by one of its Ministers recently, the Church also could not condone any violation of human rights. He hoped the Government could show that the detainees were guilty of what they had been accused of and that when this had been done, the Church would have no reason to fight for them or fault the Government. He would then be most grateful to the Government for having prevented people from using the Church for subversive purposes. He added that the Church recognised the right of the Government to safeguard the security of the nation but at the same time the Government had an obligation to prove that those detained were a threat to security…”

That belief in the innocence of the 16 until proven guilty vanished in the three-hour meeting. His Grace issued a statement which read as follows:

“We are satisfied that the Government of Singapore has nothing against the Catholic Church when it detained 10 of our Church workers amongst the 16 who were arrested for possible involvement in the clandestine Communist network.”

The Church had abandoned her flock in three hours and saved herself from the wrath of the government. It was a wise decision - to save the majority, save the four priests and disown the ten detainees. The four priests were spared in that they were not detained though they were relieved of their duties a few days later by the Archbishop, because it was the 10 who had made use of the Church. I wonder who were the unlucky ten. To incur the wrath of the government is an inconsequential matter. To incur the wrath of God as represented by the Archbishop (if one believes in God) by making use of the Church is another matter.

Minister Teo Chee Hean may be right to say that the arrests in 1987 was not targeted at the Church because the Church said so. But can we believe a statement that was drafted by the Archbishop within three hours? Maybe not. After all, the Archbishop was a sort of “prisoner” in the Istana. But if the statement was issued in haste or involuntarily, the Archbishop should have taken the earliest opportunity to correct the statement. She had that opportunity in 1989 when the Far Eastern Economic Review was sued for defamation for reporting among other matters, that the Archbishop was “tricked” into issuing the statement (at the Istana meeting). I remember the Church was silent then, thus impliedly disagreeing with the magazine’s report. In recent years, the Church repeated the government’s claims against the detainees in a publication Going forth … The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819-2004 [1]. With this publication, we should no longer doubt that the Archbishop voluntarily issued the Istana statement (even though the Archbishop never saw the publication as he passed away in 2000). Under the heading “Detention of some Catholics,” the authors dismissed the arrest of 22 people as an “unfortunate event” and the law suit against the Far Eastern Economic Review as an “unpleasant episode”.

The authors had their facts wrong from the beginning. The majority of the 22 arrested had absolutely nothing to do with the Catholic Church. They could have spared themselves from having to explain the “unfortunate event” if they had interviewed the living protagonists of the alleged conspiracy. I am sure the three priests and Vincent Cheng who are alive today would be happy to tell their side of the story. The authors could have analysed the 1987 event more carefully and inform the readers that the government’s allegations that those 22 arrested were not accurate because the majority had nothing to do with the Church. Disappointingly, the authors chose to regurgitate published materials without investigating the truth. They did not analyse or express their own views on those published materials thus misleading readers to believe that the detainees made use of the Church. They wrote:

“Articles appeared in The Catholic News on the issue of foreign workers and maids written by a priest. In 1986, Archbishop Gregory Yong was informed that this constituted involvement of the Church in politics. Nevertheless, the articles continued to appear. The authorities established that a communist net was growing and that a number of Catholic organisations, the Students’ Christian Movement, the Young Christian Workers’ Movement and the Catholic Students’ Societies of the National University and the Singapore Polytechnic had been drawn in. The Straits Times reported that a Marxist conspiracy to subvert the political and social system of Singapore had emerged which went beyond pure social concerns…”[2]

The authors even wrote briefly about similar arrests of Catholic priests and workers in Operation Lalang which took place in October 1987 without informing readers that the Catholic Church in Malaysia courageously stood up for their workers and those arrested in Singapore. I remember receiving many notes and cards from individuals and Catholic organisations in Malaysia throughout my detention. Again relying on secondary source, The China Post of 24 November 1988 was partially quoted by the authors:

“Meanwhile, a similar story was unfolding in Malaysia. In 1987, the Malaysian government arrested one hundred and six people connected to Marxists and Christian groups subscribing to liberation theology which threatened to “disrupt Malaysia’s delicate racial and religious balance. … (They) Had infiltrated several Christian societies, including the young Christian Movement and the Catholic Students’ Society to win wider acceptance of Marxist ideology… The government described liberation theology as an approach which stresses that Catholicism contains teachings that human freedom can be achieved through a class struggle, and force may be used when all other means have been exhausted.””[3]

The authors appeared intent on putting the Singapore government in good light by repeating the praises lavished by the former prime minister when they again cited published materials, this time The Straits Times of 3 June 1987. They wrote:

“Mr. Lee Kuan Yew met the press, accompanied by Archbishop Gregory Yong, after the meeting of 1 June 1987. “Twice during the Istana Press conference, Mr Lee showed that he held ordinary Catholics in high regard. He said that he had found the Catholics to be amongst the most stout-hearted defenders of the democratic society and against Marxism and totalitarianism as represented by the communists … good relations between Catholic Church and the state will be maintained … (lay Catholics) are very staunch supporters of the community in education, health, social work and so on”.[4]

If the Archbishop’s Istana statement made in 1987 was extracted under duress, surely an important publication on the illustrious history of the Catholic Church in Singapore published 20 years after should make clear the Church’s position. It was a golden opportunity for the Church to explain the work of the arrested Church workers and the intention of the Second Vatican Council which the authors proudly claimed “had emphasized a pastoral response to a fast changing world that had affected various groups of people. It found expression in what came to be known as Development Theology. It was directed at championing the cause of people in all situations of life and the creation of a more just society…” [5]

The Church chose not to dispute the voluntariness of the statement. Reading the authors’ brief exposition of the Second Vatican Council, I suddenly realised why the Catholic Church was so active in championing the rights of the workers’ in the 1980s. The four priests were putting the text of the Second Vatican Council into action. They sought help from Catholics and non Catholics to manage their organisations in Jurong (the Young Christian Workers’ Centre) and Geylang (the Geylang Catholic Centre). I was one of the volunteers. Those volunteers and underpaid Church staff worked very hard to defend the human rights of foreign workers. But what happened when the Church was confronted by the state about the work of those volunteers and workers? The Church buckled and left them to defend themselves. She sang the tune of the government. I cannot therefore agree with Archbishop Nicholas Chia that Going forth … The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819-2004 is a “well-documented publication of the history of the Church in Singapore.” [6] Until the Church investigate the 1987 arrests earnestly and preferably while witnesses to that “unfortunate event” or “unpleasant episode” are alive, there will be no closure for those volunteers and workers accused of making use of the Church and imprisoned without trial by the state. Until the Church examine her past action or inaction, the stain on the Catholic Church in Singapore for failing to stand up for her volunteers and workers in their time of need will remain, at least as far as I am concerned.

[1] E. Wijeysingha in collaboration with Fr. Rene` Nicolas, mep Going forth…The Catholic Church in Singapore 1819-2004 His Most Rev. Nicholas Chia, Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore 2006

[2] P. 197

[3] P. 199

[4] P. 199

[5] P. 196

[6] P. 3

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For Teo Chee Hean (3)

By Teo Soh Lung

T.J.S. George in his book Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore[1] wrote :

“Almost any speech he (Lee Kuan Yew) made in the Assembly between 1955 and 1959 could go straight into the liberal democrat’s bedside bookshelf. The most celebrated of these – celebrated partly for the parliamentary thrust he displayed but mainly for the irony it was to provide in the years to come – was the repression-is-like-making-love speech of October 1956.. in which he deplored the arbitrary arrests of trade union and civil leaders. It was an outstanding example of the popular pose he struck in the years before power, and of the distance he was to travel in the years after. In other ways, too, it was an important landmark in Lee’s political career.

Examining how governments could fall all too easily into the habit of suppressing the liberty of the individual, Lee said:

`First the conscience is attacked by a sense of guilt. You attack only those whom your Special Branch can definitely say are communists. They have no proof except that X told Z who told Alpha who told Beta who told the Special Branch. Then you attack those whom your Special Branch say are actively sympathising with and helping the communists, although they are not communists themselves. Then you attack those whom your Special Branch say, although they are not communists or fellow travellers, yet, by their intransigent opposition to any collaboration with colonialism, they encourage the spirit of revolt and weaken constituted authority and thereby, according to the Special Branch, they are aiding the communists. Then finally, since you have gone that far, you attack all those who oppose you.

`… All you have to do is to dissolve organisations and societies and banish or detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil and quiet on the surface. Then an intimidated press – and some sections of the press here do not need intimidation because they have friendly owners – the press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done. Or if these things are referred to again, they are conveniently distorted, and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict.

`… But if we say we believe in democracy, if we say that the fabric of a democratic society is one which allows the free play of ideas, which avoids revolution by violence because revolution by peaceful methods of persuasion is allowed, then in the name of all the gods we have in this country, give that free play a chance to work within the constitutional framework.’”

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had got it all worked out. He knew the path he was going to take when he assumed power in 1959. He was not going to give free play of ideas “a chance to work within the constitutional framework” that he articulated when he was in opposition. He had seen how the British used the Emergency Regulations and the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance. He knew the usefulness of indefinite detention without trial.

Conspiring with the Tunku and the British, Operation Cold Store was launched that dawn of 2 February 1963. Following that, waves of arrests continued throughout the 60s and the 70s. In the 80s, there was hardly anyone left to challenge his government. Yet he deemed it necessary to pass on his expertise to his successors, Mr Goh Chok Tong and his colleagues. How he explained the arrests of the alleged Marxists or “do-gooders” was interesting. He was perhaps not as agile as in the 60s but those arrested in the 80s and the Catholic Church needed no knuckleduster treatment to be driven to silence.

Minister Teo Chee Hean entered politics in December 1992. By then, all the alleged Marxists had been released, albeit subject to restrictions. Teo became a full fledged minister in 1995. After 9/11, he was involved in the decision to arrest alleged Muslim terrorists, some 80 of them. As Minister for Home Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister I do not know if he and his colleagues have chosen or will choose the path taken by Lee.

[1] T.J.S George, Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore, Andre Deutsch Limited, 1975, pp 111-112

Open letters to Teo Chee Hean from ex-ISA detainee

2011-10-26T17:44:00.000+08:00

by Teo Soh Lung

26 Oct 2011

After more than 4 decades, we are informed by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Teo Chee Hean that more than 800 people were arrested in the 1970s. This number is not small and I dread to speculate the number arrested in the preceding decade. We are aware that more than 120 people were arrested on 2 February 1963 in Operation Cold Store. Almost the entire central committee of the Barisan Sosialis including Dr Lim Hock Siew and Dr Poh Soo Kai were detained. Inche Said Zahari and trade unionists, the Late Mr Ho Piao and Mr Jamit Singh were also not spared.

In October that year Operation Pecah followed and elected opposition members of parliament, Ms Loh Meow Gong and Messrs Lee Tee Tong and S T Bani were detained. In 1963 alone, the number imprisoned must have exceeded 200. It would not be wrong to say that the arrests of the leaders of the opposition and trade unions in 1963 ensured monopoly of power for the PAP till today. Almost every year after 1963, there were arrests. Arrests continues to this day. No evidence of weapons or bombs was ever been produced by the government. All we are told is that we have to trust the judgement of the government.

In arguing for the retention of the ISA, the minister reiterated the “nipped in the bud” theory expounded by his predecessors. He said: “…The ISA thus allows the government to act quickly to prevent a threat from developing into something very serious such as a bombing; or to stem an organised pattern of subversion which promotes civil disturbances and disorder…”

Every citizen who is arrested is deprived of his constitutional right to life or personal liberty, freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly and association which are guaranteed by Articles 9 and 14 of our Constitution. Families are often deprived of sole breadwinners. But perhaps the PAP have reasons for doing what they did. They know that periodic arrests instil fear amongst citizens. Fear ensures the survival of the PAP.

It is time we question the retention of the ISA, a law that permits the ministers or prime minister to imprison citizens for as long as they wish. We are told that ministers rely on the Internal Security Department which have made thorough investigation before ordering the detention of citizens or renewing their detention orders. Is this true? Dr Lim Hock Siew’s public statement issued through his legal adviser, the Late Mr T T Rajah and released by his wife, Dr Beatrice Chen on 18 March 1972 exposed this lie. I reproduce part of the statement [1] below:

“… A week after my transfer to the special branch headquarters, the same two high-ranking employees spelt out the conditions of my release. They demanded from me two things. They are as follows:

(1) That I make an oral statement of my past political activities, that is to say, `A security statement’. This was meant for the special branch records only and not meant for publication.

(2) That I must issue a public statement consisting of two points: (a) That I am prepared to give up politics and devote to medical practice thereafter. (b) That I must express support for the parliamentary democratic system.
I shall now recall and recapitulate the conversation that took place between me and the same two high-ranking special branch agents during my detention at the special branch headquarters.

Special Branch: You need not have to condemn the Barisan Sosialis or any person. We admit that it is unjust to detain you so long. Nine years is a long time in a person’s life; we are anxious to settle your case.

Dr Lim Hock Siew: My case will be settled immediately if I am released unconditionally. I was not asked at the time of my arrest whether I ought to be arrested. Release me unconditionally and my case is settled.

Special Branch: The key is in your hands. It is for you to open the door.

Dr Lim Hock Siew: To say that the key is in my hands is the inverted logic of gangsters in which white is black and black is white. The victim is painted as the culprit and the culprit is made to look innocent. Four Gurkha soldiers were brought to my house to arrest me. I did not ask or seek arrest or the prolonged detention for over nine years in prison without trial.

Special Branch: You must concede something so that Lee Kuan Yew would be in a position to explain to the public why you had been detained so long. Mr Lee Kuan Yew must also preserve his face. If you were to be released unconditionally, he will lose face.

Dr Lim Hock Siew: I am not interested in saving Lee Kuan Yew’s face. This is not a question of pride but one of principle. My detention is completely unjustifiable and I will not lift a single finger to help Lee Kuan Yew to justify the unjustifiable. In the light of what you say, is it not very clear that I have lost my freedom all these long and bitter years just to save Lee Kuan Yew’s face? Therefore the PAP regime’s allegation that I am a security risk is a sham cover and a façade to detain me unjustifiably for over nine years. “

Dr Lim was 31 years old when he was arrested on 2 February 1963. His son was then 5 months’ old. He and Dr Poh Soo Kai had two years earlier, set up a medical clinic, Rakyat Clinic along Balestier Road which provided and still provides medical care for the poor. Both were also founder members of Barisan Sosialis.

The PAP kept Dr Lim in jail for 20 years. They freed him unconditionally at the age of 51. He had missed the prime of his life and the growing up years of his son. The PAP had ensured for themselves that Dr Lim no longer posed a political threat to them. Only a person of courage and determination can survive such a long period of imprisonment. And only people who have lost their conscience can imprison Dr Lim for 2 decades without trial.

Mr Chng Min Oh @ Chuang Men-Hu

While many of the people detained in the 1960s were imprisoned for decades, I did not expect the PAP government to continue that practice in the 1970s. I was therefore shocked to meet Mr Chng Min Oh @ Chuang Men-Hu recently.

Mr Chng was a humble construction worker and painter when he was arrested on 3 August 1970. Leaving his wife who was then three months’ pregnant and two young children aged 4 and 6 that dawn must have been painful for him. He was offered freedom by banishment i.e. if he agreed to being banished to China. He refused the offer.

Mr Chng remained in prison while his wife took on several jobs to raise the young family. She became a construction worker and a hawker whenever she had time. While she worked, her parents helped in looking after the children. Life was terribly hard for the family. They did not even have money for medical treatment. But the ministers did not care and renewed his detention order 7 times. He was finally released after 13 years, on 7 August 1983. He had served a life sentence though he was never judged guilty of any crime in a court of law.

The hardship of separation in indefinite detention is captured vividly in the poem Tears by Said Zahari. Zahari was imprisoned for 17 years.

Tears[2]

I saw tears down your cheeks
sparkling like diamonds,
beautiful like shining stars
in a clear night sky.
I saw sorrow
dancing in tune with your sobs.
My heart beats faster, my lips tremble.

Then I saw courage,
confidence and determination,
peering from behind the sorrow.
How cruel, how inhumane!
So high, so huge
This partition between us.
For so long!

But in spirit we are one,
as always,
bound by unbreakable bonds
of love and longing for justice.
Neither this prison wall
nor a hundred years of incarceration
shall diminish my love.

Hari Raya card to Sal
20th November 1969

How can we believe Minister Teo Chee Hean when he said “The Government has used the ISA as a last resort when there is a significant threat, and other laws are not adequate to deal with the situation...” when so many citizens were imprisoned for decades without trial. How can the PAP ministers take away the fundamental liberties of its citizens in the name of national security so freely and so frequently when Singapore was and is not at war? Have they all lost their conscience?

[1] Poh Soo Kai, Tan Jing Quee and Koh Kay Yew Eds. The Fajar Generation The University Socialist Club and the Politics of Postwar Malaya and Singapore Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, Malaysia pp 150 – 151.

[2] Tan Jing Quee Teo Soh Lung Koh Kay Yew Eds Our Thoughts Are Free Poems and Prose on Imprisonment and Exile Ethos Books 2009 Singapore p 47

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20 Oct 2011

The Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Teo Chee Hean said in parliament yesterday:

“… So while ordinary Singaporeans remember the 1970s as a peaceful time and largely went about their lives, intense security operations were continually being undertaken to preserve that peace. More than 800 people were arrested under the ISA in the 1970s of whom 235 were issued with Orders of Detention. Most were detained because they were more than just sympathisers and had provided financial, logistical and manpower support to the CPM insurgents…”

Indeed, the 1970s was a peaceful period like any other periods of Singapore’s history. I was a young working adult then and can confirm that that period was peaceful save for the reports of periodic arrests under the ISA. The arrests did not alarm me until 1977 when several of my friends in the legal profession were detained. I was devastated. The Law Society was silent. It did not protest on behalf of the detainees even though one of those arrested was a member of its council. One would have thought that since lawyers are professionals, there would at least be some discussion or questions asked of the government. But that was not the case. Lawyers went about their business as if nothing had happened. To add insult to injury, I remember the then Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew called lawyers nincompoops when he was a dinner guest of the Society. The Society did not rebut. Whoever in the council at that time must have felt they deserved that name.

Three decades have passed and I ponder over those years of silence. Mr Teo Chee Hean tells us that more than 800 people were arrested in the 1970s. I never expected the arrests to run into hundreds. We should all be disturbed by the number. Imagine more than 800 lives were disrupted. Imagine how those detained were mistreated by the ISD. Imagine the lives of more than 800 families turned upside down. Imagine husbands and wives being separated and young children being deprived of their parents. How did they live without breadwinners? Imagine parents being deprived of their children who may be supporting them? Who took care of all of them while they were in prison?

Those arrested in the 1970s included Cultural Medallion recipients, Yeng Pway Ngon, Kuo Pao Kun and his wife Goh Lay Kuan, lawyers T T Rajah, G Raman, R Joethy, Tan Jing Quee and Ong Bock Chuan, Hussein Jahidin (Editor of Berita Harian), Shamsuddin Tung (Editor in Chief of Nanyang Siang Pau), Lee Eu Seng (Managing Director of Nanyang Siang Pau), Ngoh Teck Nam (Translator of Sin Chew Jit Poh), Chua Chap Jee (Lecturer), Pan Nan Hung (Naval Engineer), Ho Kwon Ping, Wong Chee San (Polytechnic Student), Drs Ang See Chai and Poh Soo Kai. I know many of them and I can confirm that they are all law abiding citizens.

Having been a victim of the ISA myself, I cannot and will not believe that any one of the names I mentioned above is a subversive intent on destroying Singapore by violent and unconstitutional means. Mr Teo Chee Hean can continue to kill his conscience by repeating the lies of his predecessors. But he should bear in mind that there is a possibility that those whose lives his government have destroyed may one day write their stories. They may be afraid to tell the truth now.

I end with a poem by Said Zahari (Editor of Utusan Melayu) who was imprisoned for 17 years without trial. Imagine his wife giving birth to their daughter not knowing when he would be released. May Mr Teo and the PAP reflect on all the children deprived of their fathers or mothers from 1959 till today.

Born Unfree*

not that i was not hungry
I refused the food;
nor that I was not sleepy
I kept awake.

my ears keep hearing
the cry of an infant.

for months in solitary,
it was a source of anxiety;
for hours to this moment,
it is endless excitement.

then came the news of
the arrival of my little one.

I am the father
robbed of my freedom
whose world has shrunk
into a dark little dungeon.

my child, just born
into a world yet unfree.

22 May 1963

* Tan Jing Quee, Teo Soh Lung and Koh Kay Yew (eds) Our Thoughts Are Free - Poems and Prose on Imprisonment and Exile Ethos Books Singapore p. 39

The life and times of Ho Piao : The torture of a political prisoner

2011-10-08T10:12:00.000+08:00

Ho Piao was 26 when he was detained during Operation Cold Store (2 Feb 1963). He held the dubious distinction of being the third longest held political detainee under the ISA. He was severely tortured by the ISD and released after 18 years, on 1 June 1981.

Educated in Serangoon English School and Raffles Institution, Ho Piao was a Queen's Scout and rowed round Singapore island alone. He entered University of Malaya in 1957 and was an active member of the University Socialist Club. He left the university partly due to his growing commitment to trade union work. After his release, Ho Piao married and left for London. He died in 2007. Below is the eulogy delivered by his good friend, Francis Khoo.

- Teo Soh Lung

**************************************************************

HO PIAO - His life and times(1937-2007 )
By Francis Khoo

Shortly after the ANC won, I took Ho Piao to a victory reception at the South African High Commission at Trafalgar Square. There were ex-political prisoners who had fought against apartheid. When introduced to Dennis Goldberg, Ho proudly revealed he had been in prison for 18 1/2 years. When pressed, Goldberg replied he was himself in for "24 years". Sensing he had embarrassed and upstaged Ho, he then said: "I was at a gathering of ex-Spanish Civil War veterans and thought I was the longest in, until I met an old lady who had spent nearly 40 years under Franco. I then had to shut up." I think Ahmad Kathrada, 27 years, and contemporary of Nelson Mandela, was there as were other younger ex-inmates of Robben Island.

The instant bonding and comaradie was quite inspiring: separated by different struggles, different continents, these elderly gentlemen seemed to giggle a lot and were self-effacing. Still retaining youthfulness and child-like curiosity about the world around them, they were generous in spirit and showed no bitterness. For Ho, his world was no longer just Singapore and Malaya. He was now also a South African. And a Palestinian and an Iraqi.

On 17 January, 1961, Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister, was assassinated by the Belgian and CIA surrogates. The whole non-alignment movement erupted in anger. Ho proudly remembered his part in a mass protest rally. All 7,000 of them were chanting: Lumumba! Lumumba! in the Singapore Badminton Hall. Singaporeans then had a keen sense of history and geography. He was an internationalist who loved his country. He believed you cannot be a patriot unless you supported every people's struggle for justice and equality. At the same time, he had no time for the vague 'citizen of the world' grounded in no concrete place. You ended up 'neither here nor there' rather than being 'both here and there'. That would be the height of irresponsibility.

On 2 February 1963, Said Zahari, Dr Lim Hock Siew, Dr Poh Soo Kai, Ho Piao and over a 100 patriots were rounded up. In a later wave, opposition MP Chia Thye Poh was arrested. Amnesty International adopted them Prisoners of Conscience. Like Mandela and his comrades, they remained steadfast; unlike Mandela, they were never tried in court.

The British and their approved successors in Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia needed a pretext to wipe out all progressive dissent - writers, journalists, liberals, socialists, trade unionists, members of parliament. When the legal Communist Party of Malaya was banned, an 'emergency' was declared and draconian laws were passed in 1948. Thousands were imprisoned or deported, many more perished as they retreated into the jungle. By tarnishing anyone with the label 'communist' and hence a security threat, the secret police could hold that person indefinitely without trial. If you wished to get out early, denounce your beliefs, endorse the government, confess over TV and grass on your friends. By 1987, reports spoke of 5,000 detention having been made.

Intense coffee-shop debates were once typical and widespread in Singapore and everyone was engaged. That is gone today, snuffed out by a dominant one-party state that controls every aspect of your life - from the bedroom, literally, to the boardroom. They want a nation which knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Nothing is taboo and the market is all.

Modern Singapore is Asia's most dynamic economy after Japan and enjoys a standard of living often higher than Britain. With industrialisation export-oriented for the multinational corporations, the global city is the world's largest oil refinery centre and port, a hi-tech manufacturing, trading and financial services centre. There is the same inequality you find in Britain without the safety net of a welfare state. You fall ill or lose your livelihood at your peril. Civil liberties are distinctly Blairite. This is a world of stark extremes, where there is no such thing as a free lunch. Of course, MPs and ministers can well pay for their lunch - in a population a 20th of Britain, they can eat more than five times more lunches. In fact, the best paid lunches in the world. This is a tale of the two farmers with two chickens. The first has two chickens while the other has none. The politicians boast therefore, that statistically, each farmer has on average one chicken each.

Mussolini tried in vain to create the Corporate State as arbiter of labour for capital, where workers are organised in the service of state capital. Singapore is an unashamedly successful one. The trade union movement is today based upon Israel's Histadrut. It mirrors yet eschews Switzerland, with its multi-ethnic character and neutrality in regional conflicts. Opting for an Israeli combat-readiness and psyche, suspicious of regional intentions, militarised, with every able-bodied man in national service, it is a strategic ally of the US in its ‘war on terror’. Totalitarian, with generals in the government, it is yet no tin-pot jackboot dictatorship. Not moustachioed Generals Galtieri or Pinochet, rather but more apartheid South Africa and Israel.

The world Ho found upon release must have been a very alien one indeed. He went inside as a youthful 25 year old and emerged, un-cowed, a middle-aged man. Those 18 1/2 years were tumultuous times in the country, the region and the world: the best of times and the worst of times. Singapore and neighbouring Malaya tried but failed at merger. In 1965, the Indonesian army massacred half a million people while the US sent in 500,000 marines into Vietnam. The PLO won the battle of Karameh, student campuses all over the world rebelled, the civil rights movement in the US and Ireland reached their peak. Mao launched his cultural revolution. The entire 1970s decade was lost to him: Chile attacked by terrorists on its own 9/11 1973 when Pinochet overthrew Allende. Portugal lost its colonies in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor. In that same 1975, the fall of the US in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and four years later the fall of the Shah of Iran and the Sandinista victory in Nicaragua.

When he went in, Harold Macmillan was British prime minister. Alec Douglas Home followed, then Ted Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and finally Margaret Thatcher. Kennedy was then in the White House, giving way to Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and then Reagan. But Lee Kuan Yew was prime minister in 1963 -indeed, since 1959 - and was still prime minister in 1981. His son is the current PM but Lee remains the guru-like Minister Mentor.

News of the world outside were smuggled in despite censorship and tight access to TV, newspapers and books. The prison wall, as they say, has two sides and so the struggle continues inside. Like the Irish, South Africans and Palestinians, prison was a place to study, discuss, develop minds and mature. It was the best university: many achieving, despite the odds, law and other degrees.

And outside the prison gates, Ho's own late mother led the detainees' families in demonstrations to highlight the conditions inside. They disrupted the January 1971 Commonwealth Conference in Singapore, prompting the internal police to complain: "Your mother is the worst mother in the world!" Ho took that as a compliment and always beamed with pride when he recalled this. She was no mere mother; she was, like Gorky's Mother, a comrade.

Ho's soft gentle demeanour belied his toughness and resilience. He endured solitary confinement for months on end and waged several hunger strikes, one of which lasted over a hundred days. His demand for political status was akin to those of the Irish; he took to heart the 1981 hunger strike and death of Bobby Sands and the nine other republican prisoners.

In one of the rare published interviews he gave, he said: "The whole day I was tied to a wooden chair. They pulled my hair, pressed my nose and poured water in my nose and mouth." According to the account, one of the interrogators then grabbed Ho by the throat and drove his fist into his stomach. With his hands tied, his torturers continued punching his stomach. As he gasped for air, another officer laid one more punch - only this time he didn't pull back, but let his fist bear into Ho's aching gut, cutting off his breathing. When the prisoner came close to passing out, the officer pulled back, only to have others come in to smash their knuckles into his rib cage. Another delivered a karate chop to his chest while a third hurled himself at Ho and threw the prisoner to the floor. Ho curled up as his torso and his chest heaved in pain. While on the icy floor, his interrogators poured cold water on him causing his body to go into a painful contraction. Before he could recover from the shock, the thugs bore down on him yet again, kicking and punching his head.

"This is how we treat animals," one of them snarled. "This is an introductory gesture." Ho later said: "Their torture made my body feel like a corpse. I could not move. They pulled me up from the floor and tied me to the chair. Another group came to torture me. I would recognise them. They used the same method. They poured water over me 64 times. This torture went on for four days. My body was drench and shivering. They shouted in my ears and prized open my eyes. I did not eat or sleep or drink for four days."

As he lay on the ground, one officer lifted Ho's chin with his shoe. "This is a strange man, when we poured water over him, he did not shiver," he said. "But when we stopped, he started to shiver." The assaults only stopped when he finally lost consciousness.

In a statement he gave to his lawyer, he reiterated: "I firmly believe in my principles. I will never be a party to wage slavery and feudal bondage of my people. I will work to shatter these … even though I am meted out a long lingering agonising road to the grave."

In 1963-65 merger failed because the political elites of Malaysia and Singapore were unable to handle the contradictions of the national question, the many centrifugal forces pulling the society apart pitted against the centripetal forces bringing the communities together. The communities had different histories and experiences. In the second world war, some anti-colonial Malays and Indians viewed Japan as tactical allies in the fight against British and Dutch colonialism in India and Indonesia, respectively. But the Chinese saw Japan as the foe because of its invasion of China. The colonialists and chauvinists sought to exploit those differences.

British divide-and-rule policies has caused untold damage. Consider India and Pakistan, Hindu and Muslim, Black and White South Africa, Arab and Jew in Palestine, Catholic and Protestant Irish. In Singapore and Malaya, immigrants from China and India and indigenous Malays.

Today, Vietnam is united, Germany is one, Taiwan will return to China, Korea will be together again and so will Ireland. Inevitably, Singapore will again reunite with the Malayan mainland.

So what does it mean to be a Singaporean and Malayan? In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious largely immigrant post-colonial society, the patriots saw Malay as the lingua franca, the national language to unite the people. Mandarin, Tamil and English would also be recognised as official languages.

Ho himself was totally English-educated. Yet he loved Chinese culture, food, literature and history and was inspired by the Chinese revolution. But he was born in Singapore and never considered China his country. He was a Chinese Singaporean, never a Singapore Chinese. He was a Singaporean who happened to be of Chinese ethnicity. He was not a Chinese who happened to be born in Singapore. That was why, in addition to being fluent in English, Mandarin and his Hainanese dialect, he assiduously studied and mastered Malay in prison. All the top leadership and cadres of the independence movement spoke at least three of the four official languages.

He had what the Germans call "weltenshaaung" - a world view. He knew why the rich grew richer and the poor poorer, who benefits under colonialism and imperialism, why there is war and how peace is achieved.
His philosophy of life: Firstly, do not merely interpret the world but help change it. Artists paint, while some choose to be gallery critics. Musicians perform but some choose to be music critics. Chefs cook while others make a living criticising their food. Actors perform the drama of life before an audience, some of whom cheer them on while others choose to pillory on the side-lines. He was no bystander but an artist, a musician, a cook and an actor.

Secondly, he was no theorist with abstract ideas. Son of a militant seaman and working-class mother, he was leader of the seamen's union. He asserted correct ideas did not drop from the skies or were innate in the mind, but must come from social practice, and from it alone. His was Praxis - reflection based upon action which then invited further reflection.

Thirdly, Ho Piao knew which side he was on. In 1931, 11,000 US miners went on strike to protest a 10-percent pay cut. The state of Kentucky charged 11 of them for first degree murder.

Incensed by the injustice, Florence Reece, wife of one of the strike leaders, wrote: Which side are you on? Which side are you on?" Her song became the rallying cry of our own miners in the 1984-85 strike. Ho understood the root causes of poverty and injustice and dedicated his whole life to combating it.

Before his execution, Joe Hill urged: "Don't mourn. Organise."

Of course, we shall mourn the untimely death of Mr Ho but he also wants us to organise.

FRANCIS KHOO 2 March 2007

My life under ISA detention (part 2) : Dr Poh Soo Kai

2011-10-04T13:55:00.000+08:00

by Teo Soh Lung

ISA detainees in the 1960s and 1970s were not given proper medical care. Sick detainees were treated like sick animals and locked in cages.

Mr Chan Fook Wah was diagnosed to be suffering from advanced cancer by fellow detainee, Dr Poh Soo Kai and not the prison doctors. Not only did they fail to give him proper medical care after diagnosis, the doctors and prison authority were totally unsympathetic and negligent.

Mr Chan Fook Wah was an odd job worker. He was arrested on 17 February 1971 and released on 13 March 1978 when the ISD knew that he was near his death. For7 years, the prison doctors failed to detect Mr Chan's illness. Even after being diagnosed as having advanced cancer, they refused to send him to hospital for treatment. It was only after being pressurised by detainees that they sent him to hospital.

Why did the ISD release Mr Chan when he was so near his death? It was likely they did not want to have to deal with a death in prison and a coroner's inquiry where evidence of how he was treated in prison would have to be disclosed. Mr Chan died 13 days after his release on 26 March 1978.

The attitude of the ISD towards sick detainees was incredible. Dr Poh himself was not properly treated when he was ill. He nearly lost his life when prison doctors failed to diagnose his illness. It was by a stroke of good luck that Dr Poh who comes from an illustrious family of doctors, that he is alive today.

The Ministry of Home Affairs' recent refusal to set up a Commission of Inquiry is understandable. They knew that many former detainees suffered immensely under the hands of the ISD and that a commission may expose them to legal proceedings for compensation.

Below is the second part of Dr Poh speech delivered on 13 September 2011 in Singapore.

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Moon Crescent Centre (MCC)

I was kept in solitary confinement for almost a year in this 8-cell block, the largest in Moon Crescent Center (MCC). Then I was transferred to a smaller 5-cell block situated at the extreme west end of the MCC, separated from other blocks by the administrative block. This was unofficially known as the “tough” block. I found myself in pleasant company. Chan Fook Wah, Ho Piao and Chia Thye Poh, having got advance news of my arrival, were waiting behind the door to welcome me. It was nice to be with friends again after so many months in solitary confinement.

I made it a rule not to see detainees when they were sick as I could not treat them. I always insisted that they see the prison doctor. One day, Fook Wah complained of a stomach ache, and Dr. N. Singh came, examined him at the corridor just inside the compound. It was a cursory examination. He prescribed some antacids which were delivered that afternoon. By 10 p.m. when we were all locked in our individual cells, Fook Wah called for me. He said the stomach pain had not improved with the medication, it had worsened.

Fook Wah was a very stoic person. Terribly beaten in the lock-up, he had lifted his chair and decided to fight with the ISD brutes to the bitter end. What do you do with a man who is not afraid of death? The ISD boss was called in, and he wisely told the Neanderthals to stop the torture. Fook Wah was a leader in the Chinese High School students’ movement, and had to run when the police were going after its leaders. Though coming from a rich family, he endured the privations while on the run without any grumbles. When he called me from his cell, I knew the pain must have been severe, but what could I do. So I told him I would see him the first thing in the morning when the guard came to unlock us. In the dawn’s dim light, made worse in a prison cell, I could see no jaundice, but felt a huge lump in the abdomen. He must have noticed that I hesitated, for his next words were, “Soo Kai, do not be afraid to tell me the truth. I can take whatever it is.” I told him he had cancer and it was at a late stage. I wrote a letter to the Superintendent. I am not supposed to communicate with the prison doctor. Fook Wah was transferred to General Hospital, found to be inoperable, and sent back to our cell.

Upon returning to the block, the prison superintendent wanted to send him to the Changi prison hospital which was no more than a dormitory with cages for sick detainees. It was not a hospital. We could provide him with better care in the prison block. We all objected to Fook Wah going to the prison hospital and were prepared to fight against his being transferred there. The warder came with a wheel chair. Fook Wah refused to go. The warder was sent back to tell the superintendent. After a few days, the prison relented, and agreed to send Fook Wah back to the General Hospital’s prison block. He was there for a week or so, only to be released to go home when death was imminent.

Then one day I was sent to Whitley Road Detention Centre for a few months. This time I was alone in a large open cell with a small exercise yard. You can shout to your neighbours, but you can’t see them. Dr. Toh Siang Wah, the acting head of department when I was posted to Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital (KKMH) in 1961, came to see me. We had a chat and he decided to send me a bible, and said he will arrange for someone to read with me. That someone turned out to be a senior officer at Whitley. I had no objection. I only insisted on reading the bible from page one. And he did not know anything from Genesis. They must have found my interpretation more reasonable, for soon the session was over.

Sometime later, I was taken to the changing room and told to change into the clothes I was arrested in. More presentable now, I was wondering where they would be taking me to. Soon I was in the prison’s staff rest room. Tea and cakes were laid on the table. And to my surprise, I was warmly greeted by two doctors who had worked with me in hospital. They were Dr. Teo and Dr. Nagulendran. Both consultant psychiatrists at Woodbridge Hospital. They explained that they had been requested to conduct a psychiatric survey of detainees. The apparent objective was to have a psychiatric profile – like cardiac profile, or arthritic profile which I am sure you all are more used to. With this, it would save time and money to sieve through the hundreds of student applicants, etc. to higher institutions of learning. So detainees are on the way to becoming psychiatric patients, and maybe Whitley will be later known as a psychiatric hospital.

I was given forms to answer, questions ranged from IQ tests, to whether I was best loved at home. I was not going to fill the questionnaire. Then Dr. Nagulendran said the study would be absolutely secret and have nothing to do with the ISD. Further, I was free to participate or to reject participation.

I had my cakes, thanked them as I was happy to see some old friends. Told them I would decline participation. I was wondering what other detainees would do, most probably participate but give every untruthful answer they can. I was later to find my guess was right.

However, some 10 days later, I was called to the interrogation room. The sole interrogator, an inspector, put on an angry face and started by telling me that I will be punished for not participating in the survey. I smiled, and asked him how he came to know of my non-participation when I was assured by the doctors that the whole process was confidential and secret. He did not reply.

Then, suddenly I was transferred back to MCC, to my old block with Chia Thye Poh and Ho Piao.

Brush with death

Finally, in 1980 I was again transferred back to Whitley. This time in Whitley, I was also kept alone in the large cell. I was taken to the interrogation room about once a week to have small talk, sometimes on health problems and read papers.

Early one morning in 1981, I had a very severe pain running from the top of my head to my neck. I must have fainted, for the next thing I knew was that the guard had spotted me lying in the yard at about 4.30 a.m. and had called the inspector on duty. They came into my cell and enquired about my condition. I said I needed hospitalization for I think intra-cranial pressure had somehow increased. They rang up their superior and told me their order was to send me back to Changi Prison. The doctor there would attend to me. So early in the morning I was driven, with a severe headache and vomiting, to Changi Prison.

The male nurse on duty was kind. He told me that Dr. N. Singh had been informed and would see me the first thing in the morning when he came on duty. It was around 6.30 a.m. I was admitted into the prison hospital. It was a dormitory with two cages at the entrance, one on each side. I was put into one. He gave me two panadol, and I felt better lying in the bed.

It so happened that morning was my family visit day. My family on arriving at Whitley was redirected to Changi Prison. Vomiting and in bad shape, I was led along narrow corridors until I reached the visiting room. There was no intercom now. I told my family my condition and why they had sent me to Changi Prison hospital. Has Dr. Singh seen me? No. My dad was very worried. On returning home he telephoned my brother, who contacted his friends in the Health Ministry. It was arranged that a consultant from Changi General Hospital would come to see me.

The consultant physician came at about 3.30 p.m. He recommended that I be transferred to Changi General Hospital. It was a pleasure to have nice bedsheet, and a comfortable bed after so many years in prison. But I was too exhausted to really enjoy the new environment. The neurologist thought I needed an X-ray of my skull and I was dispatched to TTSH. They did multiple x-rays and came to no diagnosis. There was a huge mass pressing on the nasal cavity and the forehead.

The decision was to ask the neurosurgeon to come in. The operation was fixed on a Monday. I had been in the air-conditioned ward for close to a week. It must have been the air-conditioning, for a day or so before the scheduled operation, I coughed up a whole lump of mucus. The diagnosis was now obvious. I had a mucus cyst stretching from forehead to the cheek, and it had burst just in time before the operation! My skull need not be cut open. Instead the ENT surgeon was called in to operate on the very chronic sinusitis.

All went well. By the third day, when the pack left in the nasal cavity to stop the bleeding was being removed by the ENT surgeon, the wall of the cavity, weakened by continuous pressure from the expanding cyst, gave way. So, the pack was removed together with an artery that the wall was attached to. As a result, no blood went to the brain and I fainted. The only way then was to ligature the carotid, which a surgeon did. But then my heart stopped. My poor friend, the ENT surgeon frantically pumped at my chest. I was told that revived me, but I felt as if I had a fractured rib on recovery. Lack of oxygen to the retina, and alteration in the geometry of the eye socket became my main defects. Thanks to my friends, I survived.

My Release

Some three months in hospital in 1981, I was served another 2 years detention order and sent back to Whitley to recuperate. In August 1982, I was told I would be released. But I was warned that I should not criticize anyone, that I would not be allowed to hold a press conference to discuss my case and the charges against me, and that the ISD would be issuing a statement on my behalf. They even called in my parents to warn them that if I were to call a press conference, I would be rearrested straight away. I would have to follow the usual restriction orders whether I signed acknowledging receipt or not.

My reply was that I was a civilized person, and if reporters knocked at my door, I would invite them in. They had better post their men outside my door and shoo the reporters away. I would definitely deny whatever statement attributed to me but not signed by me.

I was released on Aug 26 1982, having spent all 17 years in Lee’s prison without a trial. No reporters came to see me for a few days. Then a person by the name of Mr. D’Silva from Associated Press came to my house. I told him of my restrictions and threat of imprisonment should I discuss my case. From this he could draw his own conclusion.

I was to run into him some time later. He told me that after the interview, he had gone to Albert Street to have a bite that evening. There was a tap on his shoulder and he was asked to follow the ISD officers to Whitley. He told them that whatever I said in my interview was all recorded in his tape, and they could have a look at his dispatch. They showed no interest. He was brought to the staff meeting room and sat there for the whole night. Early in the morning, he was asked to sign a statement that he had been well treated and then allowed to go. I suppose this was to frighten other foreign reporters in case they showed more courage than their local counterparts.

Harassment tactics continued. For example, when I was employed by a clinic at the airport, I was not allowed a pass onto the tarmac. Civil servants unfortunately dared not think. I just told them to ring up my clinic owner, a British nurse, and tell her that I had been denied entry onto the tarmac. So should any emergency arise, I was in no way responsible. A few phone calls followed, and I was issued with the pass.

After that short stint at the airport clinic, I started a private practice in Upper Serangoon Road before migrating to Canada in 1989.

(Dr Poh Soo Kai now resides in Malaysia and Singapore)

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Ex-detainees call for Commission of Inquiry

Govt rejects Commission of Inquiry

MHA's malicious and false allegation against Dr Poh Soo Kai

2011-10-04T13:52:00.001+08:00

by Teo Soh Lung

Attached is a page from Hansard concerning MHA's claim that Dr Poh Soo Kai rendered medical aid to an injured bomber in Masai.

G. Raman who was arrested in February 1977 under the ISA and subjected to physical torture and sleep deprivation, made a statement implicating Dr Poh. Raman said that he, Dr Poh and his wife went to Masai to render medical aid to an injured bomber. Raman subsequently retracted that claim before a senior public prosecutor at the Attorney-General's Chamber.

Earlier, then prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew threatened that he was going to refer Dr Poh to the Medical Council for helping an injured bomber. Dr Poh was never brought before the Council. To date, ISD and MHA have not challenged Raman's retraction of his confession.

Would MHA retract its malicious and false allegation against Dr Poh and apologise to him?

Dr Poh Soo Kai and MHA's fiction of his involvement with the injured bomber (Part 1)

2011-09-25T17:54:00.000+08:00

[ Background : Within 24 hours following the surprise announcement on Sept 15, 2011 by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to abolish the Internal Security Act, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs issued a press release to defend the use of the ISA in Singapore. At the same time, opposition parties, civil society groups and bloggers weigh in to call for the abolishment of the ISA. One particular letter, signed by 16 former detainees of the ISA, prompted another response by the MHA, who cited the case of a detainee who had "provided medical assistance to a CPM saboteur who was hiding in Malaysia."Although MHA did not name the detainee, Dr Poh Soo Kai had in an earlier speech on 13th September rebutted these allegations against him. ]

by Teo Soh Lung

Dr Poh Soo Kai, Mr Lim Chin Siong and Dr Lim Hock Siew, Assistant Secretary-General, Secretary General and Central Committee Member respectively of the Barisan Sosialis together with at least 120 of their colleagues and friends in the party and trade unions were arrested and imprisoned without trial on 2 February 1963 (Operation Cold Store). Those detained included prominent opposition politicians, doctors, lawyers, economists, teachers, journalists, trade unionists, university graduates, undergraduates and school students. They were the cream of our society. The British played a primary role in Operation Cold Store. The purpose was to prevent them from contesting in the September 1963 general election. By imprisoning the vocal and capable opposition, the British helped Lee Kuan Yew to retain power while preserving their own interest in Singapore and Malaya.

Even after the general election in September 1963, where 5 Barisan members were elected, the arrest of political opponents continued. Three of the elected Barisan Members of Parliament namely S T Bani, Lee Tee Tong and Loh Meow Gong were arrested even before they could be sworn into Parliament. Another two Barisan MPs left Singapore and did not return when the PAP government refused to give an assurance that they would not be arrested. In 1964, another 88 were arrested and detained.

Dr Poh was released after 11 years of imprisonment without trial in 1973. Defiant, principled and courageous, he called upon the PAP government to release his comrades in prison. He and a group of friends were in the process of forming a civil rights society when he was again arrested in 1976. The following year, his friends were also arrested and imprisoned. Dr Poh was to be detained for another 6 years, thus spending a total of 17 years of the prime of his life in jail.

On 23 September 2011, MHA issued a statement accusing Dr Poh (though he was not named) of assisting a CPM saboteur. The statement reads:

“… In 1974, one of them provided medical assistance to a CPM saboteur who was hiding in Malaysia. The saboteur had been conveying a bomb for an attack in Singapore, and was travelling along Still Road (Katong) when it detonated prematurely, injuring him and killing his two accomplices...”

Dr Poh denies providing medical assistance to the injured even though under the Hippocratic Oath he has a duty to treat an injured person, whatever his political affiliation may be. MHA’s statement referred to a fiction composed by the ISD. That fiction imagined Dr Poh, his wife and Dr G Raman visiting Masai in Johor to treat an injured person who the ISD claimed to be a communist. Dr Raman in a statement made in 1977 (which statement is in the possession of the Attorney General’s Chambers) had already denied visiting Masai with Dr Poh and his wife. Further, Dr Poh’s passport which the ISD had sight of, proved that he never went to Masai. Indeed, Dr Poh has until today never visited Masai.

Below is the first of two parts of a speech delivered on 13 September 2011. Dr Poh spoke about his arrests and detentions. Coincidentally, he also talked about the government’s baseless allegation that he treated an alleged bomber in 1974.

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MY ARREST AND DETENTION IN 1976

I was detained in Operation Cold Store i.e. 2nd Feb 1963, and released at the end of 1973. On the day of my release, I was advised by a very senior ISD officer that on release I should not publicize nor seek the release of my comrades in detention. It was not only dangerous for me but made their release more difficult. It was a friendly advice, and I believe made with good intentions.

However, I could not accept this bully-logic reflected in the thuggish policy pursued by the ISD. So on release, I met with four other comrades, P. Govindasamy, Lau Ah Lek, Fu Yang Yeow, and Tan Kim Sim, who were released on the same day, at my house. We issued a joint press statement, describing our individual detention - from three years to near 11 years - and called for the unconditional release of all detainees. We ended by calling Lee Kuan Yew a “political pimp.”

On the 11th anniversary of Operation Cold Store in 1974, I made a recorded speech of the mass arrests and a plea for support from FUEMSSO. The recorded speech was played at a meeting organized in London by FUEMSSO. I pointed out that on the very day of Operation Cold Store in 1963, Lee Kuan Yew had denied responsibility for the mass arrests in his press interview at the Singapore airport on his return from the (Internal Security Council) ISC meeting in K.L. This had infuriated Lord Selkirk who called him up, threatening to publish the relevant documents. Of course the press was blamed. In a later interview, he amended his earlier denial. However, it was clear to all, the denial was a publicity stunt to hit the headlines the day after the arrest. The subsequent correction would not have the same impact or it could even be ignored by the public.

The U.K., as chairman of the Internal Security Council (ISC), shared the responsibility for the arrests. The order for the arrests in February 1963, the carrying out of Operation Cold Store came directly from London. Selkirk and the others just enforced it. By handing the detainees over to the PAP government without first releasing them before the merger in September 1963, the U.K. shared responsibility for their continued detention. This moral responsibility cannot be shrugged off by any legalistic talk. Thus, in my speech to the FUEMSSO students in 1974, I said students in the U.K. should demand the UK government make a statement calling for their release, make their stand transparent and condemn the PAP for the continued detention of those they (the British) had earlier detained.

Later in 1974, I attended the Tokyo conference on imperialism organized by the World Council of Churches. There I described the police state that is Singapore. Friends at the Conference assured me of support should I be rearrested. During my re-arrest, these friends including some Japanese Parliamentarians, petitioned the PAP for my release.

In the same year, I met Ms Small of the International section of the British Labour Party, and a delegation of trade unionists from Sweden who were here to attend a NTUC function at Raffles Hotel. I met them separately at my home. They wanted to know more of the Internal Security Act, the conditions of detention, the people detained, the length of detention, and the conditions of release with restrictions, making of a security statement (a statement that implicates others), TV appearances, etc. I did not know then that they were planning to bring a motion asking the PAP to explain the detention, prolonged imprisonment, and ill treatment of its opponents in the forth coming Socialist International Conference to be held in Brussels in mid 1976.

Coincidentally, in early 1976 a few of us discussed the formation of a civil rights society, akin to the NGOs of today. G Raman, Ong Bock Chuan, M Fernandez, Gopinath Pillai (the PAP ambassador at large), Jing Quee, Gopal Baratham, and I had touched briefly upon the subject at a house warming party thrown by M. Fernandez.

This discussion developed into a pro-tem committee consisting of G. Raman, Michael Fernandez, Ong Bock Chuan, and I. We agreed to invite Father Joseph Ho, Dr. Gwee Ah Leng, and Dr. Un Hon Hin to join the committee. Tan Jing Quee did not join. He came to my house later with Kay Yew to express their deep concern that the PAP could use this civil rights society as a pretext for arrests. He was to be proven right.

Shortly after its formation, there was news that the Socialist International conference in Brussels would be tabling a motion asking its fraternal member, the PAP to explain the arrests without trial, and prolonged detention of political opponents.

The stage was set for our detention. By talking of civil rights, demanding the release of detainees, highlighting freedom of speech and assembly, as well as transparency and accountability to the people, we could become an embarrassment that needed to be nipped in the bud.

But how to present this as a serious threat to national security to the Singapore public and international opinion? Despite the visit of Harold Wilson, ex-Labour Party Prime Minister of Great Britain to Temasek, international opinion was unfavourable to Singapore against the backdrop of the Socialist International rapping the PAP for its long term detention without trial of its opponents. Hence, the communist bogey was invoked.

MY ARREST

There was no more the knock upon the door in the wee hours of the morning. The ISD officers were waiting for me at the car park of my flat. As I came down the flight of steps to enter my car at about 7.30 a.m., I was approached by a couple of men who identified themselves as police officers. They said I was under arrest, but I would have to lead them back to the flat. When we entered my flat, they immediately closed all the windows. They were afraid neighbors would notice. They searched my study and took a few things away. Then as we were leaving, I asked if I could write a note to my wife, Grace, who had gone to work some half hour earlier. I wrote that the ISD had come. She should be brave and that I loved her. Inspector Lim read the note. He commented that we had been expecting the arrest. I nodded.

That I would be arrested was no secret. The PAP had to resign from the Socialist International as it could not honestly explain its totally undemocratic actions. Moreover, the PAP did not take well to moral pressure from any quarter. A week or so before my arrest in 1976, C.V. Devan Nair was dispatched to the Socialist International conference in Brussels to boast of his anti-colonial past, blithely ignoring the fact that experienced politicians attending the conference regarded him as a turncoat. He declared that he and I were acquainted and that I was a communist. That we were acquainted is without doubt. I had helped his family financially while he was under detention. But he should have checked with the ISD, being a turncoat and leading the PAP delegation, whether I was a communist before declaring that he knew that I was one. The ISD would have told him that it had sent me a letter through the prison authorities, in reply to my request for an issue of the Barisan Newspaper, that I am NOT a communist, and thus the request was allowed. Perhaps he was too lazy to check his accusations, or perhaps he did. That probably is a trait of a turncoat.

Devan’s allegation of me being a communist was in the headline of The Straits Times. It was all orchestrated. So I was expecting the arrest. Perhaps the PAP wanted me to flee, for during my interrogation, an officer made the comment that I was a Kamikaze. But he did not elaborate.

Continuing with the first day of my re-arrest, I was driven to my clinic on Balestier Road. They searched my consultation room. I do not know what they were looking for. But I was worried that they may plant ammunition there and “find” it. The thought that they were capable of fabrication was foremost in my mind, as I suddenly remembered what they said and did in Marshall’s Anson by-election of 1961. Then The Straits Times headlined a plot to kill the PAP ministers. The Director of the Special Branch, Mr. G Bogaars, personally led a raid on a house in Telok Kurau – not far from my place. Some men were arrested, and ammunition reportedly found. Photos abound in the newspaper. All was quiet for a week or so. Then when Marshall spoke up at Anson to say he doubted the authenticity of the story, the ST printed, in small print and in the inside pages, a report to say that the ISD had received the information from “overzealous” police agents. Who were these overzealous police agents who had given false reports, and what happened to the ammunition found in the house – and who were their owners? Nothing more was ever disclosed.

I was led to the police car, made to put on a pair of spectacles that had a layer of foam on the inside. I was totally blinded. Even though my clinic was only a stone’s throw from the Whitley Holding Centre, it took quite a while to reach there. It was a poor attempt to disorientate me and a total waste of petrol.

After changing into a T-shirt and short cotton pants, the spectacles were now off, I was led to my cell. It was on one limb of a U-shaped single-story structure with a flat concrete roof. There were more cells on the other limb. The prison guard’s station and the lavatory occupied the junction of the two limbs. In the centre of the building was the exercise yard, fenced off on all sides from the cells. The walls were high, and you could only see angled skies and the top of distant trees. The cell measured some 5 feet by10 feet with a fixed bunk in the center. The fluorescent light was on all the time when I was in the cell. Once it blew, and all was in darkness. The guard could see nothing through the peep hole in his regular rounds. Immediately I was moved to an adjacent cell while the electrician on call promptly replaced the bulb.

My first family visit was a disaster. My younger brother, a clinical professor came to visit me. He worked as a chest physician at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. His first question was, “Have you newspapers to read?” “No reading material,” was my reply. Click. The intercom was cut off. I was not to talk of matters in the centre. And so ended prematurely the visit for the family for the week.

I was summoned to go to an interrogation cell on the first day of my re-arrest. The guards had to be careful. If there was a red light at the end of the corridor, he had to stop, make me face the wall of the corridor, lest we run into some other escorted detainees approaching the right angle junction. New traffic rules had to be learned!!

Strange as it may seem, the officers asked no questions. We sat and looked at each other, and engaged in small talk. One told me he had recently returned from a posting in Cambodia. He was on the last plane out of Phnom Penh before the city fell. Another asked me to talk on socialism and try to convince him. I told him it is not possible unless we change places. They were friendly, but kept on telling me that if I do not write a confession I will definitely rot in prison. So I asked them to ask me questions if they want to know anything. They would not! The reply I got was that if they did, then I would know what they knew of me! So we sat there from about 6.00 a.m. to midnight staring at each other. They placed a small clock on the table and told me I could go back to my cell only at midnight. That kind of interrogation went on daily for the six months I was in Whitley Road Detention Centre.

The interrogation rooms were cold. For the evening session, the officers came in warm clothing while I shivered. Going back to the cell, however, was not comfortable either. It was terribly hot- like entering a furnace, more so after the cold of the interrogation room. I was most happy when it rained, for then the cell was much more comfortable. The heat did not dissipate from the poorly ventilated room until well passed 2.00 a.m.

Then one day, Deputy Director Si-Toh walked in accompanied by some 6-8 rough-looking men. They stood behind me and by my two sides. But Si Toh was polite. He asked if I had made night calls in my medical practice lately. On reflection I told him yes, one. He showed interest. Who did I attend to? It was a tenant on the ground floor who had abdominal pain. Any more night calls? No. Disappointment showed in his face. Did I send out letters lately? I did. I knew then that my letter to Lin Chew after the PAP’s walk-out from the Socialist International had been intercepted. In the letter, I had told her that I agreed with the Socialist International’s move to ask the PAP to explain its detention of political opponents, but I told her that she was not to worry over me. The PAP would have to find a scapegoat for that humiliation and I was prepared for it. Maybe because they had intercepted my letter, they did not ask me questions regarding Lin Chew or the Socialist International.

And then suddenly the door of the interrogation room was flung open and H.H was pushed in, onto the floor. I know him. He was an ex-detainee. An honest man but I had suspected that he had links with the Singapore Revolutionary Party, an organization I would not touch. He was my patient. They had beaten him up and he was in bad shape. He looked at me and said sorry to me. Though he did not finish his sentence, I surmised that he must have told the ISD that I had given him medicine for the injured bomber. (A year back, two bombers attempted to attack the Nanyang Shoe Factory but the home-made bomb went off in the attackers’ car while they were driving to the factory, killing the driver and injuring the other bomber.) I told HH not to worry, just tell them the truth. After that they dragged HH out of the room. They never interrogated me about the prescription but I was not concerned as the drugs were prescribed for HH’s flu symptoms. In fact, the ISD officers had gone to my clinic and taken H H’s medical case notes and a few days later, they showed me my own prescription for HH. Thus the poker game they played with me ended on an anti-climax note for the ISD.

Back to waiting for the clock to strike midnight. But there was one incident I must tell you. One day I was brought to the upper floor of the interrogation block. The Nepalese guard, the ghurka, stood outside the closed door. I was alone in the room. Suddenly I heard an extremely loud stamping of the boot in salute. The door was opened and expecting some big shot to come in – thus the unusually extra loud salute—I turned my head to look at the entrance. In walked a man, spotlessly dressed, in his late thirties, perhaps early forties. He was alone and that was unusual, because very senior officers nearly always come in pairs. He walked round to the other side of the table, pulled out the chair and sat down. He smiled, and said “Dr. Poh, may I call you Dr. Poh”. We were given numbers, and were never addressed by name. He was trying to be polite and nice. My reply was, “Of course you can.” Then the next question made my day. He asked, “Dr. Poh, now what is your story?” My reply was direct, “what story do you want?” He knew he had lost. He got up and stiffly walked out of the room.

After some months, I was transferred to Moon Crescent Center. A few weeks in a three-cell block with friends, then solitary in a big 8-cell block.

In early February 1977, the ISD officers informed me of my wife’s, Grace, detention. They said I could visit her at Whitley Road Detention Centre. She had just been arrested. I knew that her detention was aimed at me. I would not let them enjoy and exploit my discomfort. I turned down the offer to see my wife. She was detained for a month, with days and nights in the cold interrogation room.

Also, some time in early February 1977, I heard of the arrest of my friends, G. Raman (who was my lawyer), A. Mahadeva, Jing Quee, Kay Yew, Joethy, etc.

Then through the prison grapevine, came the news that in an arranged BBC interview, Lee Kuan Yew had said that G.Raman had sworn an affidavit that he, Grace and I had gone one night to treat an injured man in Masai, Johor. That G. Raman, a senior lawyer held under detention, had been brought under guard – though Lee Kuan Yew took pains to stress that there were no uniformed officers around – to the magistrate court to swear an affidavit, testified to the contemptuous attitude Lee had of Singapore’s judiciary.

And so Lee declared that based upon Raman’s affidavit, he would let the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) judge me. I would be judged by my peers. Presumably, Lee thought that this would satisfy some of the critics of my arrest.

But this was all a public relations exercise. Fabricate a story, hog the headlines, then quietly forget it. The SMC was never instructed by the government to summon me for an enquiry. I received no request to appear before the SMC.

In fact, my copy of the newspaper of the BBC interview was censored. Why keep me in the dark when I would be appearing before the Medical Council and be judged by my peers? The sad thing is, up to quite recently, I was surprised to hear a young friend telling me that it is the ethical duty of every doctor to treat any injured person anywhere. If there was an injured person in Masai, going to Masai was perfectly right and ethical. The young friend could not believe his ears when I told him that up till today, I had not been to Masai. He must be wondering, what other nonsense and myths he had believed in since his school days. He thanked me for waking him up.

Detained under the ISA for starting a civil rights society : Dr Poh Soo Kai

2011-09-19T14:01:00.000+08:00

Three of Singapore's longest-held ex-political detainees in a recent photo. From left : Dr Chia Thye Poh (32 years), Dr Poh Soo Kai (17 years), Dr Lim Hock Siew (19 years). Seated is the late Mr Tan Jing Quee, twice detained under the ISA. The photo is published in a booklet distributed during the memorial for Tan Jing Quee.

*******************************

Dr Poh Soo Kai

by Teo Soh Lung

Dr Poh Soo Kai was detained under the ISA for a total of 17 years. A brilliant young doctor, he resigned from government service in 1961 in order to participate in politics. He was then an intern in Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital and was just awarded a scholarship for Obstetrics and Gynaecology training in UK. Together with Dr Lim Hock Siew they established Rakyat Clinic in Balestier Road.

Dr Poh would have been a great asset to Singapore's development had he not been arrested under the ISA on 2 February 1963 (Operation Cold Store) together with more than150 others. He was then the Vice Secretary of Barisan Sosialis and had posed a serious political threat to the then prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. Released after 11 years, Dr Poh continued to be defiant. He called for the release of those who were still in prison, issued press statements, gave interviews and attended conferences, both in Singapore and abroad.

Towards the middle of the 1970s, several intellectuals began thinking about the setting up a human rights society. Dr Poh was one of those interested in such a project. But before any plans could take root, he was rearrested in June 1976. A few months later, all those interested in setting up the human rights society were detained under the ISA. Dr Poh languished in jail for another 6 years.

Below is his speech delivered at Tan Jing Quee's Memorial Service on 27 August 2011 in Kuala Lumpur

****************

Friends and Comrades,

When Jing Quee entered the University of Malaya and joined the University Socialist Club, where he was enormously active, especially in the production of its organ, Fajar, I had graduated and was very busy working in the hospital. The work-load was such that I seldom had the time to socialize with club members. As a result, I can’t say I knew Jing Quee really well at that time.

Operation Cold Store on February 2nd 1963, signaled the start of severe state repression of Singapore’s anti-colonial movement. Over 100 trade unionists and opposition political leaders were detained. Despite this prevailing atmosphere of fear, Jing Quee upon graduating, true to his conviction, courageously became a trade unionist, was appointed paid Secretary of the Singapore Business Houses Employees’ Union and became the Assistant Secretary General of Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU), at its foundation. He joined the Barisan Sosialis and stood as its candidate in the September 1963 General Election, knowing full well the Barisan Sosialis and opposition anti-colonial groups had been so badly crippled so as to ensure victory for the PAP. In fact, the prediction of the U.K. High Commissioner’s office on the result of an election after Operation Cold Store, was extremely accurate. Only the date of the election was wrongly predicted.

When I was released at the end of 1973, Jing Quee had already been released, gone to the U.K. to study law, and had returned as a lawyer. He came to see me, and together with like-minded friends, we discussed the formation of a civil rights society – much like the NGOs of today. G Raman, Michael Fernandez, Ong Bock Chuan and I agreed to be in the pro-tem committee, whose membership would be enlarged by approaching Dr. Gwee Ah Leng, Dr. Un Hon Hing and Father Ho. Jing Quee did not join the committee. Later, he came to my house, and expressed serious concern that the PAP government would demonise the formation of this civil rights committee and use it as a pretext to re-detain me. He was to be proven right.

Coincidentally, shortly after, the Socialist International held a conference at Brussels in 1976. On the agenda was an item asking its fraternal member, the PAP, to explain the arrest without trial and prolonged detention of its citizens. Unable and unwilling to explain its fascist actions, the PAP sent Mr. Devan Nair to the conference. He was to withdraw the PAP from the Socialist International. At the conference he declared that he was acquainted with me, and that I am a Communist. That we were acquainted, is beyond doubt. I had helped his family financially while he was under detention. His speech must have been vetted and approved by Lee Kuan Yew whose Internal Security Department officials must have told him that I am not a Communist. ISD had written me a letter while I was in prison acknowledging that I am not a Communist. The stage was now set for my re-detention.

Jing Quee’s cautiousness in not joining the pro-tem committee however did not prevent him from being re-detained a second time in early 1977. Friends abroad, especially in Japan, demanded our release. Lacking a credible excuse, Lee Kuan Yew in 1977 in an interview with the BBC, claimed that I had gone with G. Raman in separate cars across the causeway to treat an injured bomber in Masai, Johore. He said he was bringing up my case before the Singapore Medical Council, so that I could be judged by my peers. But it was all a publicity stunt. I seriously doubted he intended to bring up my case before the Medical Council. After the BBC publicity, nothing more was heard. I received no summons to present myself before the Medical Council. Neither was it ever approached to reprimand me.

Upon my unconditional release in late 1982, Lee Kuan Yew’s press statement stated that I had been defiant but he was willing to give me a second chance. Defiance has now become a reason for detention. I suppose defiance was also the reason for Jing Quee’s second arrest. Perhaps I had shown my defiance not only in forming the Civil Rights Committee, but more so, as I had called him a “political pimp” in my statement upon my first release in 1973.

Jing Quee worked hard at his law practice. His silence was broken when in Feb 2006, together with fellow ex-detainee M. Fernandez, he described his detention at a public forum on “Detention – Writing – Healing” in Singapore. This forum was significant, as it was, after nearly a generation, political detainees for the first time identified themselves and addressed the public as such.

Noting the very favourable response, the PAP government came out with a warning: “ex-detainees will not be permitted to re-write history.” But the dyke has been breached. And fear receded. The internet gave access to news and views and questions and doubts, not printed in the press. Ex-detainees began to speak out and write about their experiences, and the tortures they underwent. There is an increasing demand for historical facts, for freedom of speech and assembly, and Singaporeans are no longer “dull.” They have begun to question the official version of the history of Singapore’s formative years, and to seek truth from the propagated myths, and question what has been dished out to them through the years.

Suffice for me to point out one example. Lee Kuan Yew in his memoirs stated that as he was working for the Japanese broadcasting at Cathay Building during the Japanese occupation. Hence, he was able to receive news before other Singaporeans of the impending Allied return to Singapore. He claimed he had discreetly disseminated the information. As such, he was afraid the Japanese authority would punish him for doing so if he were identified. It was a heroic act. He fled to Cameron Highlands to hide till the return of the Allied forces.

But after the publication of his memoirs, Mei Ling Chung Harding in her book, Escape from Paradise stated that Lee Kuan Yew was working for the Japanese Intelligence. We may note that Intelligence is a very different sector from Broadcasting.

She was never sued for libel. If you believe her story, then logically Lee Kuan Yew’s flight to Cameron Highlands could not be to evade the Japanese, as claimed. I am sure this puzzle must be in the minds of most of you, and especially those who will be attending the Memorial service at Nilai tomorrow, in honour of those who died fighting against the Japanese aggressors.

Jing Quee has indeed opened the flood gates, and the latest election in Singapore is a testimony to the people’s desire for truth, transparency and free debates as well as to Singaporeans’ over-riding desire to discard fabrications, falsehoods and myths. In this, Jing Quee has done Singapore an enormous service, and lived the life he wanted to.

Thank you.

Dr Poh Soo Kai

_____________________________

Further readings :
More ex-detainees speak out : Political violence and the abuse of the ISA in Singapore
What the left-wing stood for : Dr Poh Soo Kai
I'll forgive Lee Kuan Yew if he admits to his error and apologises to me : Lim Hock Siew
New PAP book neglects founding members detained for 19 years

Video : Dr Lim Hock Siew issues challenge to Dr Tony Tan

2011-08-21T17:54:00.004+08:00

Time to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and abolish the ISA

2011-08-19T10:28:00.004+08:00

[ Read also More ex-detainees speak out : Political violence and the abuse of the ISA in Singapore ]

by Teo Soh Lung

Photo : Singapore's longest-held political prisoner Chia Thye Poh (centre), with detainees of 1987's "Marxist Conspiracy" arrests at a Chinese New Year gathering this year in Chia's home in Ang Mo Kio. Chia is currently working in the Netherlands.

From left : Activist Isrizal Mohd Isa, ex-detainees Vincent Cheng, Chia Thye Poh, Wong Souk Yee and Teo Soh Lung.

Tan Jing Quee and Michael Fernandez were the first ISA detainees to speak about their detention in 2006. Both men were detained in 1963 and again in 1977. It took them more than 40 years to talk about their imprisonment.

In 2009, Jing Quee composed a poem “ISA Detainee”. There he recorded the prison conditions in the 1960s as well as that of 1977.

1977 saw the arrest of at least 28 people, mostly professionals. They were labelled “Euro Communists” by the PAP government. I was a young lawyer then and personally knew some of the people who were arrested. When they were released, none of them spoke about their experiences.

Earlier this month, Dr Ang Swee Chai who now lives in London, wrote about what she went through as a ISA prisoner in 1977. ISD officers had visited the hospital where she worked to arrest her. The hospital staff were so terrified of those plain clothes men that they interrupted her while she was performing an operation in order to inform her of their presence. I felt really sad for her as well as for my country when I read her note. Why do we have to respect the ISD so much that the hospital staff had to announce their presence even when she was performing an operation? I am glad Dr Ang was able to remain calm and successfully completed the operation.

It is clear from Dr Ang’s account that her experience had remained fresh in her mind for the past 34 years. She remembers graphic details of how she was arrested and treated in the cold room. She even remember her prison number.

From 1970 to 1979, 149 people were arrested under the ISA. Among them were prominent theatre practitioners Kuo Pao Kun and Goh Lay Kuan and writers like cultural medallion recipient, Yeng Pway Ngon. Yet none of them had until today, written about their experiences.

If ISA victims of the 1970s were silent until recently, those of the 1960s also suffer in silence. In 1963, Operation Cold Store saw the arrest of at least 145 people. Among them were prominent doctors, politicians, newspaper editors, journalists and trade unionists. How could the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his cabinet ministers imprisoned fellow Singaporeans without trial for decades? Between 1960 and 1969, a total of at least 284 were detained. Among them were :

Lim Chin Siong (Secretary of Barisan) 6 years

Dr Poh Soo Kai (Vice Secretary of Barisan)
17 years

Said Zahari (Editor of Utusan Melayu, Chairman Partai Rakyat)
17 years

Dr Lim Hock Siew (Central Committee of Barisan)
20 years

Ho Piao (Paid Secretary of SNSU) 18 years

Lee Tee Tong (Barisan Member of Parliament)
18 years

Loh Meow Gong (Barisan Member of Parliament)
7 years

Wee Toon Lip (Barisan candidate) 10 years

S T Bani (Barisan Member of Parliament)
3 years

Michael Fernandez (Paid Secretary, SCHFEU)
9 years

Chia Thye Poh (Barisan Member of Parliament)
26 years

Chia Thye Poh, a member of parliament was imprisoned for 26 years and subjected to restrictions for another 6 years. I met up with Chia sometime this year. I was told by his father who is now in his 90s that Chia his eldest born was a brilliant student. He was a bookworm and was always at the top of his class. He did not participate in student activities. It was only when he became a lecturer at the Nanyang University that he became interested in politics. He stood as a Barisan candidate in 1963 and won. When he was arrested in October 1966 his mother suffered a stroke and had not been in good health ever since. Today, she is bedridden. Both parents are being looked after by his younger sister. Chia who has a doctorate degree, works abroad and returns home irregularly. Life is tough.

The PAP have wrecked many lives and deprived many parents of their children. There must be thousands whose lives were damaged by the ISA. Said Zahari wrote an account of his prison days in Dark Clouds at Dawn published in 2001. Low Miao Gong wrote briefly about her experience in “The Two Faces of Men in White” (published in The May 13 Generation). No others who were detained in the 1960s have to date written about their experience.

When Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years on Robben Island, he went on to become the President of South Africa. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up to investigate the atrocities committed by the past government. Can we in Singapore ever expect such a Commission to be set up to investigate all ISA cases? Will I be able to see the repeal of the ISA during my lifetime?

On Saturday, 20 August 2011 at 2 p.m. at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, friends of Tan Jing Quee will pay tribute to him for his contributions in re-writing the history of Singapore. Let us hope that their voices will bring change to our nation one day.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong should apologise to Dr Ang Swee Chai

2011-08-14T13:02:00.003+08:00

by Teo Soh Lung

Dr Ang Swee Chai, a prominent surgeon and author of From Beirut to Jerusalem has now written about her arrest and detention without trial under the ISA in 1977. She was one of at least 28 people, mostly professionals, who were arrested and labelled as Euro Communists by the PAP government.

Dr Ang was arrested on 15 March 1977, one month after Tan Jing Quee was arrested. At the time of her arrest, her husband of two weeks, Francis Khoo, a lawyer had escaped to London after many of their friends were arrested and imprisoned. Both she and her husband now live as exiles in London. The documents and photographs seized have not been returned to them.

"On the morning of my arrest, I was operating, when one of my colleagues came to tell me that a number of plain clothes policemen were looking for me. I told him that I got to finish operating on my patient before I could see them. They waited outside the operating theatre, maybe about 10 of them altogether, since we left in 2 cars. One of them wanted to hand-cuff me, but I told them I was not going to run away, and could not anyway. Furthermore they should not lead me with hand cuffs through the crowded hospital corridors for everyone to see, since some of the people sitting along the corridor were my patients.

They took me first to our own flat. We were married 2 weeks prior to this and had just moved into this flat. They started going through all our things, taking a whole lot of documents and books away, and helped themselves to our wedding photos. Then they went to Francis' mother's house and took away Francis's things. Next they went to my parents's house to search. It was in the late afternoon when I was finally taken to Whitley Detention Centre. I was made to change into canvas/linen prisoner's clothes, and all my own clothes - including my bra and watch were taken away. I was thumb-printed and had photographs taken with my prison number which was 116. From there I was taken straight to interrogation. It was hard to know how long I was interrogated, since there was no clock, and my own watch was taken away. But since there was about 9-12 change of shifts I must have been questioned initially for at least 72 hours. The interrogation was conducted by about 6 male officers with one female officer watching in each shift.

There was initial banging of tables and threat that they would throw the key away for ever, and no one can get me out. They accused me of being a communist and a terrorist! The room was cold and I was shivering. I was then given strong tea with sugar and no milk, which coupled with all the threats sent my heart rate thumping.

After what I thought must be the first 72 hours of continuous interrogation, I was taken to a small cell, no mattress, and the door shut. Lights were on. There was a small window in the door which was shut. As I sat on the cement floor, a Gurkha brought me rice wrapped in brown paper. There was one tiny fish, and I just could not eat anything. I was then taken to the toilet, but not allowed to close the door. By this time I was well and truly constipated. I just could not use the toilet with Gurkha soldiers standing guard at an open door. After that I was taken to an enclosed field and told to exercise for about 10 minutes.

Then I was taken back for interrogation by yet a new set of officers. I was given lots of blank paper and questioned about Francis. I must have spent a couple of days being questioned, and writing and re-writing pages on Francis - most of what I wrote I remember was trivial initially. But later it was clear that what they were after was for me to implicate Francis as a terrorist. This I refused to do, as I know Francis was not. Then they put it to me that Francis had been lying and hiding things from me. They told me they had evidence to support their allegations, but could not show me.

After about another 48 hours I was taken back to my cell. This time I was given fried Hor Fun by my case officer, who told me that my boss, Mr J E Choo, the Head of Outram Road General Hospital had rung the head of the ISD asking what they wanted with me. Apparently he had recently operated on the head of the ISD. The late Mr J E Choo was Senior State Surgeon and extremely well respected. This phone call I suspect had improved my deal.

I was also given a mattress on the floor of my cell this time and told I was to sleep for two hours. Once the door shut I burst into tears, but then stopped since I thought I could be watched, and it was stupid to cry. After this time when I was again taken out for interrogation, the officers seemed friendly and polite, and advised me that in order to save my marriage I should go to Europe and persuade Francis to come back. They emphasized that apart from the shock of being suddenly picked up, I was treated well, and since I was able to go through with this, I should challenge Francis to go through this as well. I think they call it "coming clean". Of the pages and pages I have written, I signed some of them. The officers explained that I was a reasonable middle class professional (division one officer) and they could talk to me without resorting to using force, and it was easy to work with me. But with labourers and workers they usually had to beat them up to get co-operation. They gave me the impression that I was sensible, co-operative, not a terrorist but misled by my husband, and they wanted to help Francis correct his "deviant" ways before he get into very deep waters! They also told me not to worry about the hospital since it was also part of the civil service as the ISD was, and they had applied for me to have a fortnight's leave, so nobody would query where I went, and as few people should know that I have been "picked up" by the ISD as possible. I somehow never challenged them about my doctor colleagues, who saw me being taken away in broad daylight from the hospital.

When I was released a week later, it was surreal to see the metal gates of the detention centre closed behind me and getting into a taxi to go home! I knew that Francis had escaped to either Holland or London, and I had promised the ISD that I would go to Europe to talk to him. Despite all their assurances, I had made up my mind that I would not want Francis to come back to be interrogated, as I suspected he would be badly treated. The ISD officers laughed when I became defensive at one point and told me that I should not worry since they would not beat me up - Francis would see the bruises and make an issue of them, they told me.

So this is my brief account of an encounter with ISD. Apart from getting some information about Francis, this arbitrary detention was not only unpleasant for me personally but a criminal waste of police resources and taxpayers' money. Through this incident, I realised that despite being a division one civil servant, I could be put behind bars without charge, with no access to the outside world and could have disappeared with no one knowing. I was fortunate to be arrested in the hospital during working hours, and my colleagues who saw the arrest had told Mr Choo, my boss and he chose to intervene. If I was arrested in the middle of the night from my home, and there were no witnesses, then I could have been locked up forever as the ISD threatened. Even now I frequently ask myself, what kind of society is this who treat her citizens in this way."

Ang Swee Chai
5 August 2011
London

Ex-detainee's suit settled out of court

2011-04-28T13:23:00.003+08:00

Apr 22, 2011
Ex-detainee's suit settled out of court
By Cai Haoxiang
STRAITS TIMES

Dr Lim had sued four parties over an error in a book.

A DEFAMATION suit filed by former political detainee Lim Hock Siew against four parties over a news item in a book has been settled out of court.

The four sued by Dr Lim, 80, were book publisher Editions Didier Millet (EDM), the National Library Board, book editor-in-chief Peter Lim and printer Tien Wah Press.

Dr Lim said yesterday that under the settlement, EDM, which published the book titled Chronicle Of Singapore: Fifty Years Of Headlines News (1959-2009), apologised for an offending item in it and paid him an undisclosed sum.

The apology appears in today's edition of The Straits Times.

All unsold copies of the book have been withdrawn from circulation after the discovery of the error, and the page will be replaced before the book is made available again.

Dr Lim sued the four in February. He took issue with an item headlined 'Lim Chin Siong hurt in prison fight'. The item, culled from newspapers, said Dr Lim and his supporters were in a fight at Changi Prison with fellow detainee and Barisan Sosialis secretary-general Lim Chin Siong and his supporters.

In the suit, Dr Lim said there was 'no truth in the report that there was a fight' and the 'widespread publication' of the offending words seriously tarnished his reputation and caused him considerable hurt, distress and embarrassment.

Dr Limwas a political activist first with the People's Action Party and then the opposition Barisan Sosialis. In 1963, he was arrested and detained without trial for nearly 20 years before his release in 1982.

Details of the fight and a reported injury to Mr Lim were first published in 1965 in The Straits Times and in the Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh. But in 1966, the newspapers - in court hearings on libel suits against them by Dr Lim and Mr Lim - settled the cases. In statements read at the time, their lawyers confirmed that there was no truth in the allegations about Dr Lim and Mr Lim in the articles.

The article was based on information from an outside source which was believed at the time to be reliable and genuine, but subsequently found to be false, the lawyers had said.

Mr Peter Lim, a former editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English and Malay newspapers who oversaw the book's editorial team, joined the publishers in apologising.

Said Dr Lim yesterday: 'Since they said they were not malicious and it was an innocent error, we settled.'

1963 - The death of two-party democracy in Singapore

2011-04-01T15:58:00.012+08:00

Out the 13 Barisan Sosialis Members of Parliament elected in the 1963 Elections ( held after Operation Coldstore), five of whom were arrested under the ISA, two are in exiled, and another sued for bankruptcy by a PAP leader.

Two of those arrested are Dr Chia Thye Poh and Mr Lee Tee Tong (or Lee Tse Tong). Dr Chia's detention of almost 32 years is shortened by 6 years in the report below. Mr Lee was detained for almost 18 years.

Read and watch everything in this link to understand Singapore's legacy of adversarial politics.

What happened to the Barisan 13?
Straits Times, 1 Apr 2011

Until 10 days ago when he was introduced as a PAP candidate for the coming general election, very few people knew that labour leader Ong Ye Kung was the son of one of the 13 Barisan Sosialis MPs elected in the 1963 General Election. Where are they now and what happened to the most powerful opposition party in Singapore's history?

By Leong Weng Kam, Senior Writer

Barisan Sosialis MPs posing outside Parliament House with a banner proclaiming the death of democracy, after resigning their seats on Oct 8, 1966. They are (from left) Mr Koo Young, Mr Ong Lian Teng, Mr Tan Cheng Tong, Mr Chia Thye Poh and Mr Poh Ber Liak. -- ST FILE PHOTOS

WHEN National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Ong Ye Kung, 41, was unveiled as a People's Action Party (PAP) candidate for the coming polls, Singaporeans were astonished to learn that his father was one of the Barisan Sosialis MPs who sought to overthrow the PAP Government in the 1960s.

Mr Ong Lian Teng, who died in 2009 aged 74, was once a firebrand leftist politician and one of the 13 Barisan Sosialis representatives elected in the crucial 1963 General Election.

He was among the group of Barisan MPs who took their party's struggle to the streets. They marched to Parliament House with their supporters to hand in their resignation letters on Oct 8, 1966.

As the picture above shows, they posed behind a black banner with the seven Chinese characters - guo hui min zhu yi si wang, meaning 'parliamentary democracy is dead' - outside the chamber's building before riot policemen dispersed them.

The elder Ong was an active Chinese community leader in rural Singapore in 1961 when he joined Barisan, a breakaway faction of the PAP which came into power three years earlier.

The camp led by leftist trade unionist Lim Chin Siong was opposed to the PAP's founding secretary-general Lee Kuan Yew and company over Singapore's merger with Malaysia and other ideological issues.

Mr Ong was one of the few remaining Barisan MPs who boycotted Singapore's first Parliament session after its independence in August 1965 to resign his seat, claiming that parliamentary democracy was dead after a series of government arrests just before and after the 1963 elections.

The crackdown included Operation Cold Store in February, which imprisoned more than 110 activists, and Operation Pechah in October, which rounded up another 190.

Three of the 13 Barisan MPs - trade unionists S.T. Bani, Lee Tee Tong and Loh Miaw Gong - were among those arrested in Operation Pechah on the eve of an industrial strike planned by the then left-wing Singapore Association of Trade Unions (Satu).

Mr Bani, who was Satu's president, resigned from Barisan and his seat in Parliament on his release, following a public confession on Jan 9, 1966. Both Madam Loh and Mr Lee resigned from Parliament later in 1966 while they were still in prison.

Three other elected members, Mr Chan Sun Wing, Mr Wong Soon Fong and Mr Tan Cheng Tong, were among the original 13 leftist PAP legislative assemblymen who broke away from the PAP to form Barisan in 1961. After escaping arrest in Operation Pechah, Mr Chan and Mr Wong vacated their parliamentary seats. They now live in exile in Southern Thailand.

Mr Lim Huan Boon, a chemistry graduate from the former Nanyang University (Nantah) was the first to quit in December 1965, four months after Singapore's independence. He resigned from Barisan and his seat in Parliament because he disagreed with party chairman Dr Lee Siew Choh's decision to opt for 'extra-parliamentary struggle', claiming Singapore's independence was phoney and there was no parliamentary democracy.

Now 82, Mr Lim, who is better known as a Malay language scholar today, had said that Barisan should not have boycotted Parliament.

Explaining his decision to retire from politics for good, he had said: 'I joined Barisan because I was against merger with Malaysia. With Singapore's independence, there is nothing for me to fight for.'

His departure was followed in January 1966 by that of Mr Chio Cheng Thun and Mr Kow Kee Seng, who were also at loggerheads with Dr Lee.

With the opposition bench empty, the PAP held and won all the by-elections to fill the seats, resulting in its total dominance of Parliament until 1981 when Anson was captured by then Workers' Party secretary-general J.B. Jeyaretnam in a by-election.

So why did the most powerful opposition party in the history of Singapore boycott Parliament, thus handing it to the PAP on a silver platter? This is one question that has long intrigued historians and political pundits.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, in the book Men In White, published by Singapore Press Holdings in 2009, called it 'a stroke of destiny' because Barisan's action led to the absence of opposition in Parliament, allowing the ruling party to focus on economic and social development unhindered and undistracted by politicking.

In the book, which featured the voices of many leftists, Barisan chairman Dr Lee defended his decision, saying the 1965 parliamentary walkout was the right move as it drew people's attention to the 'undemocratic practices' of the PAP.

For example, he said, after the September 1962 referendum on merger, Barisan MPs had been pressing the Government for an open meeting on merger, but they were always ignored.

He added: 'For quite a number of months, there was hardly any meeting in Parliament. And while we were waiting, Singapore's independence was declared!'

Instead of holding any Parliament sitting, he charged, 'there were only arrests, arrests and arrests of our people'.

On reflection, Mr Lee Tee Tong, now 79, tells Insight this week that he agreed with Dr Lee. He notes that Operation Cold Store in February 1963 had already nabbed Barisan's top leaders before the general election in September.

They included Mr Lim Chin Siong, Mr Fong Swee Suan, Dr Lim Hock Siew, Dr Poh Soo Kai, Mr S. Woodhull and Mr Dominic Puthucheary.

The son of Mr Puthucheary, Dr Janil Puthucheary, a 38-year-old paediatrician in Singapore, was also introduced as a PAP candidate last week.

Mr Lee says: 'After the general election, a second wave of arrests put more of our leaders, including myself and two other elected Barisan members, behind bars. Many others who contested unsuccessfully were also not spared.

'I don't think Barisan lost in the 1963 election for lack of good people or a better party ideology, but because of the wave after wave of arrests of our leaders.'

Another former Barisan MP, Mr Tan Cheng Tong, now 80, says he was in a fix and had no choice but to resign his Jalan Kayu seat because it was the party's position.

'Looking back, it was an extreme position that we had taken, but the actions against us then were really undemocratic,' he adds.

Former Barisan activist C.C. Chin, 70, now an independent scholar on leftist history, however, takes the view that Barisan's boycott of Parliament was political suicide.

'The party should have continued to fight the PAP constitutionally in spite of the arrests and I am sure today it will still be a political force the ruling party would have to contend with,' he argues.

He believes that the party, having taken the fight to the streets by boycotting Parliament, had lost the support and trust of the people almost completely.

He points out that when Dr Lee merged Barisan with the Workers' Party in 1988 and fielded a unified team for Eunos GRC in the general election held that year, it lost, albeit narrowly, to the PAP. Barisan was a spent force, he says.

In the view of National University of Singapore history lecturer Huang Jianli, every current situation would be contingent upon the past and no one could tell what the outcome would have been if all 13 elected Barisan MPs did not resign their seats between 1965 and 1966.

'Hypothetically speaking, there can be a broad range of possibilities. At the optimistic end of the spectrum is the possibility of greater political pluralism with a much less dominating PAP Government. At the pessimistic end is having more or less the same as today.

'This is because, given the overall authoritarian tendency of the PAP leadership, it would still probably have used other avenues and summoned other means to clamp down on alternative voices,' he says.

Dr Cheng Yinghong, an associate professor in history at Delaware State University in the United States, believes that Barisan in the 1960s was greatly influenced by the Cultural Revolution in China. Whether its elected members remained in Parliament after the 1963 General Election or not, he was pessimistic of the party's prospects.

'The Barisan was a Maoist party by the mid- and the second half of the 1960s. Globally, Maoist influence was disastrous not just in terms of its destructive impact on societies but also to leftist movements themselves.

'When I read those ferocious verbal attacks on their own comrades published in Barisan newspapers, I believed that it was fortunate that such a party failed in its struggle for state power,' he says.

-----------------------------------------

WHY BARISAN LOST
'I don't think Barisan lost in the 1963 election for lack of good people or a better party ideology, but because of the wave after wave of arrests of our leaders.'
Mr Lee Tee Tong
-- ST PHOTO: LEONG WENG KAM

Barisan's rallies before the 1963 General Election attracted large crowds. -- ST FILE PHOTOS

Of the 13 former Barisan Sosialis MPs, six are in Singapore, two live in exile in Thailand, four have passed away, and the whereabouts of one is unknown. Here's an update.

Photos from Singapore Notes

MR LEE TEE TONG
Bukit Timah, 79
Former treasurer of the defunct Singapore Bus Workers' Union.
Detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged pro-communist activities for 17 years from October 1963 to February 1981.
After his release, he married a nurse and worked as an electrician until his retirement in the early 1990s.

MR TAN CHENG TONG
Jalan Kayu, 80
One of the original 13 leftist PAP assemblymen who broke away from the ruling party to form Barisan in 1961.
After quitting Parliament and retiring from politics in 1966, he took up chicken and pig farming in Punggol before moving to other businesses.

MR KOW KEE SENG
Paya Lebar
Former secretary of the Singapore Bus Workers' Union. In the 1972 election, he contested in Paya Lebar as an independent, losing to PAP's Tay Boon Too.
In 1974, he was made a bankrupt after a libel suit against him by then Singapore Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Lee Khoon Choy. He died several years ago.

MR ONG LIAN TENG
Bukit Panjang
Former treasurer and assistant general affairs secretary of the defunct Singapore Rural Dwellers' Association.
The tropical fish farm owner died in 2009, aged 74. The older of his two sons, Mr Ong Ye Kung, 41, has been named a PAP candidate for the coming polls.

MADAM LOH MIAW GONG
Havelock, 75
Former branch vice-chairman of the Singapore General Employees Union.
Detained under ISA for seven years between 1963 and 1970.
She worked for the former Shanghai Book Company for many years before retiring, and now looks after her grandchildren.

MR CHIA THYE POH
Jurong, 70
Former university lecturer and Nantah graduate.
Detained under ISA for 26 years between 1966 and 1992.
After his release, he has spent most of his time in Europe.

MR KOO YOUNG
Thomson
Former Chinese primary school teacher.
Detained under ISA for seven months between June 1967 and January 1968.
After his release, he worked as a private tutor. People who knew him said he died from a heart attack many years ago.

MR WONG SOON FONG
Toa Payoh, 76
Former Works Brigade commander.
He was a founding member of Barisan Sosialis in 1961. After the 1963 elections, he fled to Indonesia to escape arrest. He joined MCP and was an armed guerilla along the Thai-Malaysian border until 1989. He lives in Hat Yai today.
In 2007, he published his memoirs in Chinese.

MR CHAN SUN WING
Nee Soon, 77
Parliamentary secretary to then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew after PAP came to power in 1959. One of the 13 leftist assemblymen who broke away from PAP to form Barisan in 1961.
After the 1963 polls, he fled to Indonesia. He joined the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and was an armed guerilla until 1989. He now resides in Hat Yai.

MR S.T. BANI
Crawford
Former president of the defunct Singapore Association of Trade Unions.
Detained under ISA between October 1963 and January 1966.
After his release, he joined the People's Association and became principal of the National Youth Leadershp Training Institute. Later, he went into personnel management. He died in 1985, aged 51.

MR POH BER LIAK
Tampines, 74
The Nanyang University (Nantah) history graduate has been running his publishing firm, Intellectual Publishing Company, since 1970. It publishes mainly Chinese-language books and magazines.

MR CHIO CHENG THUN
Chua Chu Kang
Former rural community activist and trade unionist.
After resigning from Barisan and Parliament in 1966, he joined the People's Association. In 1980, he was an industrial relations officer with the then Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation.
His whereabouts are unknown. He would be 70 if he is still alive.

MR LIM HUAN BOON
Bukit Merah, 82
The Nantah chemistry graduate is better known as a Malay language scholar after retiring from politics. Two years ago, he published a compilation of Malay phrases with Chinese translations.

Video : Francis Seow - The Interview

2011-03-31T14:05:00.004+08:00

Links :
Blip TV : Francis Seow
Vodpod : Francis Seow: The Interview
Youtube : Francis Seow : The Interview

1994 - 2011: A Chronology of Authoritarian Rule in Singapore

2011-03-21T11:00:00.045+08:00

This chronology was first compiled by yours truly in 2006, and updated in March 2011 as a public document published under Singaporeans For Democracy. You are encouraged to disseminate.

Updated : Dec 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------
"You can get anything you want in Singapore. You can travel, you can bring it in. You can – you can organize what you want. You can say anything you want, and all sorts of things are said and debated in Singapore." - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, interview with Charlie Rose, Aug 2005

"No group is oppressed, suppressed or depressed. Instead we have a political culture that values integrity, meritocracy and fairness." - Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, speech at the 50th anniversary of the ruling People’s Action Party, Nov 2004
-------------------------------------------------------
Oct 1994: In connection with a commentary he wrote in the International Herald Tribune stating how judiciaries in some Asian countries are compliant to ruling powers, the police questions US academic Dr Christopher Lingle for possible contempt of court and criminal defamation. He and the local printer are subsequently fined by the court for "scandalising the judiciary," and ordered to pay the Government legal costs totalling in excess of $100,000. Lingle has not returned to Singapore to face the charges.

Dec 1994: Although the International Herald Tribune had published an apology for the above-mentioned article, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew files a civil libel suit against the paper, who subsequently agrees to pay SM Lee US$213,000 in damages plus costs.

Dec 1994 : Novelist Catherine Lim's column in the Straits Times is suspended after Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong publicly reprimanded her for two articles which suggested that the PAP Government may be out of touch with ground sentiments. "If you land a blow on our jaw, you must expect a counterblow on your solar plexus," said Goh, who added that Lim must enter the political arena if she wants to continue airing her views. Lim subsequently apologises.

Feb 1995: The police mounts a major crackdown codenamed "Operation Hope," raiding private homes where Jehovah's Witnesses members are holding prayer meetings. Officers seize bibles, religious literature, documents and computers, and bring charges against 69 members, resulting in jail terms for many of them. A month later, 73-year-old grandmother Yu Nguk Ding is arrested for carrying two "undesirable publications" – one of them a bible printed by the group. She chooses to spend a week in jail rather than pay a fine.

Jul 1995 : PM Goh Chok Tong, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, win a libel suit against the International Herald Tribune for an article published in 1994, which suggested that the younger Lee was appointed to his post on account of his father. The High Court awards a record judgment of $950,000. The Asian Wall Street Journal, Asiaweek, and the Far Eastern Economic Review remain gazetted in 1995.

Nov 1995: Parliament censures the Singapore Democratic Party and its leader Dr Chee Soon Juan for allegedly endorsing attacks on the judiciary made by Chee's fellow panelists, dissident Francis Seow and academic Dr Christopher Lingle, at a forum held at Williams College in the USA. Government leaders say that the failure of Chee and other SDP leaders to contradict the attacks made by Seow and Lingle constitute positive assent by "clever omission."

Jul 1996: The Singapore Broadcasting Authority issues a broad set of internet regulations. Prohibited material is defined as "objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public order, public security and national harmony." Authorities underline that the Sedition Act also covers the internet.

Aug 1996: The Government denies the Singapore Democratic Party its request to produce and distribute video tapes on the grounds that visual images can be used to evoke emotional rather than rational responses. Moreover, according to the Government, the use of videos allows political parties to sensationalise or distort information to capture the maximum attention of the viewer.

Dec 1996: Parliament levies fines in excess of $36,000 against Dr Chee Soon Juan and three other SDP members, ruling that they had committed perjury and other offences during the proceedings of a Special Parliamentary Committee examining government health care subsidies.

Dec 1996/Jan 1997 (General Elections) : Despite the ruling People's Action Party being returned to power on nomination day when the opposition fails to field candidates in 47 of the 83 seats, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong threatens to turn constituencies into slums lest the electorate voted the PAP.

The Elections Department, under the direct command of the Prime Minister's Office, redraws electoral boundaries. Amongst others, residents of Braddell Heights in central Singapore suddenly find themselves registered as voters under Marine Parade, a constituency on the east coast helmed by PM Goh. Group Representative Constituencies (GRC) increases from four to between four to six seats.

The opposition National Solidarity Party team is disqualified from Tampines GRC after one candidate is found to have his name struck off the electoral rolls for not voting in 1991.

The Workers' Party complains to the police that PM Goh and other PAP leaders were speaking to voters inside a polling station on polling day, an act deemed illegal under the Parliamentary Elections Act. But the Attorney-General rules that the PAP ministers were inside the polling stations as opposed to "loitering" on the outside, so no offence was committed.

Name-calling by the PAP dominated hustings as Workers' Party candidate Tang Liang Hong is labelled an "anti-Christian, anti-English-educated and Chinese-language chauvinist." But it isn't the PAP men who were to be sued. A group of senior PAP leaders – PM Goh Chok Tong, SM Lee Kuan Yew, DPM Lee Hsien Loong and eight other MPs – sue Tang for allegedly defaming them in a police report which he had filed to seek police protection. Citing death threats, Tang flees to Malaysia shortly after the election results were announced. He has remained in exile since.

For producing the police report at the election rally, Workers' Party leader JB Jeyaretnam is also sued. All in all, PAP leaders file a total of 21 defamation suits against both Tang and Jeyaretnam.

The PAP wins 81 of the 83 seats, securing 65% of the total votes.

Jan 1997: While on their way to meet Tang Liang Hong in Johor Bahru, Mrs Tang Liang Hong and her daughter are stopped by immigration officers at the causeway exit, and her passport is confiscated. On their return home, they find a group of lawyers representing PM Goh Chok Tong, SM Lee Kuan Yew other PAP leaders waiting to serve 13 worldwide Mareva Injunctions to freeze their assets. Shortly after, Inland Revenue officials enter their house, carting away documents and articles. A similar raid is carried out at Tang's office in the city.

Apr 1997: PAP leaders cancel Mrs Tang Liang Hong's passport because her name appears as a co-trustee in one of Tang's documents. The PAP leaders fear they may be unable to recover damages from Tang if she is to be allowed to leave Singapore.

July 1997: Political prisoner Chia Thye Poh is allowed to travel to Germany to study but not allowed to make any public statements or address public meetings. He also needs written permission to take part in any political activity or be a member, adviser, helper, official or participant in any organisation or association. Chia, previously an opposition Member of Parliament, was detained without trial in 1966 at the age of 26.

Aug 1997: The Government demands that the Foreign Correspondents' Association cancel a speech by Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. The group's executive committee accedes to the demand.

Aug 1997: The Internal Security Department (ISD), Singapore's secret police, is alleged to have burglarised the home of an US academic helping political exile Tang Liang Hong take up a fellowship at a university. The break-in, which appeared to be aimed at finding computer files and other records listing people interested in Singapore affairs, is investigated by local police and the FBI. According to a US State Department's human rights report on Singapore, it is "widely believed that the authorities routinely conduct surveillance on some opposition politicians and other critics of the Government." The same report also states that the ISD is believed to run a network of part-time informants in the US, Australia and other countries.

Sept 1997: JB Jeyaretnam is found guilty of defaming PM Goh Chok Tong at an election rally where he had told the crowd police reports were filed against PM Goh and his PAP colleagues. He is ordered by Judge J. Rajendran to pay $20,000 in damages plus legal fees. After a subsequent appeal by PM Goh, the damages awarded are increased five-fold, to $100,000.

Nov 1997: The High Court orders political exile Tang Liang Hong to pay the PAP leaders $4.53 million in accumulated damages.

1997/98: Two persons are detained in 1997 and four in 1998 under the Internal Security Act (ISA), all for alleged espionage. Of these six, two remain in detention at the end of 1998. The names of the six detainees remain undisclosed.

1998: Commenting on JB Jeyaretnam in a book by Straits Times' journalists, SM Lee Kuan Yew says, "Put it this way. As long as Jeyaretnam stands for what he stands for - a thoroughly destructive force - we will knock him. There are two ways of playing this. One, you attack the policies; two, you attack the system. Jeyaretnam was attacking the system, he brought the Chief Justice into it. If I want to fix you, do I need the Chief Justice to fix you? Everybody knows that in my bag I have a hatchet, and a very sharp one. You take me on, I take my hatchet, we meet in the cul-de-sac."

Feb 1998: Tang Liang Hong is declared bankrupt by the High Court after failing to pay $739,976 in damages and interests owed to PAP leaders. Assets belonging to him and his wife are seized. In addition, he is charged with thirty-three counts of tax evasion and there is presently an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Mar 1998: The Films Act is amended to ban political films and videos. The Government justifies the ban as protecting politics from sensationalism, innuendo, and inaccuracy. The legislation defines a party political film as one "made by any person and directed toward any political end in Singapore", or one that contains "partisan or biased references on any political matter."

Mar 1998: The Government asks foreign TV stations to restrict coverage of political parties that do not have a wide following. "If we are not careful, foreign broadcasters, like foreign newspapers, can undermine some of our important social and other policies," the Straits Times quotes Information Minister George Yeo.

July 1998: The Government passes the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act, the Electronic Transactions Act and the National Computer Board (Amendment) Act. Under the amended CMA, the police now have lawful access to data and encrypted material in their investigations. Under the ETA, the police are given broad powers to search any computer for proof of an offence without a warrant.

Sept 1998: The Undesirable Publications Act is amended to include CD-ROMS, sound recordings, pictures, and computer-generated drawings, and to raise the fine for distribution or possession of banned publications. The Government also publicises a list of banned English-language publications, which is made up primarily of sexually-oriented materials, but which also includes some religious and political materials.

Nov 1998 : Political prisoner Chia Thye Poh is granted an unconditional release. He has spent 22 years, six months, two weeks and four days in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, and another nine years in Sentosa under strict restrictions. "The best years of my life were taken away just like that without a charge or trial. As a victim of the notorious Internal Security Act, I sincerely call on the government to abolish the Act," says Chia.

Dec 1998: JB Jeyaretnam and Workers' Party are ordered by the High Court to pay five PAP MPs and members of a committee who organised the first Tamil Language Weekly in 1995, $265,000 in defamatory damages plus legal costs for a 14-day trial.

Feb 1999: SDP leader Dr Chee Soon Juan is jailed twice for giving two speeches at Raffles Place without a licence. For both convictions he is fined a total of $3,900 but chooses instead to serve two prison terms of 7 and 12 days respectively. Chee's colleague, Wong Hong Toy, is also imprisoned for 12 days for adjusting the microphone and the volume of the speaker. Amnesty International names both men prisoners of conscience.

Mar 1999: The ten members of the Tamil Language Weekly files a petition with the High Court to wind up the Workers' Party after it fails to pay over $500,000 in libel damages and legal costs.

Mar 1999: Dr Chee Soon Juan is fined for selling his book 'To Be Free' without a permit. He pleads not guilty to the charge as book stores and vendors had refused to sell his books.

May 1999: JB Jeyaretnam and Dr Chee Soon Juan apply to register Open Singapore Centre as a political association, and is told by an official that the application will have to be sent to the Internal Security Department for clearance.

May 1999: After a law student complained to the police that someone with an account in the Home Affairs Ministry had hacked into her computer, the Ministry discloses that it had secretly scanned the computers of more than 200,000 SingNet and SingTel Magix customers, ostensibly for viruses. Singnet apologises to its customers, and says the security check has since been abandoned.

According to a recent US State Department's human rights report on Singapore, the "Internal Security Department and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Board, have wide networks for gathering information and highly sophisticated capabilities to monitor telephone and other private conversations and conduct surveillance. It is believed that the authorities routinely monitor telephone conversations and use of the internet. The law permits government monitoring of internet use."

May 1999: In a Straits Times interview, Minister George Yeo warns Singaporeans: "We have had occasions to tell women's magazines not to get involved in partisan matters. If we did not do this, every political party will use women's magazines to get their views across. I do not think that is healthy for Singapore. If you are a civic organisation, whether you are an organisation, if you want to get yourself involved politically, please get into the political arena and not hide behind a religious group, a tuition class, or a theatre troupe."

Aug 1999: The police rejects two applications by Dr Chee Soon Juan to hold public rallies because the venues are outdoors, and according to the police there is "a potential for trouble" and public "inconvenience". In a reply, Chee says officials and MPs from the PAP "routinely give political speeches in outdoor areas."

Sep 1999: Mrs Tang Liang Hong loses her appeal for damages from PAP leaders, whom she claimed had caused her financial loss. The Court of Appeal also finds that she is not entitled to damages for mental distress and anxiety.

Sep 1999: Elected President Ong Teng Cheong resigns but not before criticising the Government, who had told him it would take "52 man-years" to provide details of Singapore's financial reserves. In rapid succession, Parliament passes four constitutional amendments to grab back some of the powers that were vested in the Elected President. In a news conference, Ong says that some ministers and public officials had treated his office as a "nuisance." "The elected presidency was Lee Kuan Yew's initiative. He came out with the idea way back in '82, '83," says Ong, who is succeeded by former intelligence chief SR Nathan, who ran unopposed.

May 2000: Parliament passes the Political Donations Act. Apart from disallowing political organisations from receiving foreign funding, the Act also prohibits anonymous contributions of more than $5,000 in any financial year. The Home Affairs Minister has the freedom to define which civil societies are political in nature and thus bound by the law.

Sep 2000 : The Government launches Speakers' Corner in downtown Hong Lim Park. Users are required to register with the nearby police post, and are prohibited from using audio-amplication equipment, or speak on racial and religious issues.

Nov 2000: Following a four-hour standoff at the Drama Centre, police arrest the president of a theatre company after she tries to rehearse a banned play about marital violence in the local Indian Muslim community. Ms S. Thenmoli, who heads the Agni Kootthu theatre group, is eventually given "a stern warning in lieu of prosecution."

Dec 2000: A Radio Corporation Singapore (RCS) radio report on a Human Rights Day event at Speakers' Corner is re-edited after the first report went on air containing comments by JB Jeyaretnam and a letter by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Shortly after, a spokesperson for RCS says that the journalist Fauziah Ibrahim has "resigned."

Dec 2000: Police arrest and later charge 15 Falungong practitioners for conducting a protest which sought to draw attention to the arrest and killing of Falungong members in China. The group did not seek a permit, asserting that police had not responded to their previous applications. Seven of the group are eventually sentenced to four weeks in jail for refusing to hand over placards to the police.

Jan 2001: JB Jeyaretnam is declared bankrupt after missing by one day the deadline for a $23,450 payment to eight claimants, all of whom were members of the organising committee of the Tamil Language Weekly who had sued him. As a bankrupt, Jeyaretnam is effectively disqualified from elections.

Feb 2001: Police call up two activists from the Open Singapore Centre and Think Centre for questioning in connection with a Human Rights Day event at Speakers' Corner, pointing out that "it is one thing to have a group of people gather to hear a person or persons speak; but quite another when people come together for a specific cause, and in the process, they chant slogans, display placards and show gesticulations, such as clenching of fists. Police treat such actions as indicative of a demonstration or of disorderly behaviour."

Feb 2001: Police reject a permit application by Think Centre who wanted to protest outside a radio station to mark World Press Day.

Feb 2001 : The Public Entertainments and Meetings Act is revised to double the fines for holding a public talk or delivering a political speech without a police permit from $5,000 to $10,000.

Mar 2001: The Government names Open Singapore Centre and Think Centre political associations and renders them ineligible to receive foreign funding. "An organisation which is not registered as a political party but carries out activities to influence the domestic political process should logically also be prohibited from accepting foreign donations," says the Government.

Apr 2001 : Police summon political discussion group Roundtable members Kevin Tan and Zulkifli Baharudin for questioning following an event in November to discuss freedom of assembly. Police are investigating whether the event provided public entertainment without a licence.

Apr 2001: Parliament passes a law that allows punishment of foreign news broadcasters deemed to be "engaging in the domestic politics of Singapore." The rules are similar to those imposed on the foreign print media in 1986.

Apr 2001: Government officers raid Ngee Ann Polytechnic and confiscate film equipment and tapes after three lecturers made a documentary about JB Jeyaratnam. The three are told that they can be charged in court if they proceeded with a planned screening of the film at the Singapore International Film Festival. They subsequently comply by submitting written apologies for making the film and withdrawing it from the festival.

July 2001 : JB Jeyaretnam loses his Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat in Parliament after losing a final appeal against a bankruptcy order. He has been subjected to lawsuits, fines and jail throughout his political career, and is estimated to have paid more than $1.6 million in damages and costs so far. Three months later, he resigns from the Workers' Party.

Aug 2001: Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng warns that Singapore may face the chaos that hit Indonesia after the fall of Suharto if there are too much emphasis on democracy, human rights and press freedom. "We do ourselves a great disservice if we import unthinkingly and wholesale fashionable and hollow abstractions. So do not believe those few Singaporeans who tell you that with democracy, human rights and press freedom a hundred flowers will bloom and Singapore will prosper," says Wong.

Aug 2001: Parliament passes new laws to restrict political campaigning on the internet. All political websites are to register with the authorities. Non-party political websites are not allowed to campaign for any party, including the display of party banners and candidate profiles.

Aug 2001: Sintercom, a popular political discussion website, shuts itself down after eight years due to pressure by the Government to register as a political site.

Aug 2001: The Singapore Democratic Party calls off a planned political rally after a permit from the police came just four days before the event. "Approval for political rallies is rare in the strictly-governed city-state where the government has been accused of restricting freedom of speech," reports newswire AFP.

Oct 2001: Despite earlier promises to allow overseas voting, Parliament passes a bill to suspend overseas voting for citizens in the coming general elections, citing security concerns due to ongoing US military strikes in Afghanistan.

Oct 2001 (General Elections): Snap elections are called 17 days before polling day – the shortest in Singapore's elections history. Parties are given 9 days to campaign. Election deposits for each candidate are increased to $13,000, up from $5,000 in 1997.

A Workers' Party team of candidates is disqualified by the Elections Department from contesting after submitting incomplete forms, resulting in the opposition contesting barely one-third of the total number of seats, the lowest since 1968.

Under the New Singapore Shares scheme implemented before polling, Singaporeans are given between $200 and $1,700 worth of shares which could be converted to cash. Non-party political websites are prohibited from political campaigning, while exit polls and appeals for funds over the internet are banned.

Restrictions are also imposed on campaigning via mobile text messaging service. Citing terrorist scares, police ban lunchtime rallies in the central business district.

Dr Chee Soon Juan of the SDP is labelled a "cheat, congenital liar and political gangster" by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Defamation suits follow, and again it isn't Lee who got sued. Chee is sued by both PM Goh Chok Tong and SM Lee for questioning an alleged $17 billion loan to former Indonesian President Suharto in 1997.

15 men and a woman are arrested for alleged "rioting" after an opposition rally. The police say the arrests occurred after about 200 people had gathered at a roadside and waved flags in support of the Singapore Democratic Alliance. The crowd held up traffic and tapped on windows of passing cars, the statement adds.

The PAP wins 75.3% of the total votes, securing 82 out of 84 seats, with 55 seats uncontested by the opposition.

The US State Department's human rights report on Singapore's electoral system notes that "the PAP completely controlled key positions in and out of government influenced the press and courts, and limited opposition political activities."

Nov 2001: Police arrest internet critic Robert Ho Chong in his home after the 51-year-old former journalist posted articles before the general elections urging opposition candidates to enter polling stations, just as PAP leaders did in the 1997 elections. The police classify Ho's article as an attempt to incite violence or disobedience to the law that is likely to lead to a breach of peace.

Dec 2001: The ISD detains without trial 15 suspected Jemaah Islamiah members; 13 of whom are ordered subsequently to serve preventive detention for a period of two years; the other two are released with restrictions on their travel. In August of 2002, additional terrorist suspects are detained. The Government does not allow human rights monitors to visit detainees held under the Internal Security Act.

Jan 2002: The Government criticises Muslim website fateha.com for postings which allegedly condones violence. Acting Information Minister David Lim calls for fateha.com to be registered as a political website. "Spreading anything that goes against the public interest, public order or national harmony would be in breach of the Singapore Broadcasting Authority's Code of Practice," reports the Straits Times.

Jan 2002: The Ministry of Education suspends four 6-year-old girls after their Muslim parents refused to heed school warnings regarding the headscarves ban in public schools. One subsequently returns to school in June, and another moves to Australia in July. The parents of the other two challenge the ban, and attempt to engage Malaysian lawyer Karpal Singh to present their case. However, immigration authorities refuse to grant an application for Singh's employment permit.

Feb 2002: Dr Chee Soon Juan's application to admit Queen's Counsel Stuart Littlemore to represent him in the defamation suit brought by PM Goh Cok Tong and SM Lee Kuan Yew is rejected by the High Court. The court demands that he post a $10,000 bond before appealing against the ruling.

Apr 2002 : Reneging on his election campaign pledge to form an "alternative policies group" in parliament by lifting the party Whip for 20 PAP MPs, PM Goh Chok Tong rebuffs PAP MP Tan Soo Khoon's call to give backbenchers more freedom to vote, "If you sing Jailhouse Rock with your electric guitar when others are playing Beethoven, you are out of order. The whip must be used on you." .

May 2002 : A planned May Day rally outside the Istana State compound is aborted after Dr Chee Soon Juan and Gandhi Ambalam were whisked away into a police van moments after they arrived at the scene. The police had earlier rejected Chee's application to stage the 'People Against Poverty' rally on the grounds that it might disrupt law and order.

May 2002: The court again rejects Dr Chee Soon Juan's bid to have Queen's Counsels Martin Lee and William Henric Nicholas represent him in his legal battle against PM Goh Chok Tong and SM Lee Kuan Yew. Judicial Commissioner Tay Yong Kwang rules that the cases are "not complex" enough to warrant the admission of QCs. Both Mr Lee and Mr Goh are represented by Senior Counsel and PAP MP Davindar Singh.

Jun 2002: UnionWorks' Mandarin radio station is fined $15,000 for adding "injections of personal remarks and observations by the newsreader, which were unwarranted in normal news bulletins," says the Singapore Broadcasting Authority.

Jul 2002 : Dr Chee Soon Juan is charged and convicted with violation of the Public Entertainment and Meetings Act for speaking at the Speakers' Corner in February to criticise the government's enforcement of the headscarves ban in public schools. The $3,000 fine imposed on Chee means that he cannot stand in a parliamentary election for five years.

Jul 2002: The police again raid internet critic Robert Ho's home and seize his computer for two articles posted on a web forum. On the same night, fateha.com's owner Zulfikar Mohamad also has his computer carted away by police for an article which raised the issue of nepotism. Ho later complains that authorities compelled him to stay in a mental facility for more than a week. Both men are investigated for criminal defamation but have not been charged. Zulfikar has since left for Australia.

Aug 2002: Bloomberg news service publicly apologise and agree to pay $595,000 in damages to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew for an internet-distributed column which alleged that Ms Ho Ching, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wife, was promoted to the senior position in government investment firm Temasek Holdings because of her relationship with the senior leadership.

Aug 2002 : The Court rules that there will be no trial for the defamation suits brought by PM Goh Chok Tong and SM Lee Kuan Yew against Dr Chee Soon Juan over the latter's questioning of an alleged $17 billion loan to former Indonesian President Suharto. In a summary judgment pronounced by the registrar, Chee is found guilty of defamation.

Sep 2002: Ho Peng Kee, the PAP's second organising secretary, dismisses a proposal by groups such as the Feedback Unit and Roundtable for an independent electoral commission to oversee the running of general elections. The Elections Department comes directly under the command of the Prime Minister's Office.

Oct 2002: Dr Chee Soon Juan is charged under Public Entertainment and Meetings Act for holding an unauthorised 'People Against Poverty' rally on Labour Day outside the Istana. Chee is fined $4,500 and his colleague Gandhi Ambalam $3,000. Chee chooses to serve a 5-week prison sentence rather than pay the fine. Amnesty International notes the detentions "typify a pattern of unreasonable restriction on public gatherings and on the free expression of opinion".

Oct 2002: In response to calls to allow bar-top dancing in pubs, Minister of State Vivian Balakrishnan tells Parliament, "If you want to dance on the bar top, some of us will fall off that bar top. Some will die as a result. Usually it is a girl with a short skirt who's dancing on it, who may attract some insults from other men. The boyfriend starts fighting. Some people will die. Blood will be shed for liberalising the policy."

Nov 2002: A report by the Asian Human Rights Commission cites that Dr Chee Soon Juan is being "incarcerated in a poorly ventilated 7 foot x 15 foot cell with two other prisoners. Having been assigned to a straw mat next to the toilet "bucket", he sleeps only two to three hours each night. Dr Chee is afflicted with nausea and dizziness, and he lost 10kg of weight during his first ten days of incarceration."

Dec 2002: Police reject an application by JB Jeyaretnam to hold an anti-GST march on the grounds of maintaining "law and order", and in spite of Jeyaretnam's assurance that "no one will be carrying any sticks or shouting anything, except perhaps the slogan 'Say No to GST.'"

Dec 2002 : Muhamad Ali Aman, recently appointed leader of the Singapore Democratic Alliance, is expelled by his union after refusing to resign over ties with the opposition. He is a branch chairman of a union which comes under the purview of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), an affiliate of the PAP Government. Following Aman's dismissal, Melvin Tan, a member of the Workers' Party, resigns from his union post.

Feb 2003: Six Singaporeans who responded to a worldwide call to stage public demonstrations against the war in Iraq are arrested by police after they arrived outside the US Embassy. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng tells the media that "the government does not authorise protests and demonstrations of any nature."
In a speech, US Ambassador Franklin Lavin says of the arrests, "I don’t see why a group of people who want to stand in front of my Embassy and tell me they don't agree with a policy of my country should not be able to do so. The right of peaceful expression of opinion is an important element of a successful society."

Feb 2003: The Ministry of Defence disallows a woman to open her home to the public for an anti-war candle-light vigil because her rented home is located within the Seletar Army Camp. An army spokesman tells the press that "certain activities are not allowed within that area." When queried about venues outside army jurisdiction, police spokesman Philip Mah says, "When you have an assembly of five or more people in a location where the public can have access to, a permit is required under the law."

Apr 2003: The police deny the Open Singapore Centre its application to hold a march to mark Labour Day. The OSC applied for the march to take place starting at the Ministry of Manpower and ending in front of Parliament House, where a rally would take place.

Sept 2003: In an interview with the Straits Times, SM Lee Kuan Yew dismisses opposition Members of Parliament Chiam See Tong and Low Thia Khiang, "If we had considered them serious political figures, we would not have kept them politically alive for so long. We could have bankrupt them earlier."

Sept 2003: Think Centre's application for a proposed display of dolls to mark Children’s Day at Raffles Place and Stamford Road is rejected by the police on grounds of "law and order considerations".

Oct 2003: Information Minister Dr Lee Boon Yang publicly censures London-based writer Michael Backman over the latter's article in Today, which said that Singapore maintains "the old-fashioned, outmoded trappings of a Third World dictatorship." Lee tells the Singapore Press Club audience that Backman "had clearly crossed the line and engaged in our domestic politics." He adds that one rule "that remains firmly in place is the requirement that foreign journalists stay out of Singapore's politics."

Nov 2003: Following a report in Today of a speech by SM Lee Kuan Yew describing his ordeal with the health care system in UK after his wife had suffered a stroke there, the editorial team of Today are allegedly summoned to Lee's office to be reprimanded. Val Chua, the journalist who wrote the story, is reportedly suspended from news reporting.

Nov 2003: The police reject three applications by a White Ribbon Campaign group to stage outdoor events to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women. Police first deny the group a permit for a march – and later turn down its application to hold a children's drama presentation – because such events could threaten "law and order". The group then apply to hold an outdoor children's choir performance, which is also rejected.

Nov 2003: The Computer Misuse Act is amended to allow government agencies to patrol the internet and swoop down on hackers suspected of plotting to use computer keyboards as weapons of mass disruption. Violators of the Act such as hackers can be jailed up to three years or fined up to $10,000. A PAP MP describes the Act as "the cyberspace equivalent of the Internal Security Act." An online poll by internet portal Yahoo Singapore shows that 70 percent of respondents feel the new laws give the authorities too much power, and are afraid of being watched.

Nov 2003 : Labour Minister Ng Eng Hen accuses the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore of being "self-serving and confrontational" after its members voted to sack its entire leadership over controversial wage cuts imposed by Singapore Airlines. The Government then announces it will amend the Trade Unions Act in a bid to restrict members' rights.

"(SIA) Pilots believe they are special, they got huge egos, I am told .I can assure you that in Singapore, when we decide that they are breaking the rules of the game, the unspoken rules as to how we survive, how we have prospered, then either their head is broken or our bones are broken," SM Lee Kuan Yew tells an audience at the World Brand Forum.

Dec 2003: The Government bans a public forum entitled "Democracy in Burma: How can Asians help?" In a terse reply, the police state that the application by the Open Singapore Centre was rejected because the "proposed event is likely to be contrary to the public interest."

Mar 2004: The Government revokes the permanent residency of SIA pilot Captain Ryan Goh after the Ministry deemed him an "undesirable" immigrant. SM Lee Kuan Yew had previously singled him out as "the instigator" to get the previous leaders of the pilots union sacked.

Mar 2004: Drama group The Fun Stage's planned series of talks and forums on gay representation, entitled 'The Lover's Lecture Series', is denied a permit by the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit, who says the talks involving academics, critics and theatre practitioners are "contrary to the public interest."

Apr 2004: Gay rights group People Like Us' second bid to register itself as a society is rejected. Its first application was turned down in 1997. According to the Societies Act, groups may be turned down because they are likely to be used for purposes "prejudicial to public peace, welfare and good order," or are likely to act against "national interests."

Aug 2004: In a televised address after being sworn in as the country's third Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong says, "Our people should feel free to express diverse views, pursue unconventional ideas, or simply be different. We should have the confidence to engage in robust debate. Ours must be an open and inclusive Singapore."

Aug 2004: In his new political office as Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew tells an international audience at the Global Brand Forum that "political reform need not go hand in hand with economic liberalisation." He then invokes the ghost of Deng Xiaoping, saying, "He took over, and he said: 'If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it.'"

Aug 2004 : PM Lee Hsien Loong announces in his first National Day Rally speech that indoor talks will no longer require licensing, ending a four-decade-old ruling. However, a police statement qualifies that the exemption does not include foreign speakers, and that talks must not cause feelings of hostility between different races and religions. In further "refinements" to licensing requirements, police added that permits will also be waived for a host of sports and cultural activities, including street soccer, martial arts, spinning tops, pottery-making, hoola-hoops, stilt-walking, skateboarding and juggling.

Sept 2004 : Despite amending the law to allow certain interest groups to register on a fast track, the Government announces that the following will not be included – groups whose activities relate to human rights, political rights, civil rights, animal and environmental rights, gender issues, religion, ethnicity and martial arts.

Sept 2004: The Economist pays $390,000 in damages plus legal costs to PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew for an article which mentioned "a whiff of nepotism" on the appointment of the Prime Minister's wife, Ho Ching, as chief executive of Temasek Holdings. Sept 2004: The Government extends for another two years the detention of 17 suspected Jemaah Islamiah members held under Internal Security Act. Eighteen other suspected members remain under ISA detention.

Nov 2004: The Court of Appeal upholds a High Court decision to deny the application by JB Jeyaretnam to be discharged from bankruptcy. His liabilities are estimated at more than $600,000.

Dec 2004: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew issues a stern warning to foreign media against meddling in Singapore's politics. In a forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association, Lee says, "We are not that daft. We know what is in our interest and we intend to preserve our interests and what we have is working. You are not going to tell us how to run our country."

Dec 2004 : Police reject an application by a Hong Kong-based gay website to hold a Christmas party as "the event is likely to be organised as a gay party which is contrary to public interest."

Jan 2005: The Internal Security Department arrest two Singaporeans for alleged involvement in terrorist groups, bringing the total number of ISA detainees to 36.

Mar 2005: The High Court dismisses a defamation lawsuit by Dr Chee Soon Juan against MM Lee Kuan Yew. Chee filed the counter suit in 2001 after Lee had called him a "political gangster, a liar and a cheat".

Mar 2005: Police reject an application by a local gay Christian support group to hold a concert because the Media Development Authority said that the show would "promote a homosexual lifestyle."

Mar 2005: Chief Justice Yong Pung How sues his former remisier, Boon Suan Ban, for defamation because Boon had apparently pestered the Chief Justice on an outstanding financial matter when Yong was the chairman of a bank. Boon is acquitted because he is of "unsound mind", but is subsequently ordered to be detained at the Institute of Mental Health at the President's pleasure. In June, the Chief Justice orders all court files relating to the case to be sealed.

Mar 2005: The police reject an application by JB Jeyaretnam for a march to protest the Government's decision to allow casinos to be built, saying it would disrupt civil order.

Apr 2005: The Government bars Amnesty International's Tim Parritt from speaking at a public forum entitled "Death penalty and the Rule of Law in Singapore". The police justify the ban by saying that it does not need a foreigner to lecture it on its criminal justice system.

May 2005 : 24-year-old student Chen Jiahao receives an email from State executive Philip Yeo who threatens to sue Chen for making disparaging remarks in his blog about A*Star, a government agency that Yeo headed. Chen, who writes under the moniker AcidFlask, apologises and subsequently shuts down his website.

May 2005: Filmmaker Martyn See is investigated by the police for making a film, entitled 'Singapore Rebel', that documented the political career of Dr Chee Soon Juan. See is forced to withdraw the film from the Singapore International Film Festival after authorities warned that he could be jailed for up to two years, or fined up to $100,000 if it were screened.

May 2005: Two Falungong practitioners are imprisoned for handing out videos and gathering in public without permit. Singapore Falun Buddhist Society spokeswoman Diana Wang says in a statement that Singapore is the only country outside China that brings charges against Falungong practitioners for carrying out "truth-clarification" activities.

May 2005: US activist Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan is denied entry and deported from Singapore. The government says that he has been banned indefinitely for interfering in the nation's domestic politics. Yeshua had been invited to conduct a non-violence workshop for local activists.

May 2005: In its annual report, Amnesty International criticises Singapore for its highest per capita rate of executions in the world, and for its "broad array of restrictive laws" that curtail the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

Jun 2005: After a four year run, the annual 'Nation Party', billed as "Asia's most acclaimed gay and lesbian private party", is denied a permit by the police, who says the event would be "contrary to public interest." Organiser Fridae.com says the ban is "a direct contradiction to previous calls for embracing of diversity." The event moves to Phuket, Thailand.

Jun 2005: Police warn would-be protesters at the Olympic vote held in Singapore that they will be arrested. A group of small businesses had threatened to stage protests against London's bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Jul 2005: Police attend and videotape Dr Chee Soon Juan's book launch on non-violence. They also seize a video disc and take down the particulars of the speakers. No charges are filed.

Aug 2005 : Police threaten organisers of an anti-death penalty concert that it will not issue the required permit if a photograph of hanged trafficker Shanmugam Murugesu were not removed from the concert posters. The police justifies the condition on grounds that the posters would glorify an executed person. The concert is eventually held after the posters were removed.

Aug 2005: About 40 police officers, some in anti-riot gear, are sent in to break up a silent protest by four activists who stood outside the CPF Building holding placards depicting the non-transparent nature of government institutions such as the CPF, GIC and HDB. Minutes after the protesters dispersed peacefully, police seized t-shirts and placards for investigation.

Aug 2005: President SR Nathan is returned unopposed after the Presidential Elections Committee had declared three other applicants ineligible under a stringent criteria.

Aug 2005 : Filmmaker Martyn See is questioned for the second time by the police and asked to surrender his video camera and six existing tapes used as part of his banned documentary. Police also call up blogger Jacob George and filmmaker Tan Pin Pin for questioning in connection to See's making of the film.

Sep 2005: Police launch investigations into cardboard cut-outs of white elephants that were displayed in front of an unopened train station. The cartoons are believed to be placed by government grassroots leaders in protest against the non-opening of the Buangkok MRT station. No charges are filed.

Sep 2005: FinanceAsia.com, an Asian online publication, issues an apology and agrees to pay an unspecified amount of damages and legal costs to PM Lee Hsien Loong, SM Goh Chok Tong and MM Lee Kuan Yew for an article about the Lee family and Temasek Holdings.

Oct 2005: Two bloggers who posted racist remarks online are sentenced to jail under the Sedition Act, a colonial-era law used by the British to fight communist insurgency, and invoked for the first time since independence. 27-year-old Benjamin Koh Song Huat is jailed for one month, while 25-year-old Nicholas Lim Yew is given a nominal one day jail and fined a maximum $5,000. In the same month, sedition charges are also brought against another blogger who allegedly posted inflammatory remarks about Muslims. The district court places the 17-year-old student on probation.

Oct 2005: PM Lee Hsien Loong tells the Foreign Correspondents Association that Singapore will not adopt a Western liberal democracy with a multi-party system in the next 20 years.

Oct 2005: Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng announces in parliament that people who are arrested in Singapore have no right to immediate legal counsel. Giving the accused access to lawyers during investigations could impede police work, says Wong.

Oct 2005: Senior lecturers at Warwick University in the UK vote against setting up a branch campus in Singapore due to concerns about limits on academic freedom. Financial Times notes that it is believed to be the first time a foreign university has rejected the conditions set by Singapore.

Oct 2005: The outgoing US ambassador to Singapore criticises the Government's restrictions on free speech in a rare public rebuke. Ambassador Franklin Lavin says Singapore's 20th-century political model may prove inadequate for the 21st century, warning that the government "will pay an increasing price for not allowing full participation of its citizens."

Nov 2005: The Government criticises Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for giving it low marks on press freedom. RSF has ranked Singapore at 140 out of 167 countries. SM Goh Chok Tong defends the local media by echoing Lee Kuan Yew’s 1959 statement to the foreign press, "You are not going to teach us how we should run the country. We are not so stupid. We know what our interests are and we try to preserve them".

Nov 2005: Information Minister Dr Lee Boon Yang tells Parliament that the ban on satellite TV in homes is still valid as "we must remain vigilant against external influences which may seek to split and divide our society."

Nov 2005: The Government bars servicemen from posting unauthorised accounts and pictures of military life on the internet. The order is issued after blogger Benjamin Lee posted over 100 pictures featuring army mates resting during a military exercise in Australia.

Dec 2005: The Government rejects appeals from the United Nations, two Popes, human rights organisations and the Australian government to spare the life of Australian citizen Nguyen Tuong Van, who is executed after being convicted of smuggling heroin through Singapore's Changi Airport. More than 400 prisoners have been hanged in Singapore since 1991, the highest per capita rate of execution in the world, according to Amnesty International.

Dec 2005: The Media Development Authority orders Benny Lim, a theatre director, to remove all references to the death penalty in his play.

Dec 2005: High Court Judge VK Rajah dismisses an originating motion filed by three activists - Chee Siok Chin, Yap Keng Ho and Monica Kumar - against the Home Affairs Minister and the Police Commissioner, for acting unlawfully in breaking up their silent protest outside the CPF Building in August. Judge Rajah rules that citizens have no right to stage protests because this would undermine the stable and upright stature of Singapore.

Jan 2006: US billionaire philanthropist George Soros tells a local audience that the city-state could not be an open society as long as its leaders use libel suits against opposition politicians. "The use of libel can be a tremendous hindrance to freedom of expression. Obviously, Singapore doesn't qualify as an open society," says Soros.

Jan 2006: The police warn a group of schoolgirls that the wearing of t-shirts en masse might be misconstrued by some as an offence under the law. The students had planned to help raise money for charity by selling white elephant T-shirts at the Buangkok MRT station's inauguration ceremony.

Jan 2006: Singapore is singled out by a rights group for its denial of individual rights. The Asian Human Rights Commission describes the city-state as a place where "freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the capacity to assert one's rights do not exist at all."

Jan 2006: Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng tells parliament that the Government will not hesitate to cane and imprison protesters who commit violent acts during the IMF and World Bank Meetings to be held in Singapore later in the year.

Jan 2006: The Economist apologises to MM Lee Kuan Yew and agrees to pay unspecified damages for statements in the magazine's obituary on Devan Nair, Singapore's former president. "We apologise to Mr Lee for having published them, and we unreservedly withdraw them. We have agreed to pay Mr Lee damages and to indemnify him for all costs incurred by him in connection with this matter," says the magazine.

Feb 2006: In a summary judgment, Dr Chee Soon Juan is declared a bankrupt by the High Court after he failed to pay $500,000 in libel damages awarded to MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong. "Not only did I not have legal representation but I also did not get a trial. It is well-known that Singapore has detention without trial. Now it seems that we also have defamation without trial," says Chee.

Mar 2006: Dr Chee Soon Juan is convicted of contempt of court for a statement he made at the above bankruptcy hearing in which he alleged that the judiciary is not independent and fair, especially in cases involving opposition politicians. In sentencing Chee to one day in jail and a $6,000 fine, Justice Lai Siu Chiu says that "this is probably one of the worst cases that has come before the court for scandalizing the judiciary." Chee refuses to pay the fine and serves eight days in prison.

Mar 2006: Facing debts of more than $500,000 owed to government leaders, veteran opposition leader JB Jeyaretnam's attempt to annul his bankruptcy ahead of general elections is crushed when the court ordered him to pay additional costs. This is the second consecutive elections in which he has been disqualified.

Mar 2006: In a letter to the Straits Times, the Home Affairs Ministry says that "former communists" cannot be allowed to rewrite history. It is in response to a public talk given a month earlier by two former political prisoners, Tan Jing Quee and Michael Fernandez, who were detained under the ISA during the 1960s for alleged involvement with communists, charges that both men have denied. In the public talk, both described mental and physical torture while under detention.

Apr 2006: Speaking in Parliament, Senior Minister of State Balaji Sadasivan issues a warning that anyone using the internet to "persistently propagate, promote or circulate political issues" about Singapore during election periods will be breaking the law. Following the Singapore Democratic Party's launch of their podcast a year before, the Minister says the new rules would also apply to podcasting.

Apr 2006: Customs officers at the airport impound the passport of Dr Chee Soon Juan as he was leaving for a democracy forum in Turkey. Under the law, bankrupts need to obtain permission for overseas travel. Chee says he had complied with an earlier demand from bankruptcy officials to submit a breakdown of his monthly income and expenditure so that it could determine how much he could pay MM Lee Kuan Yew and SM Goh Chok Tong for defamation damages of $500,000.

Apr/May 2006 (General Elections): In the lead up to the elections, the Government announced a $2.6 billion "progress package" cash handouts to the electorate. A month before hustings, a blanket ban on political podcasts was imposed. Elections were announced three weeks prior to polling date, and campaigning period are again limited to 9 days.

One day after announcement of the election date, lawyers for PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew issue a letter of demand to the Singapore Democratic Party over an article in the party's newsletter that drew parallels between the financial scandals of charity foundation NKF and the government. The Lees allege that the article characterised them as "dishonest and unfit for office." Nine out of the eleven executive members of SDP apologise and pay damages.

Two days before nomination, the Elections Department warn SDP that it will take action if they did not remove audio files and podcasts from the party's website. Within hours, SDP suspends its podcast service.
As an undischarged bankrupt, Dr Chee Soon Juan is prohibited from campaigning. At his party's rallies, police physically prevent him from getting on stage.

A photo, taken by a blogger, of a teeming crowd at a Workers' Party rally, spreads widely on the internet, forcing the hitherto reluctant print media to publish pictures of crowds at opposition rallies.

While addressing the crowd at a PAP rally, PM Lee Hsien Loong is quoted by the press, "Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters' votes."

The media coverage of the campaign is dominated by the PAP's attack on Workers' Party candidate James Gomez, who on nomination day chastised an election official for mishandling a form. Gomez later issues a public apology. But while leaving the country for work overseas after results were announced, he is arrested and interrogated for alleged offences of criminal intimidation and providing false information. He is eventually given a stern warning in lieu of prosecution.

The PAP win 66.6% of the votes, capturing 82 out of 84 seats, with 37 seats uncontested by the opposition.
In its annual report, Freedom House states that "Singapore is not an electoral democracy.. The ruling PAP dominates the political process, using a variety of methods to handicap opposition parties.. And the country lacks a structurally independent election authority."

May 2006: SDP member Chee Siok Chin files a summons in the High Court asking to declare the election results void. In her affidavit, Chee alleges that the PAP had used cash to induce voters and hence secure electoral victory. Chee also wants the High Court to declare the ban on podcasting during election period as unconstitutional. Judge Andrew Phang dismisses her application.

Jun 2006: PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew apply for summary judgment in their defamation suits against Dr Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin. Both had refused to apologise to demands over the allegedly defamatory article in SDP's party newsletter. The duo submit 14 witnesses to the courts in their defence.

Jun 2006: Fresh charges are brought against Dr Chee Soon Juan and two SDP members for unlicensed public speech during the lead-up to the elections. Chee is slapped with eight counts of violating the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act, which states that "any lecture, talk, address, debate or discussion" requires a licence and violators are liable to a fine of up to $10,000.

Jun 2006 : In an official visit to New Zealand, PM Lee Hsien Loong tells reporters that the Singapore government has "no reason to want to restrict any democratic or political rights of opposition politicians or leaders." He adds, "You can make speeches, you can publish articles, you can put things up on the internet, you can speak. We have a speakers' corner which is highly underutilized. And contest elections."

Jun 2006: A 21-year-old blogger receives a stern warning but escapes possible imprisonment after posting cartoons mocking Jesus Christ on his blog. He was investigated by the police under the Sedition Act, which carries a prison term of up to three years or a $5,000 fine.

Jul 2006: A regular column by a well-known blogger "Mr Brown" is suspended after the Government criticised his piece about the high cost of living. K. Bhavani, a press secretary to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, writes to the paper stating that "it is not the role of journalists or newspapers in Singapore to champion issues, or campaign for or against the government.. If a columnist undermines the government's standing with the electorate, then he is no longer a constructive critic, but a partisan player in politics."

Jul 2006: The police announces that in the interest of security, all outdoor demonstrations will be banned during the upcoming IMF-World Bank Meetings in Singapore. Instead, an indoor venue will be set up for registered civil groups.

Aug 2006 : The Government gazettes five international publications - Far Eastern Economic Review, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Newsweek and TIME magazines - as "offshore newspapers". Under section 23(3) of the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act, offshore newspapers are required to appoint a legal representative in Singapore. They will also have to post a security deposit of $200,000. The Government calls it "a privilege, and not a right, for foreign newspapers to circulate in Singapore. They do so as foreign observers of the local scene and should not interfere in the domestic politics of Singapore."

Aug 2006: An application by local theatre company Agni Kootthu to stage a play is first approved, and then rejected by authorities on the same day. The Media Development Authority states that the play "undermines the values underpinning Singapore's multi-racial, multi-religious society, and portrays Muslims in a negative light."

Aug 2006: PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew files a defamation suit against the publisher and editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review for an article published in July under the headline 'Singapore's Martyr: Chee Soon Juan', in which Chee criticised the government's handling of the NKF charity scandal.

Aug 2006: After 15 months of investigation, filmmaker Martyn See is given a "stern warning" in lieu of prosecution for making a documentary about Dr Chee Soon Juan, His film, 'Singapore Rebel,' remains banned.

Aug 2006: A group of international lawyers write to MM Lee Kuan Yew to urge the Government to stop the prosecution of the Falungong spiritual group. Police earlier charged nine followers for participating in an illegal assembly on Orchard Road. The lawyers ask the Government "to show true evidence that it is a legitimate democracy and an independent country that is not subject to the requirements of the Chinese government."

Sept 2006: In a summary judgment held in chambers, Judge Belinda Ang awards the defamation case involving the SDP's article to PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew. The matter is conducted without the legal representation for defendants Dr Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin, as their lawyer M. Ravi had fallen ill.

Sept 2006: Three animal rights advocates, two women and a man, are deported after police say they responded to a caller who found them "behaving suspiciously." The trio from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, say in a statement that they had planned to stand outside a local KFC restaurant, each wearing nothing but a banner reading "Naked Truth: KFC Tortures Chicks."

Sept 2006 (IMF-World Bank Meetings): 21-year-old artist Seelan Palay is arrested by police over a plan to distribute flyers ahead of the IMF-World Bank meetings. Palay had earlier initiated an online campaign to capture photos of "400 Frowns" in protest against government policies.

A group distributing flyers outside Raffles City Shopping Centre urging people to attend a protest rally are stopped by police, who also seize the material. Among them in the group is Dr Chee Soon Juan.

The Government bans the entry of 19 foreign civil activists on grounds of security, invoking a rare rebuke from the IMF-World Bank, who says that Singapore violated the terms of its agreement to host the event. Indian activist Wilfred D'Costa alleges he was questioned, detained and deported back to India by Singapore authorities while enroute to attend a parallel protest on the island of Batam. Civil groups claim the Singapore government deported 48 activists from 16 countries.

The police cordon off an area for protest in the Suntec City Convention, which included numerous regulations. Accredited protesters can shout but are not allowed to use bullhorns or other sound amplifiers to disrupt proceedings. Meanwhile, 10,000 security personnel and several road blockades line the shopping plaza outside. Police say tough security measures are necessary because Singapore is a high-profile "terrorist" target.

At a forum attended by international delegates, MM Lee Kuan Yew acknowledges that there is growing support for opposition parties among Singapore's voters, but the office of the elected presidency has been put in place to prevent a profligate opposition government from touching the national monetary reserves. "Without the elected president and if there is a freak result, within two or three years, the army would have to come in and stop it," Lee adds.

A small group of local protesters, led by Dr Chee Soon Juan, who planned to stage a pro-democracy march from Speakers' Corner to Parliament House, is prevented from doing so by the police who warns them if they proceeded it would be an illegal assembly. A three day stand-off ensues, after which Chee reads out a statement that "the world now knows the extent of the repression in Singapore, and hopefully this will translate into pressure on the Singapore government to reform the system."

Sept 2006: Jaya Gibson, a British journalist and practitioner of the Falungong, is deported by authorities. Gibson was returning to Singapore where he was assigned to cover the trial of two Falungong practitioners, who has been accused in connection with a banner they displayed outside the Chinese embassy.

Oct 2006: The Government bans the sale and distribution of the Far Eastern Economic Review after the publication failed to appoint a legal representative in Singapore and pay a $200,000 bond. Its editor Hugo Restall says that "the timing and substance of this move were in our view no coincidence. It followed hard upon our refusal to apologize and pay damages."

Oct 2006: Human rights lawyer M. Ravi is suspended from practice for a year due to rude behaviour to a district judge in 2003. "I hope that.. one year later, when you come back, you will become a lawyer that we want to see in this court," says Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong in pronouncing the suspension.

Nov 2006: The court sentences a 16 year old male to 24 strokes of the cane. Maria Dass Pandi Rasan was convicted of robbing two taxi drivers.

Nov 2006 : Dr Chee Soon Juan is convicted and jailed for five weeks after refusing a pay a fine of $5,000 for speaking without a permit during the run-up to the elections. Also jailed are Yap Keng Ho and Gandhi Ambalam, who refuse to pay fines of $2,000 and $3,000 respectively. Seven similar charges remain pending for Chee and Yap.

Dec 2006 : Dr Chee Soon Juan is referred to Changi General Hospital after the medical doctor at the Queenstown Remand Prison reportedly found traces of blood in his urine. His sister Chee Siok Chin says that the prison food had made him feel "nauseous and throw up." A police statement deny any ill-treatment, stating that Chee had refused to eat after five days, and had "demanded to be treated differently from other inmates".

Dec 2006: Falungong practitioners Ng Chye Huay and Erh Boon Tiong are convicted for protesting outside the Chinese Embassy. On refusing to pay fines, they are jailed 15 days and 10 days respectively. Erh's wife later reportedly expressses concern about her husband's specially marked food tray and his state of health.

Dec 2006: A group of activists commemorate Human Rights Day by staging a 'Freedom Walk' from Speakers' Corner to Queenstown Remand Prison. Press reports note that the march went largely unheeded by the Christmas shopping crowd on Orchard Road, and that police in plain clothes trailed the group and filmed them with video cameras. The group included the wife and children of Dr Chee Soon Juan.

Dec 2006: After his release, Dr Chee Soon Juan rebuts on SDP's website 13 points raised by Home Affairs Ministry, which had said that all proper procedures were accorded to him whilst in prison, and that markings on food trays were "normal Prisons procedure to record the food consumption of inmates under close watch." Chee replies that his trays were not marked during his previous prison terms, and that when queried, the prison Superintendent had denied any such markings unless the food was vegetarian. The Ministry has not replied to Chee's rebuttals.

Dec 2006: A book of Asian celebrity photographs by Singapore-born photographer Leslie Kee is banned by the Media Development Authority on grounds that the book features full frontal male nudity, revealing genitals and pubic hair.

Jan 2007: Former Solicitor-General and exiled dissident Francis T. Seow publishes a book entitled 'Beyond Suspicion: The Singapore Judiciary' under Yale Publications. In an earlier article, he cited that the per annum salary of Singapore's Chief Justice was more than the combined stipends of the Lord Chancellor of England, the Chief Justices of the United States, Canada and Australia. He added that "the prime minister uses the courts as a legal weapon to intimidate, bankrupt or cripple the political opposition, and ventilate his political agenda."

Jan 2007: The British High Court absolves English neurologist Simon Shorvon of charges of professional misconduct while in Singapore. In 2003, Shorvon was the lead researcher at the Singapore's National Neurology Institute but left Singapore after the Singapore Medical Council found him to be in breach of ethical guidelines. The charges against Shorvon are filed by Dr Lee Wei Ling, who succeeds Shorvon in his post. Dr Lee is the daughter of MM Lee Kuan Yew and sister of PM Lee Hsien Loong.

Jan 2007: Despite international clemency appeals, the Government hangs two African men on charges of drug trafficking. Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, a 21-year-old Nigerian man, and Okeke Nelson Malachy, a 35-year-old stateless man, are hanged in Changi Prison. In his judgement, Justice Kan Ting Chiu notes that "there was no direct evidence that [Amara Tochi] knew the capsules contained diamorphine." Notwithstanding, Kan pronounces that "Tochi should have known and therefore he is guilty".

Feb 2007: Pop star Madonna's 'The Confessions Tour: Live from London DVD', which features the singer performing a song while suspended from a giant mirrored cross, is banned by the Media Development Authority.

Feb 2007: The High Court refuses an application by the Far Eastern Economic Review to throw out the defamation case filed against them by PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew. The court also disallows FEER's lawyer, Australian Tim Robertson, permission to sit in on the hearing because Robertson had allegedly made comments critical of Singapore's decision to hang a convicted drug trafficker.

Feb 2007: Dr Chee Soon Juan is found guilty and fined $4,000 of trying to leave the country without permission in April 2006. Chee says he will appeal the decision.

Feb 2007: The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts tells an art gallery that it could not display a four-meter high painting of a nude woman in the public atrium of the ministry's building. Nude or erotic artworks "should not be displayed in venues which are easily accessible to general audiences, including children and youths," says the Ministry.

Mar 2007: The Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) holds a public rally near Parliament House to commemorate World Consumer Rights Day. Photos on their website show dozens of participants holding placards in a "nation-wide march" that feature "thousands of participants". It is not known if a police permit had been obtained. CASE is helmed by a PAP Member of Parliament and the rally includes a ministerial guest-of-honour.

Apr 2007: Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng tells parliament that 39 people are being detained without trial under the ISA for alleged involvement in terrorism and espionage. Wong adds that 10 of them are members of the Jemaah Islamiyah group who were arrested in December 2001.

Apr 2007: 'Zahari's 17 Years', an interview film chronicling the experiences of former political detainee Said Zahari, is banned by the Minister of Information, Communication and the Arts, who says that "the government will not allow people who had posed a security threat to the country in the past, to exploit the use of films to purvey a false and distorted portrayal of their past actions and detention by the Government." The film is directed by Martyn See, whose first film 'Singapore Rebel' remains banned.

Apr 2007: In a dialogue with the Young PAP, MM Lee Kuan Yew expresses his views on censorship, "We have created a society which is totally educated. You are all able to go on the Internet. So all this censorship and so on makes no sense to me. We cannot stop this. If we stop this, we stop the progress. We are marginalised."

Apr 2007: Authorities censor two films at the Singapore International Film Festival because of their explicit sexual content and religious symbols. Danish animated film Princess is withdrawn after the Media Development Authority demanded the deletion of "religiously offensive" scene. Local film Solos is censored because of "explicit homosexual lovemaking scenes including scenes of oral sex and threesome sex", says MDA.

Apr 2007: In the same week that the Government announces pay hikes for its ministers, the police ban seven foreigners, including members of the European Parliament, from speaking at a public forum organised by the Singapore Democractic Party. Danish politician Anders Samuelson alleges he was threatened with arrest. The forum proceeds with speakers from the SDP, while the foreign delegation remain silent. In a statement, the Government says that "Singapore's politics are reserved for Singaporeans."

Apr 2007: Two days before May Day, Dr Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin embark on a 150 kilometres walk around the island to raise awareness of poverty and underpaid workers in Singapore. A blogger reports the presence of plainclothes police during the walk but there are no arrests.

May 2007: After making payments of $233,255 to the Official Assignee, veteran opposition leader JB Jeyaretnam is given a discharge from bankruptcy. He is therefore eligible to resume his profession as a lawyer, travel abroad without permission, and contest the next election. "I intend to form a new party to give Singaporeans a chance again," says the 81-year-old.

May 2007: The SDP reports that police have called up 15 people over two cases of illegal public assembly and procession during the IMF-World Bank protest at Speakers' Corner and the 'Freedom Walk' to Queenstown Remand Prison.

Jun 2007: The Government announces the arrests of five suspected Islamic militants under the ISA in late 2006, including 28-year-old law lecturer Abdul Basheer, whom the government describes as "self-radicalised (whose) views were shaped by the radical discourse that he avidly looked up on the internet." The statement also announces the release of five detainees.

Jun 2007: Renowned playwright Alfian Sa'at is dismissed from his relief teaching job by the Ministry of Education, who says he does not "best meet the organisation's requirements". Sa'at says the dismissal was not motivated by poor performance, but could be a result of his writings which touched on socially and politically sensitive issues such as homosexuality and Singapore-Malaysia bilateral relations.

Jun 2007: Far Eastern Economic Review's application to use a British Queen's Counsel to represent the magazine is rejected by Judge Tan Lee Meng, who rules the defamation suit filed against FEER by government leaders is "not sufficiently difficult and complex" and will not require the services of a Queen's Counsel.

Jun 2007 : Five practitioners of the Falungong are fined $1,000 each for an illegal public assembly in an Orchard Road underpass in 2005. They refuse to pay the fine and are jailed 7 days in default.

Jul 2007: Former Chief Justice Yong Pung How is appointed a director of the Singapore Press Holdings, whose chairman is former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan.

Jul 2007: Immigration officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint stop a vehicle driven by Francis Yong, vice-chairman of the the SDP, and seize a poster of PM Lee Hsien Loong holding aloft his salary. Yong is later called up by the police who warn that "bringing in or displaying the photo of the person with his salary is against the law."

Aug 2007: A permit application by the Workers' Party to hold a cycling event for its 50th anniversary is rejected by the police. Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee tells parliament that "the East Coast Park is a recreational park (and) not meant to be used by a political party to promote its cause." He adds, "You may be well-behaving but there may be other people whom you come across when you cycle who may stop you, may want to debate with you and that may attract a crowd, and therefore will result in problems the police want to avoid."

Aug 2007: A fortnight-long gay pride festival has ten of its items banned. After disallowing a photo exhibition featuring gay kissing, the Media Development Authority bans a reading of a story on grounds that the content "had gone beyond good taste and decency in taking a disparaging and disrespectful view of public officers." A licence to hold a gay rights forum featuring a retired Canadian law professor is cancelled by the police who said the event was "deemed contrary to public interest." Plainclothes police show up alongside the Singapore River to tell the organisers of 'Pink Run' that it would constitute an illegal assembly if they go ahead with the event. About 40 joggers who had turned up elect to jog separately instead, while police film them using video cameras.

Aug 2007: The court declare SDP members Chee Siok Chin, Monica Kumar and supporter Yap Keng Ho bankrupts after they failed to to pay about $24,000 in legal costs which was incurred after the trio challenged a move by police to disperse a peaceful protest outside the CPF Building in 2005.

Aug 2007: Parliament passes a law that requires prior written approval from a licensing officer before any private investigative work can be carried out on political figures.

Sep 2007: Dr Chee Soon Juan begins serving a three-week prison term after he failed to pay a $4,000 fine upon conviction for attempting to leave the country without permission. "It's ridiculous that they even flagged a fine on a bankrupt," says his sister Chee Siok Chin. Chee was charged in 2006 after being stopped at the airport from attending a democracy forum in Turkey.

Sep 2007: Police reject a permit by the Substation Arts Centre to hold an outdoor flea market near the Fort Canning Tunnel that would have included booths run by 19 civil society groups, including Cat Welfare Society, Vegetarian Society and two gay support groups. The event is subsequently held without the outdoor booths and the civil society groups.

Sep 2007: Five activists stage a walk from Speakers' Corner to Queenstown Remand Prison to mark the first anniversary of the IMF-World Bank protest of 2006. The SDP website reports that group "were accosted by a group of police who made a feeble attempt to physically block us from moving ahead."

Sep 2007: In its first major penal code amendments in 22 years, the Government amends the law to allow oral and anal sex in private between consenting heterosexual adults, while gay sex remains banned. The revised penal code also stipulates that an assembly of five or more people will be illegal if the group's common objective is to commit "any offence", broadening the definition from mischief and trespass.

Sep 2007: Days after his release from prison, Dr Chee Soon Juan and two party colleagues station themselves outside the Myanmar Embassy to collect signatures in protest against the military junta's bloody crackdown of protesters in Myanmar. Despite initial warnings from the police that it would constitute an illegal assembly, online news website The Online Citizen reports that by evening, about 400 people, mainly Burmese expatriates, have turned up to sign the petition. There are no reports of arrests.

Oct 2007: A newswire reports that a group of expatriate women living in Singapore had worn red T-shirts in a public gathering as part of a global action to support the democracy movement in Myanmar. About ten Caucasian women were pictured standing on Waterloo Street listening to a speech. There are no reports of police investigation.

Oct 2007: The police reject an application by the SDP to march from the Istana to the Myanmar Embassy in protest against the violent crackdown in Myanmar.

Oct 2007: A group of four protesters, led by Dr Chee Soon Juan, is swiftly arrested by police on Orchard Road, across the road from the Istana. The four were holding placards with the words "No Deals, No Arms, with the Junta" and "Free Burma" in protest against the Government's trade ties with the military junta.

Oct 2007: Police ban an outdoor peace concert in support of the people of Myanmar. The three-hour event was co-organized by the Substation Arts Centre and Timbre Bar, who are advised by police to hold the concert indoors. "Political and cause-related events are assessed to have a higher potential to stir emotions and controversy (and) may lead to law and order concerns," say the police.

Oct 2007: One week after his arrest, Dr Chee Soon Juan is back on the same spot opposite the Istana to stage a one-man protest against the Government's arms deals with Myanmar. Lasting five days, the protest is not stopped by authorities.

Oct 2007: The Financial Times apologises and agrees to pay unspecified damages to PM Lee Hsien Loong and his father MM Lee Kuan Yew over an article which implied the elder Lee was instrumental in securing his son's appointment as prime minister. "We admit and acknowledge that these allegations are false and completely without foundation," says the paper.

Oct 2007: The International Bar Association's decision to host its annual meeting in Singapore provokes opposition from critics. Amnesty International calls on the 3,000 delegates of IBA to condemn the misuse of the law in Singapore. A newswire report notes that Dr Chee Soon Juan drew applause at the meeting when he spoke about his imprisonment, and quoted Subhas Anandan, the president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers, as saying that he would "represent murderers, thieves and even terror suspects but would avoid acting for dissidents." In an earlier speech, Law Minister Professor Jayakumar said that "internationally our legal system and judiciary have been held in high esteem by the World Bank."

Nov 2007: Police reject an application to hold a protest outside the Shangri-la Hotel where delegates of the Asean Summit are scheduled to meet. The SDP, which submitted the application, say the protest was intended to call on Asean member states to take concrete measures to promote democracy in the region.

Nov 2007 (Asean Summit Meetings): In defiance of a ban, three international students stage a short march in protest against Asean leaders' "tacit" approval of Myanmar's fatal crackdown on demonstrations. A newswire reported that the three were followed by 19 reporters and photographers in the area of the Asean Summit, which was protected by 1,000 armed police and soldiers. "A lot of people wanted to come, but they were afraid of the repercussions," says Daniel Babiak, a student from the National University of Singapore, which had earlier warned the students about Singapore's laws.

Four Singaporeans belonging to a group called Sg Human Rights are barred by police from entering the Shangri-la Hotel. They had planned to deliver a greeting card bearing the image of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The card is eventually handed to a representative of the Asean Secretariat.

Enroute to the Shangri-la Hotel, two members of the SDP are stopped and bundled into an unmarked police vehicle. Chee Siok Chin and John Tan are then driven around for 40 minutes before police release them on Orchard Road. Tan's video recording of the incident is posted on youtube. No charges are filed.

In the biggest public protest in recent memory, about 50 Myanmar expatriates gather on Orchard Road and hold a large banner that read: "Listen to Burma's Desires, Don't Follow Junta's Order". A protest spokesperson tells the assembled reporters that the show of force was to put pressure on Asean and Myanmar to effect the immediate release of jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The brief protest disperses without incident after police warned protesters they could be in violation of the law.

Dec 2007: In a statement, Amnesty International says a total of 22 members of Jehovah's Witness are understood to be detained in Armed Forces detention barracks, all as conscientious objectors. AI adds that they regarded all such detainees as prisoners of conscience. In 1972, the Government banned the religion on the grounds that it was prejudicial to public welfare and order.

Dec 2007: The UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, with the ultimate aim of abolishing capital punishment. It votes 104 in favour and 54 against with 29 abstentions. Opposition to the resolution is led by Singapore, who accuses countries in favour of the moratorium of trying to impose their values on the rest of the world.

Jan 2008: Artist Seelan Palay completes a solo five-day hunger strike outside the Malaysian High Commission in protest against the Malaysian Government's detention of five leaders of ethnic Indian group Hindraf. Wearing a placard around his neck that said, "Give them fair trial," Palay was briefly warned by police that he would be flouting the law. No arrest or charges are filed.

Jan 2008: A choir that planned to sing a list of complaints about life in Singapore cancels its performances after the Media Develpment Authority banned its foreign members from singing. The 60-member Complaints Choir, a concept that originated from two Finnish artists, was originally licensed to perform at Speakers' Corner but authorities say the licence is conditional because the lyrics touch on "domestic affairs", and it preferred only Singaporeans take part. The performance is eventually moved indoors and a video recording uploaded on youtube.

Jan 2008: Police reject an application by the SDP to protest outside Parliament House to mark World Consumer Rights Day.

Mar 2008: About 20 Singaporeans, including young children, protest outside Parliament House against the rising cost of living. Led by Dr Chee Soon Juan, the protesters, carrying placards and wearing red T-shirts that say "Tak Boleh Tahan", proceed to stage a procession towards the Istana, but are arrested outside a shopping mall. Video footages show police dragging the protesters by force from an interlocked group and bundling them into vehicles. 18 of them are later charged with participating in an illegal assembly and public procession without a permit.

Apr 2008: Discharged from bankruptcy, JB Jeyaretnam announces the formation of the Reform Party. "We are not allowed to exercise the fundamental rights given to us in the Constitution," says Jeyaretnam, who promised a party based on human and political rights, and whose objective was to effect "a complete and thorough change in the way this country is run."

Apr 2008: Hundreds of Myanmar nationals, many wearing red t-shirts with the word "No", gather outside the Myanmar embassy to cast referendum votes on the country's proposed new constitution. Plainclothes police are seen on standby but there are no reported arrests.

May 2008: Five Singaporeans, holding aloft a series of banners with messages such as "Censored News Is No News" and "Newspapers and Printing Presses Act = Repression", stand outside the Singapore Press Holdings building to mark World Press Freedom Day. There are no reported arrests.

May 2008: Officers from the Board of Film Censors, assisted by the police, enter the Peninsula-Excelsior Hotel to seize a film which was undergoing its private premiere. Witnessed by about a hundred guests including foreign diplomats, organisers hand the DVD copy of the film to officials. Entitled "One Nation Under Lee", the documentary was made by artist Seelan Palay and its premiere hosted by the SDP. Palay is currently under investigation for exhibition of a film without licence.

May 2008: An unnamed 24-year-old blogger is arrested in his home after police received two complaints about allegedly racist comments posted on his blog. The New Paper reports that his comments were directed at a fellow passenger on the MRT. A police statement says they "take a serious view of such irresponsible blog postings in a multi-racial society like Singapore and will expend all efforts in tracking the perpetrators."

May 2008: PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew are cross-examined by Dr Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin in a hearing to determine defamation damages awarded to the Lees. Newswires report that the Chees, who were representing themselves, had most of the questions objected to by Lee's lawyer Davinder Singh on the grounds of irrelevance and upheld by the judge, who had earlier granted an application by Singh to impose a time limit on the cross-examination. The case marks the first time any PAP leader is cross-examined by a political opponent in open court.

Jun 2008: In a separate case, Dr Chee Soon Juan and activist Yap Keng Ho are found guilty by the Subordinate Court of speaking without a permit during the run-up to the 2006 elections. Chee is fined $5,000, or five weeks in jail in default, while Yap is fined $2,000, or 10 days in jail. Bails of $5,000 are granted for both men, who face six similar charges.

Jun 2008: US lawyer and blogger Gopalan Nair is arrested in his hotel by plainclothes police officers and held in a police lock up for five days. The 59-year-old former Singapore citizen had written on his blog that the judge in the Lees' defamation case against the Chee siblings was "throughout prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders," and further challenged Lee to sue him for his remarks. Nair is charged with insulting a high court judge.

Jun 2008: Dr Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin begin serving prison terms of 12 and 10 days respectively after being convicted of contempt of court over their cross-examination of PM Lee and MM Lee. Judge Belinda Ang says that such misbehaviour, if unpunished, will diminish the dignity of the court. Reform Party's leader JB Jeyaretnam appears in court as Chee's lawyer but later withdraws when Ang declines his application for more time to prepare his case. The Straits Times notes it is the stiffest sentence ever meted out for such an offence.

Jul 2008: In a 72-page report on Singapore, the human rights arm of the International Bar Association expresses concern about limitations on the freedoms of expression, assembly, and the press, and of the independence of the judiciary. "As one of the world's most successful economies, Singapore should be a leader in human rights and the rule of law, and should now have the confidence and maturity to recognise that this would be complementary, not contradictory, to its future prosperity," says the IBA.

Jul 2008: In a statement, the Law Ministry rebukes a Wall Street Journal editorial on the above IBA's report, stating that "Singapore cannot allow those who carry no responsibility for Singapore's future to dictate its political and legal systems. Singaporeans know that they have a noncorrupt government and an independent judiciary. They live in one of the top five most transparent countries in the world, with the freedom to express their views, oppose the government and take part in free and fair elections."

Jul 2008: Dr Chee Soon Juan's application to reconvene the hearing for the assessment of damages in the case involving PM Lee Kuan Yew and MM Lee Kuan Yew is rejected by Judge Belinda Ang. The basis for Chee's application was the claim by MM Lee that the president of the International Bar Association had sent a letter to the Law Society of Singapore praising the country's justice system. It turned out that no such letter existed.

Jul 2008: The Official Assignee's office rejects Chee Siok Chin's application to attend a democracy leadership programme at the Stanford University in US. As a bankrupt, Chee has to apply for permission to travel out of the country. The SDP says that she has been making regular payments to the benefit of her creditors and was granted leave on past occasions.

Aug 2008: In a statement, the Myanmar expatriate community expresses concern that many of their members who had been active in protests against the military junta's crackdown of civilians a year earlier have been denied renewal and extensions of their visas by Singapore authorities. A police spokeswoman says that "foreigners who work or live here are expected to at least respect the law and local sensitivities in Singapore." The statement from the community adds that there is no evidence that those affected has ever committed any offence in Singapore.

Aug 2008: In his National Day Rally speech, PM Lee Hsien Loong pledges more openness by relaxing the rules for political films and allowing demonstrations in Speakers' Corner. "The overall thrust of all these changes is to liberalise our society, to widen the space for expression and participation. We encourage more citizens to engage in debate, to participate in building our shared future.. If you compare today with five years ago or 10 years ago, it's much more open today."

Aug 2008: Three sets of charges - of attempting to stage an illegal procession, of assembly without a permit for distributing flyers and of unlawful assembly outside Parliament House - are filed against seven members and supporters of the SDP for activities during the the IMF-World bank meetings in 2006.

Aug 2008: In what is described as "an extraordinary move", Judge Woo Bih Li recommends to the lawyers for PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew to broaden the charges of their defamation suit against the Far Eastern Economic Review so as to allow for greater penalties. The Lees' lawyers duly oblige.

Aug 2008: Following the death of PAP Member of Parliament Dr Ong Chit Chung, a motion is tabled in parliament to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act to allow by-elections to be called in a Group Representation Constituency when a member vacates his seat for any reason. The move is rejected by PM Lee Hsien Loong, who reasons that "the vacancy does not affect the mandate of the government."

Sep 2008: The government eases restrictions on Speakers' Corner by allowing Singapore citizens to hold demonstrations without having to obtain a police permit. The management of the park is handed over to the Nataional Parks Board, which states that users should register with the board online, and that placards, banners, effigies and self-powered handheld amplification will be allowed. Issues of race and religion remain outlawed. "There will be no conscious monitoring," say the police. In the first month after the new ruling, 31 registrations for activities are made.

Sep 2008: US lawyer Gopalan Nair is sentenced to three months prison after being found guilty of insulting a high court judge in a blog entry. Nair tells reporters he has no regrets, "I only wrote a blog. I didn't go out and kill anybody." While in prison, he is convicted on a separate charge of contempt of court, but is let off with a warning by the judge.

Sep 2008: News portal The Online Citizen reports that the Nanyang Technological University has pulled the plug on two stories on the school's student newspaper. Both articles are reports of the Singapore Democratic Party's visit to the campus. A professor of its communications and information faculty say the stories were killed because "there was a feeling of concern over the use of student media to publicise and promote the unsolicited views of an uninvited person to the campus."

Sep 2008: Reform Party's leader JB Jeyaretnam, 82, passes away due to heart failure. In a condolence letter, PM Lee Hsien Loong says, "He sought by all means to demolish the PAP and our system of government. Unfortunately, this helped neither to build up a constructive opposition nor our Parliamentary tradition. Nevertheless, one had to respect Mr JB Jeyaretnam's dogged tenacity to be active in politics at his age." Jeyaretnam's son, Kenneth, eventually assumes leadership of the Reform Party.

Oct 2008: A group from the Nanyang Technological University gathers on Speakers' Corner to protest the censorship of its student newspaper. With a banner that reads "Responsible Press For Students", student speakers tell a group of 70 people that the event is called to stand up for media freedom.

Oct 2008: The High Court orders the Singapore Democratic Party, Dr Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin, to pay PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew a total of $610,000 in damages. Judge Belinda Ang says the libel was exacerbated by the Chees' cross-examination which were "meant to discredit, insult, embarrass and humiliate" the two government leaders. The ruling may bankrupt the SDP and force it out of existence, says a statement on the party's website.

Nov 2008: John Tan, the assistant secretary-general of the SDP, is suspended from his position as lecturer at the James Cook University. A letter handed to Tan states that "the Management has received information that the Attorney-General has applied to court for contempt proceedings to be instituted against you. A student has also given some feedback on this matter, expressing some concerns." Tan has been lecturing there for four years.

Nov 2008: The publisher of the Wall Street Journal Asia is found in contempt of court over two editorials and a letter that "implied that the judiciary is subservient to Mr Lee and/or the PAP and is a tool for silencing political dissent." The charges were initiated by Attorney-General Walter Woon who said the articles "impugned the impartiality, integrity and independence of the Singapore Judiciary."

Nov 2008: Three activists who had showed up in court donning t-shirts depicting kangaroos in judges robes during the cross-examination of PM Lee and MM Lee by the Chee siblings are convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to prison. Isrizal Bin Mohamed Isa and Muhammad Shafi'ie each receive 7-day jail sentences, while John Tan a 15-day sentence. The Attorney-General had earlier argued for a harsh penalty, noting that "calling the judicial system a kangaroo court is the worst insult one can hurl against it." The defendants are also each ordered to pay $5,000 in legal costs.

Dec 2008: After his release from prison, Gopalan Nair writes from the United States on his blog that he will be withdrawing all undertakings and apologies made while under Singapore custody, and proceeds to repost all the articles which he had removed while in Singapore. Nair is barred from entering Singapore without approval from authorities.

Jan 2009: In its annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties, Freedom House says Singapore's ranking is downgraded "due to the politically motivated handling of defamation cases, which cast doubt on judicial independence." Its report also notes that "despite his expressed desire for a 'more open society,' Lee Hsien Loong has done little to change the authoritarian political climate."

Jan 2009: Wearing red t-shirts and holding a banner that read 'Stop ill-treatment of Burmese activists', two protesters stood for an hour outside the Ministry of Manpower before being handcuffed and escorted into police vehicles. The two were protesting against the non-renewal of visas to some Myanmar expatriates, whom the Government says are "not welcomed in Singapore". The two Singaporeans, Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong, are being investigated for the offence of criminal trespass.

Jan 2009: A man in his forties is arrested for vandalism after he scribbled "Hi Harry Lee. I love you." on a wall outside Parliament House. The Straits Times reports that uniformed guards were seen running out of Parliament House to wrestle the man to the ground. "Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is called Harry by some of his family and old friends," notes the paper.

Feb 2009: In a written reply to parliament, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng says 366 people have been detained in the last five years under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, which allows for detention without trial. Wong adds that it is only used as a last resort when a serious crime has been committed and a court prosecution is not possible because witnesses are not willing or afraid to testify in court.

Feb 2009: Four people hold a quiet protest march from Little India to the British High Commission in an appeal for British help to end the war in Sri Lanka. "It was the British colonial government that arranged for Tamils to move to Sri Lanka so it's responsible," says V Thamizhmaraiyan, who led the march. The Straits Times also quotes him as saying that he has the support of many Tamils in Singapore but they did not join the march because they feared arrest.

Feb 2009: In its second incident in two weeks, about 150 retrenched Bangladeshi migrant workers gather in front of Ministry of Manpower to urge the government to give them work and help retrieve overdue pay from previous employers. "We are going to see a lot more of it - they are being shortchanged," says a spokesperson for a migrant workers advocacy group. There are no reports of arrests in both cases.

Mar 2009: Following an earlier ruling that had found the Wall Street Journal guilty of contempt of court, the High Court additionally fines Melanie Kirkpatrick, deputy editor of the Journal's editorial page, $10,000 for the same offence. It also says she must pay the same amount in legal costs. "The public interest in protecting the Singapore judiciary from unwarranted attacks has been adequately served," says the Attorney-General.

Mar 2009: The Government amends the Films Act to allow for certain political films on condition that they do not contain dramatisation, animation, unscripted reality and scenes of illegal activities. A seven-member advisory board is formed to vet such films.

Apr 2009: Parliament passes the Public Order Act, which requires that all "cause-related" demonstrations, including those staged by one person, to seek a police permit. It also contains a new prohibition on the filming of security force operations and actions. Another provision empowers the police, under a so-called "move on" order, to force anyone to leave public areas if their actions are considered "disorderly".

Apr 2009: The Singapore International Film Festival is forced to withdraw six foreign films after censors demanded cuts to five of them that depicted homosexuality and "prolonged and explicit lesbian sex". The sixth film, about Palestinian women imprisoned for suicide bombing-related activities, is disallowed.

Apr 2009: The Government retains the ban on the film 'Zahari's 17 Years', saying that the Minister has not changed his position. The film was banned in 2007 for its alleged "distorted and misleading portrayal" of Said Zahari's detention under the ISA. Its filmmaker Martyn See had resubmitted it to the authorities following the recent amendments to the Films Act.

Apr 2009: More than 100 construction workers from China gather outside the Ministry of Manpower to complain about unpaid wages and cancellation of their work permits. Some workers report that police had warned them they were illegally trespassing on government property. No arrests are reported.

May 2009: A licence for a scheduled seminar by Dr Philip Nitschke, an Australian euthanasia campaigner, is denied by the police on grounds that his talk "may promote the commission of criminal offences in Singapore, of which euthanasia is one". Nitschke earlier insisted that he had no intention of breaking the law in Singapore and that he would not be providing information about effective suicide methods.

May 2009: An Amnesty International report on Singapore states that "defamation suits and restrictive measures continued against opposition activists, human rights defenders, foreign media and conscientious objectors," of whom 26 Jehovah's Witnesses remain imprisoned. The advocacy group also notes "the government eased restrictions on public assembly (in one designated location), but continued imposing restrictions on media and peaceful demonstrations."

Jun 2009: A Christian couple is found guilty of possessing and distributing seditious and undesirable publications to three Muslims, and sentenced to eight weeks jail. Three of the charges come under the Sedition Act and one under the Undesirable Publications Act.

Jun 2009: Refuting Dr Chee Soon Juan's letter to the Washington Post which alleged that rehabilitation under the Internal Security Act in Singapore "comes with beatings and other forms of torture," the Singaporean ambassador to the US says that "terrorist detainees in Singapore undergo a program incorporating psychological, social and religious rehabilitation. There are no beatings or torture. There have been no deaths."

Jun 2009: A scheduled public forum, organised by filmmaker Martyn See, to mark the 22nd anniversary of the "Marxist Conspiracy" arrests under the ISA, is cancelled after See was told by the venue that the police were investigating the event. The event is eventually held in another venue, but not before See wrote to the Minister of Law to rebuff an earlier demand from the police that he make an application for a permit.

Jul 2009 : A magistrate's complaint filed by Chee Siok Chin and John Tan for unlawful detention and selective use of the law by the Singapore Police Force is dismissed by the District Court. In the complaint, Chee stated that during the Asean Summit a year earlier, police had harassed and forced the duo into unmarked vehicles. The judge throws out the complaint, citing a police statement that they were removed in accordance with the Protected Area and Places Act.

Jul 2009: The Board of Film Censors refuses to classify the film 'One Nation Under Lee' on grounds that it contains footages of banned film 'Zahari's 17 Years'. "It is probably the only video submission in BFC's history that has been deemed unclassifiable," says Martyn See, who submitted the film on behalf of its director Seelan Palay, who faces a police probe over the screening of the above film.

Jul 2009: Police install five closed circuit television cameras at the Speakers' Corner as "part of an on-going initiative to enhance security in the neighbourhoods", and that the cameras "do not record audio inputs." A letter published in Today newspaper says "some Singaporeans may be intimitated by the CCTVs from speaking, or even going to listen."

Aug 2009: A copy of the French film Devotee is retained by the Media Development Authority after organisers inserted still frames into sections of the film where the censors had demanded cuts. A censored version is eventually screened to the public after organisers removed the still frames. Two locally made films, Tanjong Rhu and Threshold, are withdrawn just days before its public screening in a festival partly sponsored by the MDA. All three films contain gay themes.

Sept 2009: Singapore's Law Society applies for permission from the courts to initiate disciplinary against US lawyer and blogger Gopalan Nair, with the view to bar him from practising law in Singapore.

Sept 2009: Dr Chee Soon Juan is convicted on two counts of public speaking without a permit and fined $10,000 or ten weeks imprisonment by default. Chee faces a further four charges from offences committed during the run-up to the 2006 elections. Also convicted is activist Yap Keng Ho, who is fined $2,000 and will begin serving a 20-day jail term in default. Chee is granted a stay of execution pending his appeal.

Sept 2009: The Government lifts a four-year ban on the film 'Singapore Rebel', and gives it a M18 rating, which allows those above 18 years old to view it. Its filmmaker Martyn See calls the decision "symbolic", as the film has been viewed more than 400,000 times online. See had resubmitted the film six months earlier.

Oct 2009: Two weeks after the 63-year-old Far Eastern Economic Review announced its impending closure, the Court of Appeal upholds a ruling that the magazine had defamed PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew in a 2006 article, and that costs and consequential orders will be awarded to the Lees.

Oct 2009: Police arrest a 70-year-old Singaporean who had earlier staged a sit-in protest at an underpass leading to the convention centre of the upcoming APEC Summit meetings. Falaungong practitioner Chua Eng Chwee is detained after he returned to the site from which police had removed him using the "move-on" powers of the Public Order Act.

Oct 2009: Responding to Reporters Without Borders' annual press freedom index that ranks Singapore in 133rd out of 175 countries, Law Minister K. Shanmugam tells the New York State Bar Association that the listing is "quite absurd and divorced from reality", and that Singapore is not "a repressive state" and does not "unfairly target the press".

Nov 2009: The Far Eastern Economic Review and its editor pay over $400,000 to settle the defamation suit that was awarded to PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew. Court orders show the PM receives $230,000, and the MM, $175,000, in damages and legal costs. Disagreeing with the verdict, the magazine's owners say, "the Court casts significant doubt as to whether Singapore will ever recognise the fair and honest reporting privilege accorded to responsible journalism."

Nov 2009: Despite an appeal from the British High Commission and condemnation from the Commitee To Protect Journalists, British freelance journalist Benjamin Bland's work visa is rejected by the Government, who gave no reasons. "I have covered some sensitive subjects such as rising crime, healthcare and ageing and business links with Burma. However I steered clear of criticism of Singapore's first family," says Bland.

Dec 2009: In a surprise announcement, the Attorney-General announces the withdrawal of three charges of speaking without permit against Dr Chee Soon Juan. The withdrawn charges would amount to acquittals, said the state prosecutor, who offers no further reason. Chee was originally charged with eight separate counts of the same offence, and had been convicted of four. He had served a prison term for the first, and the remaining are awaiting appeals.

Dec 2009: District Judge Ch'ng Lye Beng fines three leaders of the SDP the maximum amount of $1,000 each for distributing pamphlets without a permit. The judge agrees with the prosecution that distributing anti-government flyers in a group of 5 or more persons is an offence. The group had distributed the flyers during the lead-up to the IMF-World Bank meetings in 2006. The three, Dr Chee Soon Juan, Gandhi Ambalam and Chee Siok Chin, refuse to pay the fine and begin serving one week prison terms.

Jan 2010: In rejecting allegations by Human Rights Watch that Singapore is a "politically repressive state", the government says that "Singapore is a democratic state with a clean and transparent government, whose public officials are held responsible against the highest standards of probity and integrity." The group had also criticised the mandatory death penalty, the ban on street protests and laws permitting caning and detention without trial.

Feb 2010: Ten months after its application, advocacy group Singaporeans For Democracy is gazetted a political association, but not before authorities amended its constitution to prohibit the group from any affiliation with political parties and foreign persons who "interfere in Singapore's domestic politics."

Mar 2010: Dr Chee Soon Juan, Gandhi Ambalam and Chee Siok Chin begin serving another one-week prison term each after being found guilty by District Judge Toh Yung Cheong for attempting to participate in a procession during the WB-IMF meeting in September 2006. Co-defendant Teoh Tian Jing is also found guilty.

Mar 2010: Ten people who were part of a group of 18 who participated in a 'Tak Boleh Tahan' protest outside Parliament House in 2008 are found guilty of taking part in an assembly and procession without a permit. District Judge Chia Wee Kiat metes out fines between $1,800 to $2,000 to each of the convicted, who are granted stays of execution pending appeal. Eight others had earlier pleaded guilty and paid fines.

Mar 2010: The New York Times Co apologises and pays $160,000 in damages to PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew for an article about Asian political dynasties that was published in the International Herald Tribune. Davinder Singh, the lawyer acting for the Lees, says that the IHT's publisher, editor, and the article's author, Philip Bowring, also agreed to pay damages of $60,000 to PM Lee, and $50,000 each to SM Goh Chok Tong and MM Lee, as well as pay their legal costs. He says the article was in breach of an undertaking made by the IHT and Bowring in 1994.

Mar 2010: In a strongly-worded open letter to PM Lee Hsien Loong, Reporters Without Borders urges the Government to implement media reforms, including ceasing all libel actions and guaranteeing editorial independence to local media. "You have perpetuated your father’s legacy by continuing to harass and intimidate news media," says the letter.

Apr 2010: A landmark decision to acquit five activists who participated in a procession to mark the first anniversary of the IMF-WB protest is overturned by High Court Judge Choo Han Teck. Six months earlier, Judge John Ng acquitted the five, ruling that "the walk which had taken place did not impede or cause any disruption to the flow of vehicular traffic or the movement of pedestrians." Judge Choo orders sentencing to be referred back to Judge John Ng, who in turn sentences them to $500 fine each. All but one choose to serve five-day jail terms.

Apr 2010: Amendments to the Constitution are passed to increase the number of Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) to nine, up from six. NCMPs are offered to losing opposition candidates with the highest percentage of votes, and have restricted voting rights. "This Bill marks another milestone in the constant and progressive evolution of our political system of parliamentary democracy," says Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng.

Apr 2010: Arab news channel Al Jazeera English is taken off from cable network mio TV, shortly after it aired a story on homeless Singaporeans. Criticising the broadcaster for "propagating falsehoods", Minister Vivian Balakrishnan tells parliament that "this is a clear example where a foreign media has failed to ascertain the facts." Refuting allegations of censorship, the Government quotes a report which stated that Al Jazeera itself had said the decision to drop out of mio TV was a "mutual" one.

Apr 2010: A United Nations official's call for more openness in the public debate of racial issues in Singapore is rebuffed by the Government, which says that "a balance must always be struck between free expression and preservation of racial and religious harmony." Githu Muigai, the UN Special Reporter on racism, made his remarks after spending a week in Singapore at the invitation of the Government.

May 2010: The Straits Times refuses to publish six letters by Dr Chee Soon Juan, demanding that he retract allegations which had casted "serious and unfounded aspersions" on the integrity of the paper. Chee had alleged on the SDP website that the paper unfairly edited his reply to a series of letters in the paper's forum which were critical of him.

May 2010: The National Arts Council cuts the annual grant given to theatre company Wild Rice, which had produced gay-themed plays. In a statement, the council says, "We will not fund projects which are incompatible with the core values promoted by the government and society or disparage the government."

May 2010: Former political detainee Vincent Cheng is barred from a speaking in a history seminar by venue sponsor National Library Board, who contends that Cheng's inclusion by the organiser is not consistent with the forum's original directive. Entitled 'Singapore's History: Who Writes The Script?', the event is organised by the NUS History Society, who apologises to Cheng for the barring.

Jun 2010: The Online Citizen (TOC) reports on its website that its chief editor has been questioned by police over its posting of an anti-government pamphlet, which local press earlier reported were stuffed into letter boxes in two housing estates. Entitled 'The truth that every citizen must know', the pamphlet made allegations about government corruption and exploitation. Local paper Today says its contents, which remains online on TOC, may fall under the Sedition Act.

Jun 2010: A US animal-rights activist is whisked away in a police car after he arrived outside a KFC outlet with the intention to stage a one-man protest in a chicken suit. "I am now in my hotel room. I am under functional house arrest. I will stay in my hotel room under police surveillance until I leave tomorrow," 24-year-old Edward Basse tells newswire by telephone.

Jul 2010: Members of the opposition National Solidarity Party are given verbal warnings by environmental officers on the unlicensed sale of their party's newspaper. A week after the party failed to obtained clarification from authorities, NSP's vice-president Christopher Neo is issued with a summon of $300 for "illegal hawking."

Jul 2010: Filmmaker Martyn See's recording of a public speech by former political prisoner Dr Lim Hock Siew is banned by the Government on account that the film is "against public interest" and that it "undermines public confidence in the Government." The Media Development Authority order See to remove the video from youtube and his blog. Detained for 19 years, Lim is Singapore's second longest-held ISA detainee. See's other documentary, 'Zahari's 17 Years', remains banned.

Jul 2010: A photographer with a Chinese-language daily who was taking pictures of floods is handcuffed by police and removed from the area after he allegedly ignored police warnings to leave. In response, Environmental Minister Yaacob Ibrahim tells parliament that there is no policy that prohibits the taking of flood pictures. The Government has been under pressure to alleviate frequent floods caused by monsoon rains.

Jul 2010: British author Alan Shadrake is arrested in his hotel, a day after he launched a book alleging double standards in Singapore's use of the death penalty. The police say in a statement that Shadrake will be investigated for alleged criminal defamation and contempt of court. The book, entitled 'Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock,' is not banned, says the Media Development Authority, who had filed the police complaint.

Jul 2010: "Nuns Go Wild!", a play which was scheduled as part of the Short+Sweet Theatre Festival at the Arts House, has its title changed to "Good Girls" after the venue objected to the references to nuns. The performance is eventually allowed after the playwright changed the main characters to convent schoolgirls.

Aug 2010: The SDP reports on their website that their application for renewal of their newspaper permit was delayed for three months by the Government. As the "communication lifeline with voters in the constituencies and a means for the party to raise funds," the delay "severely disrupted our campaign plans", says the party. The law mandates that newspaper licences are renewable yearly.

Aug 2010: Police arrest a Singaporean man after he posted on Facebook urging people to "burn" a cabinet minister. In a statement, police say the arrest is "in connection with investigations into offences related to incitement of violence". Abdul Malik Ghazali, 27, who posted a series of criticisms on how the government was hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, says his comment was a "metaphor". He is eventually issued a warning.

Aug 2010: A police serviceman who criticised the actions of his fellow officers in his blog is interrogated for an hour by the police. 26-year-old Abdillah Zamzuri had written on his blog that the police officer who handcuffed a press photographer had "acted stupidly" and that the police should be sued. He is being investigated for the offence of "prejudice to the conduct of good order and discipline".

Aug 2010 : Theatre group Drama Box is denied an outdoor licence to stage a forum theatre piece involving themes of homosexuality, sex education and religious radicalisation. The Media Development Authority, which gave the play an advisory for mature content (16 years and above), advises that the group move the performance indoors.

Sep 2010 : Students at the Nanyang Techological University are informed that those who create webpages or blogs containing information regarding politics and religion must acquire licences from the Government and the university's written approval. Under the Broadcasting Act, registration is required for websites deemed by the authorities to be propagating political or religious issues relating to Singapore. Local paper Today notes the last time a website was told to register as a political site was in 2001.

Sep 2010: A call by a government-appointed panel to liberalise parts of its censorship regime, such as ending a symbolic 100-website ban and easing rules on distributing R-rated films, is rejected by the government. "We should move with, rather than ahead of, society," says Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who adds that the 100-website ban "serves as a reminder that there is a significant body of material on the internet that is unsavoury and unedifying."

Oct 2010 : After tabloid daily The New Paper speculated that medical doctor Joseph Ong is the owner of popular anti-government website Temasek Review, government investment firm Temasek Holdings writes to him demanding that the site stop using "the good name" of Temasek Review. While Dr Ong denies any links with the website, the site's owners temporarily changes its name to 'New Temasek Review', but has since reverted to its original name, and continues to operate under its anonymous owners.

Nov 2010 : The Government rejects an application by human rights advocacy group Maruah to be registered as a society, but instead gazettes it as a political association, which would bar the group from a host of activities, such as receiving foreign funds and letting foreigners take part in its events. Maruah has been active as a Singapore representative in the Asean Human Rights Mechanism.

Nov 2010: In the stiffest sentence imposed for contempt of court, 76-year-old British author Alan Shadrake is sentenced to six weeks in prison and fined $20,000 by High Court Judge Quentin Loh, who says the book, 'Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore's Justice in the Dock,' contains "selective background of truths and half-truths, and sometimes outright falsehoods." A stay of execution is granted pending Shadrake's appeal.

Dec 2010: In response to WikiLeaks' release of secret US diplomatic cables, the Government says their actions are "damaging". "It is critical to protect the confidentiality of diplomatic and official correspondence, which is why Singapore has the Officials Secret Act," says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Leaked cables from Singapore had contained unflattering remarks on regional governments made by MM Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore diplomats.

Dec 2010: Citing "law and order considerations", police reject an application for a proposed march by Singaporeans For Democracy to mark International Human Rights Day. The march was scheduled to start at Speakers' Corner and end at Parliament House, less than one kilometre away. Further to an appeal by SFD, the police advise the political association "to hold your march at the Speakers' Corner instead."

Dec 2010: In reply to a query, the Media Development Authority says the government will adopt a "light-touch approach" for the internet and will not require websites to submit their uploaded videos for vetting. Filmmaker Martyn See made the inquiry after reading a Straits Times report on videos uploaded by political parties, including those from the PAP.

Dec 2010: Two rights groups are denied permits to conduct activities aimed at commemorating International Migrants Day. A proposed vehicle procession and a flyer distribution exercise to raise awareness about the treatment of foreign workers are rejected by the police, who advise the applicants "to hold their activities within the confines of the Speakers' Corner instead."

Jan 2011: A disciplinary tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice finds US lawyer Gopalan Nair guilty of five charges of contempt of court and misconduct. The Law Society of Singapore had initiated charges against Nair for his blog postings and for disorderly behaviour towards police officers while awaiting trial for his conviction in 2008. The tribunal says Nair will be permitted to re-enter Singapore to face charges.

Jan 2011: PM Lee Hsien Loong gazettes popular news portal The Online Citizen (TOC) a political association, even though the website has not applied to be registered. The move comes shortly after the site organised a public forum featuring leaders of the opposition parties. A government statement says TOC "has the potential to influence the opinions of its readership and shape political outcomes in Singapore" and "it is therefore necessary to ensure that it is not funded by foreign elements or sources". Law and Home Affairs Minsiter K. Shanmugam tells parliament that TOC is "not a passive website" but adds that it "will not hinder its existing activities, nor impede its freedom of expression".

Jan 2011: A performance art piece entitled 'Choices, Chances' that would have featured references to the death penalty is disallowed by the Media Development Authority, who objected to the use of a set of dice in the performance, alleging it would imply an unfair judicial process. In place of the ban, artist Seelan Palay verbally describes his performance to the audience.

Jan 2011: Three members of Singaporeans For Democracy are investigated over the sale of 12 copies of the book 'Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock' at a human rights film screening. Police say the three are being questioned on possible charges of distributing defamatory material. The book has not been banned by authorities and author Alan Shadrake's appeal against his conviction is still pending.

Jan 2011: Police write to The Online Citizen to ask that they apply for three sets of permits to hold a proposed party to mark the gazetting of their site. The licenses required are the Public Entertainment Licence, the House-to-House and Street Collections Licence, and a notification to conduct a lucky draw under the House Gaming Rules. In response, TOC elects to bypass the rules by conducting the party as a private, invitation-only function.

Jan 2011: Dr Chee Soon Juan's appeal against four convictions for speaking without permit is dismissed by High Court Judge Steven Chong, who imposes a $20,000 fine or 20-week imprisonment in default. The four convictions are part of eight charges filed against Chee for offences committed during the run-up to the elections in 2006. Chee eventually escapes the prison term after he paid the fine, raised through an online donation appeal.

Feb 2011: A historic lawsuit brought against the Government by a former political prisoner for alleged torture is thrown out of court, after the Attorney-General said it was frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process. 77-year-old Michael Fernandez, a former union leader who was detained under the ISA from 1964 to 1973, had alleged that he was force-fed, manhandled, deprived of sleep, and made to live in conditions that were "not humanely habitable". A separate lawsuit alleging unlawful detention is pending.

Feb 2011: The Board of Film Censors restricts Oscar-nominated film 'The Kids Are Alright' by rating it R21 and limiting its release to one single print. "The film normalises a homosexual family unit and has exceeded the film classification guidelines which states that 'Films that promote or normalise a homosexual lifestyle cannot be allowed'," says a letter from the Board, which adds that it is already a "concession" that the film is allowed at all.

Feb 2011: High Court Judge Woo Bih Li dismisses appeals by nine defendants, mostly from the SDP, against three sets of convictions all involving public assemblies and processions from 2006 to 2008. The appellants had asked the judge to look into the unconstitutionality of the government's ban on public assemblies and processions. All nine had earlier served the sentences, including payment of fines and prison terms.

Feb 2011: The Government submits its first human rights report to the United Nations, highlighting its achievement in health, housing and education. Refuting alleged restrictions on civil and political liberties, it says "no person has ever been detained for engaging in lawful political activities". Its use of the death penalty is justified as "a criminal justice issue", and the ISA as a "preventive" measure. Eight civil society groups had earlier submitted reports, all as part of a UN peer review process called the Universal Periodic Review.

Mar 2011: Lawyer Chia Ti Lik, the leader of newly-formed opposition party Socialist Front, is found guilty on charges of professional misconduct brought against him by the Law Society. While acting as defence counsel for opposition activists, Chia had alleged on his blog that the cases were politically motivated, which the disciplinary tribunal said cast "doubt on the integrity of the judiciary and judicial processes". Chia faces a fine, and is also ordered to pay legal costs of $3,000. The penalties will not affect his eligibility to contest the elections.

Mar 2011 : The High Court dismissed an appeal for a constitutional challenge against Section 377A of the Penal Code, which makes "gross indecency" between two men an offence punishable by up to two years' imprisonment. Human rights lawyer M. Ravi had filed the challenge following his client's conviction for a sexual act in a public toilet in 2010. Speaking in Parliament in 2007, PM Lee Hsien Loong had said, "We do not harass gays. The Government does not act as moral policemen. And we do not proactively enforce section 377A on them."

Mar 2011: An art installation displayed in the Singapore Art Museum as part of the Singapore Biennale has some of its items removed without the consent of the artist. Explaining the removal of gay pornographic magazines in the installation work by British artist Simon Fujiwara, museum director Tan Boon Hui says some audience "may not appreciate seeing such material in full view." A lawyer quoted in the Straits Times says the exhibition of obscene material may fall under the Undesirable Publications Act, which carries a maximum sentence of $10,000 fine or a two-year imprisonment.

Apr/May 2011 (General Elections): A year before elections, PM Lee Hsien Loong announced a "24-hour cooling-off" before polling day, stating that no election campaigning and "advertising" will be allowed except for "news" from government licensed organizations and sanctioned political party broadcasts.

In its annual budget statement, the Government announces a $3.2 billion "Grow and Share" package in which most adult Singaporean will receive between $600 to $800 each in "cash incentives".

In its first major revision since 2001, the Government redraws electoral boundaries by dissolving constituencies and creating new wards. The Group Representative Constituency (GRC) of Aljunied loses nine parcels of land to neighbouring wards, prompting accusations of gerrymandering from the Workers' Party.

The Elections Department eases the ban on election videos and online campaigning, but requires that all activities to be held at the Speakers' Corner during the election period be sanctioned by the police.

State-owned broadcaster MediaCorp airs an unprecedented four-episode TV forum featuring both PAP and opposition politicians. A directive circulated to the invited parties states that the PAP be represented by two speakers and be allocated half the airtime, and that only eligible candidates can take part, thus ruling out Dr Chee Soon Juan, the bankrupted leader of the SDP.

The Government announces elections 18 days prior to polling day, and campaigning period are again restricted to 9 days. Despite elections deposits being raised from $13,500 to $16,000, opposition parties field candidates in 82 out of 87 seats, making it the highest proportion of contested seats since independence.

Early attempts by the PAP to question the personal agendas of some opposition candidates, including one allegedly gay member of the SDP, are eventually sidelined by more pressing economic issues such as rising costs of living. Nightly rallies by the opposition attract tens of thousands of spectators, with the Workers' Party filling out sports stadiums. Traditional news reporting is challenged by a surge of dissenting views on social media platforms such as Facebook, as news websites The Online Citizen and Temasek Review also report record hits.

Three days before polling, PM Lee Hsien Loong issues an apology to the electorate, pledging to correct the shortcomings of unpopular policies. The hustings is also notable for the absence of defamation suits.

The PAP eventually wins 60.1% of the votes by securing 81 out 87 seats, and lost the five-member Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) to the Workers' Party, which secures six seats in Parliament, the best opposition parliamentary result since independence.

May 2011 : A week after elections, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong announce their retirement from the cabinet. In a brief joint statement, the two former prime ministers note that "the time has come for a younger generation to carry Singapore forward in a more difficult and complex situation."

May 2011 : Authorities arrest a 24-year-old man after he allegedly posted on an internet forum that a fighter jet had crashed, resulting in many casualties. In a statement, the police say that he is being investigated under Section 45 of the Telecommunications Act, which states that any person who is found guilty of transmitting a false or fabricated message is liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or a fine, or with both.

May 2011 : British author Alan Shadrake begins his prison term after he lost an appeal against a six-week jail sentence, the highest ever imposed for contempt of court. His inability to pay a $20,000 fine results in an additional two-week imprisonment, taking his term to eight weeks in total. "I feel that Singapore has shamed itself again by jailing me," says Shadrake in a newswire report.

June 2011 : 'Mass Effect', a Microsoft video game which contains a scene showing a human woman and an alien woman kissing each other, is banned by the Media Development Authority. The Straits Times reports that Singapore is the only country to have banned the game.

July 2011 : The organiser of a picnic in Speakers' Corner to display solidarity with anti-government demonstrations in Malaysia is called up by the police, who say they take a "serious view of foreigners who import their domestic political conflicts into Singapore, and of foreigners who use Singapore as a stage for such political agitation". The Straits Times reports that about 120 people, clad in yellow, had sat on the grass in small groups for two hours or so.

July 2011 : US lawyer Gopalan Nair receives a life-time ban from practising law in Singapore after the Court of Three Judges rule in favour of an application by the Law Society that Nair had scandalised the courts. Nair responds on his blog from the US that the ban is an "honour" and he's "none the worse for it".

Sept 2011 : Within 24 hours following an announcement by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to abolish his country's Internal Security Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a press release to defend the use of the ISA in Singapore, stating that it "continues to be relevant and crucial as a measure of last resort for the preservation" of national security. In response, opposition groups and bloggers call on the government to abolish the Act, including an unprecedented letter signed by 16 former ISA detainees alleging the use of torture to extract confessions. The Ministry rejected the calls, and avoided addressing the issue of ill-treatment.

Sept 2011 : In a separate statement following Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Raza's announcement that his country's press laws would be relaxed, the Singapore Government says that the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act is still valid, as it ensures that the media play "a responsible role and that publishers are accountable for the content they print."

Oct 2011 : Police commence investigation against the Singapore Democratic Party after it organised a public forum featuring former ISA detainees Francis Seow and Tang Fong Har speaking via teleconference from overseas. In response to media queries, the police say that the forum organisers had arranged for "a fugitive from justice" and "a foreign national" to participate in a discussion on domestic politics.

Oct 2011 : Another political forum is under investigation by the police, who allege that the talk could have violated the Public Order Act by featuring two foreign speakers. Singaporeans For Democracy says that its member Martyn See had spent 90 minutes in the police station fielding questions on whether the talk was a public or private event. The two foreigners who spoke were elected opposition Members of Parliament of Malaysia and Cambodia.

Oct 2011 : Police say they had released on bail a man linked to political website Temasek Review for an alleged violation of the Parliamentary Elections Act. Dr Joseph Ong Chor Teck was arrested in September after Temasek Review's facebook page had allegedly carried an exit poll during the General Elections in May. If convicted, he can be fined up to $1,500 or jailed for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both.

Dec 2011 : An application by political association Singaporeans For Democracy to conduct a "Singaporeans United Against Racism" rally in Speakers' Corner is rejected by the police, who say that "issues of race and religion are sensitive and may cause friction across different racial and religious groups."

--------------------------------

Published by Singaporeans For Democracy March 2011.
Last update : Dec 2011.
Contact : Martyn See
singapore_rebel@yahoo.com
martynsee@gmail.com

One Country Two Systems Part V

2011-03-10T14:44:00.003+08:00

"As long as we attract talent, and we got security, and we keep an open system which treats everybody fairly and equally, we will succeed."
- Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, 2011

"Hard Truths" versus "Distorted and misleading portrayals"

Below are uploaded clips from the DVD of the book Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going, which is available at all major bookstores in Singapore.

Below are videos featuring former political prisoners Said Zahari and Dr Lim Hock Siew. They are banned by the Government for their "distorted and misleading portrayals".

Ex-political prisoner speaks out in Singapore (Banned in Singapore) from sotong on Vimeo.

-----------------

Read also

One Country Two Systems Part IV

Ex-detainees call for abolition of ISA

2011-02-22T12:50:00.002+08:00

From Function 8

On 1 November 2010, Function 8 submitted a report to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights calling on the Singapore Government to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows indefinite detention without trial. The submission was made to the first Universal Periodic Review of Singapore’s human rights record before the Working Group comprising Spain, Bahrain and Djibouti on 6 May 2011 in Geneva. (About UPR, please see attached)

On 14 February 2011, former ISA detainees, Dr Lim Hock Siew, Said Zahari, Dr Poh Soo Kai, Dr G Raman, Ong Bock Chuan, Koh Kay Yew, Teo Soh Lung, William Yap Hon Ngian, Low Yit Leng, Tan Tee Seng, Vincent Cheng Kim Chuan and Wong Souk Yee issued the following statement in support of the submission.

******************

UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW – SINGAPORE
Submission on the Internal Security Act by Function 8

A Recommendation

We support the report to the 11^th session of the Universal Periodic Review for the abolition of Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows indefinite detention without trial.

B Why abolish the ISA?

The ISA began its life as the Emergency Regulations in 1948 when Singapore was a British colony. The British used the Regulations to imprison opponents to its rule and trade unionists who fought for the rights of workers. In 1955, the Emergency Regulations were passed into law with the enactment of the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance (PPSO). When Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, the Federation of Malaya’s Internal Security Act 1960 became part of our law. Singapore left Malaysia in 1965 but this law with modification continue to be in force. In 1989, the ISA was amended to oust judicial review.

The PAP came into power in 1959 on the election promise to release all political prisoners imprisoned without trial. It reneged on that promise. Many who were detained by the British in the 1950s were not released.

The first major arrests carried out by the PAP with the support of the Internal Security Council were in 1963. At least 151 people were arrested and imprisoned without trial for decades. Among those arrested were prominent members of the opposition like Dr Lim Hock Siew (imprisoned for 20 years), trade unionists, doctors, lawyers, journalists, university graduates and undergraduates. They formed the cream of society. With their arrest, opposition to the PAP was snuffed out.

Arrests and imprisonment under the ISA did not stop after 1963. In the name of national security, several hundred more were arrested by the PAP. They were labelled “Communists, pro-Communists, Euro-Communists, Marxists and terrorists” and included opposition members of parliament like Chia Thye Poh who was detained for 32 years. The systematic and frequent waves of arrests resulted in the closure of the prestigious Nanyang University, the Chinese language university built with the donations of people from all walks of life, from rich tycoons to hawkers, trishaw pullers, students and several news dailies. The arrests also wiped out civil society voices. Singaporeans lost their fundamental rights to free speech and assembly and the exercise of these rights has worsened to this day.

Throughout its 52-year rule, the PAP government has evoked the ISA with consistent regularity. The table below lists the ISA arrests recently compiled from newspaper reports and information obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs website. We believe arrests are under-reported as people who were detained without being served with detention orders were not reported and there is no freedom of the press in Singapore. In a speech given by C V Devan Nair, PAP representative to Socialist International reported in The Straits Times of 2 June 1976, detention orders were served on a total of 661 persons between 1960 and 1976. The figure for those arrested but not served with detention orders was not disclosed. The Straits Times of 22 January 1999 reported Minister for Home Affairs, Wong Kan Seng as having said in parliament that since 1965, 591 people had been detained under the ISA.

ISA Arrests

Year	Number arrested and detained
1959	The PAP failed to keep to their pre-election promise to release all political prisoners.
1960	2 journalists of Tiger Press had their detention orders renewed.
1963	Operation Coldstore[1]: At least 151 people including prominent members of the opposition, trade unionists, doctors, lawyers, journalists, graduates and undergraduates of Nanyang University.
1964	52 undergraduates of Nanyang University.
1965	More than 22 undergraduates of Nanyang University and trade unionists.
1966	More than 30 opposition members and members of parliament like MP Chia Thye Poh who was detained for 32 years, 5 years longer than Nelson Mandela.
1970	At least 56 Opposition Barisan Sosialis members and officials.
1971	9 people, including editor-in-chief, manager, editorial writer and public relations officer of Nanyang Siang Pau, a Chinese daily.
1973	Lee Eu Seng, Managing Director of Nanyang Siang Pau.
1974	30 people, including T.T.Rajah, lawyer for many detainees.
1975	6 alleged members of Mao Tse-Tung Thought League or the Tung League.
1976	About 50 people, including Singapore Polytechnic student leaders and theatre practitioners.
1977	50 people[2], including lawyers, doctors, journalists, teachers and unknown numbers of students.
1979	2[3] people.
1987	4 Muslims.
1987	Operation Spectrum[4]: 22 people including lawyers, theatre practitioners, church workers, students, businessmen, senior media executives, journalists and engineers.
1988	8 recently-released detainees from Operation Spectrum and 2 of their defence counsel, Francis Seow and Patrick Seong.
1997	2 people.
1998	4 people.
1999	6 people alleged to have committed espionage.
2001	15 Muslims alleged to have links with Al-Qaeda[5]
2002	23 Muslims
2003	18 Muslims
2004	1 Muslim
2005	3 Muslims
2006	4 Muslims
2007	5 Muslims
2008	1 Muslim
2009	2 Muslims
2010	4 Muslims

C Impact of ISA detentions:

Elimination of political opponents and activists, resulting in the absence of critical voices and a robust civil society, creating a fear of political participation thereby concentrating power in the PAP with no effective checks and balances in parliament.
With parliament reduced to a rubber-stamp, the PAP government has an unbridled license to make any law to curb fundamental freedoms such as the absurd Public Order Act 2009 which defines illegal assembly to include a one-person public protest.[1]
Detention without trial under the ISA is an affront to the Rule of Law and the basic right of citizens to a fair trial. The ISA prohibits judicial review. The ISA continues to be a real threat to political participation of members of civil society, human rights defenders and opposition political parties as its continued presence in the statute book and its use effectively eliminates all forms of dissent, free speech and association and assembly of citizens.
The ISA has robbed citizens of the right to demand transparency and accountability of the PAP government and to shape the direction of the future of democracy in the country.

We call for the abolition of the ISA.

Signatories:

Dr Lim Hock Siew (detained from February 1963 to September 1982 – Operation Coldstore)
Said Zahari (detained from February 1963 to August 1979 – Operation Coldstore)
Dr Poh Soo Kai (detained from February 1963 to December 1973 – Operation Coldstore and from June 1976 to August 1982)
Dr G Raman, Ong Bock Chuan and Koh Kay Yew (all detained in 1977)
Teo Soh Lung, William Yap Hon Ngian, Low Yit Leng, Tan Tee Seng, Vincent Cheng Kim Chuan and Wong Souk Yee (all detained in 1987/1988 – Operation Spectrum)

Date: 14 February 2011

[1] Dr Lim Hock Siew at http://vimeo.com/13292596; Said Zahari. Dark Clouds at Dawn: A Political Memoir, Petaling Jaya: Insan 2001; The Long Nightmare: My 17 Years as a Political Prisoner, Petaling Jaya: Utusan Publications and Distributors Sdn Bhd, 2007; Poh Soo Kai, Tan Jing Quee and Koh Kay Yew eds: The Fajar Generation, Petaling Jaya: SIRD 2010.

[2] http://newspapers.nl.sg/ (The Straits Times, 1977)

[3] The Straits Times, 14 Feb 1980, Page 13 (http://newspapers.nl.sg)

[4] Teo Soh Lung. Beyond the Blue Gate: Recollections of a Political Prisoner, Petaling Jaya: SIRD 2010; Fong Hoe Fang ed: That We May Dream Again, Singapore: Ethos Books, 2009; Francis T. Seow. To Catch a Tartar: A Dissident in Lee Kuan Yew’s Prison (Yale Southeast Asia Studies Monograph Series, 1994); Tan Jing Quee, Teo Soh Lung and Koh Kay Yew eds. Our Thoughts Are Free: Poems and Prose on Imprisonment and Exile, Singapore: Ethos Books 2009.

[5] http://www.mha.gov.sg/news

[6] This law was enacted pursuant to a two-man protest in Singapore http://www.engagemedia.org/Members/Seelan/videos/Activists_arrested_in_Singapore.AVI/view

Former political prisoners joins opposition

2011-02-20T14:53:00.006+08:00

Mr Fernandez and Mr Cheng were introduced at the SDP's anniversary dinner at Fort Canning last night. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN

Feb 20, 2011
Two ex-ISA detainees join SDP

By Tessa Wong
STRAITS TIMES

Former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees Michael Fernandez and Vincent Cheng have joined the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and may stand as party candidates in the upcoming general election.

The two new members were introduced at the party's anniversary dinner last night at Fort Canning.

Both men told The Sunday Times they would consider standing for election under the SDP banner if they were asked to by party leaders.

Mr Fernandez, 77, is a retired former unionist whose lawsuit against the Government for alleged torture during his detention from 1964 to 1973 was struck out last Friday.

He has another suit pending against the Government that alleges he was unlawfully detained for part of his detention.

He said he joined the party two months ago because he wanted to 'let more young people know about ex-detainees' experiences'.

He felt that his age and health would not affect his decision to run. 'I am still very healthy. As for age, Lee Kuan Yew is also very old, and he is still in Parliament.'

Mr Cheng, 64, is a former social worker who was detained in the late 1980s for being part of an alleged Marxist conspiracy to overthrow the Government. He joined the SDP shortly after speaking at its rally last November.

Both men are advocates for the abolition of the ISA, which the SDP has also called for. They said this issue would be part of their campaign platforms if they ran.

SDP chief Chee Soon Juan told reporters yesterday that the party is in the process of attracting new members. He declined to give figures on party membership, but he said that since the last election in 2006, the median age of party members has dropped from the mid-50s to the mid-30s.

Among the younger members are academic James Gomez and civil society activist Vincent Wijeysingha, both in their 40s and seen as potential election candidates.

Since joining the SDP last year, Dr Wijeysingha has become more prominent in the party, and is the key figure behind its recent Shadow Budget.

When asked if Dr Wijeysingha could be his successor, Dr Chee, who has been the SDP's secretary-general for 18 years, said: 'That would be a question that our party members would have to answer. He would have to convince party members that he should be in the leadership and would continue to lead this party.'

On leadership renewal, Dr Chee said he found the idea of grooming successors 'off-putting'.

He said he preferred that members with leadership qualities step up instead, and that party members would recognise talent and leadership.

He said the party was non-hierarchical. 'We include young members in our discussions and decision-making processes. So they learn, and when they learn, they build confidence, and they develop as leaders themselves.'
The SDP would field more young candidates in the next election and would unveil them once the electoral boundaries report comes out, he said.

--------------

Further readings :

23 years after Operation Spectrum : Ex-detainees recall mental and physical abuses

More ex-detainees speak out : Political violence and the abuse of the ISA in Singapore

The Scars of Detention by Michael Fernandez

AWARE's EGM video rated M18, distribution suspended

2011-02-19T10:59:00.004+08:00

MDA hits pause button on Aware's DVD of 2009 meeting

By Cassandra Chew
STRAITS TIMES

WOMEN'S advocacy group Aware's plan to distribute a set of DVDs of its dramatic extraordinary general meeting (EGM), held in May 2009, has hit a snag.

That was the EGM where Aware's old guard ousted a group of newcomers who had wrested control of the association.

The Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) has not been able to distribute the DVDs, as it is appealing against a requirement that it needs a government licence to do so.

Aware has been corresponding with the Media Development Authority (MDA) on the matter.

The MDA has, in the meantime, given the DVD an M18 rating - meaning it should be seen only by those aged 18 and above.

Aware planned to sell the four-disc DVD box set of the EGM only to its 600 members, as an official record of the event.

But its executive director Corinna Lim, 45, said an MDA official contacted her 'a few days' after news of the $100-per-set DVDs broke last October, to ask if Aware had a distribution licence.

Ms Lim, a former corporate lawyer, said Aware has appealed against the need for one. She argued that the licensing requirement applies to businesses, not non-profit organisations.

Section 6 of the Films Act states that a person must have a valid licence in order to 'carry on any business, whether or not the business is carried on for profit, of importing, making, distributing or exhibiting films'.

Nearly 3,000 people attended Aware's eight-hour EGM in 2009. The meeting at Suntec convention centre was documented by an event management firm.

Aware has received 'fewer than 100 orders' for the DVDs, and has not distributed any to its members, said Ms Lim.

'I really take the view that we are not obliged to have a licence, and if they make us have a licence, they would be setting a terrible precedent for Singapore.

'That means any organisation that wants to distribute to your shareholders or just your members would need a licence.'

She noted that recordings of the EGM were online, such as on video-sharing site YouTube.

But MDA director of customer services and operations Pam Hu told The Straits Times yesterday that the MDA has required some religious and arts groups - and not just businesses - to possess the distribution licence.

Ms Hu added, however, that the MDA is reviewing Aware's appeal and would notify the group of the outcome shortly.

On the M18 rating, she said this is because the DVDs 'feature discussion of homosexuality and Aware's sexuality programme, which stirs up strong emotion among the members'.

'This contributed to the M18 rating as it requires maturity to understand the issues discussed and not be carried away by the emotive passion of the meeting.'

Observers were divided on how to interpret the law.

Singapore Management University assistant law professor Eugene Tan said the language of the law does not limit its reach and thus could apply to Aware.

But Professor Ang Peng Hwa, of Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, said Aware should not need a licence as it does not distribute films in its normal course of work.

'If it needs to have a licence, that means any company that does a corporate video will also need (one). MDA will be flooded with licensing (applications),' he said.

Ex-ISA detainee's suits thrown out

2011-02-19T10:50:00.002+08:00

He started legal action against Govt for alleged torture, unlawful detention

By Tessa Wong
STRAITS TIMES

A LAWSUIT brought against the Government by a former detainee for alleged torture was thrown out of court, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) told The Straits Times yesterday.

Also struck out by the High Court was a related suit claiming unlawful detention.

The lawsuits were brought by Mr Michael Fernandez, 77, a leftist unionist who was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) from 1964 to 1973.

He initiated legal action last December, naming the Attorney-General, the legal representative of the Government, as the defendant.

This was followed a month later by a second suit claiming that a portion of his detention was unlawful.

The AGC applied to strike out the cases, arguing that they disclosed no reasonable cause, and were frivolous and vexatious and an abuse of court process.

Mr Fernandez was a trade unionist who, among other things, led a month-long strike involving 11,000 workers in October 1963. He was detained under the ISA the following year.

The Government accused him of being a member of the Communist United Front. He has denied the accusation, saying he was only a workers' rights activist.

In his writ, he alleged that during his detention, he was force-fed, manhandled, deprived of sleep, and made to live in conditions that were 'not humanely habitable', among other things. He claimed unspecified damages.

He filed a similar lawsuit against the Malaysian government, which is still pending. At the time of his arrest in September 1964, Singapore was part of Malaysia. Singapore left Malaysia in August 1965.

------------------------

Read : More ex-detainees speak out : Political violence and the abuse of the ISA in Singapore

Dr Lim Hock Siew sues NLB and book publisher

2011-02-17T11:45:00.003+08:00

Lim Hock Siew sues four parties over book
Offending words tarnished my reputation, says ex-political detainee
By Cai Haoxiang
STRAITS TIMES

FORMER political detainee Lim Hock Siew, 80, is suing four parties for defamation over a news item in a book, Chronicle Of Singapore: Fifty Years Of Headline News (1959-2009).

He is claiming damages and a court injunction to stop the defendants repeating the words in the particular item. The book recounts Singapore's history through summary reports from newspapers and news magazines.

The four being sued are book publisher Editions Didier Millet (EDM), the National Library Board (NLB), book editor-in- chief Peter Lim, and printer Tien Wah Press.

Dr Lim was a political activist first with the People's Action Party and then with the opposition Barisan Sosialis.

In 1963, he was arrested and detained without trial for nearly 20 years before his release in 1982.

Dr Lim is taking issue with a news item on page 77, headlined 'Lim Chin Siong hurt in prison fight'.

The item, culled from newspapers, said Dr Lim and his supporters were in a fight at Changi Prison with fellow detainee Barisan Sosialis secretary-general Lim Chin Siong and his supporters.

Details of the fight and a reported injury to Mr Lim were first published in 1965 in The Straits Times and in the Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh.

But in 1966, the newspapers - in court hearings on libel suits against them by Dr Lim and Mr Lim - settled the cases with the payment of a sum of money.

In statements read out in court at the time, their lawyers confirmed there was no truth in the allegations about Dr Lim and Mr Lim that appeared in the articles.

The article was based on information from an outside source which was believed at the time to be reliable and genuine, but subsequently found to be false, the lawyers added.

The lawyer for The Straits Times noted the newspaper took the earliest opportunity to print a correction and apology.

In the case of Dr Lim and Mr Lim, The Straits Times admitted to publishing the words complained about, but denied that these defamed the two men.

Sin Chew admitted defaming Dr Lim and paid $7,000 in damages. It did not admit defaming Mr Lim but paid him an undisclosed sum.

In the suit Dr Lim filed this month, he cited various articles in 1966 and said these made clear 'there was no truth in the report that there was a fight'.

The news item Dr Lim complained about appeared in both the first edition of the book in 2009, and in a reprint last year. EDM published the book in association with the NLB.

Mr Peter Lim, a former editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English and Malay newspapers, oversaw the book's editorial team.

Dr Lim, represented by lawyer R. Joethy, said in his writ of summons filed on Feb 10 that, because of 'widespread publication' of the offending words, his reputation has been 'seriously' tarnished and that he has 'suffered considerable hurt, distress and embarrassment'.

Dr Lim issued letters to the defendants last December demanding a withdrawal of the offending words, an adequate apology, as well as damages and costs.

The writ said that EDM, through its lawyers, offered an apology on Jan 31, but in terms unacceptable to Dr Lim. The other defendants had not complied with his demands.

An NLB spokesman said yesterday the matter was in the hands of its lawyers. Mr Peter Lim and EDM declined comment while Tien Wah Press did not respond to queries.

--------------------------

Below is an earlier exchange of letters, published in the Straits Times forum page, between Lim Chin Joo and the publisher.

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_626521.html

Jan 21, 2011

Book publisher's reply raises more questions

PUBLISHER Editions Didier Millet took sole responsibility in general manager Charles Orwin's reply ('NLB didn't perpetuate any falsehood, says publisher'; Monday) to my letter about an error in a book his firm 'co-published' with the National Library Board ('Chin Siong story in book was admitted to be false in 1966'; Dec 31).

But Editions Didier Millet's (EDM) reply about the book, Chronicle of Singapore: Fifty Years Of Headline News (1959-2009), raises further questions such as:

Was it appropriate for a national institution such as the National Library Board (NLB) to agree to lend credibility to a privately undertaken publication by having itself acknowledged as a partner and co-publisher when, as EDM now says, it was not?

Does a national institution, by allowing itself to be identified as a co-publisher of a privately undertaken publication, associate itself with the accuracy of the contents?

As my letter stated, the book carries a news item which was established to be false in 1966.

I have urged, as a matter of public interest, that falsehoods should not be perpetuated as part of our history.

These were the pertinent matters raised that should have been swiftly and appropriately addressed.

Lim Chin Joo

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_624884.html

Jan 17, 2011

NLB didn't perpetuate any falsehood, says publisher

MR LIM Chin Joo's letter ('Chin Siong story in book was admitted to be false in 1966'; Dec 31) incorrectly suggests that the National Library Board (NLB) failed in its duty to the public by allowing falsehoods to be perpetuated.

Mr Lim's suggestion is based on the mistaken belief that the book, Chronicle Of Singapore: Fifty Years Of Headline News (1959-2009), was co-published by the NLB. It was not. The book was published solely by Editions Didier Millet.

EDM had earlier published similar books in Thailand and Malaysia and came up with the idea of having one for Singapore. To enable us to obtain material for the book, we requested NLB permission to access its library materials. The NLB kindly agreed.

Once access was granted, we researched and selected stories for inclusion in the book, including the item which Mr Lim had raised. After the selection, we completely rewrote the materials. We were also wholly responsible for the conceptualisation, design and production work of the book.

In the circumstances, the NLB did not co-publish, much less perpetuate any alleged falsehood.

Far from failing to discharge its duties, in granting us access, the NLB was in fact complying with its duty under the National Library Board Act to provide a repository for library materials, including newspapers, to facilitate access to such materials.

In the book, we acknowledge the NLB as co-publisher, not to suggest that it had any role in publishing the book, but to thank it for its assistance in granting us access to the materials.

Charles Orwin
General Manager
Editions Didier Millet

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_619154.html

Dec 31, 2010

Chin Siong story in book was admitted to be false in 1966

THE book, 1959-2009 Chronicle Of Singapore, Fifty Years Of Headline News, carries a report published in The Straits Times on Nov 22, 1965 ('Chin Siong: Hurt in free-for-all'). This story, which claimed that my late brother Lim Chin Siong had been involved in a fight in prison, was established to be false back in 1966 itself.

My brother had sued the paper for libel and the lawyer for Straits Times Press (Malaya) had acknowledged that 'there is in fact no truth' in the allegations made against my brother in the report (''Free for all' libel action by Chin Siong is settled'; May27, 1966).

The paper had also printed a correction and apology, and 'paid into court a sum of money in satisfaction of the plaintiff's claim in this action without admission of liability'.

The book is a collaborative effort by Editions Didier Millet and the National Library Board. It is difficult to understand how a story that had been acknowledged to be false escaped detection despite all the corrective proof-reading such a major collaborative effort involving a national institution would have entailed.

As a key custodian of published national history, the National Library Board owes members of the public a duty not to let falsehoods be perpetuated as part of history.

Lim Chin Joo

More ex-detainees speak out : Political violence and the abuse of the ISA in Singapore

2010-12-29T13:00:00.001+08:00

UPDATE : Ex-ISA detainee plans to sue Malaysian govt too
MHA ignores torture allegations; claims Fernandez was detained by Malaysia
Former ISA detainee Michael Fernandez rebuts MHA
LKY Distorts Singapore History, Academic Gets Fired

DAYS after initiating legal action against the Singapore Government for damages for alleged torture, ex-detainee Michael Fernandez now plans to sue the Malaysian authorities as well.

The writ will be filed with the Malaysian High Court by this week, and will name Malaysia's Attorney-General and the Malaysian government as the defendants, according to Mr Fernandez's lawyer, Mr M. Ravi.

Its claims will be similar to those in a writ filed against Singapore's Attorney-General on Thursday last week, namely that Mr Fernandez, 77, was subjected to 'severe physical and mental torture, humiliation and loss of income' during his detention from 1964 to 1973.

At the time of Mr Fernandez's arrest in September 1964, Singapore was part of Malaysia. Singapore left Malaysia in August 1965.

Mr Ravi said at a press conference yesterday that Malaysian law firm K. Selva Barathy and Associates would be filing the writ with the Malaysian High Court.

Mr Ravi added that complaints would also be lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and with the Malaysian representative to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, prominent lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

As for the Singapore writ, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Chambers confirmed yesterday that it has been served the writ. It now has eight days to indicate whether it will contest the suit.

Mr Fernandez was a leftist activist in the 1960s.

He was detained under the Internal Security Act on grounds that he was part of the Communist United Front, an appendage of the Communist Party of Malaya.

MHA rebuts claims of ex-ISA detainee

Ex-detainee Michael Fernandez sues Government
Former ISA detainee seeks damages against Singapore government
Michael Fernandez files writ against Government
Breaking news: Former ISA detainee plans to sue Singapore Government
Former ISA detainee wants to sue Govt for damages : Straits Times

There are three things you need to know about Singapore.

1. The only political violence that has happened in the last 45 years in Singapore are the ones inflicted on political prisoners behind the walls of the Internal Security Department.

Links :
Political detention in Singapore : Prisoner case histories
The ISA as a political tool
Life in Singapore's political prisons
Surviving long-term detention without trial
Detention of journalists and lawyers under the ISA
A detainee remembers

2. The Internal Security Act has been abused (to serve political ends) more often than it has been used appropriately (to safeguard national security).

23 years after Operation Spectrum : Ex-detainees recall mental and physical abuses
I'll forgive Lee Kuan Yew if he admits to his error and apologises to me : Lim Hock Siew

3. The people and the institution responsible for the political violence and the abuse of ISA are still in power today. Open discussions on such topics remained sensitive, and even outlawed, in Singapore.

Zahari's 17 Years - rated PG by censors, banned by Minister
Ex-detainee Vincent Cheng barred from speaking in history seminar
Here we go again - Govt bans another Martyn See's film
Operation Spectrum forum cancelled
Police retracts licence request after Minister queried
Zahari's 17 Years remains banned : MICA

Ex-political prisoner speaks out in Singapore (Banned in Singapore) from sotong on Vimeo.

We'll adopt "light touch" approach for online videos : MDA

2010-12-16T12:35:00.011+08:00

The Media Development Authority (MDA) has replied to my letter in the Straits Times forum.

Dec 16, 2010
Online videos: When MDA will use classification

WE REFER to Mr Martyn See's letter, ('Can political parties directly upload videos online?; Dec 9).

The Media Development Authority (MDA) has generally taken a 'light- touch' approach with regard to the Internet and not mandated that all Internet content providers (ICPs) send their uploaded films to MDA for classification.

This is also the case with Mr See, whose blog has several films that have not been submitted to MDA.

The MDA will, however, direct ICPs to submit films - for which there may be content concerns - to it for classification, if such films are raised to its attention. ICPs who are unsure should similarly submit their films to MDA.

In the case of Mr See's film, Lim Hock Siew, it was submitted to MDA for classification and subsequently gazetted as a prohibited film. Consequently, MDA asked Mr See to surrender all copies of the film in his possession and to take down all digital copies of the film that he had uploaded onto the Internet.

Amy Chua (Ms)
Director, Media Content & Standards,
Media Development Authority

I reckon for some, MDA's letter may raise more questions than answers. So in this regard I shall attempt to spell out the dos and donts in the form of a Q&A format.

Q: So it's now legal to produce, reproduce or import videos and upload them directly onto the internet?

A : No, technically it is still illegal. Under section 14 of the Films Act, it states that 'every film in the possession of any person shall be submitted to the Board (of Film Censors) without any alteration or excision for the purpose of censorship'.

Q : What is the definition of "film" under the law?

A : Here's the definition of "film" under the Films Act:

Film" means —
(a) any cinematograph film;
(b) any video recording, including a video recording that is designed for use wholly or principally as a game;
(c) any other material record or thing on which is recorded or stored for immediate or future retrieval any information that, by the use of any computer or electronic device, is capable of being reproduced or displayed as wholly or partly visual moving pictures,
and includes any part of a film, and any copy or part of a copy of the whole or any part of a film.

Q : Does "film" includes videos shot on my mobile phone?

A : According to the above, yes.

Q : What are the penalties if one does not submit these films to MDA?

A : Section 21 of the Films Act spells out the penalties, and also empowers the authorities to enter your home to search for unlicensed films. Here it goes :

21. —(1) Any person who —

(a) has in his possession;
(b) exhibits or distributes; or
(c) reproduces,

any film without a valid certificate, approving the exhibition of the film, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —

(i) in respect of an offence under paragraph (a), to a fine of not less than $100 for each such film that he had in his possession (but not to exceed in the aggregate $20,000); and

(ii) in respect of an offence under paragraph (b) or (c), to a fine of not less than $500 for each such film he had exhibited, distributed or reproduced, as the case may be (but not to exceed in the aggregate $40,000) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(2) Any Censor and any Deputy or Assistant Censor and any Inspector of Films may at all reasonable times enter any place in which any film is kept or is being or is about to be exhibited and may examine the film, and if on such examination he has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under this section has been or is about to be committed in respect of the film he may seize the film and any equipment used in the commission of the offence.

Q : But aren't there exceptions? Did MDA not create a category of films that are exempted from classification?

A : Yes, indeed there is a category of films which are exempted from classification. The list includes documentaries, children and sports shows, karaoke videos and personal videos. The full list can be found here.

However, the exemptions are not automatic. You have to apply for an exemption certificate from MDA (see here), subject to your declaration that all the exempted videos does not contain films that may violate the law, such as party political films, pornography, or any film that MDA may deem to fall outside the exemption list.

Q : Okay, now I'm confused. So am I allowed to upload videos directly online or not?

A : According to the above letter, yes, you are allowed to. MDA says they will not require you to submit your videos before you post them online.

Q : Then what's the use of retaining section 14 of the Films Act when they are not going to enforce it on every film, considering that most people watch films online these days?

A : Three reasons.

Firstly, the Films Act was passed into law in 1980, some 25 years before YouTube.

Secondly, section 14 is still applicable for all public screenings, including movies in cinemas and film festivals.

Thirdly, section 14 is a handy tool to use when the authorities wishes to act on films (or people) which they deem to be "against public interests". For example, they may selectively choose to conduct raids on a private screening of an anti-Lee Kuan Yew film, such as this and this.

Or, on occasions when the police raid a person's home for an illegal activity or possessions (such as gambling or drugs), they may also charge the owner with possession of unlicensed films.

In the above letter, MDA says they can also order websites to submit videos for classification, if they deem these videos to have "content concerns".

Q : So what are videos that may have "content concerns"?

A : MDA doesn't say, but I would posit three categories of videos that may raise their attention.

1. Videos that denigrate religion.
2. Videos that denigrate a race.
3. Videos that denigrate Lee Kuan Yew, his family and his legacy.

Q : How about political videos? Doesn't section 33 of the Films Act prohibits "party political films"?

A : Good question, and "party political films" are loosely defined as films that makes "biased references" to any political matter and persons in Singapore. There is a recent amendment to this law. The government would like to think it's a liberalisation, but on paper the law is more restrictive. See my earlier blog post on this subject here.

In the above letter, MDA mentions that there are "several films" on my blog that have not been submitted for classification. I think they meant my list of "Top 100 Political Videos (that are likely to be banned in Singapore)" . So I suppose that since these videos have not raise any "content concerns", they provide a benchmark of political films which may be deemed "safe."

Separately, in this post, blogger Alex Au has raised some content concern that two of PAP's uploaded videos may have violated section 33 of the Films Act. Don't bet on MDA to act on his concerns. So I say if the PAP can do it, so can you. But again, look out for that OB marker marked "LKY".

Q : So why do you bother to submit your films to MDA, now that the latter has said they will not enforce the law strictly on online videos?

A : Prior to this letter, I had submitted my films in good faith, and for the purpose of screening them in public at some point. Two of my films remained gazetted as prohibited films, but you can watch them here and here.

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Read also :

MDA hacks away at rule of law

Govt queried on political parties' online videos

2010-12-09T12:09:00.004+08:00

My letter is published in the Straits Times forum today. In the spirit of Abraham Lincoln.. "The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."

ST Forum
Dec 9, 2010
Can political parties directly upload videos online?

IN LAST Saturday's report ('The battle for eyeballs is on'), we learnt that political parties have been using the new media.

The article noted that since the ban on party political films was lifted last year, 'parties are able to produce and disseminate videos so long as they are factual and objective'.

Indeed, some opposition parties have posted politically themed videos online, with the Singapore Democratic Party chalking up 47 videos on its YouTube channel so far. My own check on the People's Action Party website reveals the ruling party has posted more than 30 videos.

But Section 14(1) of the Films Act states that 'every film in the possession of any person shall be submitted to the Board (of Film Censors) without any alteration or excision for the purpose of censorship'.

Earlier this year, I had complied with the above by submitting my video recording of a speech by political detainee Dr Lim Hock Siew to the censors. The film is now gazetted as a prohibited film because the Minister deemed it to be 'against public interests'. I was also told to remove the film from YouTube and from my blog, which I duly complied.

My other film, Zahari's 17 Years (2006), an interview with political detainee Said Zahari, has remained banned.

Given the Government's dim view of films and videos with political content, I would like to know what is the position of the relevant authorities with regard to the production and direct uploading of videos onto the Internet, particularly those of political parties.

Martyn See

-------------------------------------------------------

Dec 4, 2010
STRAITS TIMES
The battle for eyeballs is on

By Tessa Wong

REMEMBER the much-discussed picture that blogger Alex Au snapped during the 2006 General Election, which showed thousands of people at a Workers' Party (WP) rally in Hougang?

It became the picture that symbolised the new media's status as a new source of political information.

With the easing of rules on political online content, political parties, especially from the opposition movement, are now banking on various platforms in cyberspace to make an impact in the coming polls.

Now, a website or a podcast is considered just the bare minimum.

While political parties acknowledge the importance of traditional vote-canvassing methods such as house visits and walkabouts, they also want to exploit the fast-growing social media to reach voters.

Singapore boasts 2.46 million Facebook users, according to statistics portal Facebakers.com - a mind-blowing figure, considering that Facebook was made available globally only in September 2006, just after the last general election.

Many political parties have set up a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Content on these platforms is uploaded on a regular, if not daily, basis.

Websites have been beefed up significantly. No longer do they contain only basic information about the parties; now they come with blogs, video links and interactive elements.

For example, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and Reform Party (RP) provide updates nearly every day on their blogs, giving party news and their take on current issues. Visitors can post their comments on these blogs.

The WP's new site has a Flickr photo stream which allows visitors to view pictures of party events, and a Facebook widget which shows the party's most recently posted content.

To draw more eyeballs, the same content is often shared among multiple platforms. SDP often posts links to its blog entries on its Twitter account, its three Facebook pages, and the personal page of its party leader, Dr Chee Soon Juan.

Facebook, in particular, has proven to be a popular medium for parties. They use it to share photos of events, advertise their constituency visits and recruit volunteers.

More importantly, they use it to interact with voters. The youth wing of the People's Action Party (PAP), for example, posts links to news stories on its Facebook page to gather feedback and engage users on national issues.

These platforms are employed to elicit suggestions from voters on what they want. RP has started separate Facebook pages for its campaign drives in Hong Kah and West Coast GRCs, where it asks residents for feedback.

What's more, politicians can now talk directly to voters through new media. Among those known to do so through Facebook are RP's secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam, National Solidarity Party's (NSP) secretary-general Goh Meng Seng, and PAP MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC Baey Yam Keng.

In anticipation of the coming polls, some party members and volunteers have given a subtle twist to their online campaigning, such as changing their Facebook profile names to reflect their political intentions.

Some RP members have appended the term 'VotingRP' to their profile names. Mr Goh has changed his Facebook name to 'Goh Meng Seng Nspcontestampines', a reference to his plan to contest Tampines GRC in the coming elections.

A new playing field

SEVERAL key factors explain the ramp-up in new media campaigning.

One, it is seen as an affordable and effective way of reaching out to voters. Mr Goh of NSP has observed that the Internet is a low-cost medium in which politicians can get involved and achieve close engagement with voters.

SDP's assistant secretary-general, Mr John Tan, says that new media allows the party to counter 'untruths' propagated by traditional media.

This is why smaller parties which lack big budgets or manpower may want to use new media, according to Dr Marko Skoric, an assistant professor with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who specialises in new media and social change.

'Basically, new media tactics would most benefit the underdogs,' he says.

This may explain why there is a difference between the new media approaches of the opposition and the PAP.

While the PAP has a presence on all the major new media platforms, more of its online activity appears to be driven by personal content - such as ministers or MPs posting updates on their Facebook pages - rather than by official party content.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, a member of the PAP's new media team, acknowledges that the decentralised approach is deliberate but 'makes sense'.

'We encourage them to engage with voters individually, especially since many MPs have existing voter support bases. We are not pushing to be cutting-edge, but still want to ensure voters have access to members and platforms,' he says.

The second factor is that parties are keen to woo the growing generation of wired voters, many of whom are young and want to explore political options.

To target the 18-35 age group, RP says it has put together a comprehensive online strategy, noting that its current support base has been enlisted 'almost exclusively off the back of social media'.

A third crucial factor is that the rules have changed since the last election. Last year, the ban on party political films was lifted. Parties are able to produce and disseminate videos so long as they are factual and objective.

Candidates, political parties and agents can use podcasts, vodcasts, blogs and other new media tools for campaigning in the coming elections.

Party political podcasts and vodcasts - which are episodic audio or video recordings posted online - were banned in the 2006 elections.

Taking advantage of the relaxed rules, some opposition parties have started to post politically-themed videos online. SDP has put up 47 videos on its YouTube channel so far.

Its latest video, posted this week, features its mascot Danny the Democracy Bear pursuing a man wearing what appears to be the PAP's white outfit.

A stronger online presence could also benefit political parties on Cooling-Off Day, which was introduced as part of the electoral reforms earlier this year. This falls on the eve of Polling Day.

Parties cannot officially campaign or put up any election advertising in contested wards on Cooling-Off Day and Polling Day.

But any election content that the parties has placed on the Internet before Cooling-Off Day can remain online, provided it has not been changed and that it is lawfully published in the first place.

This could well be one reason opposition parties are concentrating on Internet content: with more such content available to voters before Cooling-Off Day, they reckon, the higher will be their chances in influencing opinion.

As they see it, the biggest benefit of new media is increased accessibility to voters.

Says Mr Yaw Shin Leong, WP's organising secretary: 'There will always be people who want to know more about a party's manifesto or its stand on a political issue. It is now easier for these people to access that information using the various online platforms.'

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Political videos pudding ready for the eating