Category: Politik

Kenneth Jeyaretnam: Amos Yee – Singapore’s Youngest Political Prisoner

Yesterday I attended Amos Yee’s sentencing hearing at the State Courts at 9.30am. As you may be aware, Amos has refused to accept probation. The AG had asked for probation, presumably to save the PAP the international opprobrium for jailing a child who had spoken the truth about the late Lee Kuan Yew.

Instead Amos requested that he serve a jail term instead. After all he had already served a longer period in remand than the man who assaulted him received after automatic good behaviour. However the AG objected and asked the judge to sentence Amos to reformative training instead on the grounds that he was unrepentant.

For those of you who are not familiar with what “reformative training” is in the Singapore context, let me enlighten you. The regulations governing it can be found in the Criminal Procedure Code (Reformative Training) Regulations 2010. A person sentenced to reformative training must serve at least eighteen months but no longer than three years. However after release they will be under the supervision of a probation officer and must comply with any conditions imposed. Any breach of those conditions will result in six months additional sentence. This supervision lapses four years after the date of the original sentence so in the case of someone sentenced to three years reformative training the supervision period is one year but if the sentence is only eighteen months the supervision period is three years.

This is what an AsiaOne article had to say about reformative training:

Reformative training is a strict prison regime for young offenders. It consists of foot drills, counselling and education. Offenders spend at least 11/2 years behind bars. Upon release, they are placed under supervision, which includes wearing ankle tags that track their movements electronically.

The article was about how the courts deemed reformative training as a suitable punishment for young loan shark runners who would not be allowed the “soft” option of probation even for a first offence. However the runner in this case was 20 years old and in NS.

It revulses me that the court and the AG could somehow think that the punishment option for someone defacing and vandalising the flats of those owing money to loan sharks, presumably with threats of violence intended to intimidate the unfortunate debtors, and other violent young criminals is appropriate for a child like Amos.

I say “child” advisedly even though our law treats him as an adult when he reaches 16 despite not being allowed to vote till you are 21. Yet another inconsistency in Justice Kaur’s judgement was that she claimed to be protecting the youth of Singapore from being corrupted and depraved by Amos’s supposedly obscene image while she was treating Amos as an adult for the purpose of sentencing. Amos’s blog and video were clearly aimed at adults and viewed mostly by adults and not children.

I will get back to yesterday’s hearing. The queue for the public gallery was quite short, perhaps because the hearing was originally scheduled for 2pm but was then moved to 9.30am. Singaporeans do not like to get up so early. The atmosphere among the crowd was slightly flippant considering that it was a child’s future we were talking about. When I said that the Government was out to break Amos, some people said jocularly that he would be more likely to break the AG and the judicial system by his refusal to bend. A young man in a suit made some comment to the effect that unlike the “soft” West we treated criminals like Amos as adults from the age of 16 and that the “shackles” which presumably soft-hearted liberals like myself objected to were just cuffs.

After a delay while the prosecution and defence lawyers met outside the courtroom, Justice Kaur entered at about 9.50am. I expected someone older and tougher looking. Instead she looked quite slight and undoubtedly younger than me. She was extremely soft-spoken so it was very difficult to hear what she was saying. It was difficult to fit her image to her reactionary and inconsistent judgement.

The DPP argued that as Amos had not “learnt his lesson” and refused to agree to probation that a reformative training sentence was necessary. He said that Amos’s conduct and his decision to make the image and video public again demonstrated the need for rehabilitation and appropriate counselling. The DPP said a jail term or a fine would have no rehabilitative effect on Yee and would therefore not be “tenable, because we cannot be popping back into court every other day.”

The judge agreed with him and said that “Rehabilitation is the fundamental tenet of our justice system” and ruled that he be remanded for three weeks to assess his mental and physical suitability for reformative training.

Alfred Dodwell, Amos’s lawyer, argued in vain that Amos should be given a fine or a jail term equivalent to the time he has already spent on remand and pointed out quite correctly that Amos was being punished for a second offence for which he had not been tried.

At the end of the hearing Amos was taken into custody again. I saw his mother passing him a plastic bag which made me feel very sad.

There can be no doubt that in this case “rehabilitation” is just a euphemism. The PAP Government mean to break Amos’s spirit through a harsh regime that is worse than prison. They would like to show Singaporeans that anyone here who dares to challenge the official narrative will be harshly dealt with.

In totalitarian regimes like Communist China, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany “rehabilitation” meant years of imprisonment in harsh concentration camps. Everyone remembers the infamous words above Auschwitz which said “Arbeit Macht Frei” which loosely translated meant “Work Makes You Free” which was meant to be a sadistic joke about rehabilitation.

I feel only a slightly milder version of this punishment regime is in store for Amos. He will be forced to work and if he refuses will likely be punished. I am concerned that reformative training may include caning if Amos refuses to obey the orders given to him by his captors. He has years of imprisonment to look forward to and when he is inducted into NS he will probably end up serving his time in a military prison. Meanwhile a father who failed to strap his toddler into a car seat causing her death in an accident was only fined. And Lee Kuan Yew made countless racist remarks designed to wound the feelings of minorities and was commended globally for his wisdom and candour.

Even with his time on remand Amos has served more time than the man who attacked him. The reports said that he would not be with adult inmates. However since Amos is already being treated as an adult that seems just another example of the AG’s disingenuity. He will presumably be placed with the kind of hardened criminals who are normally considered suitable for reformative training. He wlll probably be bullied and may be sexually assaulted. Of course many comments from PAP supporters and LKY worshippers on the internet were that rape was much too good for him.

The PAP Government’s treatment of Amos is an international embarrassment to them and to Singapore. The PAP always justify draconian restrictions on our freedoms by saying we enjoy Swiss standards of living as a result. But I look around and I can see that we have neither, except maybe PAP Ministers and their relatives and wealthy foreigners. Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple with Steve Jobs. said no innovation or creativity would come out of SIngapore. Is it any surprise?

I called Amos Singapore’s youngest political prisoner which led to the usual fierce attacks from people saying that he was tried and convicted. However so was Nelson Mandela who received a sentence of life imprisonment for terrorism. Yet today no one would dream of calling Nelson Mandela a criminal let alone a terrorist.

I will end by letting Amos’s own words speak for him:

“And yes, to the chagrin of numerous people, I have not ‘learnt my lesson’, nor do I see any ‘lesson’ that needs to be learnt.If you are going to try to tower over me and say that you know something important that that I don’t, make sure you have a compelling argument for that. And if your lessons are borne from a corrupt, archaic Government lead by primitive monkeys,…then sorry if I doubt the credibility of your quote unquote ‘lessons’.

Hopefully history eventually vindicates me. But as of now, district judge Jasvender Kaur has deemed me guilty and the Prosecutor does in fact feel, that 30 months of a place worst than Prison (RTC) should be given to a boy who has posted an internet video.

Unless you do in fact relish in my misery, I hope both of you will be able to sleep at night, and live with the fact that right now, as it is written in the annals of history, my blood is on your hands.”

Source: http://sonofadud.com

June 5, 2015
Calvin Cheng: I Don’t Care About Becoming Mr. Popular And Running For Political Office

I think it’s known by now that I have strong opinions, and I am not afraid to voice them, even if if makes me hugely unpopular.

Popularity is entirely of no concern to me as I have no intention of ever running for elected office.

I am even willing to speak up on issues that make me unpopular with my own supporters. Like any conservative base anywhere else in the world, this includes people who are anti-LGBT and pro-death penalty. On these issues I have made my stance very clear that I think article 377a is discriminatory, and that the death penalty for drug offences should be abolished. This obviously caused consternation amongst my supporters, but if I don’t hold true to my beliefs, I will no longer be me.

However, as can be seen recently, people react nastily to my posts with abuse and vulgarities. I have been unfriended both online and offline.

This should not be the cost of people speaking up.

I have been receiving private messages of support from people who tell me they are scared to support me publicly and have begged me to keep their identity secret.

This is a sad state of affairs.

Finally, I give as good as I get. I believe passionately that in normal engagements just as in real life, one should start off being civil, courteous and nice. Always be as polite as possible.

However, I also believe, just like in real life, that the best way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them. Meet strength with strength. Same with online trolls. Some people will not back off unless they know you refuse to be a victim and you will stand up for yourself, and give as good as you get. A certain amount of ruthlessness is necessary to deal with abusive people.

I hope this not only explains my stance online, but also the principles that guide me. I also hope that by sharing, some of the many people who have messaged me privately these few days will start standing up for yourselves.

If you keep relying on others to do it, one day they may decide they have had enough and stop bothering.

Source: Calvin Cheng

June 4, 2015
Edwin Tong: Allegation That I Scolded Volunteers Completely False, I Did Not Even Have To Queue

I have been a fan of football since I was very young and was thrilled to attend the @SEAGames2015 football opener between ‪#‎Singapore‬ and the Philippines at @JalanBesarStadium. I have a lot of regard for our ‪#‎SEAGames2015‬ volunteers, the people on the ground who make these Games tick. In fact, many in my family and amongst my friends are SEA Games volunteers, and I know how much time and sacrifices they have put in.

So I was very surprised at the contents of an article on social media, claiming that I was supposedly “clearly unhappy” about having to wait in queue at the stadium or had shouted at volunteers.

This is completely false.

As I was trying to make my way into the stadium that night, I had stopped to ask for directions to the correct entry point to my allocated seat. I was given directions to the correct entrance and I made my own way there. At no point did I make an issue with having to queue or complain to anyone about having to queue. In fact, the contention that I had been unhappy about being made to queue or to “wait so long” is plainly false because I did not have to queue at all that night to get to my seat, let alone that I had apparently complained about having to queue.

The next game is against Myanmar tomorrow night. Please come and watch what promises to be a very exciting match, especially after Myanmar upset Indonesia 4-2 last night. Let’s stay united behind @TeamSingapore at the SEA Games and spur them on to give their best!

Source: Edwin Tong

June 4, 2015
Lim Swee Say Outlines Four Manpower Priorities For Singapore

After spending his first month on the job meeting employer groups, business chambers and trade associations, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said on Tuesday that he has been able to get their agreement to work towards four priority outcomes.

These are: becoming more manpower lean, building a strong Singaporean core, ensuring the foreign workforce is of good quality and maintaining Singapore’s competitiveness.

Speaking to the media for the first time since he moved from the labour unions to be Manpower Minister, Mr Lim said that this will help to ensure that manpower constraints do not become the limiting factor for Singapore’s economic growth.

“I think at the back of the mind is that given the constraints (businesses) face with manpower, how are they going to be able to respond to external competition…I requested they work together to think and look beyond the considerations of today,” he said at the Manpower Ministry headquarters. He took up his current post on May 4.

Action must take place at the industry and sub-industry levels, he added. “We don’t have to wait until everybody agrees to start. All it takes is three companies, five companies, seven companies that are prepared to take the lead.”

Mr Lim also said that he has been explaining to business leaders who have asked whether they will be able to employ more foreign workers that the ministry cannot afford to adopt a more liberal policy.

“If we continue to do so, the ratio of local workers versus foreign manpower will continue to decline…One day Singaporeans will wake up to find ourselves as a minority in our Singapore workforce, and obviously that’s not sustainable, that’s not desirable,” he said.

Other areas such as the national jobs bank will be reviewed, and more details are expected in around a month’s time, he said.

Continuing his push for a three-way partnership between unions, employers and the government, Mr Lim, who was labour chief for eight years, said that his actions would show his commitment to finding solutions that benefit all three – encouraging good business, good careers and good economic growth.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

June 3, 2015
School, Career Worries Among Students’ Concerns

Anxiety over their future — be it in school or at the workplace — was among the concerns raised by students during a question-and-answer session with Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong at the annual pre-university seminar today (June 2).

More than 20 questions were raised during the hour-long session, which was attended by around 550 students from 30 pre-university institutions — polytechnics, junior colleges and the Millennia Institute.

One student noted it is difficult to gain admission into local universities, with competition for places seemingly coming from foreign students, and sought clarity on this issue.

In response, Mr Wong clarified that local and foreign students are on different admission tracks.

“All the universities have a separate track to take in international students because they want to add diversity into their student population. They think it’s a good idea to allow their own students international exposure and they want that to add vibrancy into their campuses,” he said.

Foreign students take up 10 to 20 per cent of the cohort at universities in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, and Singapore has also kept the proportion to about 15 per cent of the overall student population in each campus, he noted.

He also assured students that the number of university places have been increasing with the establishment of additional autonomous universities here, and local students can get a place if they meet these universities’ benchmarks.

Asked about the competition posed by foreign manpower for jobs, Mr Wong, acknowledging the concerns, noted that employers are keen on hiring Singaporean talent, but they also want to be able to hire talent from around the world.

“If we decide to close our doors and say foreigners cannot work here, the bank will have a very simple response and say, ‘Well then, I can’t operate in Singapore and I should operate in Hong Kong instead’ or ‘I should operate in London instead’, and then all of the Singaporean jobs will be lost. This is the tension, the dilemma we will always face,” he said.

The issue of encouraging youths to care more about the community was also raised, with one student asking how young people could be motivated to pursue jobs in sectors such as social services and sacrifice better pay elsewhere.

In response, Mr Wong said: “What we should try to do is to make sure that if you want to take the path in the social service job, then the remuneration is a fair one, a decent one and one that will allow you or whoever it is to have a good living.”

When a student observed that Singaporeans’ proficiency in their mother tongues appeared to be declining despite the bilingualism policy, Mr Wong said it was not only an issue of what is taught in schools, but also which languages are used at home.

Bilingualism remains important, he said, adding that efforts to develop a strong foundation in mother tongue languages will put one in “good stead in the future”. He noted that the decline in the use of dialects is not unique to Singapore; China is facing the same issue among its youths.

The pre-university seminar ends on Friday. This year’s programme will see students reflect on Singapore’s achievements over the past 50 years by interacting with Singaporeans from all walks of life and participating in panel discussions on their findings, among other things.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 3, 2015