Tag: communism

Review ISA – Government Must Enact New Laws To Prevent Singaporeans From Fighting Overseas

R1c

I am very concerned by the arrest of the four Singaporeans under the ISA (Internal Security Act). I read and re-read and the more i read, the more concerned I become. I feel that it is wrong for this four people to be detained under ISA.

I know ISA was created a long time ago. I found this from here.

An Act to provide for the internal security of Singapore, preventive detention, the prevention of subversion, the suppression of organised violence against persons and property in specified areas of Singapore, and for matters incidental thereto.

[16th September 1963]

Whereas action has been taken by a substantial body of persons to cause a substantial number of citizens to fear organised violence against persons and property:

And Whereas action has been taken and threatened by a substantial body of persons which is prejudicial to the security of Malaya:

And Whereas Parliament considers if necessary to stop or prevent that action:

You see this part…..”prevention of subversion, the suppression of organised violence against persons and property in specified areas of Singapore, and for matters incidental thereto.”

In Singapore. Where did all these people go? They were overseas or on the way overseas. 3 of them were in Yemen and the Chinese guy was on the way to Syria. Which part of Yemen or Syria is in Singapore?

I am not condoning what they have done or saying that they should not have been arrested. However, i feel that what they do is not covered under ISA. Am I correct to say that? So far MHA hasn’t mentioned that the four of them wanted to carry out attacks in Singapore. They did not carry a direct threat to Singapore. So why were they detained under the ISA?

It is different last time with the JI (Jemaah Islamyah). JI very clear cut want to carry out attacks in Singapore…Yishun MRT was one of the places right? Even if JI targeted foreigners, Singaporeans would also become victims. Lives were at stake and properties would have been damaged.

The communists were also like that. People lost their lives during a period of sustained turmoil. Singapore become topsy-turvy because of the communists. They were subverting unions and students and it was chaos. In this case, it was appropriate for the perpetrators to be dealt with using the ISA. It is very clear-cut.

But I disagree that they use ISA for these four people.

I urge the authorities to stop their crutch-mentality with the ISA. Cannot everything also use ISA.

ISA is draconian and is not in keeping with current situations. What they should do is review the ISA immediately. If they want to stop Singaporeans from fighting overseas, they must enact new laws which are effective and whose scope covers the acts carried out by the four people.

Isa

Reader Contribution

March 16, 2016
Top 5 Non-Muslim Terrorist Groups In The World

Suffice to say, for the past few days, the spotlight has been on Muslims and Islam in Singapore and around the world. It began with Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam warning that isolationist religious tendencies will lead to a more fragmented and divided Singapore. We were told how greater religious conservatism, if left unchecked, could undermine the racial and religious harmony here.

Before the dust settled on the debate on K Shanmugam’s speech, we learnt yesterday about the repatriation of 27 Bangladeshi nationals. They had subscribed to violent, radical ideology espoused by extremists preachers like Anwar Al-Awlaki. They wanted to carry out armed jihad overseas, including in their own country, Bangladesh.

And so, the spotlight just gets brighter. Muslims just can’t catch a break, can we?

We cannot emphasise enough that Islam is a non-violent religion which preaches tolerance and respect of others. These “Muslims” who carry out violent jihad are also in the minority. There’s more than 1 BILLION of us but there’s less than 100,000 who are, in a word, terrorists. Do your math.

Sometimes, the world forgets that there are other terrorists enemies out there who are non-Muslims. We think it is time to remind the world that terrorist organisations comes in all shapes and sizes and religious beliefs.

We bring you the top 5 non-Musim terrorist groups in the world today:

1 Forcas Amardas Revolutcionarias da Colombia (FARC)

In English, FARC refers to The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. It is a guerilla movement believed to have been formed in 1964 a a result of the liberal-conservative conflict in the country. FARC based itself on communist ideology and sought to protect farmers against capitalist privatisation of their land and other natural resources in Colombia. These days however, FARC is more widely-known for its involvement in the illicit drug trade. Besides making money from narcotics, they also make money from extortion, kidnapping and illegal mining with its operational theatre spanning many countries South America. Needless to say, the members have eraned themselves a reputation as violent terrorists, with their use of paramilitary tactics, bombings, murders and assasinations, to protect and expand their interests.

2 The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

The Lord’s Resistance Army is a terrorist organization operating in parts of Uganda, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and parts of Southern Sudan. Not only is it classified as a terrorist organisation, the movement is also known as a cult led by its charismatic leader, Joseph Kenny. The group started out with noble objectives of creating a peaceful and prosperous Uganda. Now, they carry out murder, child sex slavery, abductions, mutilations, and the recruitment of child soldiers with impunity. During its reign, LRA is belived to have been responsible for about the death of 2,300 people, the abduction of thousands of others and the displacement of many in the central regions of Africa.

3 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

No this is very different from the Workers’ Party that we have in Singapore. PKK was a student-led initiative; it was formed in 1978 and sought to achieve cultural and political rights and self-determination for the Kurds in Turkey. The group is now based in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan while it operates in Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq. Guess what? PKK and the Kurds in general, are not fancied by IS.

4 Naxal / Naxalites

The Naxalites is a Maoist rebel group closely associated with the Communist Party Of India. Many states in the country have fallen to the expansionist ambitions of this group. Like the LRA and FARC, the Naxalites also began with the aim of protecting the rights of the workers. They even had support from Mao Zedong in China! The group began to grow rapidly; even university students were dropping out of school to join them. State action in the 1970s crippled the group’s activities but it remains a thorn in the side of the Indian government. They countinue to kill civilians and government security personnel. In recent times, Dr. Manmohan Singh, branded the group as the “biggest threat to national security” in India.

5 The Irish Republican Army (IRA)

The Irish Republican Army was founded in 1913 to wage a war of indepence against the British. Like many of the other terroriss groups above, the IRA was very adept at guerilla warfare. The end of the war caused a divide in the IRA between the Irish National Army faction which supported the treaty, and the other members, who remain commited to to the ideology of the IRA. In the ensuing civil war, IRA suffered massive casualties and eventually lost the war. It has however continued to exist. It harbours ambitions to overthrow the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, in order to establis an Irish Republic. It is not averse to carry out assasinations and car bombings, to strike fear and impose its political will on others.

So there you have it, the top 5 non-Muslim terrorist groups in the world. Terrorists really do come in all colours, creed and religious beliefs.

Give Muslims a break!

Sources: Perfect Insider, Listovative

January 21, 2016
MDA Allows Local Tertiary Institutions To Show Film on Exiled Chinese Communists

SINGAPORE & JOHOR BARU – The Media Development Authority is giving leeway to institutions of higher learning to show films that are restricted or not allowed, including To Singapore With Love.

It also said it has accepted a request from the Yale-NUS College to screen the film on Singapore’s political exiles, for classroom teaching and discussion only.

The 70-minute documentary, by local film-maker Tan Pin Pin, 44, received a “Not Allowed for All Ratings (NAR)” classification from the MDA last Thursday.

That was because the film’s contents “undermine national security” and distort the legitimate actions of security agencies as acts that victimise innocent individuals, the MDA had said.

Films classified as NAR are not allowed for public exhibition or distribution.

In its most recent statement on Friday, MDA said it “recognises that lecturers and students of media or related courses at tertiary institutions may require access to a wider variety of films, including films that are classified R21 or NAR.

“Some leeway is provided to these institutions to screen films for educational purposes, on condition that these films have either been previously classified by the MDA, or prior approval has been sought from the MDA before the films are acquired.”

Also on Friday, more than 350 Singaporeans crossed the Causeway to Johor Baru to catch Tan’s film, which was showing as part of an annual Freedom Film Festival.

The film has already been shown in Petaling Jaya and will go to Kuantan and Penang next.

In total, more than 410 people attended, with at least 20 on the waitlist. This was almost triple the number of participants that organisers were anticipating.

Organisers had to book an extra, larger room to accommodate viewers.

The documentary film includes interviews with nine political exiles who fled Singapore and now live in Britain and Thailand. Most were members or supporters of the Communist Party of Malaya, according to the MDA.

It has been touring the international film circuit for about a year, and will make its way to the Philippines and London in the next few weeks.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/singaporeans-arrive-johor-baru-screening-documentary-sin#9

September 21, 2014
Banned Film Showing Life Story of Chinese Communists Shown in JB

Government had made it clear that it would allow former members of the Communist Party of Malaya to return if they agreed to be interviewed on their past activities to resolve their cases.

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/jb-screening-political-exiles-film-draws-many-sporeans

JOHOR BARU — More than 400 people — a vast majority came from Singapore, including students, working professionals and retirees — turned up yesterday at a Johor Baru hotel for the screening of a documentary on Singapore political exiles that has been disallowed for public screening in the Republic.

The film, To Singapore, With Love, directed by film-maker Tan Pin Pin and featuring interviews with Singapore student leaders and activists now living in Thailand, the United Kingdom and Malaysia after having fled the Republic between the 1960s and 1980s, was shown as part of Malaysia’s Freedom Film Festival.

Organisers said about 350 members of the audience were from Singapore. Among these, about 150 had arrived on four chartered buses.

Interest in the film increased after the Media Development Authority (MDA) earlier this month classified it as Not Allowed for All Ratings (NAR), saying its contents undermined national security “because the legitimate actions of security agencies to protect the national security and stability of Singapore are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals”.

The film was screened in two function rooms in the11@Century Hotel, and several people who turned up for the screening said they had come to learn more about Singapore’s history. Freelance graphic designer Sim Xin Feng, 21, said she wanted to know more about Singapore and why the film was classified as NAR. Student Wong Xinyuan, 20, who is studying liberal arts in Germany, said she had some prior knowledge about the political exiles and “wanted to know what they think”.

Some relatives of the exiles were also among the audience, said Mr Lim Jialiang, who had organised the bus charters with three friends. Mr Lim, 24, said he had to turn away about 200 people and that he MDA was heartened but not surprised by the response.

Ms Tan took questions from the audience after the screening and said she had put together the 70-minute documentary — which features, among others, student leader-turned-political exile Tan Wah Piow and Dr Ang Swee Chai, whose husband was the late student activist and lawyer Francis Khoo — from about 15 hours of footage. She said she had posed three questions to the exiles: When and why they left Singapore, and what they had done with themselves since. She reiterated her disappointment with the MDA’s rating and when asked what she had learnt from making the film, said: “I suppose when something moves you, you just have to follow your instincts.”

The MDA issued the rating last week after the National University of Singapore Museum submitted it for classification, with plans to screen it at an event, along with two other films by Ms Tan. The authority also said the individuals in the film had given distorted and untruthful accounts of how they had come to leave and remain outside Singapore. It added that the

September 21, 2014