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Upbeat and ready to continue speaking up for Singapore PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Singapore Democrats

Far from being downcast the 18 activists who have been charged with taking part in an assembly and procession without a permit showed they were made of sterner stuff.

The group met on Friday to discuss events surrounding the charge and their attendance at the Subordinate Courts on 11 Jul at 9 am. Their upbeat mood suggested that they were keen and ready to continue speaking up for Singaporeans in the Tak Boleh Tahan! campaign.

The activists are charged for conducting a protest outside Parliament House on 15 Mar 08 against the plethora of hikes introduced by the PAP Government such as the GST, transport fares, education fees, ERP rates, gas and electricity tariffs, medical costs and so on.

These increases have exacerbated the already dire economic situation of many Singaporeans. The working poor have been the hardest hit.

The activists were determined to rally support from the people to fight back the Government's punitive measures. One of those charged, Jaslyn Go, told everyone that "public support is our best weapon against them. Let's stand united against them."

Chee Soon Juan duly noted that Jaslyn showed the kind of leadership that Singapore needed.

Lawyer Chia Ti Lik jumped in: "Sometimes, I think the women folk outdo us in such things. The ladies in our midst who do so much to inspire us with their tower of strength."

Ti Lik was, of course, referring to Jaslyn, Chee Siok Chin, and Suraya Binte Akbar who had played leading roles in the campaign for political reform in Singapore. This is despite the fact that some of them are mothers of young children.

Pointing to the PAP's strategy in dealing with the reform campaign, Chong Kai Xiong noted that when provoked, it seems that Lee Kuan Yew will make nasty and irrational moves at the expense of his regime.

Agreeing, Ti Lik added that pro-democracy advocates needed to be bold and daring at this time: "This is a test of our wit and courage at this point of time."

Underscoring Ti Lik's point, Sylvester Lim said: "They just sent me the love letter. My wife told them she was expecting it and they were surprised that we were not intimidated."

"Let them know that intimidation doesn't work on us any more," Sylvester continued, "because we are no longer afraid and it is our right to speak out as citizens."

"I am ready to go to jail for this cause," Jeffrey George weighed in. "Everyone must remember that what we did was not wrong and we did not do it for our own gain."

Indeed the protest was to speak up for Singaporeans affected by the price hikes initiated by the Government. This has driven thousands of Singaporeans into desperation, many unable to even afford meals. The level of homelessness in Singapore is unprecedented.

But unlike in other democratic societies, citizens here have no avenue to protest against government action and exploitative policies.

Muhammad Jufri had one concern though: "We just need to make arrangements so that we don't go to prison together. Someone needs to take care of our children. But I'm proud of what I did."

Jufri is, or course, referring to his wife and mother of three young children, Suraya, who has also been charged. She also indicated that she was at peace with what she was doing. "The policeman who handed me the letter seemed nervous," she told the group, "his hands were trembling."

The group reiterated their views that they tak boleh tahan the high cost of living. The youngest of the group, 20-year-old Shafi'ie made only one short comment: "I have no problem." Everyone applauded.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead



Comments
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truthseeker  -  Malaysia has "Geramm"    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 4:59 am
The Tak Boleh Tahan moniker has spread across North where Msian protested against the fuel prices and wore red tshirts with the word "Geramm". It means "too much" quite similar to cannot take it anymore. Maybe you guys should add "lagi" and say "tak boleh tahan lagi"
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Anonymous  -     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:08 am
Well done! Keep up the good work.
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Paul Poh  -     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:15 am
You have my total and complete support.

Shame on you Lee Kuan Yew.

Shame on you PAP regime.

I really despise Lee Kuan Yew and his PAP regime.

They are feeling insecure.

They fear a political tsunami like in Malaysia.

Pathetic.

Although dogs may bark, the caravan moves on.
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Anonymous  -     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:20 am
thank you for standing up for all of us. keep up the good work!!
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V.Benedict  -  May The Force By With All Of You!    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:26 am
Jedi Master Chee, kindly summon all your apprentice jedi to eliminate Dark Sith Lee.

Our power and spirit day by day is weakening and dissipating. Master help, pls help.
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truth  -  Keep up the fight    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:28 am
What u r doing is right and just. I congratulate you for your bravery and willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice of going to jail in your struggle for a fair and just deal for Singaporeans. My thoughts are with you.
You shall emerge victorious against the evil Leegime.
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truthseeker  -  History is being managed here    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:36 am
This is my last post which was extracted from my thesis' findings:
"truthseeker - History as a Presentist concept Sun, 29 Jun 2008 4:41 am

In my thesis research on the origination of the name Singapore, there were several versions. One was singgah -pura or singgah means stopover, pura means port of call. The other was of course the propanganda version of Lion City or Singa (lion) pura (port or city). Note that lions are never found in this part of the world! Thirdly, temasek is not selected as it is not grandiose laden - it means water holding!

Another interesting fact was the then Minister of Culture S Rajaratnam was quoted as sayihng (it is obviously poilitical manipulation here) that the govt of his time where LKY was the PM felt that to avoid a racist founder in the name of Sang Nila Utama, his ministry or rathere the Old Guards chose Raffles as an exogenous founder of Singapore to clearly delineate the cut-off historical reference of 1819 as the starting point. Subsequently, all secondary schools history books have, till today, a clearly chop-out phases of Singapore's history:

1819 to 1941: British Administration
1942-1945: Japanese Occupation
1962-65: Singapore under Malaya
9 Aug 1965: Republic
1970s: A period of British milltary pull-out and early phase of industralisation.

From the above clear delineation of historical phases, which is symptomatic of its political elites to label and define what they think it should be defined, we can see that the sell-government phase of Lim Yew Hock, David Marshall, Lim Chin Siong were hardly mentioned of if they do, are cursorily treated.

So we can say our children's and adults now were fed with a presentist concept of history which makes history relevant only to the present needs of economic and political imperatives, serving the powers-that-might-be to engender a righteous view of history and to where Singapore is today. Let facts speak for themselves that history truths especially in school textbooks are always self-serving. A fine example is the Japanese heavy censorship of its role in the World Wars even to the point of saying she was never guilty of any atrocities! "

Myths are created to mystify the masses. We have to bring out the inaccuracies, untruths, skewed rationality to debunk these myths. The recent slogan that a Singapore will go down within 5 years if there is a freak election result defies logic, even to me as someone not really against everything the PAP did as something condescending and an insult to our/mine intelligence. If Spore wish to go to greater heights like the Swiss Standard of living, we have sorely failed in several areas: people's welfare, more could be done for the disadvantaged groups and the healthy sense of breathing real democracy in the air!

I just an ordinary citizen but I will support just cause against injustice. I will give a donation by Paypal to you guys - nothing much, just a symbolic gesture :)
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greyheyn  -     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 5:53 am
The weakness of the regime is slowly but surely crumbling. By suing and jailing you guys, Harry would attract and provoke too much attention which is already too much together with Gopalan's case. You all will overcome the oppression. Good luck.
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TMC  -     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 6:34 am
ACTUALLY, I PITIED ALL 18 OF YOU GUYS. YOU THINK YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR AVERAGE SINGAPOREAN? NO! YOU ARE STUPIDLY LEAD BY THE CHEES SIBLING TO NO WHERE. YOU THINK THEIR FOREIGN SUPPORTER WILL BILL YOU SMALL FRY? ITS TIME YOU GUYS WAKE UP YOUR IDEAS. DR CHEE'S WAY WILL LEAD YOU TO DEAD END! TRUST ME, START A NEW PARTY, WIN THE ELECTORATE THROUGH YOUR VISION FOR SINGAPOREAN. REPRESENT US IN PARLIMENT THROUGH THE PROPER CHANNEL.
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Jack  -     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 6:36 am
hey...my fullest support to all u guys there...cheers!
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Paul  -  A word of encouragement from the MM    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 6:59 am
This is not a spoof. Here is what LKY wrote of Mr Lim Chin Siong in PAP mouthpiece, The Straits Times, on 9th Feb 1996 -

"I liked and respected him for his simple lifestyle and his selflessness. He did not seek financial gain or political glory. He was totally committed to the advancement of his cause.

"He and many of his comrades, graduates from the Chinese middle schools, taught my colleagues and me the meaning of dedication to a cause.

"They were prepared to sacrifice everything for their cause, and many did. Some lost their lives in the jungles, many were banished to China.

"Because of the standards of dedication they set, we, the English-educated PAP leaders, had to set high standards of personal integrity and spartan lifestyles to withstand their political attacks."

We would think he was being nothing but hypocritical when he wrote that and we would not be wrong. However, it shows that even one who has managed to suppress his own conscience (do you think he has one?) for personal gain can recognise the personal integrity and earnestness of Mr. Lim and those of like mind. They are potent weapons in the long war to gain hearts and minds.

To the 18, be strong and very courageous. The times demand it. The eyes of the world are upon you.
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gary teoh  -  the famous 18    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 7:58 am
singaporeans really admire your courage to stand up against the bully.When I was young I used to read the story book The Famous Five. Now I think of you all, The Famous Eighteen,well done.
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Enquirer  -  Brave perhaps, but.....    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 9:07 am
One must agree that the 18 of you have moral courage. You fight for what you think is right, at great personal cost. But can the SDP ever run Singapore? However brave you are, I cannot use that as a basis to vote for the SDP. At this point, I never will. The Worker's Party of today has a clear manifesto, a clear ideology for how Singapore should be run. I do not agree with all their points, but at least there is something worthwhile to disagree about. The SDP seems to have no concrete plans for Singapore, no ideology except to disagree with anything and everything the PAP does; to cause as much disruption as possible. For example - Dr Chee questioned MM Lee on Singaporeans leaving, on the lack of patriotism. How does Dr Chee intend to keep Singaporeans loyal? What concrete plans can you offer, other than to question MM Lee in a court hearing whose purpose was damage assessment? What was the relevance? What is SDP's model for Singapore? Right wing? Left Wing? Capitalism? Socialism? Multi-party democracy? If so, is there room for the PAP, WP, SDA etc in your model?
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Yoong Kheong  -  The Unity is important     Mon, 30 Jun 2008 9:30 am
Such display of unity is important to keep the movement going.

Reading the post, I was quite saddened by the fact that if all of you were to go to jail, your family members would be left by their own.

Even if I don't totally agree with your actions, but I still sincerely hope that all would be well for you and your families. Take Care.
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Oversea Singaporean  -  More power to you    Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:01 pm
I want to thank you all for the moral fiber and courage to stand up for against the PAP.

In the climate of FEAR that PAP has created, Singaporean are general afraid to be associated with the opposition parties. However, the 18 of you who dares to make an exception will help to dispel the climate of fear. The very fact that you all dare to show your face on the internet, and even to put down your names shows conviction, character, strenght and courage!!!! Hopefully your selfless action will inspire more people to join the ranks.

You all should create a FACEBOOK group. I know that there is already one for Freeing Gopalan, but perhaps you need to create another group for making a stand for DEMOCRACY
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