Monday
Nov092009
Singapore Opposition Leader Wants Obama To Address Human Rights Abuses During Upcoming Visit
Ellen Ratner
Talk Radio News Service Bureau Chief Ellen Ratner speaks with Mr. Soon Ju-An Chee, the opposition leader in Singapore. Soon Ju-An tells Ms. Ratner that he and his supporters would like U.S. President Barack Obama to address the serious human rights abuses taking place in Singapore when he visits that nation later this week. Soon Ju-An adds that Obama must hold political leaders in Singapore accountable for various violations involving the country's legal system and crackdown on the press. Click the audio icon below to listen to the full conversation. (8:16)
Listen
Listen
Reader Comments (6)
I thought the main opposition are the ones in Parliament and selected by the people through election? Who is "Soon Ju-An Chee" supposed to be? A rejected goods from the people maybe... Editor, get your facts right...
Opposition.SG,
Please wake up your idea as Dr Chee is leader of SDP, a opposition party without any seat in Singapore Parliament.
Dr Chee was demonised by the PAP leadership and the State controlled media and was made bankrup by law suits, thus making him not eligible to stand for elections.
Fair or not fair?
Well, here's my take.
Singaporeans are educated and matured. We know which opposition party is worth supporting.
There are some seats in the parliament which are occupied by the opposition. I believe that as long as they can deliver what they promised, they will continue to be voted in.
Results are what matters most.
I guess empty cans always make the loudest noise... & will have no substantial or actual results to show.
Opposition Parties
There were tons of opposition parties before 1959. Since then over the last 50 years, majority of opposition party members have been targetted with criminal cases, income tax cases, civil suits etc. They also have been targeted using laws equivalent to terrorism laws which allow indefinite detention without trial or charges. The longest detained was for 32 years. Others have been detained for more than 10 years. Every opposition party also is given utmost pressure from the regime using government agencies and authorities. They are hardly given permits for anything. Intelligence officers trail each one of the opposition party members twenty four hours each day. They tap on phone lines. The civil servants obediently do all this as they are told that these opposition party members pose a threat to national security.
Newspapers and media
Before 1959 when PAP came into power, there were 40-50 newspapers in four different languages. Today there are just like 6-7 which all belong to a single company that is owned by the government and headed by ex-ministers or ex-intelligence senior officers. All the televisions also belong to this single company.
Marginalisation of Minorities
The Hindus in the country have little say in the running of their religious or social institutions. Rather, the government has a few appointed agencies which control temples and everything possible about the Hindu community. Likewise the Muslims in the country have little say about their mosques, educational institutions or community endowment funds. The control over these were shifted to government agencies which make decisions independent of the community and on the cue of intelligence officers and ministers.
Mr Chee I honestly hope that you think very carefully when you speak not that I care if you get into another round of law suits with the Papaya gang, your careless and wild comments from the last elections has in my view tarnished the overall position of all the opposition.
That accusation of money for suharto cannot even convince a primary school kid, remember Singaporeans do have some intellect. Please dont do Papaya a favor again.
Focus on domestic issues, you will probably have more support than cooking wild stories. Remember enough people from the Papaya gang this time round has committed enough big time boo boos that you do not have to dream up new stories, concentrate on these errors. (give you some hint, LBL, CC, WKS, Mdm Ho etc etc)
Wow... as soon as they received news of Dr Chee's interview, the PAP propagandists showed up for the Smear Chee Party! Good. You are worried.
Ok. Now to correct some deliberate 'mistakes' made by the State propagandists.
First of all, you neglected to mention that In the last general election in 2006, the incumbent People's Action Party (PAP) won 82 of the 84 seats. And you also neglected to mention that many eligible Singaporeans of voting age (like myself) were UNABLE to vote in the last election. In fact, many Singaporeans have been UNABLE to exercise their voting rights for the past few decades ever since the PAP first came to power in the 60s. Do you see anything wrong with this picture? A large number of citizens unable to vote and a single party that wins every single time. Wow... this is like a fairy-tale for every politician out there, yeah?
Go wiki the term 'gerrymandering' guys.
And 'Reality check' said Singaporeans are educated and mature. That may well be true, but thanks to the efforts of the PAP, who controls the media in Singapore (all of it!), most Singaporeans are only educated in matters of finance, travel trivia, fashion and technology etc. Politics and social affairs? Not so much.
And 'Reality check' believes that so long as opposition politicians deliver results, they will continue to be voted in. I find that hard to believe. Mainly because after living in Singapore as a citizen for several decades, I haven't once had a chance to cast a vote. Once again, please wiki the term 'gerrymandering' if you haven't already done so.
Crew