by Said Zahari
Said Zahari, formerly editor-in-chief of the Malay daily Utusan Melayu, was detained without trial in Singapore from 1963-1980. This is the second volume of his projected autobiographical trilogy and deals with the reasons why he was seen as a political threat, his sufferings in detention, his personal and political interactions with others involved both before and after his time in prison. Said Zahari has received the international Award for Press Freedom.
Chia Thye Poh - a man of principle.... which is more than I can say for Gopalan Nair... just like his boss Chee.
Why Gopalan Nair no principle?
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:Why Gopalan Nair no principle?
chia thye poh could have signed a piece of paper and he goes free.
gopalan nair made an apology and once out of the country he retracts that apology.
... true heroes, in the face of adversity, remain strong and steadfast and unyielding.
... both chee and gopalan will apologise (and say whatever that is needed to say) to get out of trouble.
... of course, they will be those who argue that this is cunning on their part. however, is the lack of a steadfast virtue becoming of one who wishes to overthrow the garmen who they are criticising....???
gopalan nair made an apology and once out of the country he retracts that apology.
But he don't retract apology, some may think that he had kowtowed to Lee Kuan Yew.
Then criticise him as a coward, jailed by PAP regime, become coward, don't dare to attack and criticise anymore.
That is worse I think.
... true heroes, in the face of adversity, remain strong and steadfast and unyielding.
He did not yield to Lee Kuan Yew.
But I tell you what. I am breathing. I am alive. And I am in America.
Where anything is possible. And what is most important, I intend to
continue with even greater resolve to expose the dictatorship which is
what Singapore is. If Lee Kuan Yew thought even for a moment that he has broken my spirit, he can't be more wrong.
In a way, Lee Kuan Yew has done me a great service. Before my arrest and imprisonment,
this blog was well read. But after that he has made it a must read, for
a great many. And furthermore, it has given it international publicity.
And he has given me credibility to an extent I did not have before.
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2008/11/
If he had closed his blog after his release from jail, I would consider he had submited to the will of Lee Kuan Yew.
Accepted defeat.
But that is not so.
He continues to attack Lee Kuan Yew, criticise Lee Kuan Yew.
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:But he don't retract apology, some may think that he had kowtowed to Lee Kuan Yew.
Then criticise him as a coward, jailed by PAP regime, become coward, don't dare to attack and criticise anymore.
That is worse I think.
well, it depends on which angle you are looking at it.
in the first place, there is no need for the apology if he feels he is right - that's where the principle thing come in.
chia thye poh has it.... gopalan nair doesn't have.
why say sorry if you know you are right? afraid to go to jail..... that itself, is cowardice.
the fact that if an apology is given inspite of one's personal conviction means that one is just looking for a way out.
once such an apology is given, in that spirit, the man of principle no longer exist.
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:He did not yield to Lee Kuan Yew.
i beg to differ....
when one apologises (whether truthful or not) one blinked.... one yielded.
the fact that if an apology is given inspite of one's personal conviction means that one is just looking for a way out.
You have a point on that.
...I have many matters to take care of presently leaving little time to write blog posts. But Lee Kuan Yew and his government can take this from me now.
I am defying the undertaking that I gave in court on September 12, 2008 when I admitted being in contempt of court.
I am withdrawing the admission and repeating what I have always said that the Singapore judiciary is corrupt for being a stooge to Lee Kuan Yew and his government.
I withdraw all apologies that were given in Court 15, Subordinate Court Singapore to Judge Leslie Chew.
The only reason for my apology was a desire to get out of prison as soon as possible.
They brought these new contempt charges while I was incarcerated in prison, with only 8 days to go for my release.
If I had not apologised as Lee Kuan Yew wanted, there was the possibility that I could be kept in prison for a further period of up to 6 months, according to the law code section...
so poh.... is nair a man of principle?
so poh.... is nair a man of principle?
That is hard to say, I would say that a more principled person would not had apologised.
Originally posted by oldbreadstinks:
being posted so soon after someone's flight from sg, most would be able to link this thread to that case and with Chia used as a contrast.
the question posted speaks for itself, asking forumers on their opinions on their own actions. atobe choose to reply with a taunt how then can this be considered well said?
what he just did was to glorify and spit on Chia at the same time
spit on chia? do you mean threadstarter?
I have respect for this man Chia. No more chia presently.
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:I wonder why Lee Kuan Yew locked up Chia Thye Poh for so long, 32 years.
Said Zahari locked up for 17 years only.
Very strange.
Did Chia Thye Poh posed such a great threat to Lee Kuan Yew's rule?
old man is a very insecure man from the beginning.
I wonder how such a man such as Lee Kuan Yew can come to power in the first place.
Singapore last time mostly made up of dialect speaking chinese, this Lee Kuan Yew an ang moh educated fellow, can't even speak properly in dialect want to come and fight for chinese votes.
Lim Chin Siong, Chia Thye Poh, these are chinese educated, dialect speaking politicians. The chinese voters can identify with them.
Sad lah, all arrested jailed.
It shows how much Lee Kuan Yew feared them.
Now all the dialect suppressed, culture weakened.
Sad.
Operation Coldstore (sometimes spelled Operation Cold Store) was a security operation conducted by the government of Singapore in February 1963, in which it arrested at least 107 left-wing politicians and trade unionists, many of them were members of the political party Barisan Sosialis and the Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU).
...The 1963 state elections were the toughest and most critical the PAP ever faced in its history. Firstly, the PAP had already suffered two by-election defeats which reduced the number of their held seats in 1959 from 43 to 39. When the PAP expelled the pro-communist faction from within its ranks in 1961, this meant that 13 seat-holders had left the PAP and formed the Barisan Sosialis, reducing the number of seats the PAP held to 26 - holding a majority by just one seat.
As with the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore, the Barisian Sosialis enagaged in a heated media campaign to sway voters, again with scathing attacks made by both sides. However, the Barisan Sosialis had already suffered a major blow as seven months before many of its members, including the secretary general Lim Chin Siong had been arrested and held without trial under Operation Coldstore...
Last time, I not anti-Lee Kuan Yew.
But after I learned how this Lee Kuan Yew came to power, I really despise him.
The thing that I despise the most about Lee Kuan Yew is that he suppressed the local culture of the chinese.
So too bad, Lee Kuan Yew, you are nothing but a pile of shit to me.
Originally posted by Fantagf:old man is a very insecure man from the beginning.
Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:I wonder how such a man such as Lee Kuan Yew can come to power in the first place.
err.... by eliminating all enemies????
this is not new. every power player in history use this technique.
Originally posted by Chin Eng:
well, it depends on which angle you are looking at it.in the first place, there is no need for the apology if he feels he is right - that's where the principle thing come in.
chia thye poh has it.... gopalan nair doesn't have.
why say sorry if you know you are right? afraid to go to jail..... that itself, is cowardice.
the fact that if an apology is given inspite of one's personal conviction means that one is just looking for a way out.
once such an apology is given, in that spirit, the man of principle no longer exist.
In a kangaroo court? Are you kidding?