No freedom of speech in Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew is dead, but his legacy of oppression lives on:

A teenage boy who posted a video describing late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew as a “horrible person” has been arrested by Singapore police.

YouTube blogger Amos Yee uploaded the eight-minute video, called ‘Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead!’ on 27 March.

Police have confirmed that a 17-year-old male Singaporean has been arrested.

In the video, the teenager said: “Lee Kuan Yew was a horrible person, because everyone is scared.

“Everyone is afraid if they say something like that, they might get into trouble…which, give Lee Kuan Yew credit, that was primarily the impact of his legacy.

“But I’m not afraid.”

And for that, he's now facing up to two years in jail for criminal defamation, plus three years for (of course) sedition. Because apparently you can't have people publicly criticising even former leaders. That would be democratic.

No freedom of speech in Singapore

Alan Shadrake is a British author. This year, he wrote a book, Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, which was highly critical of Singapore's use of the death penalty and argued that its application was not impartial, but political. For that, he has been jailed for six weeks and fined S$20,000 for "scandalising the court".

For those who don't know, "scandalising the court" is a judge-created offence similar to contempt, used to punish those who strongly criticise the judiciary. Its basically sedition for judges. New Zealand (and most other countries) still retain this feudal relic - but in a democracy, the judiciary understands that it is subject to public criticism, and that this is a check on judicial abuse. The problem is that Singapore isn't a democracy, but an authoritarian state where those in power are not accountable, and instead abuse the law to punish critics and suppress all opposition. And sadly, this disease extends to its judges as well as its politicians.

Lee Hsien Loong visits

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrives in New Zealand today for a five-day visit. According to the government's press release, the visit will focus on

the economic relationship between New Zealand and Singapore, which spans trade and investment and which sees Singapore as the hub for many New Zealand businesses in Asian markets.

Left unmentioned, of course, will be things like human rights and democracy. While an economic success, Singapore lags well behind in these areas. Freedom House's 2005 country report for Singapore sums up the problem:

Though general elections are free from irregularities and vote rigging, the PAP's manipulation of the political system means that they cannot be termed fair. Opposition parties are constrained by the ban on political films and televised programs; the curtailing of expressions of political opinion by the threat of libel or slander suits; strict regulations and limitations on associations, including political associations; and the PAP's influence of the media and in the courts, among other things.

The net result is that Singapore's "parliamentary democracy" is reduced to a charade.

A graphic example of this is the treatment of Chee Soon Juan, an opposition politician, who is currently facing charges for speaking in public without a licence - something we take for granted in a democracy.

In the Herald today, Fran O'Sullivan rightly asks whether any of this will be raised by our government, or whether it will simply turn a blind eye. Based on their past performance, I'm expecting the latter.

However, while our government may remain silent to avoid upsetting a valued trade partner, there's no reason we have to be. Prime Minister Lee will be welcomed to Parliament at 10:30am on Monday. It's an excellent chance to stand up for democracy in Singapore. As fow how to do it, I'd recommend subtlety - gags, or maybe a sign saying "I'd be arrested for this in Singapore".