Our Burmese friend, John Moe wrote to our Foreign Minister – Mr George Yeo asking him to make clarifications on his recent comment “John Moe was not expelled from Singapore because of his views but for breaking the law in Singapore.”
As John includes me in his response to Mr Yeo, I was privilage to be able to read all the exchanges between them and some of the activists. What caught my attention and spur me to post a reply was when Mr Yeo ended all his response with a “Happy National Day”.
In this National Day, tell me, is there anything we should be happy about when billions of our hard earned money are lost, Singaporean are finding hard to make ends meets as not only the cost of living is rising up, we are competing with foreigners for job while our ministers are still getting their millions salaries, Singaporeans are losing their rights to speak up and yet our government are spending so much money in this tough time glorifying themselves.
Below are some of the exchanges between us…
I would expect that as a Minster and one who has a voice in parliament, Mr Yeo can do more than just find a country who can accept John Moe. He should find a solution to the root of the problem, which in this case, is the authoritarian law.
Mr Yeo claimed he do mix around with the Myanmar community..well..I do not know many of them, but I do know my Burmese friend prefers to call their homeland Burma instead of Myanmar….
As a Singaporean I should be proud and happy of my nation Independence Day, but how can I be when I feel that I do not belong to and have no voice in my own country. I was charged and currently standing trial for speaking up for my fellow Singaporeans about the rising cost of living here in a peaceful assembly last year.
While Mr Yeo is still drawing millions of salary a year, many Singaporeans are struggling to make ends meet. Mr Yeo, as our Minister, are you aware of the plight of your fellow Singaporeans?
John, thanks for surfacing the past correspondence and refreshing my memory. I remember Joshua appealing on your behalf which I was happy to take up.
Choon Hiong, the Home Ministry/AG has a certain discretion in deciding how to respond to breaches of the law. For WP holders, one way is to withdraw the permit or let it lapse. Sometimes a warning may be sufficient. Sometimes it is necessary to charge offenders in court. Our laws on public assembly and demos are well-known. Jaslyn is clearly opposed to them. I am sure there are others who share her views.
Happy National Day!
August 8th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
[...] to engage Singaporeans online, even if the topics might appear sensitive and precarious. Check out Jaslyn Go and Ravi Philemon’s blogs for more background information on this. Below is a screengrab via [...]
August 8th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
[...] to engage Singaporeans online, even if the topics might appear sensitive and precarious. Check out Jaslyn Go and Ravi Philemon’s blogs for more background information on this. Below is a screengrab via [...]
August 11th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
[...] Burma – Jaslyn Go’s Blog: Happy National Day and My Exchanges with George Yeo on Facebook.. – TOC: 8.8.88 Anniversary: Burma – a bloody [...]
August 11th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Finally! The explanation why the Sun Yat Sen villa does not feature prominently on Singapore’s tourist map!!!!
Dr Sun was plotting against a foreign government – the corrupt and decadent Qing dynasty. That is why the work he did in Singapore could not be recognised for posterity.
Now the mystery is solved. Thanks Jaslyn
August 15th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
[...] Burma – Jaslyn Go’s Blog: Happy National Day and My Exchanges with George Yeo on Facebook.. – TOC: 8.8.88 Anniversary: Burma – a bloody history – TOC: Is Burma going to be Southeast [...]
September 13th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Jaslyn,
You take George’s concluding remark as a victory on your end?
If not Happy National Day, did you expect a Happy Birthday instead? C’mon. Get it right. You are barking up the wrong issue. The real issue is what you started, not how it ended.