Chee imprisoned
Sep 4th, 2007 by Tian
I has been informed this morning (4 Sept), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Sec Gen Chee Soon Juan was sent to prison, starting his 3 weeks sentence. He was convicted on the charge of attempting to leave the country.
Chee is my good friend. He is an extremely committed democratic fighter who is facing a much more oppressive situation than us in Malaysia.
He had been to prison several times. He was also bankrupted by a defamation suit by PM Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in February 2006. Being bankrupt he was barred from leaving the country.
On 1 April 2006, Soon Juan was stopped at the airport immigration check point and his passport confiscated while trying to leave for the World Movement for Democracy conference in Turkey. In fact, Sdr Anwar and I were both in Istanbul for the same conference then. The conviction led to his imprisonment today.
In the spirit of Merdeka, we should admit our guilt as Malaysians. Malaysia partly contributed to the authoritarian regime in this island state. In 1963, Lee Kuan Yew used the merger with Malaysia to eliminate his political rivals from the Left. He used the entry into Malaysia to enact the Internal Security Act (ISA) and handed Tunku the responsibility for Singapore’s security. Lee seized the opportunity of the creation of Malaysia to establish his one-party state, and left the federation once he succeeded.
Thus it’s time for some solidarity. Malaysians should show their care and support for pro-democracy activism in our neighbour.
Dear All,
It is indeed a sad day for democracy that a government can jailed its opposition for nothing more than expressing an alternative view. President Bush, where are you when we needed you. Maybe you should take this opportunity during the APEC talkfest to whisper into the nepotistic Lee that perhaps he was not schooled in the practice of democracy in his time spent at Cambridge or was it Oxford, he went to. What a waste of Singapore taxpayers’ monies as clearly this clown prince did not understood the nuances of democracy. Like another biblical character once said, Let Chee Soon Juan go (excuse for stealing your wise words, Moses.)
Free Dr. Chee.
It is a barbaric act and a hideous crime to imprison someone who is always peaceful and done no wrong. No one should be charged for a crime for speaking to a group of supporters. No one should be charged for peaceful protests. One Should be charged for restraining the basic rights of a citizen.