6/14/2008
Let's not turn human rights into a battle ground
This is the title of Lydia Lim's article in the ST today. In the international scene, human rights has taken the form of inter state rivalry, a new form of warfare launched by the Americans against emerging nations, especially China and the rest of the world. Domestically, it is another issue that bothers around civil liberty, freedom of expression and the right of choice, independent choice to do and live as unfettered human beans.
I will just mention a few phrases or sentences from Lydia's article which she quoted from Walter Woon and replace the words 'human rights' to 'civil rights' and see how the meaning could change to something more relevant to the people.
'What we are against is the assumption of some people that when they define what human rights are, that decision is the decision for the rest of humanity.' - Walter Woon.
Change this to 'What we are against is the assumption of some people that when they define what civil rights are, that decision is the decision for the rest of Singaporeans.' Then substitute these civil rights and decisions with issues like CPF savings, CPF Life, etc, do we see that there are some similarities in the imposition of what some people think are good onto everyone, like it or not?
Walter Woon also stated his fear of human rights fanatics and said, 'these are people who evidently believe that they and their values represent the apex of human moral development'. Do we have fanatics who think that their values or assumptions are the apex of human moral developments in our midst? Do we have people who think that it is good for you and decide to structure your life, your lifestyle and also how to use or spend your money?
The only paragraphs that I share with Lydia are these, 'Like Ms Singam, I firmly believe that Singapore needs human rights champions, but I would like to point out that we need them not just in civil society but within the ranks of officialdom as well. I agree with her that the social realities we are confronted with show that respect for human rights is crucial to the right conduct of relations within societies and between states.'
Absolutely. Between the ruler and the ruled, some must be champions of human rights. It reminds me of the days of the colonial masters in Africa and India, when the rulers would dictate the rights of the ruled people. The human rights champions in a democracy are different from the human rights champions of feudal societies.
It is just the beginning
It nearly overthrows the Abdullah govt, but done enough to put it in a crisis. Now it is reshaping public opinion in South Korea on a very popular and generous President. The South Koreans are changing their support for the President to a low approval rate of 20%. Despite donating his fortune for the poor, President Lee Myung Bak's political fortune is now in a tailspin.
Public opinion of Lee Myung Bak has changed drastically because of his perceived compromise with the US to allow import of American beef feared to contain mad cow disease. And the internet played a huge role in disseminating all kinds of information and reports and struck fear in the minds of the Korean populace. The old media, TOM, tried its best to spin different stories but lost out to the internet as the people have lost confidence in what the TOM says.
The internet and sms are two new tools that have transformed the politics of Malaysia and South Korea. They have also transformed the lives of many around the world where freedom of expression has been limited. Information and news are now flowing freely in every nooks and corners of the world. Plugging this is near impossible except with draconian laws that will violate human rights and internationally accepted norms of what is acceptable or unacceptable govt actions.
We are all standing at the doorstep of a brave new internet world, watching and participating in it. The change that will come along is difficult to envisage.
6/13/2008
Have no mercy
A kidnap scam schemer, Ren Tin Ming, was caught and jailed for a maximum of 9 months. This is definitely too lenient. A kidnap scam is a very cruel crime against the innocents. Be it a scam or a real kidnap, the parents of the 'victim' will suffer the same agony of going through the whole ordeal.
We have placed a mandatory death sentence for kidnapping. The law must be amended for mandatory caning of at least 24 strokes for such crimes. It is not a simple scam. It is very upsetting emotionally, and very traumatic. People can die of heart attack for it.
Cane the bastards! Paradise is turning into a playground for criminals, con men and tricksters. And the victims are mostly its citizens. And the criminals are foreigners. How can we let this go on like this. Make it be known that guests to paradise are welcomed but will be severely dealt with if they violated our laws and turn to crime against the citizens.
What is National Service?
Many will simply brush it off as wasting two years in uniform. Many see it as a necessary chore. What does the govt think of the NS men, some digits to be used to fill the needs of the armed forces? Some cheap labour that the citizens must return to the state on demand? Something to be taken for granted from the people they called citizens?
OCT Clifton Lam Jia Hao did not don the uniform to waste 2 years with the Air Force. He gave his life, his everything. His parents/family gave up their hopes, their future and their precious son. Fortunately they have two more sons. For many parents with a single child, in such a situation they will have to look towards the Medisave and CPF Life for their retirement support. And that's the end of their life journey. There is no one else to carry on, to inherit whatever material possessions and their memories of life. With the death of their sons, everything is no more.
NS means a lot of sacrifices on the part of the citizens. This must not be taken for granted. The citizens have a bigger right and say of what this country should be and what this country meant to them. They must not be treated less well off than non citizens.
The Master and Student
There is a Buddhist teaching that the person that gives you the most trouble, makes your life miserable and challenging, that person is your master in life. Through all the pains and suffering inflicted by that person, you grow stronger and experience more of the ups and downs of living.
The Lees versus Chees case presents a great opportunity for both parties to grow and become better people. From one party, there are great lessons to be learnt in humility, magnanimity, kindness, and generosity. From the other party, there are lessons in forgiveness, lessons in abrasiveness, graciousness, and lessons in accepting fate.
There are many other lessons to be learnt by both parties. Who is the master and who is the student? Maybe both are masters and students at the same time. They are definitely masters, dishing out lessons. But were they students, learning from the lessons and coming out better at the end?
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