tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86306385717137791492024-03-27T18:13:49.230+08:00Unravelling 1987Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-51755717321635976752015-11-20T19:35:00.004+08:002015-11-20T19:37:09.652+08:00The trial of Comrade Bala<div style="text-align: justify;">
The trial of Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, is on-going in London. Also known as Comrade Bala, he was a former Singaporean communist that is being accused of rape, indecent assault and even imprisoning his own daughter for 30 years. He is said to use the ideas of communist revolution to convince his victims that what they were doing was for the eventual removal of the evil fascist western domination.<br />
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<a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2013/11/the-marxist-sojourn-of-comrade-bala.html">Comarde Bala was stripped of Singapore citizenship in 1977</a> because of his Communist/Marxist/Maoist beliefs and activities. He is known to be close to fellow Singapore communists such as G Raman and Tan Wah Piow, who also sought refuge in London after being wanted by the authorities for his activities with the Malayan communists in the 1970s. </div>
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Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, known as Comrade Bala, founded his own radical sect known as the ‘Worker’s Institute’ in Brixton, south London in the late 1970s.</div>
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He is accused of forcing two of his followers to regularly perform degrading sex acts and subjecting them to vicious beatings.</div>
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The communist leader also kept his own daughter captive from her birth in 1983 until she managed to escape the cult in 2013 aged 30, it is claimed.</div>
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Today, the woman told the jury how Balakrishnan had treated the women 'like animals' and that he had 'taken over her mind'.</div>
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But she said she never told Balakrishnan to stop the abuse because she thought the treatment meant she was 'being taken up a level in the revolution'.</div>
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'I felt I was being taken up a level in the revolution,' she told the jury. 'Although one didn't like it, it was almost like something that one had to go through. </div>
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'His authority was so complete, you never thought about resisting and saying "I don't want to go in, I don't want this to happen". We were like animals, we were like animals being trained.</div>
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'You couldn't rebel. It was seen as part of your training, as part of being a revolutionary soldier.'</div>
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She added: 'I thought it was a special relationship that might get me off of some of the criticism.'</div>
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She also described how she was given a time slot to go into his bedroom where she would perform degrading sex acts upon him as he sat on the sofa.</div>
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Prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC said Comrade Bala told his daughter to tell him straight away if she ever dreamt about someone else.</div>
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But when she confessed her feelings towards the left-wing Labour politician, her father said she was 'getting flu because she was being unfaithful' and that Jackie was preparing to execute her.</div>
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'He said that she was getting flu because she was being unfaithful to him, the centre of the world.' </div>
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In another incident, Balakrishnan beat his daughter, and no windows in the house were opened for three years after she had a sexual affair with a neighbour, it is alleged.</div>
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In August 2005 the commune moved to a property on the Angel estate in Brixton, south London, when she developed feelings for a neighbour, Marius Feneck, who she called her 'angel', the court heard.</div>
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Ms Cottage told the court: 'She developed a consuming passion for him. She wrote him a poem calling him her angel. She started to find opportunities to try to talk to him.'</div>
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She sent him photos she had secretly taken of herself and then wrote to him, inviting him to come to her house, jurors heard.</div>
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He sneaked in by climbing through her window and the pair had secret trysts, the court was told.</div>
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But on one occasion, when he took his cousin over to hers for group sex, they were discovered because his mobile phone rang.</div>
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Balakrishnan rushed in and beat his daughter, threatened to 'burn her on the spot' and have her committed to a mental hospital, it is claimed.</div>
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Ms Cottage said: 'It was as though she had betrayed a husband.'</div>
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She said: 'By the time she left, aged 30, she'd never been to school or other educational establishment, had never played outside as a child or gone out with friends as a teenager or an adult, she had never had a bank or other account, had no national insurance number, she had never had her own key.</div>
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'Apart from being registered at birth and with a GP at birth - which lapsed due to returned mail, she was not registered anywhere. Not known to anyone.</div>
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<b>Read more of the trial: </b></div>
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<b>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3317085/Daughter-Maoist-cult-leader-held-prisoner-30-years-escaped-2005-went-police-station-help-Bank-Holiday.html</b></div>
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<b>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3323979/Nurse-suffered-years-sexual-physical-abuse-hands-Maoist-cult-leader-denies-staying-13-years-convenient.html</b></div>
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<b>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3320681/Maoist-cult-leader-groomed-raped-follower-forcing-explicit-sex-diary-shared-acolytes.html</b></div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-54363391964198788172015-10-01T12:41:00.003+08:002015-10-01T12:43:41.918+08:001987 Marxist Conspiracy: Forgiveness and Dialogue is the Only Way Foward<div style="text-align: justify;">
On 18 Sep, <a href="http://catholicnews.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10747:moving-forward-after-the-1987-marxist-conspiracy&catid=531&Itemid=207">Archbishop William Goh spoke at the memorial mass for Fr Guillaume Arotcarena </a>who served in Singapore for 17 years starting from 1982. Fr Arotcarena's stay in Singapore was interrupted mostly because of his alleged involvement in the Marxist Conspiracy. </div>
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In his book, <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2015/05/review-priest-in-geylang.html">Priest in Geylang, Fr Arotcarena</a> felt that when the arrests happened, then Archbishop Gregory Yong left them out to dry, sort of:</div>
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On pg 105, Fr Guillaume Arotcarena wrote,"We also knew that the Archbishop of Singapore (Gregory Yong) would not even try to protect us. We had gone to see him a few months earlier in order to tell him our worries: We had been dismissed. He did not want to get involved."</div>
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Again on pg 32, "...the Archbishop (was) always reticent when faced with any kind of change, and above all, anxious to avoid rough weather. Some of his advisors reckoned that we were going to create trouble for the diocese; I must admit, today, that they were right but I regret nothing." </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archbishop Gregory Yong</td></tr>
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<b>But the current Archbishop was wise not get involved in what were possibilities and intentions back in 1987. In his mass, Archbishop Goh said, “there are many sides to the same story. People have different accounts of the same event. Different people have different explanations.”</b></div>
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<b>He continued, and even if the facts can be established, “can you establish the motives of everyone who is involved?” “In truth, the motives of those people who serve, the motives of the authorities who reacted to the situation perhaps will never be truly known.”</b></div>
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What is the Archbishop trying to say here? That the motives of those arrested were closer to what the state charged them with? Or is he saying that the motive of the state were to clamp down on socio-political activities of the church? Or is Archbishop Goh really saying I don't really know and it doesn't matter and let's move on...</div>
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For those familiar with the Marxist Conspiracy, it was often said in the defence of those arrested that they were doing social good, helping the down-trodden and under-privilege without any political or Marxist agenda. </div>
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<b>But Archbishop William Goh had this to say during his memorial mass: </b></div>
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<b>The first lesson is that the Church’s social mission is principally a spiritual one. </b></div>
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<b>“The social mission of the Church is an expression of the proclamation of the Gospel,” he said. “The Church must never ever be reduced to a humanitarian organisation. We are not another NGO.”</b></div>
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<b>Archbishop Goh also quoted from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in which he said that “it is not the task of the Church to preserve social order and justice in the country. The pursuit of a just social order is the work of the state. … The task of the Church is to be a moral spokesman.”</b></div>
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Reading this, it seems that the Archbishop Goh is somewhat disagreeing with the social justice/human rights activist approach (using religious organisation as a platform) used by those involved in 1987. It suggests that the Catholic Church can comment and even criticise but it should not be too active in the politics of social order and it should not overtake the state as the main preserver or reformer of social order. </div>
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But not all will agree, I am sure. </div>
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Regardless, the Archbishop's tone of forgiveness and dialogue can only bring us forward and not back. Because dwelling on who's right and wrong, or if they should be an inquiry or an apology, might not mean we are better off as a society. As Archbishop Goh said, "truth and love must go together" - he couldn't have said it better. </div>
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Read the full article on Catholic News below: </div>
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During a memorial Mass for the late French priest Fr Guillaume Arotcarena, Archbishop William Goh praised him for championing the rights of migrant workers and his compassion towards the poor and marginalised.</div>
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“The Church is proud of all of those people who have contributed their time, their resources and their energy in the work of serving the poor,” Archbishop Goh told the 400-strong crowd at the Church of the Holy Family on Sept 18. “By so doing they have done justice to the spreading of the Gospel.” </div>
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Paris Foreign Missions priest Fr Arotcarena passed away in France on Sept 3 after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 71.</div>
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He arrived in Singapore in 1972 and served here for 17 years. In 1980, he founded the Geylang Catholic Centre to provide support and social services to foreign domestic workers, prisoners and drug addicts. </div>
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The centre closed in 1987 in the wake of the so-called “Marxist conspiracy”, which saw 22 people, including many with connections to the Catholic Church, accused of plotting to overthrow the government under the cover of the Church. They were arrested under the Internal Security Act. </div>
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In addition, Fr Arotcarena and three other priests were implicated in the so-called “conspiracy”.</div>
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Speaking of the pain the Church experienced during this time, Archbishop Goh acknowledged that those who had served the marginalised, including those who worked with Fr Arotcarena, have “felt misunderstood … hurt, wounded and disappointed”.</div>
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“We can imagine the pain, the disappointment and even anger, especially against authorities, whether of the state and even of the Church, for apparently not standing up for them,” said Archbishop Goh.</div>
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He noted that the immediate reaction of anyone who is misjudged is to seek justice, “to uncover the facts” and “to be vindicated”.</div>
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However, “there are many sides to the same story,” he said. “People have different accounts of the same event. Different people have different explanations.”</div>
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And even if the facts can be established, “can you establish the motives of everyone who is involved?” he asked. “In truth, the motives of those people who serve, the motives of the authorities who reacted to the situation perhaps will never be truly known.”</div>
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Noting that the trauma resulting from the so-called “Marxist conspiracy” will “resurface from time to time”, he stressed that there is “no other way forward” for the Church except “the way of forgiveness”.</div>
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“Only God can judge the motives of each individual,” he said.</div>
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Archbishop Goh said he believes the painful experience “is not something negative in the Church. I see it as something positive because this event helps the Church to be purified.” There are lessons that the Church can draw from this incident “so that history will not repeat itself”, he said.</div>
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The first lesson is that the Church’s social mission is principally a spiritual one. </div>
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“The social mission of the Church is an expression of the proclamation of the Gospel,” he said. “The Church must never ever be reduced to a humanitarian organisation. We are not another NGO.”</div>
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The Church does not work “simply to save the body,” he stressed. “We want to bring the love of God” to people.</div>
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The second lesson is that “truth and love must go together”. </div>
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“All those of us who are serving God … we need to search our motives, we need to purify our motives,” he said. </div>
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Archbishop Goh also quoted from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in which he said that “it is not the task of the Church to preserve social order and justice in the country. The pursuit of a just social order is the work of the state. … The task of the Church is to be a moral spokesman.”</div>
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The last lesson Archbishop shared is that the way forward “is always through dialogue”.</div>
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“When there is disagreement, the Church has always encouraged us that the path of faith is dialogue,” he said. “Demonstration, pressurising people will not work.” </div>
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During the Mass, Fr Patrick Goh, Mr Lawrence Khoo and Mr Vincent Cheng who had known and worked with Fr Arotcarena, shared their memories of him.</div>
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Holy Family Church parishioner Theresa Chan also remembered how people fondly referred to the French priest as “Fr Tom Jones” as he looked like the American pop singer. </div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-14968241320316770152015-05-27T16:00:00.002+08:002015-05-27T16:02:52.975+08:00Priest in Geylang: Story of Michael and Catherine<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have not read Part I of the review of <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2015/05/review-priest-in-geylang.html">Priest in Geylang written by Father Guillaume Arotcarena, click here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Co-nH4L-pyZWPImoZgolBg7Xcq5G7RS_XTfszuDvREOgNZTkTpmkc-5K-9FiGQrp1icn2i8hNMODWjaX-0mjTW2A4TiW7dSKsxnmsqfey6q8LXe5AdMPofYNAmJihxcFUFBzzdejsJ64/s1600/Priest_in_Geylang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Co-nH4L-pyZWPImoZgolBg7Xcq5G7RS_XTfszuDvREOgNZTkTpmkc-5K-9FiGQrp1icn2i8hNMODWjaX-0mjTW2A4TiW7dSKsxnmsqfey6q8LXe5AdMPofYNAmJihxcFUFBzzdejsJ64/s320/Priest_in_Geylang.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
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There is this interesting story in the book which kinda indicates the Marxist/historical materialism analysis approach taken by Father Arotcarena. Catherine, the wife of Michael, is of bourgeois background and so when her necklace was stolen by her domestic helper (proletariat), Catherine who was well-off, was quite capable of replacing it, and hence did not "arouse much compassion" from the priest. Although Father Guillaume Arotcarena was quite right to ask Catherine to make a room for her helper, I can't help but to see that the Father was unnecessary bias in his writings against Catherine, who happens to be well-off. This coming from a priest who quoted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci">Antonio Gramsci</a> at the end of his introductory chapter. </div>
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If you are wondering who is Michael, the high-ranking magistrate, it would not be hard to guess. He was among the first batch of lawyers to be appointed the rank of senior counsel in 1997 along with Davinder Singh and VK Rajah and his brother was once arrested by the ISD .<br />
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I will leave you with this short story of Catherine and Vilma from the book. </div>
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EXCERPT OF PRIEST IN GEYLANG PG 85-87: - </div>
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Sometimes I had to get involved in things I would rather keep way from. One day I had a visit from Catherine. I knew her and her family. I knew her husband, Michael, very well, a high-ranking magistrate in the judiciary. They were devout Catholics, about 40 years of age. </div>
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Both of them came from a bourgeois background, and they employed a young Filipina even though they have no real need for her; they were childless, lived in a very nice flat downtown which was easy to upkeep. But because they were <i>amahs </i>(servants) in the house in their childhood, it seemed to them that they should similarly have one now to maintain their standing and also relieve Catherine from any domestic chores. Yet Catherine did not work and would have had plenty of time to do the housework. </div>
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Anyway, this is how Vilma arrived in their home. She was in her 20s, resourceful but a little scatterbrained. In brief, she was what could be expected of someone her age. I saw her fairly often at the Geylang Centre when she had her day of rest. She would come to chat with the other girls there. </div>
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Catherine told me that she lost a gold chain which she was particularly fond of. It was given to her by her husband. Until this point, her story did not arouse much compassion from me because she had the means to replace the necklace with another one which she would like just as much. But she suspected that Vilma had stolen it and I must admit on the face of it, it looked like she was probably right. She was ready to forgive Vilma if the chain was returned to her. Otherwise she would cancel her contract and send her back to the Philippines. What puzzled her was that she had gone through all of Vilma's belongings in her presence and searched the flat thoroughly as well but the gold chain was nowhere to be found. She asked me if I could help. </div>
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In the end, I offered to talk to Vilma the next day at her home on the condition that she would not be there herself. She accepted. I went at the arranged time. Vilma opened the door, a bit surprised to see me and told me her boss was not in. I told her it was just as well because I wanted to talk to her, Vilma. I told her without beating around the bush that she had better give me the chain she had taken so that I could return it to her boss or else her contract would be cancelled and she would have to go back to the Philippines. Her parents and her younger siblings relied on her salary for their living. I promised the matter would rest there and she would suffer no consequences if she returned the object. </div>
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It did not take her long to admit to the theft and she went to the window in the sitting-room where there was an evergreen potted plant. She dug into the pot, extracted the precious chain and gave it to me. In fact she did not know how to get out of the situation without losing face and regretted having given in to the impulse to hide the chain away. She had hoped her boss would quickly forget about the chain because she had so many other pieces of jewellery. I reiterated my promise and told her not to worry. </div>
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That night Catherine came to the Geylang Centre and I returned the gold chain to her. She wanted to know how I found it but I never told her. I brought to her attention that there were two bedrooms in her flat and that I did not understand why Vilma had to sleep in the kitchen. She could free the second bedroom so that Vilma would have a place for herself and enjoy some privacy. She told me that this was how <i>amahs </i>lived when she was a child! Which shows that silliness is equally distributed in all social classes. But she promised that she would follow my advice. </div>
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This is how I gained a largely overrated reputation as a Sherlock Holmes among her relatives to whom she was quick to recount the story with embellishments of her own. All in all, the episode ended quite well and the relationship between Vilma and Catherine improved markedly. </div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-71983720225884050952015-05-25T18:47:00.006+08:002015-05-25T18:47:49.519+08:00Review: Priest in Geylang<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskyO_haBhidYzeVQal393KGMQl5ZOoqM-LxVJ41SOf2qMHnHUMcEiEDiJEG1yoFDDfH1VCq7tFNaGiwccpW-z0wqRRXC4CnMV3EY4XARP7_TPgHV04JIW_unDZcwgUmu6TNN-ZbMFkDBL/s1600/Guillaume+Arotcarena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskyO_haBhidYzeVQal393KGMQl5ZOoqM-LxVJ41SOf2qMHnHUMcEiEDiJEG1yoFDDfH1VCq7tFNaGiwccpW-z0wqRRXC4CnMV3EY4XARP7_TPgHV04JIW_unDZcwgUmu6TNN-ZbMFkDBL/s320/Guillaume+Arotcarena.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Father Guillaume Arotcarena standing</td></tr>
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Definitely, this is not an objective account of the events in 1987 from a neutral standpoint. Reading Father Guillaume Arotcarena's account of the Marxist Conspiracy arrests won't shed more light on why 22 individuals were arrested under the ISA in May 1987. What the Father said is predictably similar to what the detainees plead innocence to; that they were only involved in social/church work, helping foreign workers, ex-criminals and other under-privileged people, then the PAP government suddenly accused them of being linked to the Communist Party of Malaya and attempting to topple the state through unconstitutional means. <br />
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But if all these were true, why did the government risk the enormous blow-back from civil society and the Catholic Church, something still felt today, by detaining these people without trial? If these are all social do-gooders, why did the ISD needed to act in such a fashion? What information did the security agencies have?<br />
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As expected, the priest did not mention <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/05/filipino-connection.html">Vincent Cheng's and Wong Souk Yee's l</a>inks with the Communist Party of Philippines nor the fact that <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/05/marxist-detainee-linked-to-tamil-eelam.html">Chung Lai Mei</a>, one of those arrested, had a photo showing her in a LTTE militant training camp in India. <br />
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But what's really interesting in this book is the internal workings of the Catholic Church during the Marxist Conspiracy.<br />
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For example on pg 105, Father Guillaume Arotcarena wrote of the tension between him and the Archbishop, "We also knew that the Archbishop of Singapore (Gregory Yong) would not even try to protect us. We had gone to see him a few months earlier in order to tell him our worries: We had been dismissed. He did not want to get involved."<br />
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Again on pg 32, "...the Archbishop (was) always reticent when faced with any kind of change, and above all, anxious to avoid rough weather. Some of his advisors reckoned that we were going to create trouble for the diocese; I must admit, today, that they were right but I regret nothing."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhxqRO2cF3d0XQlb7DG3jGa8zA1JqfpDpqLy-cV6qL3ik1HtK18Y4Pq9jUxvuVku3kXvnv0KvPPFM9Ve01MhVJBUwl7OqfR0GIEeuI1Yq2TOe02S1_6CDU7XRvwGhyphenhyphent0vAVDfD-GmEA81/s1600/archbishop_gregory_yong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhxqRO2cF3d0XQlb7DG3jGa8zA1JqfpDpqLy-cV6qL3ik1HtK18Y4Pq9jUxvuVku3kXvnv0KvPPFM9Ve01MhVJBUwl7OqfR0GIEeuI1Yq2TOe02S1_6CDU7XRvwGhyphenhyphent0vAVDfD-GmEA81/s1600/archbishop_gregory_yong.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archbishop Gregory Yong</td></tr>
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The four Catholic priests, Fathers Joseph Ho, Patrick Goh, Edgar D'Souza and Guillaume Arotcarena, who were suspended by the Archbishop in the aftermath of the arrests felt that it was an attack on the Catholic Church: "...nobody believed in a 'Marxist Conspiracy' and everybody agreed that it was operation meant to destroy the Catholic movements which were thought to be too active in social areas." (pg 112)<br />
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Father Guillaume Arotcarena did not have courteous words for the Vicar-General at that time, Monsignor Francis Lau. He alluded to Lau being an ISD mole, "At that time we did not know yet that one of his close advisors, who attended the meeting, was working hand in glove with the ISD." (pg 105)<br />
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Similarly, on pg 120, Arotcarena wrote of Francis Lau, "With some men, it is at times difficult to figure out what comes first: hypocrisy or stupidity. The combination of the two is definitely unbearable."<br />
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There are more interesting stories in the book, although they are not entirely related to the Marxist arrests. As a clergyman, the author is quite sharp in observing the vicissitudes of the human life. Hope to share more soon. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbsN3MkmtcZM5p0UNliGa9IkmmF5-cVvK3Q30nHrq6YaxvHPPbBaB2vMVC-pQWjH1nvs2XFud1GlVLmHv0UBNBvr6j_B-LgcwmYJnxXiqkNoc3FKGVOpU80IK0qTY4-Z4p7ZU4tLZJOl7/s1600/fatherfrancislau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbsN3MkmtcZM5p0UNliGa9IkmmF5-cVvK3Q30nHrq6YaxvHPPbBaB2vMVC-pQWjH1nvs2XFud1GlVLmHv0UBNBvr6j_B-LgcwmYJnxXiqkNoc3FKGVOpU80IK0qTY4-Z4p7ZU4tLZJOl7/s1600/fatherfrancislau.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monsignor Francis Lau</td></tr>
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<br />Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-51184249750040411322015-04-15T19:26:00.001+08:002015-04-15T19:26:04.381+08:00Why there should be no complete declassification<div style="text-align: justify;">
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What many people don't realise is that even the most prominent of liberal theorists did not advocate for complete declassification or full transparency of government documents. Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham recognise that democracies had reson to keep security-relevant secrets from public even though transparency and publicity were the foundational principles of a functioning democracy. The capacity for secrecy by states is something activists or historians often try to skim over, because it makes their work more difficult. <br /><br />Why is there is need for some state secrecy? The case of Snowden leaks is a prime example of how things can go very wrong when information is not properly declassified before it is released to the public. While I do not deny the good of declassification, releasing information lock stock and barrel can potentially harm those who have helped state agencies keep peace and order. It can also prove to be very embarrassing and contentious for bilateral state relations when frank analysis is taken in bad faith. Other times, especially in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore, unadulterated declassification can result in the opening of old wounds along primordial lines. </div>
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<br /><br />Hence, while historians and activists call for declassification, and I agree there should be more, we should remember that the USA often declassify their information but with plenty of censorship, so much so that some do not make sense at all. Similarly, the Brits do not release all their documents under the Freedom of Information Act; they have a variety of exemptions including those that will prejudice defence, security forces, international relations, economic interests, law enforcement, safety of individual etc. <br /><br />Last, but not least, we should be more concern with how we approach new sources of evidence. Is one so eager to re-write history and seek out the contrarian? Is one writing to further a current and present agenda? After all, we shall find what we seek. </div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-31259211288276595672015-03-05T17:50:00.001+08:002015-03-06T16:06:55.664+08:00The early life Singapore communist leader Eu Chooi Yip<div style="text-align: justify;">
Eu Chooi Yip (1918-1995) was the Secretary of the Malayan Democratic Union (MDU), Singapore’s first political party after the Second World War, and the leader of Singapore’s underground communist movement in the 1950s. He was the leader of the Communist Party of Malaya in Singapore. He took direct orders from Chin Peng, the secretary-general of MCP, and was the superior of Fang Chuang Pi, aka the Plen.<br />
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Eu was born in Kuantan, Malaysia and he came to Singapore to attend Victoria School and later Raffles College where he studied economics. Eu came from a poor family, his parents died when he was young and he could only attend college because he won a scholarship. Eu was a brilliant student and was one of the top graduates at Raffles College. He was a close friend of Goh Keng Swee, whom he knew during his Raffles College days. <br />
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Another close friend was former DPM and Foreign Minister, S Rajaratnam, who was his housemate at Chancery Lane. Rajaratnam helped Chooi Yip to get medical treatment for his tuberculosisand gave him shelter while he was hiding from the British.<br />
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As a ranked communist he was a wanted man in Singapore and Malaysia. Eu stayed in China for many years and he later sought help from Goh Keng Swee to return to Singapore. In 1991, Eu renounced communism and returned to Singapore. He died in Singapore in 1995.<br />
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In his own oral history, Eu said that he was indoctrinated by leftist thought and Marxism under the influence of his elder sister, who was herself a leftist and was involved in student activism. At the age of 13, he was arrested by the colonial police for participating in an anti-imperialist march organised by the underground movement. Overseas Chinese were indignant with Western powers as China in the 1930s was severely crippled by colonial powers. His teachers also played an important role in shaping his outlook, many of them were leftist-communist and they inspired Eu with stories of revolution, injustices to the Chinese, Mao Zedong etc. </div>
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You can listen to reel 1 of <a href="http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/00891f06-1161-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad">Eu Chooi Yip oral history in Chinese here</a>. <br />
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You can read reel 1 of <a href="http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/viewer?uuid=00891f06-1161-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad-OHC001359_001">Eu Chooi Yip oral history in Chinese here.</a> <br />
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As the source material is Chinese, I have translated some interesting bits into English here: <br />
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Eu: I consider myself to be a little of a leftist since young. I had an older sister, who came to Singapore from 1927 to 1930 and studied at Nan Hua Girls' School (became known later as Zhong Hua Girls' School). My sister participated in underground activities - the past student movements. As a result of the school activist movement, she was sacked and went back to Kuantan. Before 1929, 1930, I was 11/12 years old but precocious, my older sister often chatted with me about politics. She was merely 5 years older than me (16/17 years old) and constantly talked about politics, thus, since young, I was able to absorb anti-imperialist ideologies. China was also undergoing a period of turmoil at that time, every year there was 'The Day of Infamy', 'Jinan Massacre', and I was often affected by such events. The adults frequently talked about national affairs, the Japanese Occupation, how detestable the 'Ang Mohs' were etc. <br />
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Eu: Some of my teachers at Yang Zheng (Yeung Ching) were organizing anti-Japanese activities. When an artist called Gu Feng was arrested, I was infuriated. While I was studying and under the influence of my older sister, a member of the underground Singapore Students' Anti-British League came to find me and I was further influenced, reading the newspapers etc. That year was 1931 when I was only 13 years old. I matured earlier and was interested in such things, thus, I went to the book stores often. After school, I would go to Shanghai Bookshop or a new book store at Cross Street to read up which resulted in me being attracted to leftist ideology. <br />
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Interviewer: The underground student union, what was the organization like in the 1930s? It consists of some Chinese primary and secondary schools from all over Singapore?<br />
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Eu: Probably not so formal, not like the later Chinese School Union (1955), I guess it was started by some teachers, we were too young and did not know much. At that time, I got into contact with one student who came from Bangka (?) to study English in Singapore. He was a Hakka, and through him, I joined the underground student union. Every week there would be a meeting at Mount Emily, under a tree beside the swimming pool and the people who led the meeting would be students from Hwa Chong. That was how I came into contact with them, every week after class, I did not take my studies seriously; after class I would spend time with them, listening to their stories, going to book stores, read books, chat, in actual fact, there wasn't many activities, but this was how I got to know them, then later on something happened. <br />
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Eu: That year was 1931, 32. After I studied for about a year or so. One day, the underground organization organized a demonstration. This took place in 1932, probably 1st of August, on a day called 'Anti-Imperialist Day', not sure which day? It happened so long ago, I can't remember clearly. On that night, they asked us to participate. I was young and curious, thus I really went to participate. Around 7-8pm, a group of us walked together, but the police were aware of this and all of a sudden, they came to arrest us.<br />
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Eu: At the intersection between Victoria Street and Arab Street. In the past, roughly 50 , 60 years ago, there was a Japanese hospital there. At the beginning, while walking, we started singing as well. We formed a procession, not that many people, around 20/30. The police arrived in their black cars and I was arrested. I was just a child then, around 13 years old, luckily I was still a kid. <br />
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Eu: I was brought to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and was interrogated. Around 5-6 people were arrested along with me. Once we were brought in, the 'Ang Moh Big Dog' (Caucasian Senior Officer) started questioning us, those Hainanese (who were older), were beaten by him. We just stood there and he treated us as little children. He asked me and I pretended that I did not know anything. I replied in Cantonese saying that I did not know why I was arrested and claimed that I was arrested by mistake. However, I was still taken to an old prison in Outram Road and was placed under detention. <br />
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[Eu was later released on bail due to the lack of evidence and was sent back to Kuantan by his elder brother. He studied for a year in Kuantan.]<br />
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Interviewer: Was there any teacher from Yang Zheng school that left a deep impression on you? <br />
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Eu: There was a teacher called Wang Si Liang. There were many leftist teachers back then but he stood out. During class he would talk about Marx's historical materialism, we didn't really understood everything, but we would buy some books to flip around. The main things we talked about were patriotism towards China, anti-Japanese movement and Marxism...but it was very superficial. We knew there was the revolution, that imperial powers were evil, we had to crush imperialism, these were the main points. <br />
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Interviewer: After you came back from Kuantan, did the underground student union re-established their contact with you? <br />
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Eu: No, there was no contact. When I got into Victoria School, there was none. At that time, I was trying very hard to study English and did not read that many Chinese books. Most of the friends that I made spoke English.When I entered university, things changed. At that time, it was 1937 and the resistance had just begun. The whole of Singapore was excited and particularly interested in the domestic situation. At that time, there were a few teachers from Kuantan; one named Liu Xi Wen (from Jiangxi) who taught arts and music. He was a little of a leftist. Liu's younger brother was named Liu Kai Lin and Liu also had a cousin named Liu Dao Nan who used to teach at Nan Zhong. All of them were from Jiangxi and considered themselves to be leftists. Since young, I was influenced by them and they let me read those so-called 'progressive books'. I was very close with these teachers and often listened to their stories (revolving around their life in China). From 1925 to 27 (the time of the Chinese Revolution), they participated in these movements and some of them were also part of the revolutionary army. They talked about the stories of the revolution, of Guo Moruo and Mao Ze Dong, thus, I grew up listening to such stories. <br />
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Interviewer: At that time, was there any mention of the Communist Party of Malaya? <br />
Eu: I knew of the Communist Party of Malaya. At that time, the Communist Party of Malaya, 1927..1928..1929.. they had activities at small places. They organized night studies etc... there were people who viewed the Communist Party as the Hainan Communist Party. There were larger numbers of foreign workers and workers from the coffee shops; most of the participants were Hainanese, in the earlier days, there were fewer Cantonese and Hokkien people. After the resistance, there were more Hokkien people (who joined). </div>
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Interviewer: After you came to Singapore, that underground student union.. at that time you were still young but were you aware of what went on behind..<br />
Eu: I'm not too sure, I guess many of them were teachers...<br />
Interviewer: Could it (the underground student union) be related to the Communist Party of Malaya?<br />
Eu: That was started by the Communist Party of Malaya.<br />
Interviewer: It was already known then? <br />
Eu: Yes. It had a few underground organizations, one of it was the anti-imperialist league, the other was the student union. I had heard of these two. At that time, the Communist Party of Malaya had just started. The Communist Party of Malaya was officially established in 1930. Ho Chi Minh came to Malaysia to attend the official ceremony marking the formation of the Communist Party of Malaya.<br />
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Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-57964054321510847672015-03-03T18:07:00.002+08:002015-03-03T18:07:51.473+08:00Original Sin? Revising the Revisionist Critique of the 1963 Operation Coldstore<br />
Another upcoming new book on Operation Coldstore...looks like both sides are eager to get their version of history out. On the one hand, I don't think Lim Chin Siong is clean as a whistle but Lee Kuan Yew is definitely someone who would bend the rules if given the chance. There's no black and white in this case, only shades of grey.<br />
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By Kumar Ramakrishna<br /><br /><u><b>Synopsis</b></u><br /><br />A new book on the 1963 Operation Coldstore debunks attempts by revisionist writers to portray the operation as driven by political motives rather than security grounds.<br /><u><b><br />Commentary</b></u><br /><br />FIFTY-TWO years ago this month, on 2 February 1963, a historic internal security dragnet known as Operation Coldstore was conducted in Singapore. Mainstream accounts record that the sweep, authorised by the Internal Security Council comprising British, Singaporean and Malayan governmental representatives, approved the detention – under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance (PPSO) – of ultimately 130 leftwing politicians, unionists, and other activists – that basically destroyed the Communist United Front in Singapore.<br /><br />This development helped pave the way for Singapore’s political union or merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia, in September that year. Coldstore was hence a defining moment in Singapore’s history. It is thus counterintuitive that a recent Institute of Policy Studies survey found that a paltry 16.6 percent of a sample of 1,516 Singaporeans were even aware of the operation.<br /><br /><u><b>Why Coldstore matters</b></u><br /><br />Certainly, the survey results suggest that more can be done to improve the general historical awareness of Singaporeans. Nevertheless, the results are also intriguing: they belie the ongoing controversy about Coldstore that has been going on for more than a year. The debate in this connection is not about whether Coldstore was a defining moment in Singapore’s history, but rather what it really meant.<br /><br />As noted, while mainstream writers argue that the operation destroyed the CUF that had been destabilising Singapore’s political and industrial fabric since the mid-1950s, “revisionist” historians, former detainees and their online supporters maintain the real implication of Coldstore was that it destroyed not a Communist network but rather a legitimate progressive leftwing political opposition centered on the Barisan Sosialis Singapura (BSS).<br /><br />Coldstore thus paved the way for the People’s Action Party (PAP) to win the general election in September 1963. Hence Coldstore was – as one revisionist historian puts it, the PAP government’s “original sin”. It other words, the Coldstore arrests were basically driven by opportunistic political motives rather than national security grounds, and hence calls into question the “morality of how the PAP came to rule Singapore”.<br /><br />The revisionist message is thus a potentially corrosive one. If it gains traction with the younger, well-educated and cosmopolitan Singaporeans who will one day become the business, civil society and even government elites of the next decade or more, the net effect could be to foster even greater levels of the general cynicism and anti-communitarian sentiments one routinely encounters on social media sites nowadays.<br /><br />From a national security perspective, while diversity of views can broaden what political scientist Cass Sunstein calls a society’s “argument pools”, there are limits. Such anti-communitarian cynicism and excessive individualism would be utterly counterproductive for a society’s longer-term cohesion, stability and resilience – especially a society and polity as socially variegated and globalised as modern Singapore’s.<br /><br />Little wonder that in 1979 the late former foreign minister, Mr. S. Rajaratnam, underscored the importance of what the great medieval Islamic scholar Ibn Khaldun called asabiyya – a commodity blending robust group solidarity with the gumption to surmount challenges.<br /><br /><u><b>Revisionist sins</b></u><br /><br />What thickens the plot is that the revisionist message on Coldstore is deeply problematic for four basic reasons, as the writer attempts to argue in his new book Original Sin? Revising the Revisionist Critique of the 1963 Operation Coldstore in Singapore (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2015).<br /><br />Firstly, the book shows that rather than scholarly detachment, an anti-government ideological agenda seems to motivate at least some revisionist writers. Secondly, the revisionists as a whole seem to possess a very limited definition of what a threat “prejudicial” to public order was at the time of Coldstore, thereby skewing their analysis towards the notion that Coldstore was driven by politics rather than security considerations.<br /><br />Thirdly, the book shows that the revisionists by and large harbour rather naïve expectations of how incumbent political leaders should behave. Revisionist expositions seem to suggest that even if the Communist United Front were employing all types of illegal stratagems to cynically exploit the constitutional route to power, the incumbent PAP government was supposed to sit back and play by the rules at all costs.<br /><br />Fourthly and relatedly, the book shows that in general the revisionists as a whole do not seem to have fully grasped the Communist mindset, strategy and tactics that the PAP leaders of that era came to know only too well and were compelled to doggedly counter.<br /><br /><u><b>The Lim Chin Siong affair</b></u><br /><br />One of the key strands in the book is its analysis of the political career of the charismatic Barisan leader Lim Chin Siong, portrayed in revisionist analyses as a potential future Singapore prime minister who was purportedly unjustly arrested under Coldstore.<br /><br />The book – employing both declassified and some still-classified sources – addresses the perennial question of whether Lim was indeed a Communist and why it mattered. In doing so certain relatively obscure facts about how Communism distorted Lim’s life are addressed, with due restraint and sensitivity.<br /><br />Only by shedding light on these issues can inaccurate revisionist ideas about Lim be effectively debunked. The larger takeaway from the Lim Chin Siong affair incidentally, retains relevance for the current struggle with the violent extremism of the ISIS type: able men can be led grossly astray by evil ideologies.<br /><br /><u><b>Reading Original Sin?</b></u><br /><br />Original Sin? makes three general requests of readers. Firstly, be sceptical both ways: revisionist writers and their supporters have every bit of an agenda as they claim that mainstream writers do – hence their arguments should be dissected with equal care. Secondly, Singaporeans should go beyond surface appearances and subject the latter-day complaints of seemingly grandfatherly former CUF activists and detainees to greater critical scrutiny. The advanced age and ostensibly sagely persona of such individuals is hardly reason to lower one’s guard.<br /><br />Thirdly and finally, the subtext of the book is that while Singapore is not perfect and improvements can be made across a range of policy domains, it is important to have the attitude of what Tommy Koh calls “a loving critic”. One should hence avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.<br /><br />Instead, a more systematic national effort should go into nurturing Singapore’s asabiyya, to ensure that the next 50 years of nation-building is as progressive and productive as the previous half century. It would be unwise to be remiss in this obligation. In this 50th year of Singapore’s unexpected independence, it behooves us to remember that in the end, Marx was right about one thing: every society contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction.<br /><br /><u>About the Author</u><br /><br />Kumar Ramakrishna is Associate Professor and Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. His book, Original Sin? Revising the Revisionist Critique of the 1963 Operation Coldstore in Singapore will shortly be published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.<br /></div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-33155501928494181352014-12-29T00:33:00.001+08:002014-12-29T00:36:35.179+08:00The underground network of the EurocommunistsOn 17 December 2014, a former Singaporean, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/11/london-slavery-case-cps-charges-ravindan-alakrishnan">Aravindan Balakrishnan, 74, was officially charged in London with 25 counts of offences including rape,</a> false imprisonment, indecent assault and cruelty to child under 16. <br />
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Also known as Comrade Bala, Aravindan was a Marxist Maoist sect leader who has incarcerated 3 women - 30-year-old Briton, a 57-year-old Irishwoman and a 69-year-old Malaysian - over a span of time between January 1980 and October 2013.<br />
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<a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2013/11/the-marxist-sojourn-of-comrade-bala.html">The case made headlines when Comrade Bala and his wife were arrested in November last year</a>, after one of the women rang a charity claiming she had been held against her will, sparking a police inquiry.<br />
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But who was Comrade Bala? Why was his citizenship revoked?<br />
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He is reported to be a Marxist Communist and had been leading a Maoist "cult". His Singapore citizenship - which was registered in 1960 - was revoked in 1977. By then, he was already living in London.<br />
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Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry had accused him of engaging in "activities which are prejudicial to the security" of the country, after he was named a radical "closely associated with Eurocommunists". <br />
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In particular, Comrade Bala was an associate of G Raman, a former ISA detainee and a key accused of the Eurocommunist wave of arrests in the 1970s. </div>
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G Raman was detained on 10 Feb 77 under the ISA. The government alleged that he had plotted with a group of communists based in Europe to exert pressure through the Socialist International, on the Singapore government, to release hardcore communists detainees, who were still trying to overthrow the governments of Singapore and Malaysia. G Raman had also instigated local groups including and workers to resort to agitation as part of the plan to pressure the government to release the detainees.</div>
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<a href="http://www.docdroid.net/ny41/g-raman-caldwell.pdf.html">Click here to see the full press statement of G Raman. </a></div>
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In a letter dated 24 Dec 73, G Raman supposedly wrote to Ara or Comrade Bala, enclosing therewith Dr Poh Soo Kai's statement and asking Ara to give it maximum publicity. Comrade Bala was already based in London then. <br />
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However, G Raman's most frequent contact was actually a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/10/malcolm-caldwell-pol-pot-murder">British Marxist by the name of Malcolm Caldwell. </a>Records showed that G Raman kept in constant contact with Caldwell; G Raman informed Caldwell of the latest political happenings in Singapore, while Caldwell conducted publicity efforts in Europe against PAP rule and the ISA. </div>
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However, the web of the Marxist network does not end here. Those who remembered will know that G Raman was supposed to be the lawyer of Tan Wah Piow when Tan was charged for rioting. In the end, G Raman did not represent Tan as Tan defended himself. <br />
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<a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/who-is-tan-wah-piow-i-will-not-go.html">Tan Wah Piow</a> later escaped NS saying that something untoward might happen to him and subsequently forged his passport to enter the UK where he remains till today. <br />
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The web thickens as we later know that Malcolm Caldwell was the person that helped<a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/tan-wah-piow-in-uk-exiled.html"> Tan Wah Piow obtained his permanent stay in Britain</a>. Caldwell got Tan a place at Bradford University. Tan will later graduate from Oxford University.<br />
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Caldwell was a well-known academic and he headed the School of Oriental and African Studies at the London University. In 1978, few years after he had helped Tan, Caldwell was mysteriously killed in Cambodia when he was there on the invitation of Communist Khmer Rouge. <br />
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Later, in 1987, Tan Wah Piow would be named as the mastermind of the Marxist Conspiracy and one of those arrested during that operation was Teo Soh Lung. Shortly after G Raman was dismissed by Tan, Teo Soh Lung joined G Raman as a junior lawyer; adding more complexity to this Marxist network. <br />
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Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-32775877746826281382014-11-23T14:34:00.000+08:002014-11-23T14:34:57.748+08:00Ho Juan Thai: What the Hansard said<br />A PAP MP Sam Tan has decided to counter the claims made by <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/09/will-real-exiles-please-stand-up.html">self-exiled Singapore opposition politician Ho Juan Thai. </a><br />
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Read it <a href="http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014/11/public-records-counter-exiles-claims-sam-tan/">here </a>and <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/minister-state-sam-tan-counters-political-exile-ho-juan-">here</a>. <br />
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While many know of <a href="http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014/11/the-truth-from-a-singapore-exile/">HJT's version of events</a> and feels that he was unfairly treated by the Singapore government, not many know of how he escape Singapore and landed up in London. These details are actually available in the Hansard of Parliamentary reports. Kudos to WP's JBJ for always asking the tough questions in Singapore. <br />
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It is noteworthy to remember that besides being accused of making election speeches that incited racial disharmony (HJT accused the government of murdering the Chinese language), HJT was also wanted for suspected links with A communist terrorist. HJT was said to be linked with Tan Chay Wa, who was eventually sentenced to death in Malaysia for possession of firarms. HJT had hid in the house of Tan to escape arrest and HJT (together with Tan Wah Piow) would later campaign for Tan's case when the latter was facing the gallows. <br />
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<b>Dec 1982 Hansard link <a href="http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic.jsp?currentTopicID=00058608-ZZ&currentPubID=00069443-ZZ&topicKey=00069443-ZZ.00058608-ZZ_1%2Bid028_19821203_S0008_T00391-written-answer%2B">here</a></b><br />
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Minister for Home Affairs Chua Sian Chin: He (Ho Juan Thai) was out to incite the Chinese-speaking population and to stir up communal and chauvinistic emotions. <br />
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Mr Ho knew the well-established and clearly stated policy of the government that action would be taken against those who exploit sensitive issues of race, language and religion that would pose a security threat in our multi-racial society. He also knew from the 1972 and 1968 elections that such action would be taken by the government after the elections. Thus on Polling Night, on his own initiative he immediately went into hiding. <br />
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On Polling Night, 23 December 1976 when the police went to find him at Block 48A, 123X Dorset Road, Singapore 8, the address he had registered as his place of residence, they could not find him there. The police then looked for him at several other places he frequented including No 64D Nanyang Avenue. But he had managed to flee. The police wanted Mr Ho to answer questions relating to the speeches he had made, and to determine whether he was acting alone or in concert with more dangerous and violent men. <br />
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In Mr Ho's letter which was published in the Straits Times on 14 October 1982, he said that he had championed the cause of Mr Tan Chay Wa, a communist terrorist tried and convicted for possession of a firearm and seven rounds of ammunition by the Malaysian courts, in his appeal for reprieve against the death sentence. Mr Tan was a district committee member of the underground Malayan National Liberation Front, a satellite organisation of the Communist Party of Malaya. This is an indication of Mr Ho's political sympathies and possibly, also his affiliations. <br />
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No 64D Nanyang Avenue was one of Mr Ho's hideouts. It was next to No 58D Nanyang Avenue which was the official address of Mr Tan Chay Wa. Mr Tan was then wanted for arrest for involvement in Malayan National Liberation Front activities. <u>The police subsequently ascertained that Mr Ho frequently went to Mr Tan's house. When he escaped from the police who went to look for him, he sought refuge in Mr Tan's house for two days. He subsequently telephoned a member of Mr Tan's family through a pre-arranged code to indicate that he had escaped safely</u>.<br />
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<b>Mar 1982 Hansard link <a href="http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic.jsp?currentTopicID=00058808-ZZ&currentPubID=00069453-ZZ&topicKey=00069453-ZZ.00058808-ZZ_1%2Bid004_19830324_S0006_T00151-oral-answer%2B">here</a></b><br />
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Minister of Home Affairs Chua Sian Chin: The Member (JBJ) for Anson has now produced a statement by Mr Tan Chay Wa which Mr Tan gave on 16th January 1983 before his execution. The Member for Anson had not, however, disclosed how he came into possession of this new statement of Mr Tan Chay Wa. In the statement, Mr Tan claimed that Mr Ho did not have 'the slightest organisational relationship' with him and that he "absolutely did not know Ho Juan Thai and had never seen him". <br />
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On the contrary we have evidence that casts very grave doubts on Mr Tan Chay Wa's claim. The Malaysian authorities had informed us in 1979 that when Mr Tan was arrested by the Malaysian Special Branch, he gave the following statement on Mr Ho Juan Thai and I quote: <br />
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'Since 1976, a Nanyang University graduate named Ho Juan Thai stayed at Nanyang Avenue area in Singapore. He stayed near our house and used to borrow telephone. <br />
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<u>In 1977 (sic), Ho Juan Thai stood in general election on a Workers' Party ticket. As he gave a prejudicial speech during public rally, the police came to arrest him at his rented place. Ho escaped and hid in bush, and was wet because of heavy rain. Subsequently, he sought refuge in our house for two days. Before departed our house he mentioned that he was going to look for his friend (details not known) in West Malaysia. If he was not arrested he would telephone by hitting at the telephone 3 times which meant he had safely escaped police arrest. Later, Ho Juan Thai did make such call.'</u><br />
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Why should Mr Tan Chay Wa discuss Mr Ho Juan Thai at all in his statement to the Malaysian Special Branch if he did not know Ho as he claimed? From his statement Mr Tan Chay Wa clearly had intimate knowledge of Mr Ho Juan Thai, how he had avoided police arrest, was harboured in his house for two days and escaped safely to West Malaysia. <br />
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Mr Tan Chay Wa was an important cadre of the CPM underground organization. He remained steadfast to his communist ideology even up to his execution. It was therefore natural for Mr Tan, a communist, to do a good turn for Mr Ho Juan Thai by disclaiming any underground organizational links with him. Mr Tan had good reasons to do this out of gratitude to Mr Ho who had, through FUEMSSO, tried very hard to save him from the gallows. It also made good sense to him to use his last breath to protect and defend Mr Ho his ardent supporter. By doing this, he would also be advancing his communist cause. According to the communist ideology, it is justifiable for any of its followers to use any means including telling a lie and even committing murder to advance the communist cause. A staunch communist terrorist does not believe in afterlife but only in the existence of this world. <br />
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THIS IS GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL STAND ON WHY HJT HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED A PASSPORT - MAINLY FORGERY OF PASSPORT. <br />
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<b>Feb 1999 Hansard link <a href="http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic.jsp?currentTopicID=00066691-ZZ&currentPubID=00069820-ZZ&topicKey=00069820-ZZ.00066691-ZZ_1%2Bid008_19990226_S0007_T00171-oral-answer%2B">here</a></b><br />
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The Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Jeyaretnam is fully aware of the reasons why Singapore Immigration and Registration (SIR) has not issued Mr Ho Juan Thai a passport. Mr Jeyaretnam had been closely associated with Mr Ho, a member of the Workers' Party, and had acted as Mr Ho's counsel previously. <br />
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SIR has not issued Mr Ho a Singapore passport for the following reasons: <br />
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a) Mr Ho is required to respond to SIR's queries over the renewal endorsement in his expired Singapore passport. Mr Ho had publicly declared that he amended the expiry date of his passport, which expired in December 1976, to enter the UK in July 1977. If this is true, this may constitute an offence of forgery. <br />
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b) Mr Ho has been an Exit Permit defaulter since August 1986. He is therefore required to answer for his Exit Permit offence upon his return to Singapore. <br />
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c) Although no warrant of arrest has been issued against Mr Ho, the authorities would like to interview him over his racially inflammatory speeches at election rallies during the December 1976 General Election in which he ran as the Workers' Party election candidate in Bukit Panjang. <br />
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Mr Jeyaretnam, acting as counsel for Mr Ho, was informed in 1986 why Mr Ho could not be issued a passport. Mr Ho himself was informed of the reasons in writing by the Singapore High Commissioner in London and MINDEF in 1992, when he applied for a new Singapore passport. The High Commissioner has also told Mr Ho that SIR is ready to issue him with a one-way Document of Identity to facilitate his return to Singapore if he so wishes. Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-22998973243816113662014-10-29T17:54:00.001+08:002014-10-29T17:55:02.366+08:00William Cheng: A life of former Special Branch officer<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Jdg7AHdrYDRjG4fydrusYW6pGIyNrjQ3KDdikuyX-X_KPjXzFqiuCiGsQz9UuKPh3hNsAEY1z-zJNkOf9XknSvI0BfyCcNQAlmdcPV0rtHtnCCCaw5eWP6NdBpEY1vmMSh7hqWh6k1S5/s1600/ISD+building+1948-1976(New).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Jdg7AHdrYDRjG4fydrusYW6pGIyNrjQ3KDdikuyX-X_KPjXzFqiuCiGsQz9UuKPh3hNsAEY1z-zJNkOf9XknSvI0BfyCcNQAlmdcPV0rtHtnCCCaw5eWP6NdBpEY1vmMSh7hqWh6k1S5/s1600/ISD+building+1948-1976(New).jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special Branch Headquarters at Robinson Road (1948-1976)</td></tr>
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A Civil Servant and Anti-Communist: William Cheng, former Deputy Superintendent (Special Branch, Police Force), Principal Assistant Secretary (Education), Permanent Secretary (Labour) and first Trade Representative to the Republic of China (Taiwan) </div>
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By Mark Wong, Oral History Specialist </div>
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[ORIGINAL ARTICLE is <a href="http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/article/william-cheng-1928-2010">here</a>] </div>
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Former top civil servant William Cheng passed away on 10 November 2010, about a month and a half shy of his 82nd birthday. When the Oral History Centre interviewed him in 1994 for our project, “The Civil Service - A Retrospection”, Cheng recounted some of his most memorable experiences in the public sector, where he began in the Special Branch of the Police Force, moved into the Administrative Service at the ministries of Education and Labour, and later came out of retirement to be a diplomat. What stood out most strongly in his interviews was his role in battling communist elements in the 1950s and 1960s, and how, by the 1970s, a more stable society had developed in part because of the contributions of civil servants like himself.</div>
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Born 1928 in mainland China, William Cheng was the son of an official in the Chinese nationalist government. The elder Cheng was the first post-war Chinese Minister to Australia and later appointed Ambassador to Iran. However in 1949, following China’s turn to communism, the elder Cheng resigned from the government and moved his family to Hong Kong. William Cheng was then studying Modern European History at Oxford University, but joined his family in Hong Kong upon his graduation in 1951. </div>
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After a year of teaching History at Queen’s College, Hong Kong, William Cheng accepted an assignment to Singapore, which came about as a result of his father’s extensive diplomatic contacts. </div>
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“You know […] my father was anti-communist and I am also anti-communist. So at that time Malcolm McDonald was the British High Commissioner for Southeast Asia. Now his Deputy […] Christworth was the Secretary of the British Embassy in Iran. So he knew my father well. So my father wrote to Christworth, I think then he took it up with McDonald. And McDonald arranged for me to come over to Singapore […] to fight […] against the communist insurgency. I was put into Special Branch. I joined the Police Force.”. </div>
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Having seen his homeland China turn communist, Cheng decided to play a part in preventing Singapore from meeting the same fate. Starting out as Chief Inspector before ending his stint as Deputy Superintendent of Police, Cheng spent 11 years at Special Branch from 1953 to 1963. His experience there was almost wholly shaped by the Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960, marked by intensive underground communist activity against the colonial government. These were dangerous times and Cheng himself had a brush with death, as he recalled: </div>
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“I was nearly killed by the communist underground. That was I think in early ’53 or ’54. Now, you know […] next door to Raffles Hotel the Beach Road side, there was a small petrol kiosk. I used to go to that petrol kiosk to get my petrol […] Working at the petrol kiosk was a woman who was a member of the underground. So she succeeded in identifying me as a Special Branch officer which was very high on the hit list of the communist underground […] The plan was that when I went for petrol, two gunmen would come from left and right side and just open fire. I was sitting in the car waiting for my petrol [and] I would be attacked on both sides. So there is no escape. I was lucky […] a week or ten days before they were due to carry out the execution we arrested the Worker’s Protection Corps chief - their section chief. From him we Special Branch recovered a list of car numbers which all belonged to police officers, Special Branch officers down for elimination. And my car number was there.” </div>
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As a young officer involved in the intelligence gathering of subversive elements, Cheng was at times tasked to assess where particular public individuals lay on the political spectrum. One early assignment was to evaluate the politics of an up-and-coming young lawyer named Lee Kuan Yew, who, five years later, would become the Prime Minister of Singapore. </div>
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“I think it is sometime in 1954. At that time the British were not quite sure how, LKY’s stand was because he was running with the pro-communist front […] The Special Branch at that time […] there was a section called the ESI, English Speaking Intelligent section […] monitoring the English speaking intellectuals in Singapore. The officer-in-charge at that time was a British officer called Finch and I was his number two […] Finch […] arranged to invite LKY over for a drink in his house […] I still remember LKY sat opposite me; Finch on my left and Mrs Lee on my right. Generally we were chitchatting. The main objective was to make an assessment to see whether LKY was a communist or not. </div>
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So I was telling LKY… “骑虎难下” - it is easy to ride a tiger but you can’t get off because once you get off you will be eaten by the tiger. So I told LKY that the way he was playing with communist […] was like riding a tiger. When he gets off, I told him, he will be eaten by the communists. And he turned around to me, he said, ‘No, you are wrong. I’ll get off the tiger and I beat the communist.’ That is a very vital statement he said at the time [….] Fortunately he was right and I was wrong. If I was right he would have been eaten by the communist. But I was wrong. So we had Singapore today.” </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Source: Singapore Press Holdings
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Just 29 years of age, Lee Kuan Yew (2<sup>nd</sup>
from left) was gaining a reputation for fighting on the side of workers
against unfair treatment by the colonial government. Here, a member of
the Singapore Post and Telegraph Uniformed Staff Union is presenting a
garland to him at Victoria Memorial Hall, 11 April 1953, after he had
successfully represented postal clerks in a wage dispute against the
government, which saw the clerks receiving 28 months' back pay.
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Cheng’s evaluation of his years at Special Branch was balanced, finding the experience thrilling but also conceding the difficulties of staying too long in this line of work. </div>
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“For a short period, yes, it’s very exciting especially dealing with the communist insurgency and United Front. It’s very exciting. But if have been there for 10, 15, 20 [years], I think it’s not good for your mind, ‘cause your vision gets very narrowed. You’re focusing everything on security and nothing else. So I think one spell in Special Branch, or in ISD [Internal Security Department], or in whatever security work should not be more than five years. Too long is no good for you.” </div>
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From the Police Force, he moved on to the Ministry of Education and was appointed Principal Assistant Secretary. Ironically, despite this career change into the Administrative Service, he found himself again dealing with communist elements, this time focusing on student agitators in the schools and universities. </div>
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“At that time there were many student societies in Nanyang University, all communist controlled. Then they all affiliate and come under the Nanyang University Students Union […] Outside the university they have the Nanyang University Graduate Association - also communist controlled. So one in[side], one out[side]. They controlled it very, very firmly. They control the flow, the supply of the communist cadres. </div>
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Nanyang University was the site of student political activism. In
response to a Security Branch crackdown on left-wing student leaders on
26 September 1963, large numbers of students at Nanyang University
barricaded the grounds and a riot ensued, resulting in injuries
sustained by both students and policemen.
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So in order to fight the communist, I was instrumental in forming the Nanyang University Friendship Association […] That time was a very, very difficult task because [of] the fear prevalent in the University. The students - nobody dares to move against the pro-communist students who were very firmly entrenched. But there were a group of students who were very firmly entrenched. But there were a group of students who were very anti. I organised that group of students and they will form the Nanyang University Friendship Association […] </div>
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They were the front men fighting them. We broke the hold of the communist grip by using that association [….] Once we start to break the hold, a lot of waverers who were outwardly pro-communist left wing they wanted to come over. Come across. So what we did was that the fellowship groups would identify them, bring them to the Ministry to see me and I assess them their willing[ness] to come over and they want to clear their name. To come clean, we called it.” </div>
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By the 1970s, the social-political climate of Singapore had stabilised immensely from a decade or two before. When Cheng took up the appointment of Permanent Secretary (Labour), he found that his job had been made easier by the foundations of tripartism - the relationship of cooperation between unions, employers and the government - that had been laid down before him and led to a new era of industrial peace. </div>
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“1971. I went over to Labour. But then when I went to Labour the turbulent years were already over. The unions all settled. The Employment Act was instituted. So it’s a matter of monitoring, to ensure the tripartite relationship […] My duties were actually to maintain harmony in the labour movement. And tripartism to be maintained, which I think was done […] The other [task] is Industrial Safety. These are the two. Because that ties up to safety of the workers, welfare of the workers.” </div>
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Cheng retired from the civil service at age 50, but was soon asked by Minister for Labour Ong Pang Boon if he would go to Taiwan to take up a diplomatic appointment. Cheng accepted, becoming Singapore’s Trade Representative to the Republic of China (Taiwan) for nine years (three terms) from 1979-1988. </div>
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Spending a total of 36 years in the civil service, Cheng was witness to the many changes in the public sector, from the time Singapore was still a British colony, through the transition period of self government and finally when we attained full independence. During those years, the very essence of what it meant to be a civil servant transformed significantly, as Cheng explained: </div>
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“We used to have a joke. The British used to sign their letters and finished, ‘Sir, Your Obedient Servant, Yours so-and-so”. We used to say: you are neither obedient nor servant; you are the law sitting on the people. In those days, when I say civil servants, the top echelons are the British, and the middle and lower echelons were the Asians, the locals. As I said, you aid your masters. The British were overlord. They also acted as overlord. The civil servants were not popular […] in those days the civil servants belong to the ruling class. It’s only the PAP came in the attitude has changed. </div>
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So we called ourselves servants. [The] Taiwanese talked about officials in Chinese called ‘官’ [officials] - ‘做官’ [to be an official]. I keep on telling them: Singapore has no ‘官’. We have only civil servants. We have ‘公务员’ [public servants], not ‘官’.” </div>
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Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-60870017557428549012014-10-25T23:33:00.001+08:002014-10-25T23:35:58.461+08:00From London with Love<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dear Editor, </div>
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This is my letter: </div>
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Two perhaps questionable moves by <a href="http://therealsingapore.com/content/tan-jee-say-i-urge-president-seek-truth-about-operation-coldstore">Tan Jee Say</a> in his early efforts to gather public support for his next run for office -- one is to rely on the widely circulated but maybe questionable research findings of a relatively new professor (Thum Ping Tjin). The other is to parrot what this fresh researcher wrote and said without due diligence of his own, like cross-checking with other historians and sources.</div>
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Having recently retired and now splitting my free time between Singapore and London, researching into the social history of Singapore, let me cite just 4 reasons why both Tan and Thum might not get a reply the government: </div>
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<u>Firstly</u>, unknown to many non-historians and members of the public, Thum has given a simplistic account of the communist threat and Operation Coldstore in his talks and articles. Thum has ignored several colonial dispatches and Internal Security Council (ISC) minutes that clearly showed the existence of a serious communist threat. Lord Selkirk, the UK Commissioner in Singapore and his deputy, Philip Moore, were concerned about the communist threat and had advocated firm action as early as 1960. See for example these extracts from the British archives: </div>
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In a May 1960 ISC meeting, Lord Selkirk: <br />
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“…expressed his appreciation of the skilful way in which the Singapore Government were trying to deal with the problem of subversion in the trade unions, but said that it was obviously necessary to keep a careful watch on any pressure building up to subvert the TUC [Trade Union Congress].” ISC (60) Revised Minutes of 9th Meeting, 19 May 1960 (para 4) (See JPEG Selkirk1) </blockquote>
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Later, during another ISC meeting in October 1960, Selkirk commented that the Singapore Government: <br />
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“…was faced here by a challenge against the democratic system over the whole of Malaya. To a large extent this challenge was now being made through the trade unions in Singapore. The Government could not allow itself to be knocked about by the Communists acting through the trade unions. The strength of the Government's case was that these people were pressing the Communist cause by subversive methods. By sticking to its line, the Government would emerge stronger in the end. It should not, therefore, be deterred by fears of any temporary unpopularity.” ISC (60) Revised Minutes of 14th Meeting, 7 Oct 1960 (para 8) (See JPEG Selkirk2)</blockquote>
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<u>Second</u>, whatever reservations Selkirk or his deputy Philip Moore might have had about arresting the communists, they later became fully convinced of the need for security action when more evidence emerged about communist control of the political party Barisan Sosialis Singapura (BSS), the discussion BSS leaders had about the question of armed struggle, and when the BSS came out in support of the armed rebellion in Brunei. On 7 December 1962, a day before the outbreak of the Brunei rebellion, Moore wrote: </div>
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“I enclose copies of reports which came to us last month from a reliable and well placed source on two meetings held at the headquarters of the Barisan Sosialis last September. These reports are of considerable importance, not only for what they reveal of the future intentions of Barisan Sosialis, but they provide more conclusive evidence than we have had hitherto for the belief that Barisan Sosialis are Communist controlled…It has never been disputed that the Communists in Singapore are following United Front tactics and that Barisan Sosialis is their principal instrument on the political front…The report on the first of the two meetings shows that those engaging in the discussion were Communists examining quite frankly how best to achieve their ends. Furthermore, we can see that the Communist influence within Barisan Sosialis is not confined to the Central Executive Committee but extends to Branch Committee level…”. CO 1030/1160, Moore to Wallace, 7 Dec 1962 (paras 1 and 2) (See JPEG Selkirk3) </blockquote>
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A week later, on 14 December 1962, after the Brunei rebellion, Lord Selkirk sent a dispatch to Duncan Sandys, the Secretary of State for the Colonies: <br />
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“I said I had recognised all along that a threat was presented by the communists in Singapore. I had not however previously been convinced that a large number of arrests was necessary to counter this threat. Recently, however, new evidence had been produced about the extent of the communist control of the Barisan Sosialis and also there had been indications that the communists might resort to violence if the opportunity occurred. Recent statements by the Barisan Sosialis and Party Rakyat supporting the revolt in Brunei confirmed this. Accordingly H.M.G. [Her Majesty’s Government] were prepared to see [arrest] action taken in Singapore…”. CO 1030/1160, Selkirk to SSC, Tel. 582, 14 Dec 1962 (para 5) (See JPEG Selkirk4) </blockquote>
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<u>Third</u>, the above British declassified documents show that it is a big folly to read the MI5 report in isolation. Thum Ping Tjin and then Tan Jee Say have brandished the MI5 report without realizing that it should be read in the context of active and robust discussions about the extent of the communist threat. Thum is seized by the MI5 report without considering its context and taking into consideration the totality of evidence. I do hope that Tan Jee Say will reconsider his position, because as a opposition politician and he shouldn't bet so many eggs in this basket. </div>
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<u>Fourth</u>, what Thum (and Tan) fail to realize is that the MI5 report by the British SLO Maurice Williams was not the norm, and it is a gross error of judgment for a historian, even if new, to rely heavily on such a report to make momentous conclusions. Revelations from many sources, including CPM sources, confirmed without a shadow of a doubt, the existence of a communist conspiracy and the communist united front. CPM chief Chin Peng and the Plen had revealed in their books about sabotaging PAP’s plans for merger and Malaysia. The Plen had revealed how he had used the Chinese press to disseminate his opposing views. He also revealed how he had had secret meetings in Jakarta to lead the united front in Singapore and target the PAP for subversion, how he had ordered a top CPM cadre in the Workers Party to resign, and how he had ordered all support for Partai Rakyat to be withdrawn during the 1959 General Election. Chin Peng in turn had disclosed how Deng Xiaoping had ‘advised’ him in July 1961 in Beijing to continue with the armed struggle and how he accepted the ‘advice’ and Deng’s offer of financial help. These are just some facts that clearly contradict the claims by Thum, Tan and others that there was “no evidence” of a communist conspiracy. </div>
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Bottomline for all interested readers is this -- we should read new interpretations of history with a curious mind and not take everything at face value. As a Singaporean who has been a long time working resident of London, I will say that the British public is also somewhat skeptical of the British archives because one might never know if ALL documents were declassified or if officials writing the reports have other motivations. Nevertheless, Singaporeans should never forget our own history because if we do, then Singapore would really become just a place for people to make money! </div>
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Abdul Salim Rahim Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-13148421197242146322014-10-21T11:52:00.000+08:002014-10-21T11:52:00.734+08:00 Lim Chin Siong was never a communist...?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIAPsij1CObe9mA8Ms_UZM__LFC8g9xic17C1puYg-8zgzQKOf8VFVIdde6mM1m0SYhtAchEAWLmvm1ZsFBg3P5a9PK9ZEfBPshdoadN-JsYmXgVV2HwxIkCXrrd5TiS0RVLLy9tJ-XQi/s1600/lim-chin-siong-lee-kuan-yew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAIAPsij1CObe9mA8Ms_UZM__LFC8g9xic17C1puYg-8zgzQKOf8VFVIdde6mM1m0SYhtAchEAWLmvm1ZsFBg3P5a9PK9ZEfBPshdoadN-JsYmXgVV2HwxIkCXrrd5TiS0RVLLy9tJ-XQi/s1600/lim-chin-siong-lee-kuan-yew.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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As much as LKY wanted him to be a communist, he could never prove LCS as one, conclusively. Even if he was one, he would never publicly admit to be a member of the Communist Party of Malaya as that would land him in jail. The CPM was an outlawed organisation. </div>
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Similarly, a gangster would never admit to be a member of a secret society. And because criminal cases against prominent gangsters are so hard to clinch, we often find that these people are held in detention without trial under the CLTP, or what is commonly known as "Section 55" - albeit less controversially as compared to the ISA although technically they are similar.</div>
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The Plen, Chin Peng, etc, were clearly communists because they were the top leadership of the hierarchy and they eventually joined the armed struggle in Peace Villages in Southern Thailand. However, other communists who were tasked to work in the Communist United Front weren't so upfront with their allegiances as it was precisely their job to appear leftist, socialist, communalist; anything but communist, in order to continue to manage political affairs from behind the scenes. </div>
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How is it possible then for someone to say such and such person is highly likely a communist? </div>
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In this entry, we would look at the instances whereby LCS' deeds and association indicated that he could be a communist. While the information was sourced from Albert Lau's article titled "The Battle for Merger-The Historical Context", the original information was actually from various sources such as academic writings, memoirs and other periodicals. </div>
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<u>If we read the body of evidence in its entirety, we will find that LCS' links with the communists cannot be simple. </u></div>
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<u>Meeting with The Plen (CPM Singapre Chief) on various occassions</u><br />
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"Within days of the Malayan leader's speech (Tunku AR's speech on formation of Malaysia), Lim Chin Siong conferred with Fang Chuang Pi, one of the communists' top three leaders overseeing Singapore..."<i>[Dennis Bloodworth, The Tiger and the Trojan Horse, p227] </i></div>
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"On 16 July (1961), a day after PAP lost Anson (to Workers' Party), Fang Chuang Pi again conferred secretly with Lim Chin Siong. Two days later, an urgent approach was made to see Lord Selkirk, the UK Commissioner, who invited the pro-communist group, which included Lim and three others, for tea the same day." <i>[Sonny Yap, Richard Lim, and Leong Weng Kam, Men in White: The Untold Story of Singapore's Ruling Political Party, pp ix and 323] </i></div>
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<u>A member of the Anti-British League which was communist controlled </u></div>
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"Lim did admit to being a member of the underground Anti-British League (ABL) even though he insisted that "being in the ABL does not mean you are communist"...the ABL was...a dedicated clandestine arm of the CPM set up in September 1948 (after the Emergency was declared) for the purpose of overthrowing the British colonial government...the main duties of ABL members were to "learn revolutionary" and "undergo various clandestine activities such as recruiting new members, distributing flyers and putting up slogans"..They also purchased medicine and supplies to support the CPM's armed struggle."<i>[Melanie Chiew, Leaders of Singapore, p118, Zhong Hua, "A Preliminary Study on the history of Singapore People's Anti-British League and Zhou Guang, 'First Anti-British League group in Singapore Chinese High School in Mainstays of the Anti-Colonial Movement; The Legendary Figures of the Singapore People's Anti-British League ] </i></div>
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"According to Bloodworth, Lim had reportedly initiated a Chinese High School student activist, Seet Chay Tuan, into the ABL. Seet "remembered the night the previous year he was summoned to a secret rendezvous...and stood obediently in front of a picture of Stalin pinned to a wooden post, his fist raised, while Chin Siong read out a declaration of allegiance which he was then to swear and sign with his new Party name and so become a full member of the 'Organisation'.""<u> </u><i>[Bloodworth, p69]</i> </div>
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<u>Oral History of Devan Nair</u><br />
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"Nair recalled how Samad Ismail, a CPM member since 1949, had introduced him to Lim and that "Chin Siong was getting his guidance then from South Johor. Nair, who used to spend his evenings and nights at Lim's Middle Road union headquarters, remembered occasions when "somebody from the underground who is not know to the police" arriving to pass Lim a note. "And Chin Siong would read it and straight away burn it." <i>[Devan Nair, Transcript of Oral History Interview] </i></div>
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<u>Essay of CPM member Zhang Taiyong</u><br />
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"In his essay in the 2013 book, Zhang disclosed that the CPM had transferred Lim from underground activities in the ABL to open front work. After Lim's explusion from the Chinese High School for his role in an examination boycott, he "continued his studies at an English-stream school but later accepted the organisation's decision and devoted himself to trade union movement and constitutional struggle." <i>[Zhang Taiyong, "Our cohort's commander - Lu Yexun" in Mainstays of the Anti-Colonial Movement, p61] </i></div>
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<u>Retired Malaysian Special Branch officer Aloysius Chin</u></div>
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"the Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police who held a long-standing watch over the communists in Malaya, also divulged that CPM leaders Siu Cheong and Ah Hoi cited Lim as an example of CPM members who were deployed in open front activities in political parties"<u> [Aloysius Chin, The Communist Party of Malaya, The Inside Story, p67] </u></div>
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<u>Documents in LCS' handwriting</u><br />
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"Two documents in Lim's own handwriting were among several he wrote for CPM records and for the instruction of recruits to the CPM who were under his leadership. One of them was on the talk he gave in the commemoration of Stalin's death. Another contained guidance notes for his ABL subordinates on the CPM's secret journal STUDY." </div>
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<u>LKY's challenge to LCS after accusing him of being a communist</u></div>
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"Lim Chin Siong issued a signed statement accusing the prime minister of "sensationalism". To Lim's retort that he was "sick and tired" of having to deny association with communists, Lee Kuan Yew gave this risposte at a press conference on 27 January 1962: "If the documents were not written by him, he should deny it, sue me and the Government printers for libel and forgery." Lim never did. </div>
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And former Director of Internal Security Branch, Yoong Siew Wah, when writing on his own blog noted the following: </div>
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"It was a well-known fact that <a href="http://singaporerecalcitrant.blogspot.sg/2009/12/sobering-view-of-ex-isd-officer.html">Lim Chin Siong, the former general secretary of the powerful Singapore Factory & Shop Workers Union was the undisputed leader of the communist united front</a> and controlled the mass base. Lee Kuan Yew could not have been unaware of this fact and knew that he had to depend on Lim Chin Siong and his mass base to advance his political ambition."</div>
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<u>So while there are mentions in British archives to suggest that LCS was not a communist, it should be noted that those who say otherwise are aplenty. </u></div>
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<br />Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-90198334246690710962014-10-13T11:45:00.000+08:002014-10-13T11:45:45.668+08:00All hail the reprint of Battle for Merger?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>So it seems all men are cowed by ElderLee, even as he is old, frail and distant... </b></div>
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When the <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/10/govt-fears-amnesia-as-battle-for-merger.html">Battle for Merger was relaunched</a>, I was looking forward to a battle for ideas and interpretations between old thoughts and new revisions. So maybe I was a little disappointed when the new wave of revisionists treated the reprint with almost equal delight. From their previous arguments that there was no communist conspiracy and no red star over leftist politics in Singapore, and that LKY/PAP essentially jailed the political opposition, I was quite surprised that they did not urge caution over One Lee's view of things. </div>
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Side note: BfM is a primary source because LKY was an actor. I am not sure if you would call the works of Tim Harper, Hong Lysa and Geoff Wade primary sources.<br />
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Previously, I had written about the<a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/10/what-did-communists-say-about-operation.html"> special acquaintance between communist boss Fong Chong Pik (or Fang Chung Pi) and Lim Chin Siong,</a> and the Battle for Merger presents more details of Fang as the hand that rocks the cradle. According to BfM (read Albert Lau article appended below), Fang was the one who instructed Lim to thwart the plans of Merger after Tunku Abdul Rahman announced that it was possible that Singapore and the Borneo territories gained independence thru Merger.<br />
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Next, Fang met Lim after the Anson by-election and immediately before the Eden Hall Tea Party, the exact details were unknown. Again, according to BfM, it was a British ploy (during Eden Hall) to trick Lim into believing that they would have an equal chance to form the government if they guaranteed British military bases. After which, Lim had the confidence to began his open warfare with LKY, resulting in an open split of the PAP and the forming of Barisan Sosialis. LKY later pressed that it was Fang that gave the instruction for all communists to leave PAP and join BS. The resulting exodus was 19 of the 23 PAP organising secretaries and 60-70% of the PAP membership leaving to join BS.<br />
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Now it was interesting to read that LKY could say this of Fang and Lim with such accuracy and details (and not encounter strong resistance). Did he have access to the files of Special Branch who were definitely conducting surveillance on communist operatives in Singapore. Or access to other foreign intelligence services such as the Brits and Yankees who were informing him of the communist underground? <br />
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On the question of whether Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan were communists, it was interesting to read another book, <a href="http://www.singaporebiography.com/labels/Lim%20Chin%20Siong.html">Singapore: A Biography</a>, who also drew on British sources regarding the Eden Hall Tea Party. It showed that Lim and Fong couldn't answer for themselves when asked point blank if they were communists: <br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>OUR TEXT (from page 396):</i><br />
<blockquote>
<i>Still mulling over their response
to the merger discussions, Lim, Fong, Woodhull and Puthucheary
(following a phone enquiry from the latter) went to see Lord Selkirk ...
at his Eden Hall Residence. They asked him point-blank whether the
British would arrest them and suspend Singapore's constitution should
Lee Kuan Yew be voted out of office. Selkirk replied that the
constitution was a fair one which the British would respect, as long as
any new party stuck to constitutional means and refrained from violence.</i></blockquote>
<i>OUR ENDNOTE:</i><br />
<blockquote>
<i>See
Stockwell (ed.), pp. 145-147. Often the second part of this
conversation is overlooked. Apparently, Selkirk then told his guests
that for Singapore to survive it would need economic stability and he
asked Lim and Fong whether they were communists. The Colonial Office
report of the meeting reads: 'They [Lim and Fong] seemed to be
embarrassed by this question and failed to give a clear reply. Mr
Woodhull, on the other hand, stated categorically that he was not a
communist.'</i></blockquote>
<i>I've long been intrigued by why Lim and Fong, at
this critical moment, 'failed to give a clear reply' to Selkirk's
question and why they suddenly 'seemed to be embarrassed'. Only a little
while later, Lim would make a categorical statement in front of the
press that he was 'not a communist, or a communist front-man, or for
that matter anybody's front-man'. So why were he and Fong so tongue-tied
when talking to Selkirk back at Eden Hall?</i></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/the-battle-merger/story/high-stakes-talks-20141011"><b>HIGH STAKES TALK </b></a><br />
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<b>By Albert Lau </b><br />
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The year was 1961. One Wednesday evening in September, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew took to the airwaves to begin the first of his "fireside" chats to the people. There was as yet no television, which was still 17 months away from putting out its pilot broadcast.<br />
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So radio was used.<br />
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At first glance, there seemed nothing unusual about the Prime Minister making a radio broadcast. Except that in the space of less than a month, Mr Lee would make an unprecedented 11 more broadcasts in a row over Radio Singapore, each within days of the other, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Even more remarkable, the Prime Minister would relay each broadcast in three languages - English, Malay and Mandarin - to reach the widest audience.<br />
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These 12 talks were no ordinary radio broadcasts. Aired between Sept 13 and Oct 9, they were in fact the opening shots in what would soon become a keenly fought battle for the hearts and minds of the people of Singapore.<br />
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The immediate context was a referendum that Mr Lee's People's Action Party (PAP) Government intended to hold in a year's time to decide on a matter that would vitally affect the lives of the people on the island: merger with Malaya.<br />
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However, behind Mr Lee's "battle for merger" lay a related - but no less important - purpose: He wanted to expose the conspiracy of his shadowy communist opponents and their proxies to prevent merger. The stakes for the Prime Minister could not be any higher. If merger failed, not only would the outlook for his non-communist government be in jeopardy, but the future of Singapore also could possibly take a dramatically different turn - not necessarily for the better...<br />
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The communist conspiracy<br />
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RIGHT from the start, the PAP had communist and pro-communist elements within the party. In their desire to form a mass-based anti-colonial political party in 1954, the English-educated non-communist founders of the PAP solicited the help of Chinese-educated communist and pro-communist activists, like trade union leaders Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan, to bridge the gap to the majority Chinese-educated world.<br />
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By then, the outlawed Malayan Communist Party (MCP) had all but lost the jungle war; a disappointing setback that prompted its secretary-general, Chin Peng, to leave his jungle hideout and meet Tunku Abdul Rahman to discuss the latter's amnesty terms at the historic Baling talks in December 1955.<br />
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Though agreement was not reached at Baling, the failure of its guerilla campaign in the Federation (of Malaya) had left the MCP with no practical option but to defer its goal of a united communist Malaya for an indefinite period and settle on achieving socialism in a smaller place - Singapore.<br />
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To pursue its anti-colonial activism in this new urban setting, the MCP needed a legitimate left-wing political party to provide cover for its subversive activities and it found willing collaborators in the PAP's English-educated leaders.<br />
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Thus, for reasons of mutual political expediency, the two groups were able to forge a united front.<br />
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Collaboration, however, had its hazards, for the communists and pro-communists the PAP attracted soon endeavoured on numerous occasions - famously in May-June 1955 and October 1956 - to enmesh the party in supporting or condoning their advocacy of forceful mass agitation, using the Chinese-educated middle school students as their shock troops and their control of strategic trade unions to precipitate widespread industrial action accompanied by debilitating riots.<br />
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To deny the British and the Labour Front government of (David) Marshall and his successor, Lim Yew Hock, a pretext for smashing the party, the PAP's non-communist leaders had to publicly disassociate themselves on numerous occasions from the rough tactics of their pro-communist associates...<br />
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The more critical dilemma facing the united front, however, lay in the two groups' conflicting attitudes towards merger. From its founding, the PAP's objective had always been to take Singapore into Malaya. When the PAP formed the government in 1959, the goal of "independence through merger" was pursued unwaveringly as the next logical constitutional step for Singapore.<br />
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This, however, was not in the interests of the communists. After Malaya was granted independence in 1957, the MCP had lost its raison d'etre as far as anti-colonial agitation in the Federation was concerned. Only Singapore, which was still in a semi-colonial state, offered the communists scope for continuing their anti-imperialist struggle. For this reason they opposed the PAP's strategy of "independence through merger".<br />
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A Singapore independent together with the rest of Malaya would make it more difficult for the communists to camouflage their battle on behalf of communism as an anti-colonial struggle.<br />
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Moreover, merger would also mean placing internal security in the hands of a rabidly anti-communist Kuala Lumpur government, which had since 1959 shared joint custody over Singapore's internal security through its participation in the Internal Security Council (ISC) with Britain and Singapore.<br />
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The Federation government would certainly spare no effort to put down the communists on the island. But even though the extreme left-wing in the PAP fundamentally opposed merger, they were willing, for the sake of the united front, to pay lip service to it - at least so long as the possibility of fusion remained remote.<br />
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This state of uneasy tension remained until May 1961. The Tunku's Malaysia announcement, however, fundamentally changed all that. Once merger became a genuine prospect, the communists took alarm. <u><b>Within days of the Malayan leader's speech, Lim Chin Siong conferred with Fang Chuang Pi, one of the communists' top three leaders overseeing Singapore and known to Mr Lee, who met him furtively on several occasions, as "the Plen" (for plenipotentiary).</b></u><br />
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Beginning in June, the extreme left came out openly to oppose merger. Through six leading trade unionists led by Lim, and backed by some 42 unions in a show of force, the pro-communists obliquely threatened to withhold support for the PAP candidate in the July 15 Anson by-election (occasioned by the death of a PAP assemblyman) unless the CEC substituted its "independence through merger" line for the communists' agenda of "complete internal self-government", that is, without the ISC. When the PAP leaders refused and proclaimed unequivocally their commitment to achieve "independence through merger" by 1963, a war of words ensued, with escalating intensity as both sides exchanged blow for blow, knowing full well that it would lead either to one side or the other giving in, or to a complete break. Meanwhile, Lim had been luring disaffected assemblymen to his side for the purpose of assembling a shadow team ready to capture the PAP and take office.<br />
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Two days before polling day, eight dissenting PAP assemblymen, led by Dr Lee Siew Choh, came out openly to denounce the party leadership and throw their support behind the trade unionists. Lim also threw his weight behind the Workers' Party candidate, David Marshall, who went on to win Anson by a narrow margin.<br />
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<b><u>On July 16, a day after the PAP lost Anson, Fang Chuang Pi again conferred secretly with Lim Chin Siong. Two days later, an urgent approach was made to see Lord Selkirk, the UK Commissioner, who invited a pro-communist group, which included Lim and three others, for tea the same day.</u></b> In his radio talks, Mr Lee subsequently charged that the British, with consummate skill, had deliberately <u><b>tricked Lim and his radical group into open conflict with the PAP moderates by giving them the impression during their meeting at the UK Commissioner's residence on July 18 that if they left the British bases alone, they could form the government,</b> </u>provided they acquired power constitutionally.<br />
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Confronted by such treachery, Mr Lee called for a vote of confidence in the Legislative Assembly on July 20, five days after the polls, before Lim could win over more assemblymen. The debate lasted until the pre-dawn hours of July 21. When the vote was taken, 26 PAP assemblymen and one independent supported the Government against eight who opposed the motion. There were 16 abstentions, 13 of which were by PAP assemblymen. The delaying tactics of the pro-communists to gain time for more defections failed.<br />
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After the meeting, Mr Lee proceeded to break up the united front and expelled the 13 PAP assemblymen who abstained. <u><b>Fang Chuang Pi then instructed all communist members to leave the PAP and form a new proxy political party. Six days later, they launched the Barisan Sosialis,</b></u> which was officially registered on Aug 13, with Dr Lee Siew Choh as chairman and Lim Chin Siong as secretary- general. <u><b>Some 19 of the 23 organising secretaries in the various PAP branches and possibly 60 to 70 per cent of the PAP membership crossed over to the new party.</b></u><br />
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Not all who defected were communists or pro-communists. Some thought the days of the PAP were numbered and wanted to join the winning side. At this stage, the PAP was in the doldrums. It had lost two by-elections in succession. Its organisation was shattered. And, in the Assembly, its position had become precarious in the extreme, clinging on to power by a majority of one.<br />
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Nevertheless, the abrupt ending of its united front with the communists gave the PAP the clean slate it needed to rebuild the party from scratch, this time without communist influence.</div>
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- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/the-battle-merger/story/high-stakes-talks-20141011#sthash.uJhK6eGk.dpuf</div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-48600306330774235442014-10-11T02:17:00.001+08:002014-10-11T02:17:32.600+08:00Govt fears amnesia as Battle for Merger goes for reprint<div style="text-align: justify;">
As the government machinery goes up a gear to promote the <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/reprint-of-the-battle-for/1405456.html">latest launch</a> of Battle for Merger, maybe we should slow down and think why we have come to this juncture where the government frets that Singaporeans will one day forget our roots, and how historical debates are only the concern of a very very small group interested persons.</div>
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Yes, materialism is one main reason because of how our small island state has been tuned to survive through economic relevance in the global markets. Another reason is really because the education system has been giving local history a stale treatment, explaining how each stage of historical socio-economic development was lacking until PAP came along. I am sure all A level history students can attest how histories of China, India and modern Europe was much more interesting than local history.</div>
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The last reason, which could be also the most damning, is that Singaporeans simply can't be bothered to learn their own history, and easily accepts what is presented to them. PAP supporters would want to believe that the communist threat was so violent that it was only through Lee's grace that extermination of the communists was not carried out. Conversely, many in the opposition chuckle at the "communist conspiracy" and take the view LKY was merely using the ISA to jail the opposition. If only historical truth was this simple duality...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixso7S1ma_44ECWPq5t6fyndUaahHWhx23XzqysvZABI_qyDVeXZ_f-AQDfB_BiUWtLTmzDcQZDT4LBAUh76nmq5fN3V0ODIjt7eJeQAGOcki0jYklIrVEDB9CNoHo_M7zSyePb7DPB3F7/s1600/battle-for-merger-book.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixso7S1ma_44ECWPq5t6fyndUaahHWhx23XzqysvZABI_qyDVeXZ_f-AQDfB_BiUWtLTmzDcQZDT4LBAUh76nmq5fN3V0ODIjt7eJeQAGOcki0jYklIrVEDB9CNoHo_M7zSyePb7DPB3F7/s1600/battle-for-merger-book.png" height="400" width="307" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/nlb-launches-battle-for/1406324.html">The Battle for Merger</a> was actually a series of 12 radio talks given by Mr LKY in 1961 in English, Malay and Mandarin. He argued that the Malayan Communist Party had used violence and sought to
prevent the merger of Singapore with Malaya.</div>
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But if one is interested, especially those who read noveau interpretations of history and get all excited, they would find that the <a href="http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/public/audiovisual_records/TheBattleForMergerRadioTalks.htm">series of 12 radio talk that spoke on the dangers of the Communist Party of Malaya and the Communist United Front</a>, were in fact all along available for listeners from the national archives websites, at no charge. They only needed your time and attention</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcfUmsJTkyFs1JHXS2vIq_0UfZfNN_4AbZuOnB35uYFzF9c7sFhvCii1JB9J9TRCsl8aeGMLZSyqTEztHn5rDJu_phzV_EPFa6IqSeRpQa03SJu5-OFPcp57GQrJQ7eHsclxs7e_h4sO6/s1600/lee-kuan-yew-radio-talk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcfUmsJTkyFs1JHXS2vIq_0UfZfNN_4AbZuOnB35uYFzF9c7sFhvCii1JB9J9TRCsl8aeGMLZSyqTEztHn5rDJu_phzV_EPFa6IqSeRpQa03SJu5-OFPcp57GQrJQ7eHsclxs7e_h4sO6/s1600/lee-kuan-yew-radio-talk.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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But why should anyone read what this man has to say? Well, if one desires to get as close as possible to a historical truth, one should read and analyse from a variety of sources and not just depend on <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/10/what-did-communists-say-about-operation.html">British</a>, <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/02/united-front-yankees-perspective.html">American </a>or <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2013/12/a-second-glance-united-front-were-no.html">Communist </a>sources to tell a version of events. Although I am quite sure some are just quite dismissive of Mr LKY because of what they went through under him rather than what they read of him. But surely it is important to read what he has to say if you want to understand the historical circumstances of Singapore, because LKY was one of the main actor.<br />
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And the main reason why you should read (but you may not agree) is the fact that after all has been said and done, an large majority of Singaporeans, at that time (in 59, 63 and 68) voted PAP/LKY into power, believed in their ideology and trusted the PAP with their livelihoods. You may argue that LKY won because he removed the opposition, but the same could be argued that if the support for opposition was so strong, they would have spoiled the votes, revolted and protested in the streets...but they did not. It passed its test of legitimacy although not with flying colours, some might argue.<br />
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A compelling point to remember when reading this book is - to argue his points, LKY, (in 1961, still not all-powerful as he would be in 1965), was very open about his personal encounters with British officials, the UMNO politicians, the Communists, the Leftists and even his own colleagues - and to date, there has been no noteworthy contestations to the version of events as he presented it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlokegoSF6FBFFf4ipm51qi7RITboHlJHNuC0mGcJ2n0tF7ZTyDZAxJhyphenhyphenF0aKcIGBltoY6hyfwMZSXQWrBn98NRnqvFY38P6bu9Uf344KYU8KgN-wB6pDl0YsYxjtn7a0C0Sm_WVXysP0/s1600/BattleMerger201413e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlokegoSF6FBFFf4ipm51qi7RITboHlJHNuC0mGcJ2n0tF7ZTyDZAxJhyphenhyphenF0aKcIGBltoY6hyfwMZSXQWrBn98NRnqvFY38P6bu9Uf344KYU8KgN-wB6pDl0YsYxjtn7a0C0Sm_WVXysP0/s1600/BattleMerger201413e.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
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For example, in The Battle for Merger, LKY shared a thereafter oft-quoted story where he met the PLEN, otherwise known as Fong Chong Pik, a powerful representative of the Communist Party of Malaya, in 1958. The PLEN was proposing that the PAP work together the CPM to form an anti-colonial united front. LKY was hesitant as the communists then were lending their support to David Marshall's Workers' Party. To verify that the PLEN was as powerful as he claimed, LKY asked the PLEN to prove his good faith by asking pro-Communist trade unionist Chang Yuen Tong to resign from the WP and City Council, so that David Marshall and WP can go on their own without communist support. Several weeks later, Chang Yuen Tong did just that. The PLEN had proven his credentials. And WP failed miserably in the 1959 elections. </div>
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Now, you might ask, how does that square with the latest assertions that trade unionists and politicians arrested during 1963 were not communists but merely leftists? Was Chang a lone wolf or just one of the many communist-inspired pawns that CPM could move? If so, who were those keeping their allegiances and associations secret? </div>
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Another example, in 1959, after LKY secured the release of Lim Chin Siong, Devan Nair, Fong Swee Suan, Sidney Woodhull, James Puthucheary and Chan Chiaw Thor, (who were detained by the Labour Front and Brits for suspected communist activities), all except for Lim told to LKY that they not again let CPM make use of the PAP. They declared that if the CPM fought the PAP because of this, they would fight with the PAP against the CPM. To this end, they signed a declaration renouncing communism. </div>
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So, if the assertion is that Lim Chin Siong was not communist, why did he not make the same gentleman's agreement like the rest of the above stated leftists? Another historical riddle rings up the register...</div>
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In conclusion, as we reaped what they have sown, as those who went before us slowly wither, as our genesis sometimes seemed more like a bad dream, I think it is ever so important for those who care about Singapore's history to pick up this book and read about the people, deeds and events of that era before coming to a conclusion. </div>
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<br />Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-88118958211825861002014-10-08T17:21:00.000+08:002014-10-08T17:21:28.488+08:001956 Labour Govt White Paper on Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students' Union<div style="text-align: justify;">
I came across an interesting Labour Front government White Paper dated 1956 on the issue of the Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union (SCMSSU). <br />
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In brief, the SCMSSU (October 1955 – September 1956) was a mass student organisation for Chinese Middle School Students that participated in leftist and anti-colonial struggle against the unfair treatment of Chinese education. It was banned by the Labour Front government on 24 September 1956 over charges that it was a communist front organisation. Leftists and revisionist historians have challenged the government’s accusations of CPM subversion and claimed that the SCMSSU did not engage in political struggle. However, such revisionist accounts do not square entirely with documentary evidence. <br />
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The following is a commentary about the SCMSSU based on the White Paper and other sources. The original White Paper can be accessed <a href="http://www.docdroid.net/iyht/sg-chinese-middle-schools-students-union.pdf.html">here</a>.<br />
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In 1954, a delegation of over-aged Chinese Middle School students stood up to oppose the colonial government’s attempt to enforce conscription in Singapore. The students’ opposition to National Service culminated in riots when student demonstrators clashed with police on 13 May 1954 resulting in many injuries. This clash was followed by two years of student-led political action against the government. This same delegation of students eventually formed the SCMSSU with fiery student leader Soon Loh Boon as its president.<br />
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Even at this early stage, some of the leaders of this delegation may have been CPM members or subsequently became targets of cultivation for the CPM.<br />
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The following is a quote from a CPM directive dated 11 June 1956 (See White Paper, p.1):<br />
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<b><i>“The work of winning over the school children is very important and must not be overlooked. Especially in circumstances where the enemy is stronger than we are, the work of winning support from school children and organising them to struggle is more important than military activities.”</i></b><br />
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According to historian CC Chin, in 1954, it was the CPM Students’ Committee leaders Huang Mingqiang and Chiam Chong Chian who put together a seven-member “National Service Task Force” to <a href="http://www.sahabatrakyatmy.blogspot.sg/2014/09/513.html">lead the student protests against conscription</a>. This is supported by a statement made in 1955 by a Chinese Middle school student who was an SCMSSU leader and an undercover CPM agent (See White Paper, p.1):<br />
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<i><b>“At one stage the Government was about to permit registration (of the Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union) under the conditions that students should not take part in political activities or interfere with labour disputes. Representatives of the Preparatory Committee refused to accept this proviso and this was considered by the Party Organisation to be stupid … The Union should accept such conditions outwardly but carry on with political activities afterwards … The decision to register the Union with the proviso was undoubtedly made by the Party Organisation and accepted by the S.C.M.S.S.U.”</b></i><br />
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For more Chiam Chong Chian, read the earlier posts <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/06/a-portrait-of-struggling-life-of-chiam.html">talking about his early life </a>and <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/06/who-orchestrated-anti-national-service.html">how he organised the Anti-National Service Riots</a>.<br />
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After its formal registration on 6 October 1955, the SCMSSU became involved in more anti-colonial activities with leftist organisations such as the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers’ Union led by pro-communist Lim Chin Siong, and the Singapore Women’s Federation led by CPM member Chen Mong Hock. Their struggles prompted the government to ban the SCMSSU on 24 September 1956, causing even more anger among the Chinese Middle School students.<br />
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In this context, the government issued the 1956 White Paper to justify the dissolution of the SCMSSU for being a “Communist Front Organisation”. <br />
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<a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/07/brother-of-lim-chin-siong-publishes-his.html">In his recent book “My Youth in Black and White” published in 2014</a>, pro-communist leader and former ISA-detainee Lim Chin Joo (brother of Lim Chin Siong) dismisses communist involvement in the SCMSSU and argued that the CPM was not the leader or instigator of leftist student movements. He further claimed there was no conclusive proof that the SCMSSU was engaged in any leftist political activity.<br />
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Although the White Paper suffers from anti-communist bias, the facts of the White Paper clearly demonstrate that the SCMSSU was a prominent pro-CPM participant in the leftist and anti-colonial politics of that time.<br />
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According to the White Paper, although the government had registered the SCMSSU on condition that the students abstain from politics, the SCMSSU still managed to involve itself in leftist rallies, labour disputes and propaganda work to defend against any perceived threats to Chinese education, Chinese students and workers rights.<br />
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The White Paper also singled out the SCMSSU’s “Hsueh-Hsih” (Study) campaign as evidence of CPM influence. According to the White Paper, the term “Hsueh-Hsih” is derived from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) slogan, which approximately means “Study for Action”. However, it is not clear whether the SCMSSU’s definition of “Hsueh-Hsih” was truly communist in nature. At the time, there were conflicting interpretations of the term even within the SCMSSU itself.<br />
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Regardless, the methods of the Hsueh-Hsih campaign as stated in the White Paper did offer the CPM an avenue to discreetly influence the students. By organising picnics, meetings and study groups outside of their parents’ and teachers’ supervision, the CPM could isolate the students’ from sources of reactionary influence. Interestingly, the White Paper stated that the SCMSSU had even adopted “Criticism and Self-Criticism” exercises to foster solidarity amongst the students. In these exercises, students would undergo a round of public criticism in front of their peers for errors in their ideology and personality. The White Paper claimed that such “criticism” exercises can trace their origins to the CCP’s indoctrination tactics and was allegedly used by the SCMSSU to pressure political opponents.<br />
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In its closing paragraphs, the White Paper also declared that the government had detained “several student members who have had Communist connections, one of them a Union official who produced copies of M.C.P. [Malayan Communist Party] secret and illegal publications on subversion”.<br />
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One of the arrested SCMSSU officials handed over documents explaining the CPM view that Hsueh Hsih “helps comrades to gather sufficient strength to meet the high tide of revolution” and defined Criticism and Self-Criticism as “the propelling power of the revolution”. There were also instructions to apply the lessons of the CCP’s victory in China to the “National Liberation movement in colonies and semi-colonies” (including Malaya). One of the arrested students was eventually convicted and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for possessing these CPM materials (See White Paper, p.18).<br />
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All this lends credence to academics who have long acknowledged that the CPM had established an extensive network of communist and leftist sympathisers among the Chinese Middle School students.<br />
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Nevertheless, not all leftist student leaders were acting for the CPM. Indeed, CPM operations were aided by the growing anti-colonial sentiments of many Chinese school students. Had the communists been more patient and harvested the enthusiastic student and labour movement for a showdown at the ballot box, the history of Singapore would have been different. But what happened between the years 1954 and 1956 was that societal unrest, in part instigated by communists, gave the colonial authorities reasons to target what they saw as CPM front organisations and detain any CPM leaders involved. Such was the fate of the SCMSSU.</div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-48647235587051071572014-10-07T21:02:00.000+08:002014-10-13T11:09:08.263+08:00What did the Communists say about Operation Coldstore? So it seems even former Permanent Secretaries, the highest of life form in the public service if you don't want to wear white on white, can't help but to wade into the historical debate. Over the weekend I saw this:<br />
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In case you didn't know who's Bilahari, he is none other than retired Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, <a href="http://www.smu.edu.sg/news/2014/03/28/interview-ambassador-large-bilahari-kausikan">Bilahari Kausikan</a>, who by the way gave one a kick-ass <a href="http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.sg/2012/07/the-curse-of-highly-successful.html">speech </a>to the privileged boys at RI. But you wonder why was he talking about a <a href="http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2013/12/united-front-were-no-communists-british-intelligence/">TOC article</a> that was already much talked about in Dec 2013? Maybe he missed out on the party back in Dec? <br />
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Of course the former Permanent Secretary was not alone, and he was quickly rebutted by the rising star of local revisionist historian, Thum PJ:<br />
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Anyway, I have earlier written what I think about the current revisionist history <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2013/12/a-second-glance-united-front-were-no.html">here</a>. Maybe both sides are trying too hard to prove the other wrong? One uses (extensively) records from the British Colonial offices and the other quotes history books written by what some may call sanctioned historians. Maybe one should get creative when official records are still held closely by the tightfisted Ministry of Home Affairs... <br />
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So what did the communists themselves have to say about Operation Coldstore and the Communist United Front? Has anyone researched the memoirs of former Communists operatives? For example, <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/06/who-orchestrated-anti-national-service.html">Chiam Chong Chian</a>, a CPM cadre who was said to orchestrated the May 1954 Anti-National Service riot.<br />
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This is what Chin Peng, the former leader of Communist Party of Malaya wrote about Operation Coldstore and Communist United Front:<br />
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- Referring to the "numbers of people we controlled" in Singapore in 1959, Chin Peng wrote, "I can certainly say that most of the island's workers sympathized with the left-wing trade unions and members of these unions were well appreciated they were under the control of the CPM. (p.409). <br />
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- On plans to sabotage merger, Chin Peng, Siao Chang and Eu Chooi Yip had a discussion in Beijing in mid-1961. Chin Peng wrote: "Our Peking meeting also examined in the detail the Malaysia Plan that was being hatched between London and Kuala Lumpur. The three of us came to the conclusion that it would be in the best interest of our Party if we plotted to sabotage this. If we couldn't derail it, at least we might substantially delay its implementation." (p. 437) (This is in line with what the Plen and Lim Chin Siong did in Singapore to frustrate merger?)<br />
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- On Operation Coldstore, Chin Peng wrote that it "shattered our underground network throughout the island. Those who escaped the police net went into hiding. Many fled to Indonesia." (p.439) (The clearest admission by CPM that those arrested were CPM or CUF members?)<br />
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The leader of Communist Party of Malaya in Singapore, <a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2013-07-12_103126.html">Fong Chong Pik</a>, better known as The Plen, also wrote about Singapore's security situation from the mid 50s to 60s:<br />
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- The Plen wrote that at a secret meeting with other CPM leaders in Jakarta in 1957 (after the the 1954-1956 strikes, demonstrations and riots): "We were informed that the Central Committee took a positive view of the widespread development of the open mass movement in Singapore and sent its praises." (p.124) (That is, CPM approve of what their front men had been instigating in Singapore in the mid-50s.)<br />
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- The Plen wrote that the CPM "central leadership had decided to establish a working group...to directly and completely lead the struggle in Singapore" and that "both he [Eu Chooi Yip] and I had been appointed to the working group". (p. 122) (This reiterates CPM role behind the scenes in Singapore.)<br />
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- The Plan frankly revealed that he had used the Chinese press to delay merger. He wrote: "A lot of opinions expressed in the newspapers originated from me. These included slowing down the process of merger, and adopting the form of confederation." (p.161) (Wonder if revisionist historians can spot The Plen writing in the newspapers?)<br />
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- On his relationship with Lim Chin Siong, who was said to the CPM open front leader, the Plen wrote cryptically, "LIm Chin Siong and I did have a "definitely not normal association" and that Lim was a person "with whom I have had a special acquaintance." (pp. 170, 176-177)<br />
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All this debate and research is a good sign for the understanding of Singapore's history, especially the period of 50s and 60s where there has been a lack of neutral scholarly work. While some say that there was no communist conspiracy in Singapore's pre-independence political landscape, the memoirs of several communists leaders and operatives had indicated that they were active in the fight for independence of Singapore and against the LKY's idea of merger with Malaysia.<br />
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Maybe next year when Singapore celebrates our 50th birthday, the government would decide to declassify more information for scholars to discover, discuss and debate. Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-33690024491822268912014-09-24T10:27:00.000+08:002014-09-24T19:55:18.408+08:00Will the real exiles please stand up? <div style="text-align: justify;">
Who is an exile? What is an exile? Is an exile someone who cannot return to his/her country because he/she will face injustice? Is an exile someone who doesn't want to return because he/she does not want to answer charges levied against him/her? Is an exile someone who has completely no trust in the system and no faith that Singaporeans will stand up for him/her, if the cause is just? Is an exile someone who feels that freedom in a foreign land is better than being jailed at home? </div>
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Then why do some stay and fight in Singapore even though they face many instances of unfairness and injustices? People like JBJ, Chiam See Tong and even Chee Soon Juan. They stayed and they fought the good fight. They brought democracy to our lands and they lend us a voice when we were deaf. </div>
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Let us look at the the circumstances of these three individuals featured in recently banned film <a href="http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2014/09/10/to-singapore-with-love-banned-by-mda/">To Singapore With Love.</a> [And YES, <a href="http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.sg/2014/09/no-public-screening-of-film-on.html">Government was being dumb </a>when they banned the film because it will only create more publicity. Perhaps they banned it out of their own stubbornness (and stupidity) to honour the fight against the Communists, but they have clearly miscalculated the political climate and the power of the internet.] </div>
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<u>HO JUAN THAI</u></div>
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HO made what were considered "Chinese Chauvinistic" speeches as a candidate for Bt Panjang during the 1976 General Elections. He was accused of working up racial tensions by accusing the PAP of "wiping out", "destruction" and "killing" Chinese language at the expense of promoting English language. </div>
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When Ho was wanted by the Police for questioning regarding his inflammatory speeches, he decided to abscond to Malaysia and later London with the help of <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/case-of-tan-chay-wa.html">Tan Chay Wa</a>. TCW was a Communist cadre who was later sentenced to death in Malaysia for possession of firearm. Tan Wah Piow, another exile featured in the film, also campaigned for Tan Chay Wa to be spared the gallows. </div>
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Ho also<a href="http://www.singapore-window.org/sw99/90227sc.htm"> publicly declared that he forged his passport</a> to enter UK in July 1977 when his passport supposedly expired in Dec 1976. </div>
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Ho had repeatedly claim that the Singapore authorities would not issue him a passport and that he would be detained unfairly if he returned to Singapore. The authorities repeatedly assert that they cannot give Ho a passport because he is being investigated for passport forgery but they will grant him one time pass to enter Singapore. They claim that he is wanted for questioning because of the inflammatory speeches that he made during the 1976 General Elections. </div>
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Going by past cases faced by JBJ, Tang Liang Hong and Chee Soon Juan, Ho was most likely wanted for sedition or libel, and running away on a forged passport obviously didn't solve the problem. Clearly, Ho should answer some of these questions raised. If allowed to come back without any conditions, then any criminal who had escaped Singapore would be asking for the same thing. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0_HuWcfM6rzbm2pShAsJ8tYJC_PBtu_3WZ0s60dgegYpODqVQpZ0LBi2gtd3sKwKWlY5XU4xOItHkznt1V_Ey9CBFj94LvyxKAQyUe5Ev3EYVl_qjYR8IK2PFTeRd9k-zrEBYUTXdyn3/s1600/HJT2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0_HuWcfM6rzbm2pShAsJ8tYJC_PBtu_3WZ0s60dgegYpODqVQpZ0LBi2gtd3sKwKWlY5XU4xOItHkznt1V_Ey9CBFj94LvyxKAQyUe5Ev3EYVl_qjYR8IK2PFTeRd9k-zrEBYUTXdyn3/s1600/HJT2.jpg" height="640" width="324" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpts of HJT's speeches</td></tr>
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<u>TAN WAH PIOW</u></div>
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This blog has written several posts about this leading leftist leader. You can read them <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/who-is-tan-wah-piow-i-will-not-go.html">here</a>, <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/tan-wah-piow-and-his-contemporaries.html">here</a>, <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/case-of-tan-chay-wa.html">here,</a> <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/tan-wah-piow-in-uk-exiled.html">here </a>and <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/05/leading-men-tan-wah-piow-and-vincent.html">here</a>. </div>
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Briefly, TWP first hit the <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/who-is-tan-wah-piow-i-will-not-go.html">headlines in 1975</a> when he was jailed for a year for rioting at the Pioneer Industries Employee Union. TWP claimed that he was not present at the scene, but the state called upon various witnesses who thought otherwise. After serving his jail term, TWP was due to be enlisted for NS, but he decided to escape to Malaysia illegally and then to London subsequently. His reason for not serving? TWP said that he feared for his personal safety and he could be assassinated should he enlist. Then the natural question would be - wasn't being imprisoned just as dangerous?<br />
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One did not join the Communist club like they do the Tanah Merah Country Club today. Communists in the 60s and 70s did not carry a card to say that they were members. The state has always argued that TWP was a communist and he's being wanted by the ISD for questioning. I guess they can only prove this by communications intercepts and by association. The same could apply for persons detained under ISA today for violent political Islam. </div>
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Associations were what TWP had. After serving his jail term, TWP was said to have skipped town with the help of communist operatives. 3 of those who helped him eventually joined the Communist Party of Malaya. TWP hid in Malaysia for a month before forging his exit permit, moving to Thailand, Amsterdam and finally settled in London. In London, he was aided by Malcolm Caldwell, another well-known British communist who died in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. </div>
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In June 1974, when <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/tan-wah-piow-and-his-contemporaries.html">30 members of the Malaysian National Liberation Front,</a> a CPM proxy, were arrested, TWP led the protests asking for their release. In 1982, when CPM cadre Tan Chay Wa was being sent to the gallows, TWP campaigned for his case in London. In fact, many of TWP's close comrades, such as Juliet Chin and Chia Yong Tai, during the 70s eventually joined the violent armed communist struggle. </div>
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When the communist threat was over and defeat was apparent, five of TWP's communist colleagues, who were also his comrades during his days as student activist, <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2012/04/tan-wah-piow-and-his-contemporaries.html">managed to gain asylum in Europe with his help</a>. </div>
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Now, if you were Tan Wah Piow, having escaped NS and helped a whole bunch of communists, would you return to Singapore? </div>
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<u>ANG SWEE CHAI</u></div>
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This is actually the saddest case of the three presented here because Ang Swee Chai was never wanted by the authorities for any outstanding charges and she left the country legally to join her husband, Francis Khoo, in London. She was interrogated for 72 hours by the ISD, where she claim she was mistreated, and released without charges. That is to say, she choose not to return home and stayed with her husband who escaped Singapore while he was being investigated for being part of the Euro-Communists in early 1970s.</div>
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What makes this case even more poignant is that Ho Kwon Ping, who was investigated together with Francis Khoo, served a relatively short stint under the ISA, and went on to be the Chairman of Banyan Tree and the President of SMU. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4Jprf0BPLNE_SdnrzroWrSYP16dnv61vmPmLEoIVFjQXboFE23GdqNEsUAobOQyhRFpwmT-jTz9OJqcFLk1l5hgDIsY8P4xktHlCt6HZHuU3sQuQ1u32Tq7CuIGcamcoKStdxbj5qcfA/s1600/ASC3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4Jprf0BPLNE_SdnrzroWrSYP16dnv61vmPmLEoIVFjQXboFE23GdqNEsUAobOQyhRFpwmT-jTz9OJqcFLk1l5hgDIsY8P4xktHlCt6HZHuU3sQuQ1u32Tq7CuIGcamcoKStdxbj5qcfA/s1600/ASC3.jpg" height="640" width="472" /></a></div>
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In fact, ASC did return to Singapore in 2011, to lay her husband's ashes to rest. When ASC returned, she was not harassed by the authorities but neither did she stay. She even spoke at the National University of Singapore Health Auditorium. So it's really interesting to see her yearn for home in the film, To Singapore With Love, yet knowing that she could easily make Singapore her home again in 2011. Or maybe it was simply more attractive to frame a dutiful wife as a political exile?</div>
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So these are some of the men of and women featured in the documentary film, To Singapore WIth Love. Are they exiled by choice or because they were choice-less? The jury is out. Will the real exiles please stand up. </div>
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Note: All screen grabs are from NLB archives of old ST. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxw8hofaNcIKS4z_Me_Z5Q1T9nLA5GSx8Bv1T1vVk691XUCkat_xKWjtptPhwBMoMsjd_7zvZWhpnSFaNrEwAHgRi9MmsVEjRcNKsnPW3asQryyTl0YJh1g6ozgR3Zjh83Y8IeE0yuJG_Y/s1600/ASC2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxw8hofaNcIKS4z_Me_Z5Q1T9nLA5GSx8Bv1T1vVk691XUCkat_xKWjtptPhwBMoMsjd_7zvZWhpnSFaNrEwAHgRi9MmsVEjRcNKsnPW3asQryyTl0YJh1g6ozgR3Zjh83Y8IeE0yuJG_Y/s1600/ASC2.jpg" height="224" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen grab from Singapore Rebel blog</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen grab from That We May Dream Again FB page, started by those arrested under Ops Spectrum. </td></tr>
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Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-88657972766741242652014-08-27T18:09:00.000+08:002014-08-27T18:09:12.809+08:00The life of Comrade Yan Chiang Ding<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />The following is my translation of the life of communist operative Yan Chiang Ding who was arrested by the Lim Yew Hock government and during Operation Coldstore for his underground communist activities. The original article in Chinese can be accessed <a href="http://www.of21.com/doku.php?id=%E7%83%88%E5%A3%AB:%E4%BA%91%E6%98%8C%E9%94%AD%E5%90%8C%E5%BF%97">here</a>. The <a href="http://blog.of21.com/?page_id=27718">website </a>is a treasure trove for those interested in communist history of Singapore and Malaysia.<br />
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Briefly, Comrade Yan was involved in May 13 Student Movement, Hock Lee Bus Riots when he was a student at Chinese High. He was later arrested under Operation Coldstore in 1963. Yan was released after 11 years in detention and joined the armed communist insurrection in Malayan jungle shortly after. In 1979, at 38 years old, Yan was killed in a fire fight after being ambushed in the Selangor forested area. </div>
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Comrade Yan Chiang Ding was born in Singapore in 1941 into a poor family. His parents were employed by foreigners. </div>
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At the age of 13, Yan took part in progressive student activities. In 1954, soon after he began his studies at the Chinese High School, he took part in the May 13 student movement, which opposed the National Service Ordinance passed by the British colonial government. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSdcj5Mthw0ZfxyOw9MYEWD_C0ukeahNoUo44xvFVjj6fGfGUx8Fs8qGelvtsYFTrssH7l6yr-dIFTg6tpvpsB83Ho7_SL8qbHQtXEwDet5WKd4Uh823f2vC-Q_x6UZmI0tLhaT5nW92w/s1600/yan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSdcj5Mthw0ZfxyOw9MYEWD_C0ukeahNoUo44xvFVjj6fGfGUx8Fs8qGelvtsYFTrssH7l6yr-dIFTg6tpvpsB83Ho7_SL8qbHQtXEwDet5WKd4Uh823f2vC-Q_x6UZmI0tLhaT5nW92w/s1600/yan.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></div>
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When the Lim Yew Hock government attempted to change the Chinese school education system in 1955, Yan took part in student strikes and collective struggles in school to safeguard mother tongue education. On May 12 during the Hock Lee bus riots, he participated in activities to show support for the workers who went on strike. On 18 Sep 1956, the Lim Yew Hock government, under instruction from the colonial government, took action to suppress anti-colonial forces, arresting many anti-colonial patriots and shutting down numerous progressive unions and student groups such as the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers’ Union, Singapore Farmers’ Association and Singapore Chinese Middle School Students’ Union. People were discontented and this eventually resulted in large-scale strikes by students and workers in October that year. Yan played an active role in the student struggles and his performance was outstanding. In 1961, he was admitted to the Nanyang University (Nantah). During his varsity days, besides focusing on his course of study, he also participated actively in academic research and social surveys. For example, in 1962, he played an active role in the opinion poll of residents in Tanjong Pagar and Kreta Ayer which showed that the people were against the merger between Singapore and the Federation of Malaya that was proposed by the colonial government and reactionary forces. Yan took on the work of educating the masses in his free time. Besides giving lessons on culture and knowledge to village dwellers, he also hosted talks on current affairs and often worked until late at night. He was well-liked by classmates and village dwellers as he was diligent in his studies, responsible in work and brave in struggles. </div>
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In 1955 when Yan was 14, he was detained for one week by the Lim Yew Hock government for safeguarding mother tongue education. However, he did not flinch and took greater strides towards the road of revolution. </div>
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On 2 Feb 1963, the Internal Security Council which comprised reactionary forces from the colonial government, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore launched Operation Coldstore to shut down progressive unions that oppose the merger and arrest union leaders and patriotic people. Yan was again detained. </div>
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Early that morning, agents from the Special Branch and policemen charged into Nantah to arrest the students. Yan remained calm and cleverly hid documents that could implicate his comrades while a search was conducted. Although he was eventually arrested, his composure and quick-wittedness ensured the safety of comrades and students. </div>
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Yan and other comrades went on several hunger strikes when imprisoned, with the longest one lasting more than 140 days. One day, in a bid to extract a “confession” from Yan and another political detainee who was a paid union secretary, the reactionary authorities brought them from Changi Prison to the Central Police Station and put them in solitary confinement. During that time, Yan and the comrade were stripped of the freedom to move around and read books and publications. They were also interrogated and tortured round the clock by Special Branch agents. To protest against the unreasonable suppression by the reactionary authorities, they went on a hunger strike and were prepared to sacrifice their life to expose the ruthless means of the reactionary authorities. When the reactionary authorities saw that they were in critical condition, they became afraid that the hunger strike would arouse public opinion and cause condemnation which could adversely affect the reputation of the reactionary rulers. In the end, they acceded to Yan and the comrade’s request and sent them back to Changi Prison. </div>
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During the hunger strike, Yan became unconscious on several occasions and almost lost his life. The reactionary authorities used all means, including threats and inducements to make Yan say things that were unfavourable to the people and write a “confession” against his belief. When Yan refused to do as told, he was given all kinds of torture, but that did not weaken his fighting spirit a bit. He reproduced articles from the Voice of Malayan Revolution and PRC radio stations and secretly circulated them among comrades who were detained. He remained firm and refused to accept the conditions for release put forward by the reactionary authorities. </div>
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After 11 long years in prison, Yan was released in early 1974. After his release, he continued to secretly engage in revolutionary propaganda and helped to raise funds for the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). He told comrades firmly that he was ready to go to jail again. He said that going to jail was just a temporary loss of freedom and that the walls of a prison would never be able to stop a real revolutionary. He also said that being tortured was nothing and only weaklings would succumb to it. </div>
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Under the arrangement of the underground party organisation, Yan joined the Malayan National Liberation Front a year later in 1975. He was responsible for organising and publishing work in the beginning and later went on to head the group in Selangor. </div>
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In 1978, Yan fulfilled his long-time aspiration of joining the CPM. From then on, he set high standards for himself and devoted himself completely to revolutionary work. At the same time, the reactionary forces also tried to hunt him down. Later, the party organisation decided to deploy him to the troops for fear of his safety. </div>
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In May 1979, Yan joined the 6th Assault Squad to fight for the independence and liberation of the motherland. On Aug 7 that year, when passing by a forested area in Selangor, he was ambushed and killed by the enemy. He was only 38. </div>
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Whether he was working in the underground or deployed with the troops, Yan led a simple life and was a responsible and friendly person. He loved his comrades, he was decisive, had great fighting spirit, served the people wholeheartedly. He was loyal to the revolution and had profound hatred for the enemy. </div>
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Comrade Yan has left us, but his gentle smile and good character will always remain in our heart. The comrades have vowed to avenge him and fight the revolutionary war to the end!</div>
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Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-4577268683017838632014-07-11T17:43:00.001+08:002014-10-29T17:34:01.108+08:00Brother of Lim Chin Siong publishes his memoir<div class="_38 direction_ltr">
<span class="null"><u><b>Another book to add to the reading list... </b></u><br />
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Ex-detainee's book recounts turbulent days<br />
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Brother of late <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/10/lim-chin-siong-was-never-communist.html">leftist leader Lim Chin Siong</a> was a student activist in 1950s<br />
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BY LEONG WENG KAM SENIOR WRITER<br />
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RETIRED
lawyer Lim Chin Joo, 77, is launching his memoirs today, 47 years after
he was released from detention for alleged pro-communist activities as a
student activist and trade unionist back in the 1950s.<br />
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The book
in Chinese, titled My Youth In Black And White, tells the story from his
birth in Pontian, Johor, to his days as a student activist in Singapore
at the former Chinese High School - now part of Hwa Chong Institution -
and briefly as a trade unionist before his arrest.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftEIFLAhGgPhU0Lfray8jQtIY9msNPXSPkSHgGoD2_VOUMp9S7amDBi2RekTtT7obpM1I8lApHuynqQ3eorhtaRK4GN0Y2LeJSgqaN9VnCpyOjLkUJ2IpZ6FqejFp_6sn1movvKVfa5eZ/s1600/limbro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftEIFLAhGgPhU0Lfray8jQtIY9msNPXSPkSHgGoD2_VOUMp9S7amDBi2RekTtT7obpM1I8lApHuynqQ3eorhtaRK4GN0Y2LeJSgqaN9VnCpyOjLkUJ2IpZ6FqejFp_6sn1movvKVfa5eZ/s1600/limbro.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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The younger
brother of the more prominent, late leftist trade unionist and
politician Lim Chin Siong, he was locked up for nine years between 1957
and 1966, and studied law while in prison.<br />
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After his release, he joined the civil service before starting his law practice in 1973. He retired in 2002.<br />
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Now
vice-president of the Ee Hoe Hean Club, a gentlemen's club for Chinese
businessmen, Mr Lim has previously kept silent about his past.<br />
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For
years, he turned down media queries until he agreed to be interviewed
for Hwa Chong's 90th anniversary commemorative magazine in 2009. In it,
he described briefly his involvement in the Chinese students' movement,
his detention and life as a lawyer.<br />
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Two years ago, he gave a talk
on his "three years in The Chinese High" to mark the <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/06/who-orchestrated-anti-national-service.html">May 13, 1954 incident</a> in which Chinese middle school students clashed with riot
police for the first time over the issue of conscription.<br />
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His
442-page book will be launched at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of
Commerce and Industry Building's auditorium today at 6.30pm. About 400
guests have been invited to attend.<br />
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He and his brother remain well known especially among older, Chinese-educated Singaporeans.<br />
Mr
Lim told The Straits Times that he decided to write his story after the
Oral History Department tried to interview him some years ago. He said:
"I stopped after only one interview because I realised I needed more
time to think and reflect before coming up with my answers." Then he
decided to write his memoirs instead.<br />
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Although he was an active
student leader and trade unionist for only about two years, he said the
events he witnessed were significant and worth retelling from his
perspective, especially his involvement with the <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/10/singapore-chinese-middle-schools-students-union.html">Singapore Chinese Middle School Students' Union </a>and Singapore General Employees' Union,
and his days in prison.<br />
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He also paid tribute to several other
leftist student and political leaders, including his brother Chin Siong,
the late Lim Hock Siew and Soon Loh Boon.<br />
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A section of the book
includes material written by his brother. It contains Lim Chin Siong's
handwritten answers to questions he had been posed for a radio interview
in 1992 but which did not take place in the end (See story below).<br />
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Mr
Lim said he spent $100,000 to publish his memoirs. Proceeds from sale
of the book, priced at $28, will go to his alma mater Pei Chun High
School in Pontian, Johor.<br />
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wengkam@sph.com.sg</span></div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-38501621125984122132014-07-11T15:51:00.000+08:002014-07-11T15:53:14.796+08:00What was Singapore like in the 1960s? <br />
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It's always interesting to read how foreign diplomats described Singapore in 1960s. Today there was an interesting newspaper article describing the Singapore Chinese culture sphere in the 1960s. And this was what the Russian diplomat, who was in Singapore to learn Chinese dialects, said:<br />
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<i><b>Most of the population lived in dilapidated slums and on dingy boats,
without a sewer system, among rats, cockroaches, mosquitos, and flies.
Ethnic tensions were also heating up. In 1969, Malaysia was shaken to
the core by clashes between the Malays and Chinese. The echo of these
events was heard in Singapore.<br /><br />We interned at Nanyang
University, where young people received a classical Chinese education
that shaped their ethical norms and political outlook. Many of them
looked towards China, the land of their ancestors, where the Cultural
Revolution was raging. Nanyang students secretly admired Mao Zedong and
criticised Singapore's Government for "subjugating the labourers and
licking the boots of the West".<br /><br />Leftist sensibilities of
the downtrodden in Singapore showed themselves prominently during a
festival of Soviet cinema in March 1970. A huge crowd of people without
tickets burst into the screening of Lenin In October. They, and many
other viewers, cheered Lenin's every appearance on screen, and
sympathised with the depiction of workers clashing with the police.</b></i><br />
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Read the rest of the article here:<br />
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BY EVGENIY BAZHANOV<br />
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SINGAPORE'S first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew became honorary doctor of the Diplomatic Academy under the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<br />
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At the ceremony to mark this occasion, it was emphasised that Mr Lee was one of the most outstanding figures of the modern world. I had the chance to witness first-hand how, in a phenomenally short time, he turned Singapore from a Third World country into one of the world's most developed and prosperous states.<br />
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In the autumn of 1968, I was sent to Singapore to study Chinese dialects as part of a group of Soviet interns. The island immediately amazed me with its exoticism. But it was also obvious that it was drowning in problems.<br />
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Just three years earlier, Singapore was expelled from the Malaysian federation. Malaysia and nearby Indonesia viewed Singapore as "the fifth column" of Maoist China. They were not the only ones holding that view, either. In 1970, the former Soviet Unionnewspaper Pravda characterised Singapore as "the centre of Beijing's subversive activity in South-east Asia".<br />
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The economic situation was getting more and more stormy as well. The island had long based its prosperity on trading in raw materials from neighbouring states but they decided to get rid of its services as an intermediary. Singapore's foreign economic activities were in decline and national income growth was slowing down.<br />
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Most of the population lived in dilapidated slums and on dingy boats, without a sewer system, among rats, cockroaches, mosquitos, and flies. Ethnic tensions were also heating up. In 1969, Malaysia was shaken to the core by clashes between the Malays and Chinese. The echo of these events was heard in Singapore.<br />
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We interned at Nanyang University, where young people received a classical Chinese education that shaped their ethical norms and political outlook. Many of them looked towards China, the land of their ancestors, where the Cultural Revolution was raging. Nanyang students secretly admired Mao Zedong and criticised Singapore's Government for "subjugating the labourers and licking the boots of the West".<br />
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Leftist sensibilities of the downtrodden in Singapore showed themselves prominently during a festival of Soviet cinema in March 1970. A huge crowd of people without tickets burst into the screening of Lenin In October. They, and many other viewers, cheered Lenin's every appearance on screen, and sympathised with the depiction of workers clashing with the police.<br />
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In the spring of 1970, having finished my studies, I left Singapore, and got a chance to see it again only 20 years later. It was an entirely differently, shockingly ultra-modern Singapore. The downtown area was filled with skyscrapers. High-rise apartment blocks were everywhere. The residents had swimming pools, tennis courts and children's playgrounds at their disposal.<br />
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Squalid eateries became cosy, sparkling-clean restaurants. Flies and mosquitoes were nowhere to be found. And it was not just Singapore that had changed; its inhabitants had changed as well. They became proud and confident, no longer admiring foreigners who "stooped" to speak local languages or eat at a street stall.<br />
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In the 21st century, Singapore has solidified its place among the most developed countries of the world and is one of the largest global centres for finance, aviation, sea freight, and communications. What is the reason for the success? Naturally, it is the effective strategy that Mr Lee's government had adopted in mid-1960s.<br />
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His government emphasised integrating Singapore's economy into the global market, thus stimulating exports. Nowadays, special attention is paid to developing high-tech industries. To develop them, the Government made an effort to attract foreign capital. The authorities created for investors a climate more attractive than in other countries.<br />
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The next set of problems that Singapore successfully solved was supplying the economy with inexpensive, qualified labour. In the 1960s, the authorities established a tight control over the wage growth rate. The Government brought labour unions under control and prohibited strikes.<br />
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As a result, labourers worked in clean, well-lit workshops and safety regulations were observed everywhere. Whether it was supplying workers with food and accommodation, or formulating a vacation and pension scheme - it was done according to the highest standards.<br />
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Another component of Singapore's success is in maintaining its political stability. For this goal, the authorities used all means available. Seemingly, all the attributes of a democracy are present in the country but every Singaporean knows very well the boundaries of what is allowed. To fight corruption, the country uses severe methods, which results in almost a zero level of corruption in Singapore.<br />
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There is an opinion that in the domestic policies of the Singapore Government, two ancient Chinese traditions persist. The first is Legalism: controlling the population while relying on strict laws. The second is Confucianism: governance based on morals and justice.<br />
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In ancient China, the emperor had to serve as an example of virtuous behaviour for the people. Otherwise, he would lose the "mandate of heaven" to rule.<br />
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The Government maintains its mandate by ruling Singapore using economic mechanisms and political firmness. It also considers the task of educating people to have high spiritual qualities as its responsibility.<br />
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The writer is rector of the Diplomatic Academy under Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. <br />
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This is translated from an article published in the June/July 2014 issue of the Russian language journal Echo Of The Planet. Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-1139120081568403652014-06-21T23:09:00.001+08:002014-06-21T23:09:30.572+08:00Who orchestrated the Anti-National Service riot of May 1954<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last month, veteran historians CC Chin and Hong Lysa have published their reflections on the role of the Communist Party of Malaya in the events leading up to the National Service Riots of 1954. The battle between these two historians, who hold diametrically opposing views on the CPM’s role, is undoubtedly thought provoking.<br />
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<a href="http://cnews.cari.com.my/news.php?id=591955">According to Chin</a>, the clandestine CPM student movement committee was responsible for leading the Singapore student protest on 13 May 1954 against conscription by the British colonial power. This protest was met with fierce opposition from the colonial government which eventually resulted in 10 students severely beaten up and 48 students arrested by the police. Chin proceeded to pinpoint one CPM cadre Chiam Chong Chian as the person-in-charge of organising the protest on 13 May 1954.<br />
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However, in <a href="http://minimyna.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/sixty-years-on-commemorating-the-may-13-1954-student-movement/">her article on May 19, 2014</a>, Hong rebutted and disagreed that the protest was masterminded and led by the CPM, questioning whether the CPM student movement committee was effective enough to lead the students. Hong argues that Chin’s assertions conveniently support the PAP’s exaggeration of the CPM’s strength which justifies the PAP’s subsequent arrests of suspected communists and sympathisers. <br />
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While Hong is entitled to her opinion on the facts of the 13 May protest, Hong’s suggestion that Chin had written his article to support a political position is quite harsh, even in academic circles. Speculation about an opponent’s political affiliations, unfortunately, does not lead to more historical inquiry.<br />
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Interestingly, Hong also concedes that historians need more research and recollections from the individuals involved to form a clearer picture of the event. <br />
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Recently in February 2014, one such volume of recollection essays by former CPM cadres has been published in Malaysia. The book “Chiam Chong Chian Memorial Collection” edited by Huo Shi and Ding Jing Lei aims to commemorate the life of Chiam, the CPM cadre in-charge of leading the 13 May protest.</div>
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Chiam was born in Kuantan, Pahang in 1931 and had come to Singapore to study at the Chinese High School in 1947, where he and many other classmates were recruited into the Anti-British League movement. On 31 May 1950, he evaded arrest by the police and went underground, eventually taking on official CPM work from 1952.</div>
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For more Chiam's background, read the earlier post <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2014/06/a-portrait-of-struggling-life-of-chiam.html">here</a>. <br />
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Chiam subsequently went on to incite and direct many of the mass protests in the 1950s, including the student protest on 13 May 1954. <br />
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CPM cadre Huo Shi recalled that Chiam had coordinated the 13 May protest by relaying the CPM leadership’s instructions through him to the various cadres organising the protest and other CPM front organisations. <br />
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Chiam also conveyed the leadership’s instructions to Huo Shi on the final conditions which would be used to negotiate with the colonial government for the resumption of classes. Huo Shi was operating partially in the open and was the point of contact for the Communist underground. <br />
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As a mark of his commitment to the Communist cause, Chiam even risked arrest by going down personally to observe the protest at Chung Cheng High School so as to formulate tactical strategies. Huo Shi wrote that Chiam was nearly arrested but he cleverly used his Malay language to avoid arrest.<br />
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Interestingly, Huo Shi related one incident which suggests that the CPM had come prepared to confront the colonial government and maximise political gain from any outbreak of violence. <br />
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Immediately after the 13 May 54 protest, Chiam had handed to Huo Shi 36 photographs of students being beaten by police at the scene of the protest to serve as proof of police brutality. These photos were subsequently reproduced by the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union and sold to students as keepsakes. The speed at which the photographs were developed and distributed in those days goes to show organised the Communist movement was.<br />
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<br />Reading the accounts of these former CPM cadres, it is apparent that the CPM did have a tangible influence on the 13 May student protest. Why then do some individuals try to omit the CPM’s role in the protest?<br />
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It could be a result of the secrecy of the CPM’s underground operations, where the risk of arrest by the police forced CPM cadres to masquerade as student activists, thus giving others the impression that the 13 May protest was free from CPM influence.<br />
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Ultimately, perhaps one could better deal with this conundrum by remembering that all historical accounts are merely incomplete memories of the past. Some may recall the 13 May protest as a student-led phenomenon, with little knowledge of the political intrigue that went on behind the scenes. Others, like Chiam’s comrades, will remember the event as a time when the CPM struggled against the colonial government through the students, who responded resoundingly in their favour.</div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-58328250382744218672014-06-20T10:19:00.001+08:002014-06-20T10:19:33.844+08:00A portrait of the struggling life of Chiam Chong Chian<div style="text-align: justify;">
<u><b>The following is a loose translation of the biography of Chiam Chong Chian, who was an underground CPM cadre leader in Malaya during the 1950s. </b></u><br /><br /> Born in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaya in 1931, Chiam Chong Chian was a Malayan son that died on PRC soil because of the tumultuous struggle for independence and the battle between nationalists and communism during the 1950s and 1960s. <br /><br /> Chiam was the third child in a Hainanese family of six children. His father came to Malaya at the end of the 19th century, first becoming a baker and later a plantation supervisor. <br /><br /> Chiam was only 11 or 12 when the Japanese invaded Malaya during WWII. During that time, Chiam followed his family to hide in jungle and began to lived off the land. He joined the adults in hunting, fishing and delivering supplies while entertainment was Chinese classic stories of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin. </div>
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<br /> In 1946, after the war had ended, Chiam returned to school in Kuantan and a year later enrolled in Chinese High Singapore. Not only were Chiam's results good, he was also charismatic and well-liked by fellow students. He was surrounded by a group of close friends who would later become his comrades. Many of these friends would later end up as liaison officials (with overseas Chinese) in China after the Chinese Communists took power. <br /><br /> 1950 was a watershed year for Chiam who was senior high year 2. There was a surge in anti-colonial sentiments and seniors like him began to infect the younger ones in Chinese High with the need for Malaya's independence. <br /><br /> As the waves of anti-colonialism continued unabated, authorities began the clamp down of student activism with the closing of Chinese High, shutting down of student organizations, arresting progressive teachers and students and the expulsion of 50 senior high school student activists with Chiam being one of them. <br /><br /> On May 31, 1950, when military police surrounded the school to arrest them, Chiam was hidden in the school canteen by student sympathizers and managed to escape the school. As the surrounding area of Chinese High were houses of wealthy residents who typically employed Hainanese as housekeepers, Chiam was able to escape the dragnet by seeking help from his kinsmen. <br /><br /> From then on, Chiam bade farewell to his student life and joined the communist underground to battle against the British colonial power and achieve independence for Malaya. </div>
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<br /> In 1951, Chiam returned to Kuantan to teach in a primary school. He was humble, well-liked and earned the respect of the students. On the side, Chiam continued to work for the Communist Party of Malaya and received instructions to carry out reporting and research for the party. <br /><br /> In 1952, Chiam began to be tasked by the party to carry out organization work and operations. As he was passionate, responsible and honest, he was trusted by the party and began to take on more responsibilities. Under Chiam's leadership, the political environment began to open up and progress was made with mobilization of the masses. <br /><br /> In the early 1960s, Lee Kuan Yew began to work in cahoots with the British colonial power to exterminate the communists. Chiam was forced under these circumstances to escape to Indonesia. <br /><br /> When in Indonesia, he faced immense difficulties as he was unfamiliar with the country and did not speak the language. The 30 Sep 1965 purging of the Communists, where tens of thousands of Indonesian Communists were killed by the Indonesian military, made his situation increasingly unbearable. <br /><br /> To exacerbate matters, Cultural Revolution erupted in China and Chiam was criticized for his previous actions. He was criticized for his wrongdoings, forced to apologized and ostracized from the party. But he was said to be steadfast and hung on to his beliefs, never betrayed his comrades even though he was exiled from the party and lead a precarious life. <br /><br /> The only consolation Chiam had was in the mid-1990s when CPM leader Chin Peng met Chiam in a Guangzhou hotel. Chin reverted previous criticisms of Chiam and reaffirmed Chiam's lifetime commitment to the Communist cause. <br /><br /> Chiam passed away on Apr 26, 1998, due to multiple illnesses. He was 68 years old. </div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-53127314726203630152014-05-17T23:00:00.000+08:002014-05-18T00:33:16.098+08:0038 Years on: Goh Lay Kuan The Red Ballerina<div style="text-align: justify;">
Browsing the Straits Times forum section yesterday, I was surprised to see <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/recalling-turbulent-era-20140516">a letter talking about Goh Lay Kuan and her arrest under the ISA in 1976</a>, written by Lionel De Souza. Mr De Souza, a former policeman, is apparently someone close to the establishment; and one does wonder why the sudden need to bring up the fact that Goh, who is also wife of Kuo Pao Kun, joined a splinter group of the CPM and visited a communist training camp in 1975. </div>
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<br /><br />It was only with careful reading of the recent<a href="http://www.singapolitics.sg/supperclub/goh-lay-kuan-being-detained-under-isa"> ST interview of Goh Lay Kuan </a>that one can conjecture the deeper meaning behind the letter. In that interview with Goh dated 3 May 2014, she said ISD was looking to detain those who had received communist military training and she was lucky that she didn't know how to draw a gun. <br /><br /> </div>
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This was despite the fact that she had <a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19760528-1.2.2.aspx">met a high ranking communist cadre named Sister Fong</a> and together they made a trip to a communist guerrilla military camp in the Malaysia-Thailand border where<a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19760528-1.2.4.aspx"> Goh received instructions from Fong to recruit more members and raise funds. </a><br /><br />Goh made another interesting claim during the recent ST interview. She said she "overturned" tables when she was being interviewed by ISD officers. I am not sure whether Goh meant it in the literal sense of the word, or was it figurative? <br /><br />Nevertheless, after this supposedly valiant act, she submissively <a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19760528-1.2.5.aspx">went on national TV</a> to "confess" her role in the communist plot and also pinpoint others who were involved. It must be day and night to go from overturning tables to appearing meekly on TV; but alas only those who were there would really know the truth. <br /><br />Moving to the larger picture, Goh was one of the 50 people arrested in that operation. These 50 were charged with being affiliated to a group trying to rekindle the cause of communist subversion and terrorism. The group was the Malayan National Liberation Front (MNLF), a violent splinter group of the Communist Party of Malaya. Items seized from this group include, field directives, photographs of communist guerillas training in Malaysia-Thailand border, cash, booby-trap paraphernalia, including detonators and sketches of military installations. <br /><br />Earlier in June 1974, another ISD operation nabbed 31 members of the same group, MNLF, and seized one pistol, 42 bullets, one hand grenade, 16 detonators, 3 homemade bombs and 5 improvised detonators. <br /><br />Historically speaking, there was no definitive answer to say Goh was guilty or not, because the group was arrested before they could carry out any real attacks. But, it would be injustice to history if a reader reads the ST interview at face value, without understanding the facts behind the event. </div>
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Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-11435424267876433022014-05-16T02:06:00.001+08:002014-05-18T00:39:40.313+08:00The genealogy of criticism against National Service<div style="text-align: justify;">
It gets picked up so regularly among the men during class gatherings and the festive seasons' idle chat that many would not think <a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_692_2005-02-01.html">National Service</a> could be such a heated and sensitive issue. It seems almost given that National Service is an institution in today's Singapore. Many a times, it has been quoted as an example where Singaporeans across all races and social classes bond together in a common cause; despite the many criticisms that Malays are excluded from certain military vocations due to geopolitical considerations. </div>
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Nevertheless, <a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/singapore-blogger-calls-ns-slavery-draws-passionate-response-094212412.html">NS does have its fair share of criticism</a> and in the recent years the most common complain is not against the fundamentals of NS, but rather how it has hindered individuals in our increasingly competitive economy where time away from improving one's career is only accentuated by the foreign workforce who do not have such obligations. </div>
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Today, we mostly criticise the form in which NS should take. But how Singapore has moved away from questioning the very basis of why we perform NS, to protesting the form in which it takes place is a reflection of how we have grown as a nation.</div>
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It was not so long ago that Singaporeans actually denied the idea of doing NS. The first of these were actually on <a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1202_2006-07-28.html">13 May 1954</a> where students of Chinese middle schools who were protesting against conscription by the British colonial power, clashed against riot police resulting in 26 injured. For many historians, the National Service Riots of 1954 marked the beginning of communist subversion in the Chinese middle schools, which subsequently became the breeding ground for communist sympathisers in Singapore.</div>
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In fact, just a couple of days ago, these same pioneers <a href="http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014/05/may-13-student-movement-60-years-on/">celebrated the 60th Anniversary </a>of this event with a lunch, singing of old battle songs and solace in common memories of a past struggle. The event was well attended with a crowd of about 700 including members of the opposition political parties, mainly NSP and SDP.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-W9fOu8ecMhcMT0rNcqSICA4TgiDZ5ChtxgIx8A35WhJqgVdHH_TyyXTDIJUmstKjdsTi4mI_gMW_WBMGJy6JyY4unRmaE5VLArReHrGZJZFkTpYj8OLrU2BcwczunQKIQeejMnWslEa/s1600/1954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-W9fOu8ecMhcMT0rNcqSICA4TgiDZ5ChtxgIx8A35WhJqgVdHH_TyyXTDIJUmstKjdsTi4mI_gMW_WBMGJy6JyY4unRmaE5VLArReHrGZJZFkTpYj8OLrU2BcwczunQKIQeejMnWslEa/s1600/1954.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo source: https://www.facebook.com/hochoonhiong/media_set?set=a.10152393531047453.1073741948.699302452&type=1 </td></tr>
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In analysis, protests broke out in 1954 because the colonial government expected full compliance from the students of the Chinese middle schools, who at the same time were excluded from many economic opportunities that were available to those who were English educated. </div>
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"The National Service Ordinance ruling angered the Chinese middle school students because they were compelled to defend the same British order that had discriminated against them and in which they saw no future in. Many Chinese who felt that they were not being treated as equals by the British also did not feel obliged to serve the colonial government."</div>
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So, despite the fact that the idea had public support, and registration for national service went smoothly with 98% of eligible students having registered themselves, the tide slowly turned against the Brits and culminated in the National Service Riots of 1954.</div>
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Due to the strong opposition, the colonial government had no choice but to postpone the implementation of the National Service Ordinance. Thereafter, it was said that this episode awakened the Chinese students' political consciousness and strengthened the influence of student leaders and they subsequently formed the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union (SCMSSU) - which became a pro-communist organisation that was sometimes radical and violent. </div>
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Looking at the anniversary event held 3 days ago, it was interesting to note that the event was organised by <a href="http://fn8org.wordpress.com/">F8</a>, which is an organisation formed by the Marxists detainees of 1987. </div>
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And, it was not surprising to see that the the detainees of 1987, especially Vincent Cheng, produced various publications in the 1980s, such as the Singapore Highlights to question the need of National Service and a high defence budget. In one article, it asked "Why do we teach the young minds to hate and kill?"</div>
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Another publication produced by the so-called Marxist conspirators was the Commscord, which was a newsletter aimed at NS men, giving them a hostile view of the military life and using Marxist arguments to convince readers that NS was setup to further the evils of a capitalistic society. </div>
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Looking back, while NS has become less controversial today, it can still be a touchy subject, because ultimately NS is a liability whether in 1954, 1987 or 2014; and no matter how much the state compensates the individual, the golden years of one's youth can never be recaptured, except through a common consensus that we do so for the survival of this little red dot. </div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8630638571713779149.post-69490431141022123352014-05-09T23:32:00.001+08:002014-05-18T00:39:58.348+08:00Thum PJ: "Public anger" caused the 1956 riots<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is with some interest that I read the latest assertions by historian Thum PJ on how <a href="http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014/05/lim-chin-siong-was-wrongfully-detained/">Lim Chin Siong was wrongfully arrested for inciting a riot in 1956. </a></div>
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According to Thum, he had discovered an archival record which contained the transcript of Lim Chin Siong's speech during the night of the riot and that in this record, Lim Chin Siong did not ask the people to “pah mata” (beat up the police) but wanted the police to join him and his cause. Thum proceeds to assert that the subsequent arrest of Lim is wrong and thus, fits into his <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2013/11/more-questions-than-answers-in-new.html">persistent historical assessment that Lim was not a communist</a> - although Lim had joined the outlawed communist Anti-British League and rose to prominence in several communist trade unions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_-wBq7WrQNaokgVWjJFmN4TKki0gB8THTuUFKGBA4awYVxJGdZlQ2eOMEjkKw9XY1LOyxMyie_fykUJyv5hZAIvOvSAyEb5zEjyS_-KPCoSt1XqLPwfGzbjtmTZoH656YVqjsWe9dnD3/s1600/LCS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_-wBq7WrQNaokgVWjJFmN4TKki0gB8THTuUFKGBA4awYVxJGdZlQ2eOMEjkKw9XY1LOyxMyie_fykUJyv5hZAIvOvSAyEb5zEjyS_-KPCoSt1XqLPwfGzbjtmTZoH656YVqjsWe9dnD3/s1600/LCS.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
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If it was not Lim's fault, than whose fault was it? Why was the crowd so worked up that day and not any other day? Having absolved Lim from all responsibility, Thum's historical investigation is reduced simply to the claim that “public anger was too strong” and therefore the riots occurred. </div>
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So the elephant in the room was, why was public anger so strong on that day, as claimed? This, Thum did not bother to find out.</div>
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A dusty piece of paper from the colonial archives cannot convey the emotions of a fiery night when words spoken from the podium carry a lot of underlying meanings. One cannot even know the tone that was used. It could be “mai pah mata...” or it could very well be “mai...PAH MATA!” </div>
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Only those present at that historical moment can understand what Lim spoke ahout and what he wanted the people to do. If I were to read this historical document now, I would also wonder why I was so angry then. UNLESS you read through the entire document, you will find how words were played with sparks and could possibly set off fire. </div>
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And I quote Lim Chin Siong:</div>
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<i><br />“(let's) quickly unite together for tonight there is a possibility that something big will happen. But, dear brothers and sisters, if any of our sons are assaulted we will not tolerate it.” <br /><br />“We must also use method to get rid of this oppressive Government and to attain our final objective..We must take certain action to retaliate against their oppressive action.” <br /><br />“Mayday is the workers' struggle for better living and to commemorate past events of bloodshed (believed to be referring to Hock Lee Bus riot). Workers must zealously celebrate and be united to fight to the end.” </i></div>
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As a historian, Thum is entitled to make his assessment. But even my lecturer constantly drilled me to question sources and not make simplistic prima facie assessments from one single historical source. </div>
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For example, CPM chief <a href="http://unravelling1987.blogspot.sg/2013/12/a-second-glance-united-front-were-no.html">Chin Peng </a>said in his memoirs that left-wing trade unions in Singapore were receiving instructions from the communists. The Plen, Fong Chong Pik, in his memoirs, said that he had a “special acquaintance” with Lim and had met him 3 times. In fact, it was the British Security Council assessment that also pinned Lim as a communist...so Chin Peng, The Plen and the Brits were all lying about the same thing?! So there were no communists, no riots, no bombings? Or all these just random acts of “public anger” also? </div>
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Now, for Thum to put the blame of the riot on “public anger” is perhaps somewhat disrespectful to those who there on that night. </div>
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Cuz Lim Chin Siong would never lay the blame on the people. </div>
Kampong Academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05258629830562854096noreply@blogger.com6