An open letter to PM Lee Hsien Loong

 lee_hsien_loong@pmo.gov.sg                28-9-2202

My dear honourable PM Lee Hsien Loong,

Is Singapore a democratic and egalitarian society? The answer may be an intriguing one with the government tongue-in-cheek.

I come from a very humble beginning and can manage a basic education. Tertiary education was meant for scholarship holders and scions of affluent families. I joined the Singapore Police Force in 1950 because it was a good career option for one with basic education. I joined with an open mind and conviction.

Singapore was under Emergency Regulation to combat communist armed struggle to seize power. The situation was extremely turbulent . I was posted to the Special Branch and was in the front line fighting the communists. We became prime targets for assassination by the communist killer squad . Lee Kuan Yew had already returned to Singapore and was a Cambridge-trained lawyer and up-an-coming barrister who was also a very ambitious politician. But he was handicapped in his mission in that he lacked a mass base. When Lim Chin Siong emerged out of nowhere to become the undisputed leader of the Communist United Front end of 1953/54 Lee Kuan Yew saw him as a godsend to ptovide a mass base for his political ambition. But he was later jolted out of his fantasy when he realised that Lim Chin Siong was an insurmountable obstacle to his ambition. He formed the PAP in 1954 to advance his political standing and ambition but the mass base was really with Lim Chin Siong. Lee Kuan Yew and his sturdy fellow combatants were simply no match to the communists with Lim Chin Siong showing his prowess of his leadership. It was the Special Branch with the imprimatur of the Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock who rescued Lee Kuan Yew and his fellow combatants from being devoured by the communists and paved the way for Lee Kuan Yew to capture power in a landslide victory in the 1959 general election and propelled him to the post of Prime Minister.

In 1961 the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tried to recruit me to be their agent  to supply them with sensitive security intelligence. I played along in an ambivalent role resulted in a crackdown on the CIA and the arrest of 4 CIA top officers. This had an earth-shattering effect which reverberated right up to the White House and rattled the American President John Kennedy and his coterie of ministers. Lee Kuan Yew exploited the situation to raise his world political standing to so such a dizzying height that he overawed the Americans. There was a demand of USD 30 millions but John Kennedy was no pushover and offered USD one million which Lee Kuan Yew considered as an insult to accept. Will PM Lee Hsien Loong or his gutsy ministers be able to emulate this patriotic performance?

I think it must have been a Divine blessing that George Bogaars became the Director of Special Branch. He was such a consummate outstanding Director inhis maintenance of national security that he mesmerised Lee Kuan Yew who relied on Bogaars heavily for his survival and existence.

When Lee Hsien Loong took over from the seat-warmer PM Goh Chok Tong, he was quite oblivious to the sacrifices made by civil servants like us to make it possible for him and his Cabinet stooges  to sit on their fat asses to enrich themselves with millions of people's money and wallow in the luxuries of their high office. When the president and vice-president of the Pensioners' Association approached them for a raise in their poverty-level pensions they were peremptorily dismissed with an inhuman admonition that we had served our purpose and what we received was enough and that they were waiting for us to die. No one who is a human being will say such an inhuman utterence. Lee Kuan Yew had defamed me with a blatant lie he delivered from the august Parliament House and tlecase to Singapore nd the world. No Singapore judge had the courage to convict him if he was sued. I requested Lee Hsien Loong to make a public apology for his father's sin  and he simply remained dumb like dummy.

This is the paradox of a comic opera. While Lee Hien Loong treats me with animosity I am making a modest contribution to the ISD. How valueable is my contribution PM Lee Hsien Loong caan esily get the ISD to apprise him if they  have not already done that. I am doing this because I think that God wants me to do and not take it with me to the grave.

I am living on borrowed time at 95 and would like to keep a low key while waiting to be called home to be with the Lord.

May God bless you.       Yoong Siew Wah

A random thought on the Taiwan issue

There seems to be considerable misconception and  hysteria over the Taiwan issue. May I offer a humble view of the explosive controversy from a dispassionate aspect. China is really highly belligerent over the visit of US  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan which it described as fomenting its independence which China claims as its territory.  Is this not some kind of illusion that China is obsessed with? Taiwan and its President Tsai Ing-wen do not need any instigation from US top officials or any country to determine their destiny. They have already made up their mind to defend their sovereignty. Pelosi was not the first top US official to visit Taiwan and was indeed a world class herione to be so courageous to make the visit in defiance of colossal military threats from China. And it was to all intents and purposes and purposes a goodwill visit to pay respect to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and to give a derserving lift to the morale of the Taiwan people. The encompassing military drills above and around Taiwan by China to pulverise Taiwan had a limited effect but showed the less amiable persona of China. World opinion seeemed to look askance at the Chinese aggressive behaviour.

Whether Taiwan is China's territory is a moot question. The island was captured by the Qing Dynasty from the Dutch in the seventeenth century. KMT Chiang Kai Shek lost the civil war to the Chinese Communists in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan where it ruled the people with democracy and freedom. It is now ruled by the Democratic Progressive Party under President Tsai  Ing-wen with the same democracy and freedom. China Communist Party had never stepped foot on nor ruled Taiwan. It should not have surprised  Xi Jinping that Taiwan wants to continue to rule itself independently. They have been so inured in their livelihood under a democratically free political system that it is likely that they will defend it with their lives.

China has vowed they it will reunify Taiwan by force if it becomes necessary. Taiwan has modern and up-to-date Army, Navy and Air Force with Taiwanese soldiers who do not appear to lack bravery and patriotism to stand up to the People's Liberation Army, especially with US military support. This will  likely deteriorate into a protracted civil war and how long China will be able to sustain is a pertinent question. There seems to be talk that China has a very tight war budget which they are keeping from public knowledge for fear of internal revolt.

What will be the eventual outcome is anybody's guess. Democracy or autocracy? God may take a hand in the matter and the right of the Taiwanese people to determine their own destiny may be  deciding factor.