Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Pot Calling Kettle Black

Mainstream media Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报) obviously wrote its editorial ”Say no to smear politics” (向抹黑政治说不) to join in the Government’s chorus of slamming netizens’ critique of their  nubile poster child. There's a narrative in Francis Seow's "To Catch A Tartar: A Dissident In Lee Kuan Yew's Prison" that gives you a perspective of what's game in their brand of politics.

The Law Society was attacked in 1986 by the government for acting as a political pressure group. During televised Select Committee hearings on the Legal Professions  (Amendment) bill, Lee Kuan Yew tried to browbeat two petite, bright eyed and idealistic members of the Special Assignments (Civil Legislation) Subcommittee. But Misses Teo Soh Lung and Tang Fong Har stood their ground. They bested him. Lee would not forget this perceived lèse majesté, for which both ladies were to be arrested 8 months later, falsely labelled as Marxists, subjected to physical indignities in the notorious Whitley Detention Centre and dragged in front of prime time TV cameras for a forced "confession and contrition".

Even after the hearings were abruptly ended, Lee twisted the dagger with relish in a Parliament speech  that was redolent of conspiracies and enemies of his paranoiac psyche,

"When I met the young lady, Miss Teo Soh Lung, and the other young lady, Tang Fong Har, all they needed were two pig-tails, and we go back to the 1950s, 1960s, because they've got determination, they want to change the world."  (Francis Seow, "To Catch A Tartar", page 66)

The allusion to the hairstyle of the radical Chinese educated school girls of Singapore's tempestuous years was downright dastardly, a wicked slur. It was so typical of him to underscore his methods with his favorite Chinese adage, shā jī xià hóu (杀鸡吓猴) - slaughter the chicken to frighten the monkey.

Now what exactly was it that traumatised the 27 year old darling of the PAP?

6 comments:

  1. 黑的 讲 成 白 的 which is what PAP are great at anyway.
    OTOH, don't worry about the princess. LAst I checked, she was a psychology major. She can self-prescribe some prozac, opt for more kate-spade retail therapy, and soon she will be back on her stomping feet. These days, she has alot to say on the twitterverse despite "don't know what to say" on tv camera about policies.

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  2. If I remember correctly, he also decreed that many mandarin-speaking Nantah graduates were leftists and that was reason why he had to close down Nantah University. To many, this is probably one of his most unforgivable mistakes that he has made.

    Now looking back in hindsight, it seems clear that it was just another mere excuse. Who would have ever imagine that the greatest enemy of the communists is now one of the best friends to Communist China ?

    No wonder people say money can make the world turns round ?

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  3. With WP's star candidate CSM coming up, I wonder if PAP is going to work the same "communist" tricks on this potential real threat? Afterall he was borned in Taiwan, became Singaporean and served NS, went on to US and now largely successful in HK/China region. Gosh..Lao Lee is peeing in his pants. He's just made an incognito trip to taiwan to get some dirt now. http://leewatch.info/ Let's see if this one will end up like Tang Liang How or Francis Seow.

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  4. Operation spectrum was a dark episode in our nation's history. The ruling party has never been held to account for what happened. It will only be a matter of time before the issues are brought to light. The major players are still alive and they are beginning to tell their side of the story.

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  5. the following versions of "Pot calling the kettle black" also best describe PAP and PAP contolled media.

    Indonesian: Maling teriak rampok, "the Thief shouting robber"

    Portugese: O sujo falando do mal lavado, "the Dirty is talking about the half clean"

    while i am inclined to believe Lee Con You is digging for dirt on CSM from WP, i also have the hunch he is making contingency plans to use Taiwan as an exit strategy for himself and familee.

    ps: update from BBC, Gadaffi is looking for an exit. so by Yaacob's logic of once in 50 years, it is about time for dirty Harry Lee.

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  6. Can the fault be his men in the ISD? Is Lee trying to protect the group that has served him well? Or it is easier for him to face the fault rather then to point finger at the ISD? I think the answer will never be review.

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