Reading The Riot Act

Reading The Riot Act

Speaking in opposition to the new Public Order Bill, Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim, a former police officer, minced no words when she told parliament:” …. to say that 1 person constitutes an assembly is certainly an abuse of the word“. The change in definition of “assembly” and “procession” in the Explanatory Statement to the Bill says these words are no longer restricted to gatherings of 5 persons or more. This means even ONE person alone can constitute illegal assembly, thus giving the State complete control over an individual citizen’s freedoms.

In Singapore, an individual’s right to freedom of expression and assembly is enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution, under Part IV entitled Fundamental Liberties. “Has this Public Order Bill crossed the line, asking Singaporeans to give up too much vis-à-vis the State?” Sylvia Lim asked.

While the authorities try to justify this draculian rape of civil liberties with the media frenzy covering the recent events at London’s G20 meeting and Thaksin instigated violence in Thailand, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng was less coy about his true intentions. Speaking at the Internal Security Department (ISD) promotion ceremony, Wong said, “In Singapore, it is only a tiny group of irresponsible and selfish individuals who have been pushing the line of civil disobedience.” Flexing muscles which did not seemed to be diminished by the comic escape of former Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat Kastari, Wong issued a stern warning to the “protestors and anarchists”, promising that his version of Brownshirts will come down hard on them.

In retrospect, everything is going to plan if you recall what Lee Kuan Yew said, as an opposition PAP member speaking to then Chief Minister David Marshall (Singapore Legislative Assembly, Debates, 4 October 1956):
“Repression, Sir is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love - it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. All you have to do is to dissolve organizations and societies and banish and detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil on the surface. Then an intimidated press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if these things are referred to again they’re conveniently distorted and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict.”

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