12 Nov 2005

No one should dictate Singapore's laws: forum letter to ST

This is a forum letter to the ST, in response to the "Laws shouldn't be too far off global standards" letter.

I CANNOT help but strongly disagree with all the points brought up in the letter, 'Laws shouldn't be too far off global standards' (ST, Nov 3).

What the writer and the United Nations official who criticised Singapore for its tough drug laws fail to understand is that the situation in no two countries is the same and it is thus ludicrous to require all countries to comply with 'international standards'.

Every government must take the steps most appropriate to address the different security needs of their country.

Singapore is a country with a small land mass and high population density, and it takes little to imagine the havoc that would be wreaked on our society if drugs like heroin were to be smuggled into and sold widely in Singapore.

Such a possibility calls for tough measures to prevent drugs from ever becoming a social menace, like it has in other developed countries.

Furthermore, if the drug trade is so lucrative that even the death sentence cannot deter smugglers, as the writer seems to assert, then what purpose would a mere 15 years' imprisonment serve, other than to give the offender another opportunity to pick up where he left off once he is released?

Singapore is a developed country in its own right and the Government is given the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of every citizen as far as it possibly can.

No other entity holds any right to dictate what the laws of our country should be. To this end, I applaud the Government for daring to take the necessary steps in performing its duty and protecting our homeland, and risk the derision of both those who would call our laws 'barbaric' or 'authoritarian', and inter- national observers who have no understanding of the internal situation in Singapore.

Tim Mou Hui

No one should dictate Singapore's laws - Nov 12, 2005

I disagree very much this letter, for it is a repetition of what the government has been saying for the past 40 years: Singapore is a small country, we do whatever we can to safeguard security.

For one, the author is presuming that every government knows what is best for its country, cares about human rights, and has formulated the best plan possible to accodomate security and freedom. This is not the case in Singapore. Also, if no external forces should be allowed to critique how a country is run, presuming that "gahmen knows best", are we to condone the oppressive regime in North Korea?

No one IS "dictating" Singapore laws, except the government. They are not given the power to do so. One can only stand back and give constructive criticism, and let it fall on deaf ears. So what is he complaining about?

International observers? What about the number of opposition party members who are decidedly Singaporean, but say the same about Singapore laws as the foreigners have?


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8 comments:

Beach-yi said...

Well, I guess people tend to forget that there can be such a thing as fair comments.

Relativism is a easy thing to hide behind the justification of actions and flawed reasoning. And before you know it, the whole Asian and Western (non)debate will come tumbling out again.

Anonymous said...

wrt to your survey. What do you mean "pro death penalty for all crimes"? Do you mean both murder and drug trafficking, or all crimes as in stealing, arson, etc?

Jon said...

In this discussion, "all crimes" refers to all crimes currently punishable by death. Primarily drug trafficking and murder.

Unknown said...

This post is well said and to the point I like your writting and agree with what you have said.

Anonymous said...

The incumbent govt routinely labels its critics and dissidents as having hidden agenda, the same could be said of those that openly laud and praise the incumbent. They too have hidden agenda, that is self-profiting but ultimately harmful to the country in the long run. So who is the patriot?

Anonymous said...

in most cases it seems the government does know best.. if only we could see where we would be now if it wasn't for the foresight of our political leaders.

pleinelune said...

No one is disputing that the government HAS done a good job in bringing Singapore to where it is today. BUT, it can do a BETTER job, because times have changed. That is the central message that all "dissidents" have brought across.

Anonymous said...

Human rights take precedent over sovereignty, full stop.