TR EMERITUS

By Aung Zaw from The Irrawaddy The court’s decision to extend the imprisonment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was received with a chorus of condemnation from the international community and governments around the region and beyond. While the Philippines government called the sentence “incomprehensible” and “deplorable,” the European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma called the military generals “the real criminals.”  However, despite all the disappointment and shock that was expressed, it can be no secret that Tuesday’s verdict was a decision that was made by the junta long ago. Snr-Gen Than Shwe made up his mind as far back as the 1990s to keep his perceived nemesis, Suu Kyi, under house arrest for as long as he could get away with it. The general had no doubt prepared for condemnation from abroad. He anticipated it and decided to use the occasion to act arrogantly while speaking magnanimously. Than Shwe knows only too well how to manipulate the opinion of his friends and foes. He has done it before. Now he can again pat himself on the back when he sees how the international community is divided and has misread the mixed signals of his verdict. Most predictable of all is China, Than Shwe’s most pragmatic ally. In reaction to the regime's decision to prolong Suu Kyi's house arrest, China on Wednesday urged the international community to respect the decision.  “The international community should fully respect Myanmar's judicial sovereignty,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. Indeed, as long as the Burmese military regime sells gas and allows the Chinese to extract Burma’s natural resources while providing them a strategic interest in the Bay of Bengal, China won’t hesitate in backing one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Meanwhile, at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday, China successfully drew a halt to an emergency meeting on Burma by refusing to accept the draft proposal of the US government condemning the Burmese junta’s decision. Russia backed China and, although the meeting was postponed until Wednesday, the Security Council was once again rendered ineffective against the regime. Of course, US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon all issued statements deploring the Rangoon court’s decision. But Than Shwe won’t be alarmed when he reads the statements from the US and its allies. He would not have expected anything less. British premier Brown said, “Now comes our greatest test. In the face of this arrogance, we cannot stand by and effectively sanction the abhorrent actions of a violent and repressive junta—but show them that the international community is united and coordinated in its response.” Brown is correct in pointing out that this is the West’s greatest test with regard to Burma. However, his calls for international unity and an effective arms embargo are political mountains that his government does not look capable of scaling. Nonetheless, we say “Good luck, Mr Brown!” We hope you can bring down the regime in the process. In the region, the reaction to the verdict was unsurprisingly mixed. Thailand, as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), expressed its “disappointment” over the court ruling. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia also condemned the verdict, but Singapore, haven of the Than Shwe family and shopping hub for generals’ wives and cronies, took a somewhat hypocritical stance. The Singaporean foreign ministry expressed “disappointment” at the guilty verdict, but said it was “happy that the Myanmar government has exercised its sovereign prerogative to grant amnesty by halving her [Suu Kyi’s] sentence and that she will be placed under house arrest rather than imprisoned.” The island state actually praised the regime for being lenient with Suu Kyi as opposed to decrying the bizarre trial and entire charade in the first place. As though allowing her to read state newspapers and have access to paper when she needs it is compensation for a woman who has given her life for democracy and justice. Is it too much trouble for Singapore’s leaders to remember back to the killing of monks and activists on the streets of Rangoon in September 2007? The only political concession Than Shwe has made since then was to cleverly create a new post for labor minister Aung Kyi, making him “minister for relations” to the detained NLD leader. Was it really wishful thinking at the UN and among foreign experts that the regime was moving in the right direction? After all, such a statement from an authoritarian state like Singapore is a sure sign that Asean is sending a mixed message to the regime. Let’s face it ... Than Shwe has been vindicated again. He has managed to trump up a case against Suu Kyi, convict her, keep her locked up and silence her.   And that is all he ever wanted in the first place. Source: The Irrawaddy    Read More →

From our Correspondent The Young Democrats, the Youth Wing of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), has elected Mr Priveen Suraj as its President during a meeting last week. Mr Priveen Suraj is currently serving his remaining few months in the National Service and will pursue a law degree after he finishes his army stint. He joined the SDP when he was still a junior college student. "I am proud to serve as president of the Young Democrats," he said. "We are a motivated group of Singaporeans who will be actively reaching out to our fellow youths to get them interested in politics and involved with the SDP." The Vice-President position goes to Mr Jufri Salim. The Honorary Secretary's post was taken up by Mr Jarrod Luo, a biomedical science and microbiology graduate from Australia's University of Queensland. The SDP has seen its share of votes declined steadily since the 1991 general elections when they won three seats under its previous secretary-general Chiam See Tong.  It won only 23% of the valid votes during the last election, the worst performance amongst the opposition parties. A series of defamation lawsuits launched against SDP's CEC by MM Lee Kuan Yew in 2006 over an article in its newsletter almost crippled the party. Political observers have earlier dismissed SDP as a spent force with its key leaders bankrupted and barred for contesting future elections. Nevertheless, the SDP has showned remarkable resilience not only in staying afloat, but increasing its reach out to the young net-savvy Singaporeans. Its website is updated almost daily and has the heaviest traffic amongst the political party websites in Singapore. In spite of being shunned by the establishment, mainstream media and fellow opposition politicians, the SDP has seen a rise in its membership including that of its Youth Wing. The SDP was accused of practising "hooligan politics" by the ruling party which used the state-controlled media to demolish SDP leaders as "radicals" to the extent of casting aspersions on the sanity of its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan. Straits Times senior correspondent Chua Lee Hoong, who was reputed to be an ex-ISD agent, once described Chee as being inflicted with a "narcissistic personality disorder" despite the fact that the condition can only be diagnosed by a qualified psychiatrist and even then, after a thorough mental state examination. The entry of young professionals like Priveen and Jarrod bodes well for the future of SDP and the opposition in Singapore. The Reform Party, founded last year by the late J.B. Jeyaretnam has also managed to recruit a few well-qualified candidates in recent months. A well informed electorate is crucial to bring about much needed political reforms in Singapore which has been governed with an iron fist by the ruling party for the last five decades.  Read More →

From our Correspondent The online debate between Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo and opposition politician Dr Chee Soon Juan rages on in Facebook. As to Dr Chee's queries on Temasek's performance, George Yeo replied: "As for Temasek, it has done well against the market which was fully explained in Parliament complete with stats. Ho Ching wanted to step down but unfortunately the succession did not work out. So I suppose Temasek will have to go head hunting again." George Yeo is simply regurgitating the official reply from the Ministry of Finance which was widely publicized by the state media. The statistics provided by the Finance Minister Tharman did not include the amount of funds Temasek had received from his ministry or the exact figure of the losses incurred from the purchase and subsequent sale of Shin Corp, ABC Learning, BOA and Barclays. Yeo also claimed that the government has many programmes to help the poor and needy in Singapore: "About the Singaporeans who don't earn enough, there are many programmes to help them. As an MP, I address their needs directly. In additional to government assistance, we raise additional funds from private sources and I must say that Singaporeans are generous.", he wrote. Yeo was evasive about the direct questions posed by Chee such as whether he felt he deserved his million-dollar annual salary and the non-transparent modus operandi of Temasek and the controversial departure of its CEO-designated Chip Goodyear. When Chee posted an invitation on Yeo's facebook for a debate on "issues affecting Singaporeans", not many expect Yeo will accept the invitation. The PAP leaders have often shunned from debating with their political opponents, preferring to use the government-controlled media to advocate their stance on policy matters. Though Yeo has been quite disappointing in his carefully drafted replies to Chee, it is a positive development in Singapore's conservative, if not dour political landscape. Civic participation will increase if there are more open exchanges of opinions between politicians from both sides of the political divide. Hopefully, Yeo will not stop at his facebook and encourage his colleagues to embrace the internet to engage netizens too.   Related article: >> Chee Soon Juan invites George Yeo to online debate  Read More →