The Online Citizen, 21 Sep 2008
"Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) can probably claim to have gone one better - having such rank methods actually cloaked as reason for the public. In its approach to politics, the PAP government has longed tried to varnish its strong-armed tactics and intolerant attitude towards perceived dissent with a sweet-scented coat of seemingly well-reasoned legal arguments. This is not about politics, the government would intone - whether on the libel suits against Opposition figures, the curtailment of the right to appeal to the Privy Council or the prosecutions for illegal assembly - it’s about respecting the rule of law and protecting the public’s greater good.
Often this involves selectively applying the strict letter of the law even to the extent of disregarding the spirit of those statutes. Three recent cases show up how far the government is prepared to take its rather sanctimonious methods."
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