Taken from Temasek Review:
“I’m staying, I’m fully invested,” the Straits Times’ headline screamed. The quote is from PAP newbie Janil Puthucheary.
But wait. Rewind. Lets play that tape again.
Janil Puthucheary (which I shall address as JP from now on) is the elder son of Dominic Puthucheary, 77, founding member of the PAP, and the Barisan Socialis. The elder Puthucheary was jailed under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) for 10 months in February 1963 under Operation Coldstore. He was one of the suspected leftists at that time.
Dominic Puthucheary was never tried or given his day in court.
When asked what he thought of the incarceration of his father, JP – quite stunningly – said:
“It was something that… happened in the long history that we were told about.”
Told about? It is puzzling why he said this considering that it was HIS FATHER who went through it. He is not an outsider who didn’t have access to information about what happened to his own father.
And then he added:
“It wasn’t something that we lived with or we knew of ourselves.”
HUH? He didn’t know about what happened? Stunning indeed. Is he an ignorant fool?
JP also said, when asked if he was angry about what had happened to his father:
“No, not at all. Certainly my father never expressed any anger or rancour so I could not express any anger for that.”
Hmm.. he can only be angry if the other party is angry. Otherwise, best to wipe the dust off his butt and make like nothing’s wrong.
Quite a sad answer to hear.
JP, gathering from what the ST reported, spent most of his life overseas – in London, Belfast and Sydney, “before settling here in 2001.”
His father presently lives in Malaysia. He was banned from entering Singapore until 1990.
And JP, through all of this, apparently slept through it all.
Can’t be bothered, is the phrase.
The Today newspaper reported:
“Asked for his views on the ISA, Dr Puthucheary said the way the law has been used and the potential for its use after the 911 terror attacks is “very different” now. And while he could discuss the philosophic aspects of the law, “the philosophy is not as important as the pragmatic implications for our state”, he added.”
In other words, please throw principles out the window.
Principles such as rule of law, right to counsel, fair hearing in open court. Burden of proof. And so on.
Throw them out for “pragmatic implications” – a euphemistic phrase which could be decoded as “abuse of power is ok”.
And the good ole JP says:
“I’m staying, I’m fully invested.”
How can you be when you do not even care about what happened to your own father?
Worse, how can you care when you feel that what happened to your own father is alright?
To me, this fella will sell his soul to the devil – even his own blood relations – for “pragmatic implications.”
And oh, the fella also said:
“The question is who is going to be prepared to stay and fight and make this country what it will be, what it can be.”
And his punchline:
“I am that person.”
“I’m staying, fighting, I’m fully invested.”
Empty words from someone who hasn’t served a single minute of National Service, unlike those of us Singaporean men who give years to the service.
Nah, this fella won’t get my vote.
I will never vote for a person who doesn’t even care about the sufferings his own father went through.
.
“I’m staying, I’m fully invested,” the Straits Times’ headline screamed. The quote is from PAP newbie Janil Puthucheary.
But wait. Rewind. Lets play that tape again.
Janil Puthucheary (which I shall address as JP from now on) is the elder son of Dominic Puthucheary, 77, founding member of the PAP, and the Barisan Socialis. The elder Puthucheary was jailed under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) for 10 months in February 1963 under Operation Coldstore. He was one of the suspected leftists at that time.
Dominic Puthucheary was never tried or given his day in court.
When asked what he thought of the incarceration of his father, JP – quite stunningly – said:
“It was something that… happened in the long history that we were told about.”
Told about? It is puzzling why he said this considering that it was HIS FATHER who went through it. He is not an outsider who didn’t have access to information about what happened to his own father.
And then he added:
“It wasn’t something that we lived with or we knew of ourselves.”
HUH? He didn’t know about what happened? Stunning indeed. Is he an ignorant fool?
JP also said, when asked if he was angry about what had happened to his father:
“No, not at all. Certainly my father never expressed any anger or rancour so I could not express any anger for that.”
Hmm.. he can only be angry if the other party is angry. Otherwise, best to wipe the dust off his butt and make like nothing’s wrong.
Quite a sad answer to hear.
JP, gathering from what the ST reported, spent most of his life overseas – in London, Belfast and Sydney, “before settling here in 2001.”
His father presently lives in Malaysia. He was banned from entering Singapore until 1990.
And JP, through all of this, apparently slept through it all.
Can’t be bothered, is the phrase.
The Today newspaper reported:
“Asked for his views on the ISA, Dr Puthucheary said the way the law has been used and the potential for its use after the 911 terror attacks is “very different” now. And while he could discuss the philosophic aspects of the law, “the philosophy is not as important as the pragmatic implications for our state”, he added.”
In other words, please throw principles out the window.
Principles such as rule of law, right to counsel, fair hearing in open court. Burden of proof. And so on.
Throw them out for “pragmatic implications” – a euphemistic phrase which could be decoded as “abuse of power is ok”.
And the good ole JP says:
“I’m staying, I’m fully invested.”
How can you be when you do not even care about what happened to your own father?
Worse, how can you care when you feel that what happened to your own father is alright?
To me, this fella will sell his soul to the devil – even his own blood relations – for “pragmatic implications.”
And oh, the fella also said:
“The question is who is going to be prepared to stay and fight and make this country what it will be, what it can be.”
And his punchline:
“I am that person.”
“I’m staying, fighting, I’m fully invested.”
Empty words from someone who hasn’t served a single minute of National Service, unlike those of us Singaporean men who give years to the service.
Nah, this fella won’t get my vote.
I will never vote for a person who doesn’t even care about the sufferings his own father went through.
.
:oIo:
