Whoever having a sensitive feel of Singapore's political temperature will tell you that the anti-establishments had hit the forbidden column in a structural sense when the organizers of #ReturnOurCPF protest went overboard by massing and shouting in front of a stage when a group of children were performing. The details surrounding the two events that were held at Hong Lim Park on a Saturday of September were highly controversial, but what may cause the anti-establishments to burn their whole game away was that these kids were no ordinary kids. They were less than ordinary having born with mental and physical capacities that are so much lower than others. This put the gang of anti-establishments including Singapore Democratic Party chief Dr Chee Soon Juan on damage control mode. Why did Dr Chee came to their defense while certain Workers Party politicians outwardly criticized the actions is better left to one's imagination. It is also curious that key politicians over at the Workers Party like Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim, and the rest of the elected MPs kept their silence so far.
An uncut video chronicled the event that took place on that day clearly showed that the organizers of #ReturnOurCPF protest were indeed deliberately creating a fracas inside the venue where a charity event was simultaneously held by YMCA. One needs to know that each event had their designated perimeters, thus the protesters committed their first breach by encroaching into the designated premises not meant for them.
What relationship exist between Dr Chee and the organizers Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui is not disclosed, but another person who has been seen alongside the two, one named Ariffin Shah who is known for being administrator of Facebook Page : Wake Up, Singapore is a member of the Singapore Democratic Party that Dr Chee heads.
Opening his defense for the two published on The Online Citizens Dr Chee was very much concerned about the acrimony emanated by the ugly scene created. He has urged readers to focus on lessons one can learn out of it rather than lingering around the bitterness created.
His first lesson is : Roy and Hui Hui should offer an apology to the children and parents present and were affected by the disturbances. He mentioned that Roy had asked to meet the children and parents, to apologise to them and this is the right thing to do. He also added that his meeting with Roy gave him the impression that Roy is a thoughtful person and that no one should believe that he had intentionally targeted the poor under-privileged kids.
Isn't that quite a first lesson to learn? When you wronged someone--apologize. that's the right thing to do. That is a sure way of showing remorse. But how do you show remorse that those being wronged can accept and forgive? By asking to meet all the parents to bring their children to meet you so that you can apologize to them is by no means an acceptable way of showing remorse.
Let me tell you why. Those kids were traumatized by what they saw and heard when this group of angry people gesturing and shouting and moving towards them while they were performing on stage. They registered that frightening scene much like how they had watched a horror movie. Now you want to appear before them again. Isn't a one time trauma not enough for the kids, and you want to do that again one more time?
Next. Dr Chee was impressed by a very thoughtful Roy he met and he urged his believers and the public to disbelieve any accusation against Roy that he had intentionally planned the public disturbance.
Now either Dr Chee has erred in his reading of Roy's personality or simply thoughtfulness has nothing to do with deliberate mischief. Roy demonstrated no thoughtfulness at all when he asked to meet the affected parents and children. Had he been thoughtful, he would not have requested to meet the poor children that will surely give them another session of horrifying experience.
Yes I have learned my lesson well, indeed. Going by Dr Chee's further assertion in the same article that labeling the protest organizers "immature", "inexcusable", "attention seekers" is unhelpful, he certainly thinks that the civil disturbance caused by the protesters and their leaders is something society should gracefully accept. Thus Dr Chee's defense is that the public failed to understand that such disturbances is necessary, and the apology is to be strategic rather than sincere.
I have also learned by chance that Dr Chee and his fellow "civil societies" community will continue to create disturbances till they meet their goal, whatever that might be and we as members of the public must tolerate such nonsensical disturbances as part of greater good for the nation.
I'm afraid, very afraid that if we buy into Dr Chee's argument or excuses, we will never see the peace we are so used to. Let me explain. They believe democracy is about giving "every citizen" equal rights and access to decision making, but that is not realizable nor practical at all. No two persons can agree on everything, what more when 3 million people exerts their rights all the time. Every now and then we will have different groups of people challenging each other, occupying public premises and causing a standstill to normal civil functions.
Protest can never be the way to solve problems. It can only escalate adversary and enmity. Dr Chee has always been promoting civil civil disobedience in his writings, and he believed this is basic human rights.
I don't wish to see such a day arriving, but if it did i would have probably been transformed into a beast with unrestrained violent instinct.
