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AGC warns against public or online comments on Thaipusam incident
- Thread starter Leepotism
- Start date
The only thing upright is the stiff cock sensation being experienced by the Court Judges each time they grant a lawsuit victory for the Pappies against the dissidents of the Govt..
AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
Dear brothers and sisters,
AGC must explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay case!
why citizens cannot comment on Thaipusam?
why people are allowed to comment on Ng Boon Gay case before he was officially charged and during the trial?
Why there are two set of rules applied on Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay case?
you cannot comment on Thaipusam but Wanbao and TNP can write all kinds of funny story about Ng Boon Gay before the trial and during the trial?
why why why?
WONG MENG MENG SC please fucking come here and comment!!!!
Dear brothers and sisters,
AGC must explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay case!
why citizens cannot comment on Thaipusam?
why people are allowed to comment on Ng Boon Gay case before he was officially charged and during the trial?
Why there are two set of rules applied on Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay case?
you cannot comment on Thaipusam but Wanbao and TNP can write all kinds of funny story about Ng Boon Gay before the trial and during the trial?
why why why?
WONG MENG MENG SC please fucking come here and comment!!!!
Hello, can you losers stop making fun of me. I have sold my soul for riches and already cannot tahan the guilt. Everyday you useless Oppo supporters say kangaroo this and kangaroo that. Of course it is true but money is even more REAL.
[video=youtube;YGhQP9r9ibM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGhQP9r9ibM[/video]
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
When come to religion and race issues... We need to be more sensitive... These issues may cause riots... We forget about race riots many years ago??? If PAP tell you that, you will say they use threaten on scare tactics...
As for Ng Boon Gay is about corruption and sex... You can comment until the cow come home...
When come to religion and race issues... We need to be more sensitive... These issues may cause riots... We forget about race riots many years ago??? If PAP tell you that, you will say they use threaten on scare tactics...
As for Ng Boon Gay is about corruption and sex... You can comment until the cow come home...
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
Ah Meng reporting...but I am not Wong Meng Meng.
Ah Meng reporting...but I am not Wong Meng Meng.
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
AHMENG, please ask your master WONG MENG MENG to come!!!
Ah Meng reporting...but I am not Wong Meng Meng.
AHMENG, please ask your master WONG MENG MENG to come!!!
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
I have many Masters, but none of them is a Wong or a Meng.
I have many Masters, but none of them is a Wong or a Meng.
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
[video=youtube;5RSQzt1R0ZM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RSQzt1R0ZM[/video]
[video=youtube;5RSQzt1R0ZM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RSQzt1R0ZM[/video]
What about SGC ?
Sub-judice applies to ALL criminal proceedings which are pending, including Ng Boon Gay, Tey What His Name and SCDF teeko Chief. AGC cannot act siao on for some cases and bo chap for others, obviously on the orders of its political master.
Can go straight to 1:32 to see char bo judge ticking off the South African media and threatening to charge them with contempt of court. Sinkie AGs (with the exception of Walter Fatso) worst that farking gu-niangs.
[video=youtube;yV360oqPYoE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV360oqPYoE[/video]
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
When I have a comment to make I will make it. No need to harass me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV360oqPYoE
[video=youtube;_wOUMd3bMRI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wOUMd3bMRI[/video]
When I have a comment to make I will make it. No need to harass me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV360oqPYoE
[video=youtube;_wOUMd3bMRI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wOUMd3bMRI[/video]
Re: AGC Must Explain Thaipusam and Ng Boon Gay Case
contempt of court? prejury? you say leh...
“Yong Vui Kong is young. But if we say ‘We let you go’, what is the signal we are sending?”
With these words on 9 May 2010, Law Minister Mr K. Shanmugam tread where no right-minded Singapore politician ought to have gone – commenting and therefore potentially prejudicing an appeal before it had been decided in court. The effect of his remarks has even lead some voices to opine that the Minister could have been cited for contempt of court.
On 14 May 2010, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Justice Andrew Phang and Justice V K Rajah ruled that Yong’s lawyer M. Ravi had failed to prove that the mandatory death penalty for certain drug offences was unconstitutional, and duly dismissed Yong’s appeal.
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2010/05/prejudicing-a-fair-trial-the-yong-vui-kong-case/
and who say cannot get away scott free.... alrdy got example.
contempt of court? prejury? you say leh...
“Yong Vui Kong is young. But if we say ‘We let you go’, what is the signal we are sending?”
With these words on 9 May 2010, Law Minister Mr K. Shanmugam tread where no right-minded Singapore politician ought to have gone – commenting and therefore potentially prejudicing an appeal before it had been decided in court. The effect of his remarks has even lead some voices to opine that the Minister could have been cited for contempt of court.
On 14 May 2010, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, Justice Andrew Phang and Justice V K Rajah ruled that Yong’s lawyer M. Ravi had failed to prove that the mandatory death penalty for certain drug offences was unconstitutional, and duly dismissed Yong’s appeal.
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2010/05/prejudicing-a-fair-trial-the-yong-vui-kong-case/
and who say cannot get away scott free.... alrdy got example.
BREAKING NEWS - Shanmugam and HEB doing a U-Turn on Thaipusam!!!!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/shanmugam-on-thaipusam/1650986.html
Calls for musical accompaniment at the Thaipusam festival should be looked into, said Minister for Law K Shanmugam, speaking at the recording of MediaCorp's Tamil current affairs programme Ethiroli.
"We should find out the wishes of the people. The Hindu Endowments Board will see how we can fulfil their wishes. They have to consult the people and see how to proceed," said Mr Shanmugam.
Excerpts from the interview, which will be aired on Wednesday at Feb 11, 9pm on Vasantham.
Foot processions have been banned since 1964, following riots. But the Hindu festivals Thaipusam, Panguni Uthiram and Firewalking have been exempted from this ban. Can you explain this?
Following the racial riots in 1964, it was thought that there should be no religious foot processions in a multi-racial, multi-religious society like ours. Hence a law was enacted to ban all religious foot processions.
However, Hindus were given an exemption, and since 1964 the government has allowed street processions during three Hindu festivals - Thaipusam, Thimithi and Panguni Uthiram.
Others have asked for similar permission for processions. The Catholics have asked. The Chinese have asked. We've received applications asking permission for processions during Prophet Mohammed's birthday. The Government, the police have rejected these applications citing the ban. Only Hindus have been given permission.
At the same time, it's fair that everyone expects the Hindus to conduct these foot processions in an orderly manner. We should find out the wishes of the people. The Hindu Endowments Board will see how we can fulfil their wishes. They have to consult the people and see how to proceed. The police have to agree to this.
Musical instruments were allowed during Thaipusam several years ago. Why not now? Can this rule be relaxed?
The ban on playing music during processions was imposed 42 years ago in 1973. Sometimes there has been music. They may not have enforced the rule very strictly. In some years, they would have enforced it strictly. But the ban has been there since 1973.
Over the last few years there has been a gradual relaxation of the restrictions. The Hindu Endowments Board relaxed some of the restrictions within the temple premises. And outside the temple, the police also have been assisting in whatever ways they can.
At the same time it is true that many believe that our Kavadi bearers should have music accompaniment. So it's fair that many ask why music accompaniment is being banned. It's something that we have to look into.
These restrictions are in place because there are concerns that in a multi-racial society, the lack of restrictions may lead to problems. In fact these restrictions are a result of incidents in the past. If we are confident that they will not happen again, if we are able to assess it confidently, then we should say it. The Hindu Endowments Board should consult with the people. It should then discuss with police.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/shanmugam-on-thaipusam/1650986.html
Calls for musical accompaniment at the Thaipusam festival should be looked into, said Minister for Law K Shanmugam, speaking at the recording of MediaCorp's Tamil current affairs programme Ethiroli.
"We should find out the wishes of the people. The Hindu Endowments Board will see how we can fulfil their wishes. They have to consult the people and see how to proceed," said Mr Shanmugam.
Excerpts from the interview, which will be aired on Wednesday at Feb 11, 9pm on Vasantham.
Foot processions have been banned since 1964, following riots. But the Hindu festivals Thaipusam, Panguni Uthiram and Firewalking have been exempted from this ban. Can you explain this?
Following the racial riots in 1964, it was thought that there should be no religious foot processions in a multi-racial, multi-religious society like ours. Hence a law was enacted to ban all religious foot processions.
However, Hindus were given an exemption, and since 1964 the government has allowed street processions during three Hindu festivals - Thaipusam, Thimithi and Panguni Uthiram.
Others have asked for similar permission for processions. The Catholics have asked. The Chinese have asked. We've received applications asking permission for processions during Prophet Mohammed's birthday. The Government, the police have rejected these applications citing the ban. Only Hindus have been given permission.
At the same time, it's fair that everyone expects the Hindus to conduct these foot processions in an orderly manner. We should find out the wishes of the people. The Hindu Endowments Board will see how we can fulfil their wishes. They have to consult the people and see how to proceed. The police have to agree to this.
Musical instruments were allowed during Thaipusam several years ago. Why not now? Can this rule be relaxed?
The ban on playing music during processions was imposed 42 years ago in 1973. Sometimes there has been music. They may not have enforced the rule very strictly. In some years, they would have enforced it strictly. But the ban has been there since 1973.
Over the last few years there has been a gradual relaxation of the restrictions. The Hindu Endowments Board relaxed some of the restrictions within the temple premises. And outside the temple, the police also have been assisting in whatever ways they can.
At the same time it is true that many believe that our Kavadi bearers should have music accompaniment. So it's fair that many ask why music accompaniment is being banned. It's something that we have to look into.
These restrictions are in place because there are concerns that in a multi-racial society, the lack of restrictions may lead to problems. In fact these restrictions are a result of incidents in the past. If we are confident that they will not happen again, if we are able to assess it confidently, then we should say it. The Hindu Endowments Board should consult with the people. It should then discuss with police.
Re: BREAKING NEWS - Shanmugam and HEB doing a U-Turn on Thaipusam!!!!
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/02/can-we-have-our-holidays-back-now/
Can we have our holidays back now?
February 9, 2015 by Ariffin Sha in Commentaries · 54 Comments
By Ariffin Sha
There has been heightened public discourse on the reinstatement of Thaipusam as a Public Holiday in Singapore. An online petition to make Thaipusam a holiday has gathered more than 10,000 signatures within 24 hours.
There has even been an event organized at Hong Lim Park on 14 February to stand in solidarity with Indians and demand for Thaipusam to be gazetted as a religious public holiday under the Holidays Act.
There have been a handful of arguments which support this. One argument which is central to the aim of the petitioners is the disparity between the number of holidays for the major races of Singapore as outlined in the picture below.
T
he key argument for the PetitionIt is indeed a very convincing argument. If the strong show of support from Non-Indians for Thaipusam to be made a public holiday isn’t a hallmark of our much-vaunted Racial Harmony, then I don’t know what is.
The question then arises – How do we go about making Thaipusam a religious holiday?
If we want to convince the Government to gazette Thaipusam as a public holiday again, we will need to look back at why it abolished as one in the first place.
A picture postcard depicting a three day Thaipusam celebration in Singapore, January 1927. © National Archives, SingaporeThaipusam was a public holiday until 1968 where it was abolished under the Holidays (Amendment) Bill. The Bill aimed to reduce the number of public holidays in Singapore down to 11 per annum. In line with the aim of the Bill, the Government sought the views of the various religious communities in our society on the proposed reduction of public holidays. The Hindus, for example, were given the choice of having Deepavali or Thaipusam a public holiday, and they have chosen the former.
In the words of E.W Barker, the main object of the Bill was to contribute more to the “national well-being.”
Mr. P Govindaswamy, PAP Member of Parliament for Anson from 1963 to 1978. He was Chairman of the Hindu Advisory Board in 1970
In response to this proposal, Mr E. W. Barker, the then Minister for Law and National Development, said that “Like the Member himself, I myself would prefer Thaipusam to be a holiday!”
He then went on to add,
From 1968 till present day, in the words of of our first Prime Minister himself, we have gone from ‘Third World to First.’
From 1968 till 2013, our GDP has increased almost 300 times.Any reasonable and fair-minded person would be able to see that saying our Singapore has simply ‘prospered’ from 1968 till now would be a gross understatement. We as a nation, have definitely proven beyond any reasonable doubt, that we can work hard and that we do indeed deserve more holidays.
As Mr Barker said, when that time comes, there will be amendments to increase the number of holidays. But to date, we have not even heard the Government speak of increasing the number of holidays, let alone bills which aim to do so.
The time which Mr Barker spoke about is long overdue. The Nation has definitely prospered.
So, with reference to the words of Mr Barker, let us ask our Government, can we have our holidays back now?
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/02/can-we-have-our-holidays-back-now/
Can we have our holidays back now?
February 9, 2015 by Ariffin Sha in Commentaries · 54 Comments
By Ariffin Sha
There has been heightened public discourse on the reinstatement of Thaipusam as a Public Holiday in Singapore. An online petition to make Thaipusam a holiday has gathered more than 10,000 signatures within 24 hours.
There has even been an event organized at Hong Lim Park on 14 February to stand in solidarity with Indians and demand for Thaipusam to be gazetted as a religious public holiday under the Holidays Act.
There have been a handful of arguments which support this. One argument which is central to the aim of the petitioners is the disparity between the number of holidays for the major races of Singapore as outlined in the picture below.
The key argument for the PetitionIt is indeed a very convincing argument. If the strong show of support from Non-Indians for Thaipusam to be made a public holiday isn’t a hallmark of our much-vaunted Racial Harmony, then I don’t know what is.
The question then arises – How do we go about making Thaipusam a religious holiday?
If we want to convince the Government to gazette Thaipusam as a public holiday again, we will need to look back at why it abolished as one in the first place.
A picture postcard depicting a three day Thaipusam celebration in Singapore, January 1927. © National Archives, SingaporeThaipusam was a public holiday until 1968 where it was abolished under the Holidays (Amendment) Bill. The Bill aimed to reduce the number of public holidays in Singapore down to 11 per annum. In line with the aim of the Bill, the Government sought the views of the various religious communities in our society on the proposed reduction of public holidays. The Hindus, for example, were given the choice of having Deepavali or Thaipusam a public holiday, and they have chosen the former.
In the words of E.W Barker, the main object of the Bill was to contribute more to the “national well-being.”
The result of this Bill will bring us back to the less playful conditions which existed before we started to add on to our holidays as we had to please more and more religious and cultural groups in Singapore and Malaysia. I am sure I have the support of hon. Members. In common with all the measures that have been introduced in this House at this present sitting, the main object of this Bill is to contribute more towards the national well-being.
However, then Member for Anson, Mr P. Govindaswamy, proposed that the Government reconsidered the deletion of Thaipusam from the list of Holidays.
Mr. P Govindaswamy, PAP Member of Parliament for Anson from 1963 to 1978. He was Chairman of the Hindu Advisory Board in 1970
Thaipusam has been celebrated in Singapore since the later part of the nineteenth century and it has become an important religious celebration not only for the Hindus but also for the whole population. The kavadi procession is an attraction to everyone in Singapore, young and old. Moreover, it is a tourist attraction, as we all must have seen tourists following the procession and busily taking pictures. It will be a great disappointment both to the local people and to the tourists if the number of kavadi processions is reduced because Thaipusam is not a public holiday and, therefore, workers will not be able to take part in the processions. I therefore propose that Government, in order to encourage the tourist trade, should reconsider the deletion of this very popular public holiday.
Sir, whenever the Government reconsiders the question of public holidays, I hope Deepavali Holiday will not be abolished.
However, it is important to note that Mr Govindaswamy was of the opinion that the proposed holidays are reasonably distributed racially and religiously.Sir, whenever the Government reconsiders the question of public holidays, I hope Deepavali Holiday will not be abolished.
In response to this proposal, Mr E. W. Barker, the then Minister for Law and National Development, said that “Like the Member himself, I myself would prefer Thaipusam to be a holiday!”
He then went on to add,
Mr Speaker, Sir, suffice it to say that like other Members of the House, I myself would prefer more and more holidays. But as I pointed out earlier in my opening speech, in view of the British withdrawal – I hope perhaps with no severe unemployment or economic problems following in its wake – this is one of the measures we are taking to ask our people to work harder – which means you, me and everybody else.
I ask Members to bear with me. If our island prospers, I am sure the Government will ask me to come back here and on that day it will be my pleasure to move amendments to increase the number of holidays. But let us first show that we can work hard and that we deserve more holidays.
In other words, Mr Barker said that the Government would increase the number of Holidays if the nation prospers. These words were uttered in Parliament House on 1 August 1968.I ask Members to bear with me. If our island prospers, I am sure the Government will ask me to come back here and on that day it will be my pleasure to move amendments to increase the number of holidays. But let us first show that we can work hard and that we deserve more holidays.
From 1968 till present day, in the words of of our first Prime Minister himself, we have gone from ‘Third World to First.’
From 1968 till 2013, our GDP has increased almost 300 times.Any reasonable and fair-minded person would be able to see that saying our Singapore has simply ‘prospered’ from 1968 till now would be a gross understatement. We as a nation, have definitely proven beyond any reasonable doubt, that we can work hard and that we do indeed deserve more holidays.As Mr Barker said, when that time comes, there will be amendments to increase the number of holidays. But to date, we have not even heard the Government speak of increasing the number of holidays, let alone bills which aim to do so.
The time which Mr Barker spoke about is long overdue. The Nation has definitely prospered.
So, with reference to the words of Mr Barker, let us ask our Government, can we have our holidays back now?
Last edited:
Re: BREAKING NEWS - Shanmugam and HEB doing a U-Turn on Thaipusam!!!!
[h=1]WE NEED TO DRUM SOME COMMON SENSE INTO SOME PEOPLE[/h]
Post date:
12 Feb 2015 - 12:08am
So we get our kids to dress up in their traditional racial costumes in school like a beauty pageant during Racial Harmony Day and sing one another's folk songs in their respective languages only to show them doing the same thing in public when they get out to the real world may get them arrested? Not if you do that without a musical instrument, that will only land you into Buangkok Chalet. With a cultural music instrument in hand, it will be the Cantonment Coffeehouse instead.
Whatever happened to the Racial Harmony declaration we encourage not only our kids but every Singaporean to recite during the Racial Harmony week every year?
In what way does playing a couple of musical instrument during a traditional festival go against the principles of religious harmony? How does such a festival differ from littering the skies of the River Ang Bao venue with glittering paper and blasting the eardrums out of participants with firecrackers? If it isn't the decibels, how does the authorities measure offensiveness?
When the Pilipino Independence Day Council Singapore (PIDCS) withdrew their application to hold their Independence Day at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza due to receiving excessive flak from the Singaporean public, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote a Facebook post condemning the " thuggish behavior" of these critics and urged Singaporeans to be more gracious towards diversity,
During every Chingay Procession, we showcase our multi-cultural society to the world by getting every creed and race to make a racket with all sorts of musical instrument imaginable. The Singapore Police Force seems to have no problem endorsing this event, without anyone feeling awkward that the world Chingay is equivalent to the Mandarin zhuang yi (妆艺) which means "the art of costume and masquerade" in the Hokkien dialect and the event stems from Chinese roots. Does that mean it will be okay to hit the drums during a Thaipusam procession if we repackage it as a multi-cultural event?
As a Chinese Singaporean I am ashamed to read about the arrest. Every year during the first day of Chinese New Year, my Chinese neighbour will hire a Lion Dance troop to perform the traditional custom of "cai qing" (採青) in his house without fail. The Lion Dance troop will be heard on the streets way before they turn into our carpark. Their drumming and cymbal crashing with peak in gusto as they move along the final stretch of the corridor of the HDB flat. Over more than 20 years, we have never heard of a single complain by a non-Chinese neighbour who does not celebrate the CNY. We also saw more than 10 Malay couples getting married within 2 blocks of our HDB flats over these 2 decades. On every wedding, we got to hear the great (and not so great) karaoke singing of the guests following by the playing of the kompang according to a distinctive rhythm that will reverb through the neighbourhood to announce the arrival of the bride and groom. Many of us would stand on the side of the street to watch the newly weds. The music did not bother us. Over decades, we have been celebrating racial tolerance. Unbelievably, this year, the Singapore Police Force chose to stop a Thaipusam progression from playing their drums outside a temple in the name of "deterring public disorder which may be caused by rivalries between groups."
Can't anyone see that such an act of religious persecution is a greater dividing force that can potentially create crack lines within societal peace and harmony than a forbidden drum solo? Are we living in a age where we cannot tell the rights and wrongs between guidelines and common sense?
A Singaporean Son
*The writer blogs at http://asingaporeanson.blogspot.sg/
[h=1]WE NEED TO DRUM SOME COMMON SENSE INTO SOME PEOPLE[/h]
Post date:
12 Feb 2015 - 12:08am
So we get our kids to dress up in their traditional racial costumes in school like a beauty pageant during Racial Harmony Day and sing one another's folk songs in their respective languages only to show them doing the same thing in public when they get out to the real world may get them arrested? Not if you do that without a musical instrument, that will only land you into Buangkok Chalet. With a cultural music instrument in hand, it will be the Cantonment Coffeehouse instead.
Whatever happened to the Racial Harmony declaration we encourage not only our kids but every Singaporean to recite during the Racial Harmony week every year?
We, the people in Singapore, declare that religious harmony is vital for peace, progress and prosperity in our multi-racial and multi-religious Nation.
We resolve to strengthen religious harmony through mutual tolerance, confidence, respect, and understanding.
We shall always
Recognise the secular nature of our State,
Promote cohesion within our society,
Respect each other's freedom of religion,
Grow our common space while respecting our diversity,
Foster inter-religious communications,
and thereby ensure that religion will not be abused to create conflict and disharmony in Singapore.
Was that meant to be a rap or did that mean anything for real?We resolve to strengthen religious harmony through mutual tolerance, confidence, respect, and understanding.
We shall always
Recognise the secular nature of our State,
Promote cohesion within our society,
Respect each other's freedom of religion,
Grow our common space while respecting our diversity,
Foster inter-religious communications,
and thereby ensure that religion will not be abused to create conflict and disharmony in Singapore.
In what way does playing a couple of musical instrument during a traditional festival go against the principles of religious harmony? How does such a festival differ from littering the skies of the River Ang Bao venue with glittering paper and blasting the eardrums out of participants with firecrackers? If it isn't the decibels, how does the authorities measure offensiveness?
When the Pilipino Independence Day Council Singapore (PIDCS) withdrew their application to hold their Independence Day at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza due to receiving excessive flak from the Singaporean public, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote a Facebook post condemning the " thuggish behavior" of these critics and urged Singaporeans to be more gracious towards diversity,
"We must show that we are generous of spirit and welcome visitors into our midst, even as we manage the foreign population here. Otherwise we will lower our standing in the eyes of the world, and have every reason to be ashamed of ourselves."
- PM Lee Hsien Loong, 19 April 2014
What is the point of rallying the country to accept a foreign community when we have clearly yet to recognise the different religious and racial liberties of our existing communities? - PM Lee Hsien Loong, 19 April 2014
During every Chingay Procession, we showcase our multi-cultural society to the world by getting every creed and race to make a racket with all sorts of musical instrument imaginable. The Singapore Police Force seems to have no problem endorsing this event, without anyone feeling awkward that the world Chingay is equivalent to the Mandarin zhuang yi (妆艺) which means "the art of costume and masquerade" in the Hokkien dialect and the event stems from Chinese roots. Does that mean it will be okay to hit the drums during a Thaipusam procession if we repackage it as a multi-cultural event?
As a Chinese Singaporean I am ashamed to read about the arrest. Every year during the first day of Chinese New Year, my Chinese neighbour will hire a Lion Dance troop to perform the traditional custom of "cai qing" (採青) in his house without fail. The Lion Dance troop will be heard on the streets way before they turn into our carpark. Their drumming and cymbal crashing with peak in gusto as they move along the final stretch of the corridor of the HDB flat. Over more than 20 years, we have never heard of a single complain by a non-Chinese neighbour who does not celebrate the CNY. We also saw more than 10 Malay couples getting married within 2 blocks of our HDB flats over these 2 decades. On every wedding, we got to hear the great (and not so great) karaoke singing of the guests following by the playing of the kompang according to a distinctive rhythm that will reverb through the neighbourhood to announce the arrival of the bride and groom. Many of us would stand on the side of the street to watch the newly weds. The music did not bother us. Over decades, we have been celebrating racial tolerance. Unbelievably, this year, the Singapore Police Force chose to stop a Thaipusam progression from playing their drums outside a temple in the name of "deterring public disorder which may be caused by rivalries between groups."
Can't anyone see that such an act of religious persecution is a greater dividing force that can potentially create crack lines within societal peace and harmony than a forbidden drum solo? Are we living in a age where we cannot tell the rights and wrongs between guidelines and common sense?
A Singaporean Son
*The writer blogs at http://asingaporeanson.blogspot.sg/
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