Red Card on race issues at Speakers' Corner

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

According to ST 19/9, police turn down estate agent's application to speak on Tamil Language issues.

Thamilselvan wanted to talk about the use of Tamil in public signs, for eg. to put Tamil on the signages at Changi Airport and directional signboards all over the island. Earlier Thamilselvan had apparently written to CAAS about the absence of Tamil signs at Changi Airport. CAAS replied saying that directional signs were previously only in English and from April 2005 were also in Chinese, Malay, and Japanese to cater to the large number of visitors speaking those languages. As English was India's second language it was advised by STPB that English signs were sufficient. Apparently Thamilselvan was not satisfied with the reply, saying that he was asking only for the four official languages to be reflected.

Asked by ST if he was still going to be at the Speakers' Corner to speak, Thamilselavn retorted: "You expect me to give a talk and go to jail?" A Dr Chee he appears not to be However he added "But we are finding a way to get a licence approved. We are not going to keep quiet on this topic".

Another Tamil housing agent, N Rajendran felt that a distinction should be made between commercial and official recognition of Tamil. R Ravindran former MP said:"It is still premature to allow issues such as race, language or religion to be discussed in an open forum. Other channels should have been pursued first."

 

[char_jig_kar]

According to ST 19/9, police turn down estate agent's application to speak on Tamil Language issues.

Thamilselvan wanted to talk about the use of Tamil in public signs, for eg. to put Tamil on the signages at Changi Airport and directional signboards all over the island. Earlier Thamilselvan had apparently written to CAAS about the absence of Tamil signs at Changi Airport. CAAS replied saying that directional signs were previously only in English and from April 2005 were also in Chinese, Malay, and Japanese to cater to the large number of visitors speaking those languages. As English was India's second language it was advised by STPB that English signs were sufficient. Apparently Thamilselvan was not satisfied with the reply, saying that he was asking only for the four official languages to be reflected.

Asked by ST if he was still going to be at the Speakers' Corner to speak, Thamilselavn retorted: "You expect me to give a talk and go to jail?" A Dr Chee he appears not to be However he added "But we are finding a way to get a licence approved. We are not going to keep quiet on this topic".

Another Tamil housing agent, N Rajendran felt that a distinction should be made between commercial and official recognition of Tamil. R Ravindran former MP said:"It is still premature to allow issues such as race, language or religion to be discussed in an open forum. Other channels should have been pursued first."

Race, language, religion, why cannot be discussed? PAP said so? But why?? Why is it those issues cannot discussed in an open forum??

 

[myjohnson]

Race, language, religion, why cannot be discussed? PAP said so? But why?? Why is it those issues cannot discussed in an open forum??

Who can guarantee that an open forum will not degenerate in to an SBF like forum? All these issues are like snow on a mountain. The consequences of a wrong move may lead to a destructive avalanche. Who wants to take the responsibility.

 

[char_jig_kar]

Who can guarantee that an open forum will not degenerate in to an SBF like forum? All these issues are like snow on a mountain. The consequences of a wrong move may lead to a destructive avalanche. Who wants to take the reaponsibility.

Whats wrong with the SBF especially the latest version?

Closed door discussion its so like the secret society or mafia.

 

[myjohnson]

Whats wrong with the SBF especially the latest version?

Closed door discussion its so like the secret society or mafia.

Throw a Clinton666 spanner into the works? What do you see?

 

[BlueCat]

it is already so messy and hard with those financial companies.
now he still want to stir the hornet's nest to make it worse.
they did the right and sensible thing.

 

[tookara]

he better go to hindu temple and carry kavadi and hope they put tamil signs up

 

[char_jig_kar]

Throw a Clinton666 spanner into the works? What do you see?

what is a 'clinton666 spanner'?

 

[chinkangkor]

India has so many different languages and English is a common language to them. There are many indians who don't speak Tamil as well. So how to cater to all of them?

 

[Avantas]

I think we have not come to the stage where race and religion can be debated openly.

Race, language, religion, why cannot be discussed? PAP said so? But why?? Why is it those issues cannot discussed in an open forum??

 

[char_jig_kar]

I think we have not come to the stage where race and religion can be debated openly.

i disagree. those topics affect our lives. so why cant they be debated openly?

 

[Ramseth]

Yes, should be able discuss openly. I'm sure that there's good reason or logic for including certain languages on signboards, while excluding certain languages that some others feel that should be included. Discuss and explain. Not ban and gag.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear Porifirio.

Are we mature enough to discuss religion race and language without setting of racial bombs ? A call for a Tamil Language sign's and it being denied for ostensibly good reasons , could degenerate into a call that Indians and their culture is being suppressed by the Chinese and the chinese language. I believe in responsible free speech but I do not believe in a relaxation in any way to the rules governing race language and religion because of the internet, the globalized world and how one remote incident half way across the world can set of unintended consequences.

He in my view might be a harmless crackpot but the next guy seeking to speak up on say how Christians are being persecuted my Muslims , or how a Muslim organization wants to protest against Isarel and its theft of Arabs lands. etc etc



Locke

 

[char_jig_kar]

Dear Porifirio.

Are we mature enough to discuss religion race and language without setting of racial bombs ? A call for a Tamil Language sign's and it being denied for ostensibly good reasons , could degenerate into a call that Indians and their culture is being suppressed by the Chinese and the chinese language. I believe in responsible free speech but I do not believe in a relaxation in any way to the rules governing race language and religion because of the internet, the globalized world and how one remote incident half way across the world can set of unintended consequences.

He in my view might be a harmless crackpot but the next guy seeking to speak up on say how Christians are being persecuted my Muslims , or how a Muslim organization wants to protest against Isarel and its theft of Arabs lands. etc etc



Locke

i didn't hear of any blood shed or glass shattered because of racial, language or religion issue for the past 2 decades. yes, there's a glass door shattered at mcdonald in the recent years. but its quarrel over hello kitty.

please don't always buy the PAP propaganda wholesale. do some independent thinking yourself.

 

[char_jig_kar]

There are all kind of topics that might trigger off high emotional charge in Singapore. Football. US presidential candidates. Gay rights. NKF scandal. Shi Ming Yi court case. Etc etc. Should we say, because of some people high emotional reaction to those topics, those topics should not be discuss openly???

So why is it language, race and religion are off limit topic for open forum discussion?

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Locke,

Perhaps it is unfair to judge Thamilselvan as a "harmelss crackpot" just based on this ST report. I can empathise with his position but at the sametime I can also see the sensitivity of this issue and the possible miscreants and mischievous types that this sort of open public demo can attract. A fine balance and in this regard I think the police made the right decision. What I see as a positive is that this matter was reported in ST which also leads to public discussion and scrutiny whic can only be a good thing.

From my brief occasional chats with a few senior civil servants on the issue of official languages, I get the impression that it is not a conscious deliberate omission of say Tamil from the signboards and pamphlets but just plain insensitive bureaucratic thinking. Perhaps it has come to a stage where the PM and his cabinet should take position on this sensitive issue that I believe has been brewing for sometime now and come out clearly in public to allay the reasonable concerns of the Tamils. Like what Rajendran said perhaps a distinction should be made between commercial and offcial recognition.

Cheers

He in my view might be a harmless crackpot but the next guy seeking to speak up on say how Christians are being persecuted my Muslims , or how a Muslim organization wants to protest against Isarel and its theft of Arabs lands. etc etc

Locke

 

[locky2ky]

According to ST 19/9, police turn down estate agent's application to speak on Tamil Language issues.

Thamilselvan wanted to talk about the use of Tamil in public signs, for eg. to put Tamil on the signages at Changi Airport and directional signboards all over the island. Earlier Thamilselvan had apparently written to CAAS about the absence of Tamil signs at Changi Airport. CAAS replied saying that directional signs were previously only in English and from April 2005 were also in Chinese, Malay, and Japanese to cater to the large number of visitors speaking those languages. As English was India's second language it was advised by STPB that English signs were sufficient. Apparently Thamilselvan was not satisfied with the reply, saying that he was asking only for the four official languages to be reflected.

Asked by ST if he was still going to be at the Speakers' Corner to speak, Thamilselavn retorted: "You expect me to give a talk and go to jail?" A Dr Chee he appears not to be However he added "But we are finding a way to get a licence approved. We are not going to keep quiet on this topic".

Another Tamil housing agent, N Rajendran felt that a distinction should be made between commercial and official recognition of Tamil. R Ravindran former MP said:"It is still premature to allow issues such as race, language or religion to be discussed in an open forum. Other channels should have been pursued first."

maybe thamilselvan should hold placards and demonstrate rather than to apply to speak at speakers' corner.

 

[Chia Tse Li]

Yes, should be able discuss openly. I'm sure that there's good reason or logic for including certain languages on signboards, while excluding certain languages that some others feel that should be included. Discuss and explain. Not ban and gag.

I agree with you Ramseth. The ruling government has all these past decades treated us grown up adults who have the abilities to discern, judge and assess as small little toddlers who do not know how to judge nor take care of themselves. Maybe there are still some singaporeans who perfer to be treated like little children with food on a spoon placed in their mouths. We are adults with certain level of maturity and have the liberty to discuss, debate or even challenge over issues openly. Generally and safely to speak, we do not fight nor take things personally at a public platform. What is the PAP government concern over? Or rather the police? That such a language topic will lead to the spectators at Speakers' Corner getting into a fight? There is not fight leh, why is the police making it seem that they are banning a fight? Please lah...stop treating us like a kid who has not grown in maturity to be able to make independent judgement. Also, not everyone is like clinton whatever. It is a mistake to quote the extreme and use it to generalise.

 

[Manrocke]

R Ravindran former MP said:"It is still premature to allow issues such as race, language or religion to be discussed in an open forum. Other channels should have been pursued first."

Other channels like what useless EX MP Mr Ravindran ?

 

[guy2100]

I still believe all four official languages should be displayed in any signboards in Singapore. If only English is displayed(understood by 90% of population), then all other languages should not be displayed. It is a simple case of doing the politically correct thing.