Shut up. This is Singapore.

Thanks to Civics, I learnt some details about the Internal Security Act of Singapore today.
Have you ever heard of it?
If not, I ain't surprised. I haven't either, although I came across articles on one of its operations at one point of time, but I never knew there was such a system in place.
So what exactly is the Internal Security Act?
Quoted from Wikipedia, the Internal Security Act confers on the government the right to arrest and detain individuals without trial in certain defined circumstances.

Funny how such things never seem to appear in school textbooks.

What's the significance of the Internal Security Act, you might ask.
If you didn't get what the above definition of the Internal Security Act is, here's some things that the Internal Security Department can do based on the Internal Security Act.
1. The government can arrest any individual without an arrest warrant.
2. The accused can be detained for an indefinite period of time without trial (most notably Chia Thye Poh, who was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act for 23 years and then confined on Sentosa for another 9 years, hence detained for a total of 32 years.
3. People can 'disappear', be it terrorists, activists or politicians.

Some people might say. Hey. Isn't that like the secret police in totalitarian regimes?
Oh no, of course not. For one, the Internal Security Department is not secret. Secret police operate in the dark. The Internal Security Department is just... less mentioned.
For another, Singapore is not a totalitarian regime. We are a democracy, like we call ourselves.
But Singapore isn't a democracy, isn't it?
What do you mean Singapore is not a democracy? Singapore is one. Now shut up. This is Singapore.

Perhaps its not us that are not speaking up. Perhaps its not that we do not ask questions. Perhaps we have always been taught not to speak out. Perhaps we have never been taught to ask questions. Perhaps we have never been told to ask questions. Perhaps we were never meant to question. Perhaps we should just shut up.


The Internal Security Act was invoked in 2 significant operations in 1963 and 1987, namely Operation Coldstore and Operation Spectrum. In Operation Coldstore, at least 107 left-wing politicians and trade unionists were arrested, which included several leaders of the Barisan Sosialis and the Singapore Association of Trade Unions, successfully dissolving the two parties.
The Barisan Sosialis was formed by left-wing members of the People Action's Party, who broke away from the PAP after a disagreement over the Singapore-Malaya merger. They were the 2nd biggest political party at the time up to their arrest. The PAP remained the strongest political party ever since.
The Singapore Association of Trade Unions was formed when they broke away from the pro-PAP National Trade Union Congress. When its leaders were arrested in Operation Coldstore, the SATU was dissolved, leaving the NTUC as the only legal union in Singapore. The NTUC and the PAP still share 'close relations' today, and its union leaders are made up of Members of Parliament.

During Operation Spectrum, 22 young activists and professionals were detained on the basis that they were conspiring to overturn the Singapore government and replace it with a Marxist state. They were not communists, but were actually helping the Worker's Party. All of them were subsequently released, after being 'persuaded' to sign an agreement and also to confess that they were communists. However, 9 of them later released a joint statement, alleging that they were tortured in confinement. 8 of them were re-arrested the next day and the 9th person had already left the country, thus avoiding arrest.
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I can't believe the school upgraded the computers in the com lab! They look so brand new. Haha. Even AJC upgrades. Now that amazes me. The computers look pretty good too. And they revamped the whole computer lab. At least, the one at 212. Check it out some time yea =]

It was a darn long day today. Geog timed practice. Econs timed practice. Nothing but timed practices. I left school at 7pm as usual. Ever since the extra lessons started flooding us.. school has been quite sad. Sigh. What to do about it?


Replies ~ your tags:

p0h'sn: Lol. The timer is reality =] jiayou for the upcoming promos!

zkai: lol. come back again next year.

cry(s): Hah. Maybe it isn't 1 year yet.

If I disappear after this post, it means the Internal Security Department has caught up with me yea. I didn't make any criticism at all. I merely stated facts. Please go form your own perspectives. I am just going to shut up here.

Labels: special articles