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News from Malaysia & Singapore

On Thursday Feb, 10 1977, a lawyer G. Raman. 39. was arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which means that he is indefinitely detained without any form of process.

The pro-Government paper 'The Straits Times of Feb. 11 described Raman as the link-man between local pro-communists and Euro-communists. A Ministry of Home Affairs statement said that Raman had taken over as link man and 'communication centre' from Dr. Poh Soo Kai, since the latter's re-detention last June 4. (Dr. Poh was accused of being the major link through whom information was passed to the left-wing of the Dutch and British Labour Parties in order to get the (PAP) People's Action Party expelled from the Socialist International (SI). He was first detention was from 1963 to 1974)

The statement added: The Government cannot allow pro-communist elements like G' Raman to run around aiding and abetting the communists in their design to create chaos and instability to advance their cause.'

A few days after the arrest of Raman, it was reported that 9 more people who were alleged to belong to a 'study-group' headed by Raman were arrested. It is said that among them is the former correspondent of the Far Eastern Economic Review (Feer), Arun forced to resign as correspondent of the Feer, about one and a half years ago.

The allegations made in the statement are meant to conceal the real reasons why the Government has decided to detain Raman. To play up the communist bogey is still a fairly effective way in Singapore to legitimise the elimination of people who are critical of government policies and actions. There are probably a mixture of 'real reasons' for detaining Raman: On the one hand the PAP is still seething from the embarrassment of its effective expulsion from the SI, and determined to maintain its claim to the world and the people of Singapore that the communists are still a danger for the stability of Singapore. On the other hand, the government simply did not like Raman's professional activities.

Raman was the legal advisor to the now banned University of Singapore Students' Union and the Singapore Polytechnic Students' Union—both of which had in the last five years been increasingly vocal and active in denouncing the repressiveness of the PAP government and supporting the workers and discriminated groups. Raman had been the defense counsel for one of the workers who were charged together with Tan Wah Piow (at that time president of the Students Union) of rioting in the premises of the National Trades Union Congress in 1974. He was also one of the very few lawyers in Singapore who dared to act for political prisoners and their families.

The PAP is evidently extremely piqued about its expulsion from the SI. Besides loss of face, it has also suffered considerable loss of prestige on the international political scene. In addition it seems apparent that the economic crisis is hitting Singapore harder than ever before. Reliable sources claim that there has been a decline in foreign investments recently, which is another reason for the government to pick on dissidents and to accuse them of communism and thus have a scapegoat for the declining economic progress. The PAP is determined to maintain its trumped-up allegations that the whole expulsion move (which was initiated by the Dutch Labour Party in March 1976, followed by the resignation of the PAP in May and ended with the resignation's acceptance by the SI in Sept. 1976) is part of an international communist conspiracy to discredit the PAP to the advantage of the communists in Singapore and Malaysia. The use this time of the term 'Euro-communists' is clearly aimed at scaring the 'average' Singaporean (who is understandably not aware of the actual context of the term as it is employed in W.Europe,) and creating the impression of an organised European communist group, whose aim it is to promote communism in South East Asia by means of subversive activity.

The timing of the arrests is also significant. General elections were held in Singapore on Dec; 23, 1976 and the Papa secured for the third time in succession all 69 seats in parliament. Although Lee Kuan Yew claimed the election results to be a massive vote of confidence in Papa government the way the elections were run made clear that a considerable amount of people must have been voting PAP candidates out of fear for repercussions. The elections were not secret since a numbering system enables the government to trace the vote of every voter. Anyway now that the PAP 'is guaranteed of another term of five years in power it immediately showed its repressive face again, after a relatively lenient pre-election period. Two members of the opposition were arrested immediately after the returns were in; One candidate was detained under charges of stirring up racial feelings, a party official was sentenced to 18 months after being convited of 'criminal libel' of the Prime Minister and another party official is sought for harping on the language policy of the PAP. Students from the Polytechnic protested against these repressive acts and this may have been the immediate aggravation which precipitated Raman s detention.

There is very little, if any, possibility for the people of Singapore to express any criticism of the government s methods and intentions. Thus the protest at this latest violation of human rights rights must come from outside. All the more so since the PAP has placed the arrest of Raman in the context of the Socialist International affair.