Let Me Decide – Mr Lee Kuan Yew Agrees With You

“But we either believe in democracy or we not. If we do, then, we must say categorically, without qualification, that no restraint from the any democratic processes, other than by the ordinary law of the land, should be allowed… If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, then, they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication. Then, no law should permit those democratic processes to be set at nought.”
- Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition leader, April 27, 1955

“If it is not totalitarian to arrest a man and detain him, when you cannot charge him with any offence against any written law – if that is not what we have always cried out against in Fascist states – then what is it?… If we are to survive as a free democracy, then we must be prepared, in principle, to concede to our enemies – even those who do not subscribe to our views – as much constitutional rights as you concede yourself.”
- Opposition leader Lee Kuan Yew, Legislative Assembly Debates, Sept 21, 1955

“If we say that we believe in democracy, if we say that the fabric of a democratic society is one which allows for the free play of idea…then, in the name of all the gods, give that free play a chance to work within the constitutional framework.”
– Opposition leader Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore Legislative Assembly, Oct 4, 1956

“I am encouraged also because I see more and more people write letters to the press and sign their real names. That’s a good sign, a good tendency. To run a democratic system, you must have democratic impulses in the people. There must be a cultural basis for that system. It’s not just having a constitution and saying,” Well, there you are, the system is democratic.”
– Lee Kuan Yew, 1990 National Day Rally

The Let Me Decide movement states that a “.. society’s “competitive edge” is marked by its ability to think for itself, not by a censor’s arbitrary scissors…”

In the age of the Internet, censorship is a laughable fact of life. Despite the standing symbolic ban on 100 websites in Singapore, it is widely accepted that, there are numerous ways to get content. Some even resort to enlisting illegal methods, to access information, for any use or purpose. The main cause for this action – censorship.

The Arts Engage website have certainly provided a comprehensive and thoughtful articles that push for a complete removal of censorship and put in place regulations. This was a motion that was raised to the Censorship Review Committee at the turn of the 21st century yet censorship remains in place. The Censorship Review Committee is due to provides its recommendations to the Government, which is why there are a lot of movements on the ground, to gather everyone to be alert to this fact and call on the Government to remove censorship.

SO WHAT CAN YOU (dear Readers) DO? Please Sign THE PETITION!

“There is nothing to prevent you from pushing your propaganda, to push your programme out to the students or with the public at large…and if you can carry the ground, if you are right, you win. That’s democracy.”
– Lee Kuan Yew telling students to form political parties, Straits Times, Feb 1, 2005

Sources:

• THE PETITION – http://sites.google.com/site/artsengagesg/signpaper
• Mr Lee Kuan Yew Quotes – http://leewatch.info/quotes/
• Information About Arts Engage & Censorship Review Committee –  http://blogs.todayonline.com/forartssake/tag/censorship-review-committee/
• Arts Engage Website – http://sites.google.com/site/artsengagesg/
• Let Me Decide Website – http://let-me-decide.tumblr.com/
• Let Me Decide Facebook Page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Let-Me-Decide/134869643219887 (please LIKE this page)
• Let Me Decide YouTube Channel – http://www.youtube.com/user/LetMeDecideSg