Political clamps still on in Singapore

Press, 19 February 1983, Page 14

Political clamps still on in Singapore

By

FRANCIS DANIEL,

of Reuters, in Singapore

During the small hours of February 3, 1963, 133 political dissidents, including professionals and union and student leaders, were rounded up in a security sweep code-named ‘’Operation Coldstore." The crackdown paralysed the political opposition and heralded an era of unhindered rule by the ruling Peoples' Action Party of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Twenty years later, the opposition is still in disarray, unable to change the political tide initiated by “Operation Coldstore" and mount a serious challenge to Mr Lee. The. twentieth anniversary of the mass arrest, condemned by London-based Amnesty International as a violation of human rights, passed without 1 any fuss. The question of political detainees has long become a mute issue here.

The last of the “Operation Coldstore" detainees, held without trial under the Internal Security Act (1.5. A. was freed five months ago without any fanfare. The Government has made clear that the release of Dr Poh Soo Kai. after a total of 16 years in jail, did not mean that it is giving up its emergency powers.

"Operation Coldstore" was conducted with the approval of the then British colonial authorities two years before the island became an independent republic. In 1963, Mr Lee was the head of an internally self-governing administration.

Most of those arrested, like Dr Poh. were members of the Barisan Socialis (Socialist Front), an extremist leftist breakaway group from the P.A.P.

The Government alleged that

the detainees were communists or supporters of the underground communist movement and could not be brought to open trial because witnesses would not come forward for fear of retribution.

The lone opposition Parliament member, J. B. Jeyaretnam, secretary-general of the Workers Party, said the communist threat of the 1960 s had disappeared and there was no justification for the Government to retain its powers of detention without trial under

the security act. “We do not need the I.S.A. any longer in Singapore. The act is being abused. It should be repealed but I don't see the Government dismantling the 1.5. A.." Mr Jeyaretnam. a practising lawyer, said. Barisan Socialis chairman. Dr Lee Siew Choh also voiced bitter opposition to the I.S.A.

powers, inherited from the British colonial administration. "The I.S.A. should have been scrapped a long time ago. It was being used by the Peoples’ Action Party to control political opponents. It gives them an excuse for arresting people who do not agree with them," Dr Lee said. "We feel that they have been keeping Dr Poh and other detainees under false charges never proved in open court." he said. The Internal Security Department in a statement soon after Dr Poh's release, said communists and other extremists still posed a long-term threat to the security of the island and its 2.4 million' people. Like al! the freed political detainees. Dr Poh. former assistant secretary-general of the Barisan Socialis. must abide by strict restrictions on his movements and activities imposed by the department. In the years following "Operation Coldstore," the Government also arrested hun-

dreds of others under the I.S.A. Almost all of them were released after they recanted their alleged misdeeds, some of them publicly over State-run television.

According to latest official figures, only 15 political detainees. including former senior Barisan Socialis official Chia Thye Poh. arrested in 1966, are still in jail. Western diplomatic observers said that with Singapore's continued political and economic stability, the Government might be more inclined to release the rest of the prisoners.

They agreed that the Government was unlikely to abrogate its detention powers which formed an essential part of its security system.

Apart from internal considerations. there is also the unquestionable linkup of Singapore's security with neighbouring Malaysia which is fighting a jungle war against commun-

ist guerrillas along its common border with Thailand.

The Singapore Government says the detainees have been trying to advance the cause of the Communist Party of Malaya, which advocates the armed overthrow of the legally elected Governments here and in Kuala Lumpur.

The island s turbulent period, which preceded "Operation Coldstore," has given way to a highly disciplined social system where open defiance of authority is virtually non-existent. Mr Lee indicated recently, however, that he might welcome a little more defiance. He said it would not be a bad idea to have more "intelligent" opposition members in Parliament.

He did not indicate how this could be achieved, particularly when none of the dozen opposition groups, including the Workers Party, has the political base or the funds to take on the Peoples’ Action Party on a national scale.