[lbo-talk] Singapore does some soul searching over sex

kjkhoo at softhome.net kjkhoo at softhome.net
Wed Nov 19 18:06:06 PST 2003


At 5:40 AM +0500 20/11/03, uvj at vsnl.com wrote:
>Reuters
>The public generally supports Singapore's tough laws -- including the death
>penalty for drug smugglers, bans on pornography and curbs on political
>dissent -- as part of a social contract that in return has delivered years
>of economic prosperity.

On the first -- there is generally broad support. On the second -- it's mixed, the best evidence for that being the trade in pornographic VCDs.

On the third: hey, some 30-40% of the voters don't vote the PAP ruling party, and Singaporean dissent has been showing signs of some creativity, although mainly cynical rather than organised. Of course, the 'war on terrorism' has muted previous dissent and discomfort with preventive detention.

Back to the first and third: official Australia has been caught in a bit of a bind, having vociferously protested the application of the death penalty on persons charged with drug smuggling, but upset about the Bali bombers not all getting the death penalty. Also, previous protests about preventive detention, and silence on current preventive detention. This doesn't go un-noticed. All of which serves to buttress current regimes.

But really, perhaps some people on this list can help enlighten me why Sex and the City is such a big deal? It's shown on subscription satellite TV in Malaysia -- and maybe I'm puritanical, but I can't bear to watch for more than a few minutes before wanting to puke.

kj khoo



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list