The birthday that might not have been.

When you’re involved in a death penalty case, you’re always aware of the ticking clock. Time is running out. There might be no tomorrow, no next week, no next year. Life events like birthdays are no longer just one more landmark to celebrate – they’re tinged with sadness and uncertainty, because who knows if there will be another?

And that’s just how I feel. I can’t even begin to imagine how the family of a death row inmate feels. I can’t even begin to imagine how the inmate himself feels. I don’t think anyone can.

Can we be forgiven?

In the 12 years that he was our head of state, former President S R Nathan did not grant a single clemency.

This isn’t a topic that he has spoken much on, but he finally opened up recently during an interview. His response highlights an alarming problem in the clemency process for inmates on death row.

“The constitution clearly lays it down that I have to act on the advice of the cabinet, and the cabinet acts on the advice of the Attorney-General,” he said, explaining how the Attorney-General sifts through all the evidence available and makes a recommendation to the President.
- ‘I have to ask the man up there to forgive me’, 7 December 2011 

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the President cannot act in his own discretion when it comes to granting clemency to death row inmates, but has to act on the advice of the Cabinet. Nathan now confirms that the Cabinet acts on the advice of the Attorney-General (AG).

However, in these capital punishment cases, the AG’s Chambers acts on behalf of the State as the prosecution. It is the AG’s Chambers who are pushing for the ultimate punishment of death in the first place. Therefore, if the AG is the one who makes the recommendation to the Cabinet and the President, Singapore’s clemency process becomes no more than a farce where the prosecutor decides whether to suspend the very sentence he has invested so much time and energy in securing in the first place.

SlutWalk – No need to get your knickers in a twist.

I don’t know what I’ll be doing this Sunday. I may be working, I may not. But if I can, I’ll be at SlutWalk SG.

Before I go any further, please read this, taken from the official website (there are many people who appear to be confused about what SlutWalk is all about, which makes many discussions/debates pointless because everyone’s talking at cross-purposes):

We seek to:

• Challenge the sentiment that it is acceptable to live in a victim-blaming society as we do, where we are taught “don’t get raped,” instead of “don’t rape.”

• Emphasize that no means no, yes means yes, and that only our words can consent for us — not our bodies or our clothes, and regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or for work.

• Fight the stereotypes and myths of sexual assault (e.g. men jumping out of bushes) and supporting a better understanding of why sexual violence happens (not limited to physical violence), supporting victims and survivors.

• Create an understanding that sexual assault affects all genders, while acknowledging the fact that it disproportionately affects women.

• Create a network of safe spaces for survivors of sexual assault to seek solace and empowerment.

• Reclaim the right to express our sexuality without fear by critically examining the value system imposed upon the word ‘slut’. One does not need to identify as a ‘slut’ to be part of SlutWalk — our ultimate goal is not to reclaim the word, instead we are reclaiming the right to express our sexuality without fear.

“Come, to the streets” – A message to friends across the Causeway

Tomorrow, Malaysians will take to the streets to walk for freedom. “I haven’t seen social media platforms so fired up since Bersih 2.0!” says my friend Cindi.

This time, they’ll be protesting the Peaceful Assembly Bill. The Bill, which is expected to be pushed through in Parliament tomorrow, is seen as more restrictive than current Malaysian laws for public assemblies and protests. As Cindi writes,

Among the provisions introduced includes organisers of assemblies having to give the police 30 days’ notice, in which whether the assembly can go on is subject to their approval, disallowing teenagers under 15 years-old to participate in any form of assembly besides religious and cultural events, and those under 21 years-old from organizing and participating in assemblies. Of course, the most damning provision was that street protests in any form will be disabled under this new Bill, if it was passed in the Parliament (you can read the full Bill here or the simplified FAQ here).
- ‘Not at peace with the Peaceful Assembly Bill’, SEA Youth Say So

You can’t arrest the racist out of someone.

NOTE (added 24th November): It has been brought to my attention that the offensive posts made recently were comments on religion, not race, and are therefore technically not racist. Race and religion are two different issues that should not be conflated, and I agree. It was a mistake on my part to have overlooked that while first writing this post. However, the discussion that sparked from the three posts have also somewhat expanded to include issues of racism, and I feel that public discourse on race is in a rather similar situation to discourse on religion. Also, the Sedition Act as discussed here applies to both comments on race and religion, so I think the points made here still stand.

I was born Chinese in a majority-Chinese country. Obviously, I didn’t ask for it to happen this way; it just did. Apart from three-and-a-half years overseas I’ve never actually had much experience of being part of a minority group, and even in New Zealand I was lucky enough to never have experienced racism*. Because of this (I guess you could call it) privileged position, I’ve always felt like I shouldn’t comment too much on issues of racism or discrimination, for fear of speaking out of ignorance.

But the recent spate of racist and insensitive postings that have surfaced online – and the subsequent outcry – has led me to begin thinking about my attitudes to race and religion in Singapore, and the Sedition Act.