This quote just about says it all

27 days in Singapore. A prisoner in the island.

If you want to be taken seriously on your claim that you are a first world country, then act like one.

I do sympathise with Gopalan Nair for being arrested because he writes a political weblog highly critical of Singapore. But he was stupid to taunt the government and challenge them to come get him (because they promptly did). Does he have the same martyr complex as Chee Soon Juan — I suspect this is the case.

I reckon the government doesn’t give two shits about him — this is to show the yoof of today that they may think they are garang (fierce, gung-ho, daring), but if they even think of stepping out of those unmarked OB (out-of-bounds) markers, they will probably lose everything (and their parents will lose face, too). And they are betting that the countries that matter don’t really give a shit either.

• 23 Jun 2008

• Thinking