Public Assembly in Singapore....

Within 30 minutes a large crowd of more than 150 had gathered in Singapore and was starting to get rowdy. You might think this was an illegal assembly but the police did nothing. All of a sudden people started raising their voices and holding up signs. I expected the police to start demanding for their IC to take down their particulars and arrest these people ....but the police did nothing. I walked closer and took a look at the signs...."I LOVE U RAIN"....was what they said. For the uninitiated, Rain is a hot Korean singer...the huge crowd followed him as he got out of the airport into his limo ...had the signs contained dangerous words like FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, JUSTICE, BURMA or EQUALITY the riot police would have arrived and the illegal crowd would have been arrested for public disturbance.

It is okay to cheer your favorite pop star but if you hold up a sign with the word "DEMOCRACY" on it, you will be investigated for inciting violence. Same behavior..... different response from the police.

A month earlier, on August 25, 2007, 30 to 40 Burmese residents in Singapore had marched two kilometers down Orchard Road, the main shopping street, to a point near the City Hall. They did so to show solidarity with the then-nascent protests in Rangoon over the recent fuel-price hikes. "They just wore ordinary white T-shirts, carried no placards, and no one shouted slogans," reported an observer. "It was entirely peaceful."

The point was to send pictures back to Burma to encourage their compatriots. Barely 20 steps from the starting point, the group was intercepted by a police inspector and four or five officers videotaping the participants. The inspector "advised" the participants not to proceed, or else they might face charges. To underline the seriousness of the warning, ID particulars of 23 of the participants were
recorded. Despite this, the march continued, only to encounter the same police officers about one kilometer further on, near the presidential palace. Another warning was given. A week later, at the end of August, the 23 participants received letters from the police requiring them attend police interrogation over this "illegal procession". They had to make signed statements, and were issued a warning not to participate in
any such activities again. Said one of those who was called up, whose name has to be withheld for her own safety, "the police told us: 'If you do it again, you will be deported immediately'."

It is okay for rowdy crowds to gather to greet and follow their favorite pop stars around but it is absolutely illegal to conduct a small peaceful march for the victims of brutality in Burma. Singaporeans are so lucky to have a police force that is able to distinguish between harmless pop idol worship and promotion of harmful values such as justice, equality, freedom and democracy. Our society is allergic to certain dangerous ideas and the Singapore Police Force is there to protect us and preserve our society.