"I have often depended on the blindness of strangers." - Adrienne E. Gusoff

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An interesting idea:


Subject: Open Letter to the PM & Cabinet

A letter has been sent to the Straits Times Forum page, addressed to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, drafted by Dana Lam and Braema Mathi, to ask that the government preserve JBJ's public spiritedness and love of the law and is requesting for two items (please see reproduced letter below).

While the first letter by has been sent to the press already, there is an intention to continue collecting signatures and build up momentum. It's likely that there are many more people who want to show their support but may not have known about this initiative.

Therefore, for those of you who are interested, you can either choose to submit this letter individually or as a collective group together with some people you know, with your name(s), I/C number(s) for Singaporeans and signature(s). You may base on the template letter below and address it to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet via:

E-mail address: lee_hsien_loong@pmo.gov.sg

Mail: Orchard Road Istana Singapore 238823

Fax: 63328983(PM) 67324627(SM) 67345244(MM) 68356621(General Office)

Thank you for your time and to Stephanie Chok for informing the Facebook Admins.

NOTE: Please cross out your I/C number(s) if you wish to publicly display your letter in a website, blog or online forum, but the letters privately sent to the PM, Cabinet or the press should maintain the I/C number(s).

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OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND HIS CABINET

30 September 2008

Dear Prime Minister & Cabinet Members

By all accounts, we have lost a figure of uncommon strength and conviction in Mr JB Jeyaretnam.

No matter which side of the political fence we stand, it is undeniable that Mr JBJ, as he will be fondly remembered, has fought long and hard for what he believed was good for Singapore and, good for Singaporeans.

Mr JBJ did all he could with all he could. In staying the course, he has undoubtedly performed a public duty as a citizen of Singapore and, amply demonstrated the public spirit, the commitment to country and, the "nation before self" maxim that the government has sought to propagate.

As Singaporeans we are proud that such a man as Mr JBJ walked among us. We appreciate the sacrifices Mr JBJ has made for his beliefs in serving the people of Singapore . We are equally proud that the government, in spite of its political differences, has acknowledged the same resilience and service to nation in Mr JBJ.

Mr JBJ is an icon - an individual who stood up to serve the country and who stood tall for his beliefs and principles. As citizens of Singapore , we hope that Mr JBJ's public spiritedness and love of the law can be preserved in the following manner:

1) a professorial chair in the name of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam be created in the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and,

2) A scholarship fund in the name of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam for graduate studies in political science and/or constitutional law and/or civil society studies.

We also humbly ask the government to further demonstrate its commitment to public spiritedness and active citizenry by taking the lead to provide the seed fund for the above honours for others to follow.

We look forward to your encouragement as we mourn the loss of one of Singapore's better sons.


Yours in good faith,

Dana Lam Yoke Kiew (SXXXXXXXH)
Braema Mathi (SXXXXXXXG)
Siew Kum Hong (SXXXXXXXE)
Au Wai Pang (SXXXXXXXJ)
Manohar P Sabnani (SXXXXXXXA)
Teri Teo Shiwen (SXXXXXXXI)
Constance Singam (SXXXXXXXE)
Cheng U Wen, Lena (SXXXXXXXD)
Lim Siew Wai, William (SXXXXXXXD)
Benedict Jacob-Thambiah (SXXXXXXXI)
T Sasitharan (SXXXXXXXZ)
Stephanie Chok (SXXXXXXXB)
Heng Hiang Khng (SXXXXXXXE)
Jacqueline Tan (SXXXXXXXC)
Serene Yap (SXXXXXXXG)


Of course, it has as much chance of succeeding as the GRC system being dismantled, but what the hell: people in the Soviet Union used to spoil their votes as a form of protest too.