February 15 may mark the commemoration of the fall of Singapore to the Japanese invaders during World War 2, however the Singapore government is quick to cover up the war crimes of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and former President S R Nathan.
During the Japanese occupation, both Lee Kuan Yew and S R Nathan worked as translators for the Japanese. Lee Kuan Yew even became an editor for the Japanese propaganda department, and it is from his former role as a news writer did Lee Kuan Yew understood the power of mass mind control through the use of propaganda, and also led to his governance’s priority being strict media censorship. It is unknown whether if Lee Kuan Yew and S R Nathan collaborated in the torture and interrogation of prisoners-of-war with the Japanese military as a translator. However, it in undeniable the two have irrevocably committed a war crime.
It is from Singapore’s history did we learn that heroes did not become government leaders; Lim Bo Seng died under torture in enemy’s hands and his reputation then is that of a “terrorist” under the legitimate government of Syonan To. Even today, Lim Bo Seng do no enjoy even a fraction of repute that of Lee Kuan Yew’s.
At the same time, Lee Kuan Yew and S R Nathan who are actually the very rats who sold out their people were glorified as “leaders”. Lee Kuan Yew and S R Nathan are “heroes” of the present-day PAP government, just as Lim Bo Sen was a “terrorist” under the Syonan To government.
Transposing to Singapore’s modern politics, it will be no surprise modern Singapore leaders are the same batch of rats. In similar context, Singaporeans are gravely mistaken to believe these rich and powerful elites are the heroes they worship, and the real heroes who sacrificed for the people are maligned and treated shabbily.
To Singaporeans, February 15 is not “Total Defence Day” or a day to mark sovereignty. It is a day to remind the people not to be ingrates and pay wrong attribution to the real criminals. It is a day to remind that “heroes” and “terrorists” are just the same face on opposite side of the coin, depending on who is the government of the day.