Category: News


  • Book: THE MIGHTY WAVE

    Function 8 has published The Mighty Wave by He Jin as an e-book.

    Download for free here or use the link below

    Mighty Wave is a novel written by He Jin who was a student involved in the crucial student protest against compulsory national service under colonial rule in 1954. This incident was recognised by the Late Mr Tan Jing Quee as the turning point in the history of Singapore’s anti colonial struggle. It was this incident that brought the Chinese Middle School students to the attention of the English educated university students who were also involved in the anti colonial struggle. Tan Jing Quee was the first self taught historian to recognise the importance of this book. Though he was already ill with cancer and suffering from blindness, he was determined to bring this important novel written in Chinese to the English audience.

    The translation by the three editors, Tan Jing Quee (lawyer), Hong Lysa (historian) and Loh Miao Gong (elected member of legislative assembly who was deprived of her seat) may not be perfect. The translators have explained the process of how they translated the book in their Introduction. Nevertheless they give us an insight into the struggle of Chinese students against oppressive colonialism. Many of them, including He Jin, suffered immense setbacks in their lives and were forced into exile.

    https://bookfies.com/ebook/963/the-mighty-wave Note: Please click on “Find a Store” button which will then present you with different formats for most devices.


  • Why is the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act still around?

    Statement by civil society groups

    On 7 March, the Minister of Home Affairs introduced a bill in parliament to renew the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (“CLTPA) for another 5 years with effect from 21 October 2024. The 2nd reading of this bill takes place today (2 April 2024). If the bill is passed, it would be the 15th time the CLTPA is renewed since its enactment in 1955. As of today, this law has been in existence for 69 years and actively enforced. The minister is not accountable to the people and the number of those detained since 1955 is not known.

    The CLTPA empowers the Minister of Home Affairs to detain people without trial for alleged “criminal activities”. The minister claims that arrests and detentions are made in the “interests of public safety, peace and good order”. Such orders for detentions are renewable on an annual basis and for indefinite periods of time.   

    The Minister is also possessed of the power to order a detainee to be released and place him under a supervision order of up to 3 years under the CLTPA. Anyone convicted of a list of specified offences faces up to double of the maximum prescribed penalty for the offence which may include caning.

    We, the undersigned, oppose indefinite detention without trial in any form. The period of such detentions may exceed the maximum punishment provided under ordinary criminal law. The exercise of such draconian powers without the knowledge of the public and without judicial oversight, is an affront to open justice and the rule of law.

    In 2018, the CLTPA was drastically amended to make the minister’s decision final. This was a direct result of the Court of Appeal ruling in 2015 that found the detention of an alleged soccer match-fixer Dan Tan unlawful. In recent years, we have seen the extensive expansion of policing powers and a significant growth in police resources. By renewing the CLTPA, is the government admitting that their whole policing arsenal is ineffective? 

    When the CLTPA was renewed in 2013, the then 2nd Minister of Home Affairs S. Iswaran described the legislation as a tool of ‘last resort’. Today, the Ministry of Home Affairs calls the CLTPA an “essential and critical” tool for the government to take “swift and effective action”. Clearly, the use of the CLTPA is a lazy way of dealing with “lawlessness” if indeed Singapore is in such a deplorable state of development and not a first world country.

    The CLTPA should not be renewed.

    Signatories:

    For the Children SG
    Function 8
    MARUAH
    My Queer Story SG
    NTU Financial Aid Friends
    SG Climate Rally
    Singaporean Campaign Group for the Academic Boycott of Israel
    Student for Migrant Rights
    Students for a Fossil Free Future
    Think Centre
    Transformative Justice Collective
    We, The Citizens
    Workers Make Possible