As many readers of this blog are aware, I act as counsel to Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the persecuted leader of the Singaporean opposition party.  Dr. Chee recently wrote an open letter to strongman Lee Kuan Yew, whose family has had control of the tiny city state for some five decades.  This letter, which describes the circumstances of a number of political prisoners and the generalized state of intolerance and abuses of basic rights by the government, is recommended reading.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Minister Mentor

Dear Mr Lee,

As you grieve over the loss of Mdm Kwa Geok Choo, many Singaporeans grieve with you. Everytime someone dear to us passes away, the pain is deep. Losing a loved one is the cruelest act that life can inflict on humans.

Even as you mourn the loss of Mdm Kwa, I am certain that you think of the happier moments that the both of you shared and that you, of all the people in this world, were the one to have had the pleasure of spending a lifetime with her. That, at least, is to be celebrated.