The system kills as reflected in Amos Yee’s case

Writer: Ho Khai Leong
Oriental Daily, June 28, 2015

Chinese scholar Lu Xun once said, “People are killed by the system!” It is a true reflection in Amos Yee’s case in Singapore. The twist and turn of the issue are incredible. The end result is that the Government fumbled along the way and a 16 year-old boy was sent to the mental hospital. It was ridiculous in the beginning, then shocking and now people are indignant.

Amos Yee’s IQ, based on my observation while teaching in University Singapore, should be among the top. He has humour but his criticism went overboard. However, his views and criticisms on the judiciary and the system have been within the scope of reasonability and rationality. He attempted a critique comparing Lee Kuan Yew and Jesus Christ. The title is unthinkable but isn’t it all about “thinking out of the box” as encouraged by Singapore’s tertiary education? Amos Yee is exercising what Chinese scholar Hu Shi described as “the freedom of being bold to doubt” only.

In the beginning, the prosecution was just doing its job in trying to teach the stubborn teenager a lesson. However, in the process, it sank deeper into the oppressive system. Its position became embarrassing as the procedures went to the extreme.

The seemingly impartial judiciary system became an accomplice in destroying the bright future of a helpless young adult. The issue has not ended yet and one cannot be too optimistic over how it would end.

In the face of such injustice, Singapore elites keep quiet and their media take a negative stand. Only the UN human rights organization as well as civil societies in Hong Kong and Taiwan lent their voice in support of Amos.

The Singapore society, which has been under an authoritarian system for a long time, is numb and lacks compassion. But the nonchalance has exceeded its limits. The self-righteous has taken control of public opinion which only makes the society sink deeper into society where “only one man’s words count.”

The human nature has different facets and the nation and society must be accommodating. If a growing teenager cannot speak his mind, the society has rendered life meaningless.

The aim of a system must be to educate public tolerance of different views and not oppress harmless dissidence. You may take a look at the black humour of stand-up comedians such as George Carlin who is famous for his cutting remarks on religion. People just laugh it off.

Autism has found victims in Einstein and Nobel Prize winner John Nash. If we used the standard and evaluation system of the Singapore judiciary, those people may have to be sent to mental hospital for observation.

The Amos Yee issue reminds one of politician Lim Chin Siong and the movies “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “A Beautiful Mind.” One can also call to mind Lu Xun who cried out against the system.

Original Source:
制度杀人：余澎杉事件的真实写照