Singapore S Operation Lalang Against The Catholic Church 1987 Majulah Singapura

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First here is a message by Singapore's fourth Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Lawrence Wong is the first PM of Singapore who is a Christian (Methodist Church). No big deal. 
Just that Singapore's first three prime ministers (Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong) did not believe in the existence of a god. 

In this video here Lawrence Wong warns Singaporeans against jihadi Islamist influence in Singapore's 2025 election campaigning.


Here is a stroll down history. In 1987 Malaysia saw the Operation Lalang. Also in 1987 Singapore conducted their own version of the Operation Lalang which was called Operation Spectrum. I have a link below. 
In 1987 Singapore uncovered a Marxist conspiracy to 'subvert' Singapore. So they made arrests to nip things in the bud. Agree or disagree I leave it to you ok. There was a strong link between the 22 people who were arrested and the Catholic Church. To the extent that some Church folks said that it was actually an attack against the Catholic Church.
I recall at that time the Singapore Foreign Minister S Rajaratnam (a Buddhist and therefore not a believer in any type of god) engaging in some detailed and rational rebuttal of the Catholic Church over this affair.
Here is a quick recap.

Operation Spectrum, also known as the 1987 "Marxist Conspiracy", was the code name for a covert anti-communist security operation that took place in Singapore on 21 May 1987. Sixteen people were arrested and detained without trial under Singapore's Internal Security Act (ISA) for their alleged involvement in "a Marxist conspiracy to subvert the existing social and political system in Singapore, using communist united front tactics, with a view to establishing a Marxist state."
On 20 June 1987, six more people were arrested, bringing the total number of detainees to 22. The mostly English-educated group was a mix of Catholic lay workers, social workers, overseas-educated graduates, theatre practitioners and professionals.

According to the Singapore government allegations, Operation Spectrum was conducted to "nip communist problem(s) in the bud". The mastermind behind the alleged Marxist plot was Tan Wah Piow, a former University of Singapore Students' Union president who had been in de facto exile in London since 1976. His "key man" in Singapore was Vincent Cheng Kim Chuan, a full-time Catholic Church worker in the Justice and Peace Commission. 
Cheng's role was allegedly to use the Catholic church in Singapore as a "ready cover" to organise the infiltration of disparate groups of influence including the Law Society, the opposition Workers' Party and various student bodies. These would allegedly become pressure groups that would eventually come into open confrontation with the government.

By December 1987, all the detainees had been released except for Cheng. However, in April 1988, nine of the released detainees issued a joint statement accusing the government of ill treatment and torture while under detention. They also denied involvement in any conspiracy and alleged that they were pressured into making confessions. Eight of the nine were re-arrested and detained for a second time. They were eventually released after they signed statutory declarations denying everything they had said in their press statement.

You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spectrum
My Comments: If I may share some thoughts with Prime Minister Wong, the Islamists can be neutralised. And quite easily too. But only by a certain type of expertise which is based on the Quran. They have absolutely no proof for what they say.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

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