"Once again, Francis Seow has revealed,
with his usual rigour and attention to detail, a vital part of Singapore's
repressive machinery, this time by placing his spotlight on its judiciary.
Beyond Suspicion? The Singapore Judiciary is essential to understanding
the true nature of human rights abuses in that country. Particularly
thorough are the chapters dealing with the use of civil defamation suits
through the courts by ruling party leaders against political critics.
Seow's meticulous treatment of these suits clearly illustrates that
in politically sensitive cases, the Singapore judiciary has not moved
to check the Executive's misuse of the law. Human rights campaigners
now and historians of the future will regard it as required reading."
- Margaret John, Coordinator for Singapore and Malaysia, Amnesty
International Canada
"Francis Seow has not just exposed the judiciary;
he has also laid bare the serious limitations of the political system.
This is a quite brilliant piece of sustained analysis of how the judiciary
is harnessed to political persecution. It is a style and methodology
that is more legalistic
., but it is only through this approach
that the full magnitude of the judiciary's emasculation and the PAP's
manic desire to crush the slightest semblance of serious scrutiny become
fully clear."
-Garry Rodan, Director, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University,
Western Australia
"This is an extremely valuable record of
many significant cases and events that lay bare the dynamics of the
Singapore judiciary and its intersection with political personalities
and imperatives. It is an impressive work
of scholarly and public
policy interest, providing chapter and verse on the politico-legal nexus
in Singapore."
- Christopher Tremewan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International), University
of Auckland, New Zealand