The latest chapter in the Amos Yee saga

Hello everyone, this is the draft to my latest podcast which you can listen to by clicking on this link here. I do recommend listening to it even if you are reading it here as I often just add more thoughts that come to me whilst recording the podcast, so there will be certain points that are not written down here in the draft. This is a hot topic and I'd like to share my point of view here. I am sure many of you have read excerpts from Amos Yee's latest post on the 4th February where he openly baited PM Lawrence Wong. Yee wrote on his blog: "You think I'm just going to quietly accept my punishment and agree to serve in the military? Hah! I'm going to continue to swerve the military. There will be numerous court dates, me coming in and out of prison, each time I'll maybe write a blogpost here, make a video there, condemning the military, condemning the government. All the attentions (sic) and negative press you and I will receive, it'll be amazing."

Let me respond to what he wrote. Firstly, there is no absolutely bargaining when it comes to the Singaporean military system, the rules are clear: either you serve your time as you are obliged to or you will be jailed. Allow me to use the case study of Jehovah's Witnesses who are conscientious objectors, that means they refuse to serve military service because of their religious beliefs. In 2021, the BBC did a story on one such young man Yeo Zhengye who served 3 years in jail and there was no swerving the jail sentence, or trying to offer the system some kind of alternative. There is already a clear precedent when it comes to those who refuse to serve their military service in Singapore. There is no trial by jury like in an American legal drama - the sentencing will be swift and harsh, Yee will feel the full brunt of the Singaporean legal system and the worst part of it all, it is clear from what he has written that he doesn't even know what awaits him in Singapore. Threatening the prime minister by making posts on social media and making videos critical of the government and the military really isn't going to change the system at all. Amos Yee has overestimated the power of his influence on social media because he is never going to be able to get the media and the public on his side - now that's an important lesson about social media that Amos Yee doesn't seem to understand. Sure you can shout all you want on social media and express your point of view about the Singaporean system, but if you want people to take you seriously, you need to produce content that is interesting, engaging, entertaining and of high quality. If you are just an angry person ranting on the internet but your content is ultimately poorly produced and of low quality, then you're not going to get much attention - at best, you will be ignored and at worst, you will be condemned, mocked and insulted for having the gall to believe that anyone would listen to you when you present content like that. So if you are going to make a threat, then it has got to be a credible one whereby non-compliance would result in serious consequences. Otherwise, this is what is known as an empty threat, where there are in fact no real consequences if you do not comply. So let's look at a hypothetical situation.

In this hypothetical situation, Amos Yee gets deported to Singapore, he follows up with a bunch of social media posts condemning everything from the PAP to the military system. But what happens next? Well, he will be condemned by the Singaporean public as it is clear that he already a social pariah and a convicted sex offender. People from the rest of the world will take a look at that reaction and think, if that's how the locals in Singapore feel about Amos Yee, then we're not going to voice an opinion. No, even human rights advocates in the West will choose to keep quiet even if Amos Yee does make some valid points about the military system in Singapore. After all, it would seem extremely arrogant of someone in Europe to judge what is happening in Singapore whilst ignoring the views of the locals there. Amos Yee would have to learn the hard way that he no longer commands any kind of attention on social media even if he tries to put out more and more provocative content. The world has moved on - it was 2015 when his first controversial video came out a few days after the death of Lee Kuan Yew and yes there was an element of using shock tactics to gain media attention at a time of national mourning. But 11 years have passed and it is 2026, you can't use the same trick again and expect the same kind of response from the Singaporean public. More to the point, back then in 2015, he was a precocious 17 year old and many were willing to be forgiving, chalkin up his actions to his immaturity. Like many at the time, I was sympathetic too towards Amos Yee as I empathised with the kind of frustration he felt, that drove him to make that video. However today, he is not just an adult at 27 but a convicted sex offender who has served time in jail for those crimes and nobody out there is going to be forgiving or empathetic towards him. In fact, people in Singapore are going to be extremely hostile towards him and that has already been covered in my last podcast. So for Amos Yee to think that he can influence any kind of government policy when he is already in such a desperate situation, he is clearly oblivious to his predicament. 

Look, I'm not here to defend the military system in Singapore - allow me to state for the record, I did serve 2 years 4 months of national service back from 1995 to 1997. I did not have a good time there and yes, I wish I didn't have to serve it so I could've gotten on with my life as a young man and I saw that period of time as a total waste of my youth. It was one aspect of my time in Singapore I really didn't like - yet I accepted the fact that there was just no way to dodge it as my very working class parents were never going to emigrate to another country. I have mentioned this in my podcast before, I have a former classmate from secondary school Chris whose family moved to Canada and he subsequently obtained Canadian citizenship. He chose not to return to Singapore to serve national service and so can never ever set foot in Singapore again as he would be arrested on arrival even as a Canadian citizen, but guess what? Chris is a rich and successful businessman in Toronto today and he is very happy never to set foot in Singapore ever again. It is a small price to pay for not having to serve NS and as a businessman, he would say that is a very good deal. In life, you have to play the hands you are dealt and Chris clearly got dealt much better cards than I did. I could only move away from Singapore after I had served my NS obligations and there was no alternative. My point is that there are many Singaporean men who clearly feel the same way as I do about NS - they really hate it but accept that they have no other choice but to do what is required of them whilst resenting every moment of it whilst trying to make the best of a bad situation. Did you think all these millions of Singaporean men who have gone through NS were just waiting for someone like Amos Yee to come along and condemn the system on social media? No, Amos Yee has no credibility as someone who has not even been through the system - he's just an immature young person who doesn't want to serve NS and even if he makes some valid points about the inherent unfairness of the system, the very people who are most affected by the system - Singaporean men - will not be give Amos Yee any kind of support and are more than likely to mock, condemn and dismiss him as just an immature dumb kid who hasn't yet earned the right to have an opinion on NS.

Allow me to give you an analogy - I've just come back from a holiday in South Korea and there's a popular fast food restaurant chain called Mom's Touch. They serve burgers, fried chicken and a range of Korean side dishes - so imagine someone trying to have an opinion on Mom's Touch or judge their food - well, first you have to go to South Korea or one of the other countries where they happen to have a restaurant and have a meal there, before you have the right to have that judgment. If you're simply judging it based on pictures you have seen on the internet or Youtube videos you have watched, then no - that does not give you the right to pass judgment on the issue given that you've not actually tasted their food. The same thing applies to NS, Amos Yee has gone out of his way to avoid serving NS by fleeing the country and whilst that doesn't stop him from voicing an opinion on the issue, people in Singapore would not take any of his opinions on the matter seriously - it'll be like someone passing judgment on Mom's Touch without having actually eaten a meal there. If I were to be generous and kind, I'd advice Amos Yee to simply do his time in NS as it can't be any worse than the alternative of spending even more time in jail and it would definitely be the better of the two options. In any case, I need to point out as well that Amos Yee has been out of Singapore since 2016 - he has been away for nearly ten years and a lot has changed in Singapore since he was last there. If you want to make any kind of criticism of the system or the government of Singapore, you need to have credibility - you need to demonstrate that you do have a very good understanding of the subject matter and it is not like Amos Yee has been a super successful professional in the West for the last decade and is now able to compare the system in Singapore to that of America. Instead Amos Yee has spent most of the last ten years in either detention facilities or jails; neither offer much opportunity to broaden his mind or nurture him as a young adult - going to jail is not an alternative to going to university or getting a job. The prison service is there to punish you for crimes that you have committed, not educate or nurture you. By that token, Amos Yee has zero credibility - he can shout all he wants online about it, nobody is going to give him any credence or take him seriously. 

In his post, which was addressed to PM Lawrence Wong, Yee urged the Singapore government to "refuse to issue travel documents for me to return". Yee claimed that he could then be deported to another country or remain in America.

I have already discussed this point in my last podcast on Amos Yee - basically, that's not going to happen. After all, Yee is still a citizen of Singapore whilst the US is very keen on deporting him, just look at the stance of the current government and the activities of ICE there, trying to meet their daily quotas of arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants. Under the previous president, Amos Yee might have stood a better chance of staying on in the US but with Trump in charge, there's just no chance that can happen. Do they allow inmates in American prisons access to the news? It seems like Amos Yee is completely oblivious to the current political climate in the US. So, what Amos Yee has conveniently forgotten is that if Singapore refuses to take him back, that would anger the American authorities and would potentially sour the relationship between the two countries at this time. Trump is known for throwing tariffs at countries that displease him and therefore Singapore wouldn't want to take such a risk at this time over Amos Yee. After all, Singapore has nothing to gain by upsetting the American authorities on the issue of Amos Yee. Quite simply, Singapore has absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose by giving Amos Yee what he wants, so not surprisingly, we can expect him to be deported back to Singapore very soon. That would be the rational decision by the Singaporean government, mostly because they just don't want to displease the American government over this issue. As for this talk about being deported to another country - Amos Yee is once again totally oblivious to the fact that he is not a political dissident but a convicted sex offender at this stage, so there isn't a single country in the world that would accept him under these circumstances. 

This could "risk jeopardising that comfortable political position". He wrote: "There's a possibility that I get arrested and barely anyone cares. But why even take the chance? Call me naive but I think if I really put my mind to it, I can topple Singapore 60 years dictatorship (sic)." "You can choose to underestimate me and I think after a dozen public protests and a lost election later, it'll dawn on you... why did we let him back into Singapore and resurrect his popularity again?"

I can only shake my head at what Amos Yee wrote there - he writes like a angry teenager, not a well-educated, reasonable, rational adult whom one can take seriously. After all, he dropped out of school at the age of 17 and hasn't done any real work or training since, having spent most of the last ten years in jail. It is no wonder that he doesn't sound like a professional adult at the age of 27 but more like a teenager. He is more intent on venting his anger and frustration without once thinking how people reading this would interpret his choice of words and as someone who has forged a career in sales & marketing, I am aghast at just how totally oblivious he is to the way he is coming across to others. There is such a huge gap between how Amos Yee imagines he will be perceived by people like me and reality. I'd like to see him try to topple the PAP and fail miserably - after all, we have seen regime change in some countries in the last few decades but history will tell you that they really only happen under two circumstances. Firstly, you need a popular uprising backed by the vast majority of the population - this happened in four countries during the period of 2010 to 2011 known as the Arab Spring, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Secondly, you need foreign intervention, such as in the case of Iraq in 2003 when the US troops captured president Saddam Hussein. Well Amos, I have news for you: neither are going to happen in Singapore during your lifetime. The fact is life in Singapore isn't perfect, but it is good enough for most people not to want to rock the boat and change things too much. There are people like myself, who weren't happy with the way things were in Singapore but instead of trying to start a revolution, most of us left for greener pastures elsewhere and pursued a future abroad in countries more aligned with our values. It is the path of least resistance: start a revolution that is unlikely to succeed or move abroad - I opted for the latter. Look at what is happening in Iran at the moment, thousands have been killed in protests just this year and the government is still in charge there. Amos Yee has clearly underestimated just how hard it is to persuade Singaporeans that it is time for a revolution and regime change. 

Amos Yee talked about resurrecting his popularity in Singapore - really? How delusional is that? There was a short period of 2011 to 2012 when Yee enjoyed some success as a child actor in Singapore but please, let's put that in context. It was not like he was immortalized in the Harry Potter films and found worldwide stardom at that age. He was a full time student then so the projects he was involved in were either short films or a few short scenes in local films. His success was limited at best within that context and more to the point, it was during a time when actors had much fewer routes to success.  Thus we are talking about a period that is about 15 years ago when Amos Yee last achieved some limited level of local popularity as an actor within that very limited context all those years ago. However, times have changed. Nowadays, anyone can become a star on social media - all they need is their phone and loads of creativity. They don't need a casting director to give them their big break in a feature length film or TV show, they can create new opportunities for themselves with each post they do on TikTok or Instagram. If Amos Yee thinks he can compete with a whole new generation of Singaporean social media influencers, he is wrong - he can't. There's just no way. There was a time when Amos Yee had a limited amount of popularity as a child actor, then he achieved infamy and notoriety with his Youtube videos - Singapore is not the kind of place to give people second chances. Case in point, let's look at what happened to actor Ian Fang. He is a disgraced former actor who was jailed for having sex with a minor in Singapore, upon the completion of his jail sentence, his PR status was revoked and he is in the process of being deported from Singapore; on top of that, he will be barred from ever re-entering Singapore. Ian Fang doesn't have any fans or supporters at this stage given the severity of his crimes - there aren't any societies in the world where the public is forgiving towards those who commit sex offences involving minors. There was no way Ian Fang was going to relaunch his acting career in Singapore or China after he became a convicted sex offender - whilst we don't expect actors to live like nuns and monks, but we certainly won't tolerate convicted sex offenders. There is a minimum standard for most professions and as a convicted sex offender of crimes involving minors, Amos Yee has fallen so far below any of those standards for any and every industry and profession. It is ironic that he seems totally oblivious to this fact or perhaps he is still in complete denial. 

But I'd like to finish by talking about the elephant in the room - if you want to become the leading figure to start a revolution in a country, you need to be committed to that country. I'd imagine the classic figure for such a cause would be a highly educated doctor who has turned out lucrative opportunities abroad only to return to Singapore to work in a local hospital, serving the poorest in society and spending every free moment doing charity work. After decades of sacrifice, people would look at this doctor with such gratitude and admiration -that is how you earn the kind of social capital and credibility to become a figure like Ghandi, Trotsky and Zapata. Amos Yee has done absolutely nothing to win the hearts and minds of Singaporeans - he ran away from Singapore only to become a convicted sex offender in America and ended up being deported in disgrace to face another long jail sentence in Singapore. Politics is one huge popularity contest and Amos Yee just doesn't understand what it takes to become popular - indeed, even as a child in Singapore, he was isolated with very few friends and struggled connecting with his peers. Has Amos Yee underestimated just how hard it is to start a political movement in Singapore to challenge the PAP? Even when very credible opposition candidates like Jamus Lim of the Workers Party enter politics, he is really only focused on local issues, to try to improve the lives of the people he represents rather than trying to start a revolution to get rid of the PAP. Sidenote: I went to school with Jamus Lim, we were both at RI together from 1989 to 1992. You can't just expect to start a revolution by making Youtube videos in your bedroom - no, that's not how politics works. Amos Yee is just so oblivious to just how little he understands about how politics actually works and at this point, it just looks like self-harm - he is going to keep getting into trouble and spend most if not all of his adult life in jail if he keeps this up. He doesn't understand that you need to start by earning the respect of the public to have some credibility in politics and Amos Yee has done none of that, nor does he intend to do any of it. He is also oblivious to the fact that almost all Singaporeans really hate him at this point and want to see him rot in jail for a very long time. Oh and even if Amos Yee tried to join an opposition party in Singapore, he would be rejected by every single one of them given how he is a convicted sex offender. He is a social outcast with no future in Singapore.

You know, there's a saying: don't kick a man when he is down and Amos Yee is definitely down. The future looks very bleak for him - he's about to leave a grim American prison for an even grimmer  Singaporean prison, life is definitely going to be harder for him in Singapore and the only visitors he gets would be his parents and possibly other close family members. And if he still refuses to serve NS after his initial prison sentence, that's another 3 years of jail time for him and he would be in his 30s by the time he gets out at last. Most people would have spent the most productive time of their youth in further education and establishing a career, Amos Yee has done none of that and has instead spent most of it in various prisons. How is he ever going to get a decent job to support himself as an adult after all this? That is sad, but you have got to hold him responsible for the mistakes he has made that has led up to this point. He had a chance to start a new life in America when he was granted asylum but he just couldn't stay out of trouble and ended up back in jail - let's look at the case of Malaysian dissident Alvin Tan who was in the same position and was also granted asylum in the USA. Well, Tan is having a great time living in California and finally in 2025, he naturalized as a US citizen. He is making good money, he is living the American dream and he has not squandered this second chance he has been given, if only Amos Yee could have followed Alvin Tan's example. There is little to suggest that any kind of punishment in prison has reformed Amos Yee's character and he doesn't seem to understand that there are consequences to his actions when he breaks the law. Whilst he may have gotten away with a lot as a teenager in the past in Singapore but that leniency is no longer extended to him as an adult. Like many of you, I shall be monitoring this story over the next few days and I'll be very interested to see what kind of jail sentence he gets upon arrival in Singapore. Thank you very much for listening.