IN THE light of Ms Chua Lee Hoong's commentary last Saturday, 'Speak up and say what human rights mean to you', I wish to say that human rights are a universal standard of rights all societies must uphold.

Political freedoms should not overshadow economic and social rights, but the converse also holds true. Cultural relativism espoused by Ms Chua breaches this basic principle.

Countries like Zimbabwe and China use the same principle to defend their atrocities.

Ms Chua's idea of Singapore being a 'hegemonic challenge' to the West is an illusion. Singapore is singled out because our economic success is not accompanied by an increase in political freedoms, which contravenes the basic principle of human rights.

It is Ms Chua who is taking digs at the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute, not the other way round. I doubt the institute is interested in hegemony at all.

Lastly, the idea of Saudi Arabia and China learning from us deserves attention. Saudi Arabia is a fundamentalist monarchy and China is a communist dictatorship. If they are here to learn a new way to mask their horrendous acts in the political arena, and see us as a model in that respect, it is nothing to boast about.

Human rights are for all, and should not be violated by any government on the pretext of cultural realities.

Clement Wee

Soure: First Published in Straits Times Forum Page, July 16, 2008
Human rights are universal
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_258035.html