Category: Politik

SG High Commissioner Rebuts The Economist

The Economist writing about the media situation in Singapore last month (‘Zip it‘, 24 Jun) talked about Singapore bloggers getting into trouble with the government.

The Economist described a peculiar situation where the prosecution was pushing for rehabilitation and counselling while the defendant, in this case 16-year-old teenage blogger Amos Yee, wanted a jail sentence.

Amos was found guilty of circulating an obscene image and insulting Christians, reported The Economist.

“As it turns out, both sides will need to wait,” it said. Amos is remanded for another 2 weeks to undergo psychiatric assessment. The Economist then quoted Human Rights Watch and the UN Human Rights Office, which called for Amos’ release.

The Economist also mentioned that on 3 May 2015, The Real Singapore (TRS) was shut down by the Singapore government. The Media Developement Authority alleged that TRS had “fabricated articles [and] published prohibited material… objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public order and national harmony [and] sought to incite anti-foreigner sentiments in Singapore”.

Another blogger, Roy Ngerng, has paid Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s Prime Minister, S$29,000 ($21,653) in legal fees and expenses, and may pay more in damages, The Economist further reported. This is with reference to the current defamation lawsuit brought by Mr Lee against Roy.

The Economist concluded:

It comes as no surprise then that, in the most recent World Press Freedom Index, Singapore ranked 153rd of 180 countries, falling three spots from last year’s rankings.

Any hope that Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party would loosen controls over the media—as part of efforts to present a softer public face after its relatively poor showing in the last election—now seem misplaced.

Singapore’s government has proven itself as willing as ever to use the colonial-era Sedition Act as well as the 2014 Protection from Harassment Act to stifle dissent.

It also quoted Cherian George, a former NTU professor now teaching in Hong Kong, as saying that the Singapore government “still acts as though it can’t win an argument on the merits, nor trust the public to reach wise conclusions through open debate”.

High Commissioner Foo Chi Hsia rebuts The Economist

In a letter published in The Economist today (4 Jul), Singapore High Commissioner to UK, Foo Chi Hsia, sought to rebut The Economist’s article.

She accused The Economist of publishing an “unbalanced” article. Taking the moral high ground, Ms Foo said that in seeking “wise conclusions through open debate”, integrity and honest reporting are as important as the right to speak freely.

Ms Foo’s letter as it appeared in The Economist:

Your piece “Zip it” (June 24th) is unbalanced. It champions unfettered freedom of speech without providing the context of cases mentioned. Amos Yee was convicted for insulting the faith of Christians. In a small, highly diverse society like Singapore we guard our social peace jealously and make no apologies for it. We cannot allow people to denigrate or offend the religious beliefs of others: the result is anger and violence, as we have seen elsewhere. Protection from hate speech is also a basic human right.

The Media Developement Authroity (MDA) suspended TRS because it had published articles deliberately stirring up anti-foreigner sentiments. It fabricated stories to boost traffic and advertising revenue.

Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit against Roy Ngerng is a completely separate matter. The Court found that Roy Ngerng had defamed Mr Lee Hsien Loong. Freedom of speech does not extend to freedom to defame others. Yet despite Mr Ngerng’s questionable tactics, the government has not shied away from debating questions about the Central Provident Fund. Ngerng himself engaged Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on the topic at a public forum, an exchange carried by the national broadsheet.

In seeking “wise conclusions through open debate”, integrity and honest reporting are as important as the right to speak freely.

FOO CHI HSIA
High Commissioner for Singapore
London

Who is Foo Chi Hsia?

Ms Foo Chi Hsia joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 1994.

She was Director in-charge of the International Economics Directorate responsible for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and WTO matters from 2008 to 2009 and concurrently Senior Deputy Director in the Southeast Asia Directorate (April to September 2008).

She was Second Director in the Southeast Asia Directorate from 2008 to 2010 before her appointment as Director-General of the Americas Directorate from August 2010 to July 2014.

Ms Foo served at the Singapore Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2003, including as the Political Coordinator during Singapore’s term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from 2001 to 2002.

Ms Foo graduated with a Bachelor of Law in 1994, and obtained a Master in Public Management in 2005, both from the National University of Singapore. She was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2008.

Ms Foo assumed her post as High Commissioner to the UK on 1 September last year.

Source: www.tremeritus.com

July 6, 2015
30 Years In Chong Pang – K Shanmugam

After nearly 30 years, tales of woe, triumph, joy and loss have formed a mental library of memories. Some of them remain vivid.

In one of his first few Meet-the-People Sessions as a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, a resident wanted Mr K. Shanmugam to build helipads on top of HDB blocks for medical evacuation, the Minister recalled with a laugh.

Since he was elected in the 1988 General Election, Mr Shanmugam has been serving the Chong Pang ward and attending weekly Meet-the-People Sessions.

The area, which consists of about 40,000 residents, is now part of the five-member Nee Soon GRC which Mr Shanmugam leads. The other MPs in Nee Soon are Dr Lee Bee Wah, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Mr Patrick Tay.

Of the resident who requested helipads, he said: “(The man went to the session) simply to give trouble to an MP. He wasn’t mentally unsound. He was all together. He knew what he was doing. But he just wanted to make unreasonable demands.”

There is a small number of people who are like that, Mr Shanmugam added, whose unreasonable demands stop him from attending to the more genuine cases.

Mr Shanmugam tried to reason with the man but “he wasn’t listening, he wasn’t interested in my answer”.

Despite that rocky start, most of his memories in the area are happy ones.

Asked about his fondest memories from being an MP, he smiled and said: “That’s a very difficult question.”

“(There are) so many different moments. In the end, it’s people reaching out to you, forming the networks, forming the community support groups and helping people,” he said.

“There are countless stories of people helping each other, people helping me and me helping people.”

Calling Chong Pang an area where there is a strong “kampung spirit”, he said the residents do not go to him just to get help but also to help one another.

The minister cited a case of an elderly woman selling vegetables at a bus stop in the area.

“(She was a) very warm, very friendly, very old lady. She didn’t want to take any kind of assistance and wanted to earn her own living,” he said.

But residents had complained about her causing a mess and as a result, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) told her to stop selling vegetables there.

Other residents found out about it and alerted Mr Shanmugam, who wrote to NEA to appeal on her behalf.

“NEA was good enough to give her a licence,” he said.

There is also a case from 15 years ago that still stands out for him.

A young, pregnant woman was about to go to jail for hiring illegal workers in her father’s laundry business.

Not wanting her child to be born in jail, she was going to terminate the pregnancy and Mr Shanmugam found out about it.

He advised her not to abort the baby and sent appeals to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Home Affairs on her behalf.

At that time, he was still a practising lawyer and would ask his colleagues to attend the woman’s court hearings to keep him updated.

The woman was eventually let off with a fine and her daughter is now 14 years old.

When it was mentioned that it was cases like these that endeared him to residents, he let out a rare smile and said: “I hope so.”

“(There are) so many different moments… In the end, it’s people reaching out to you, forming the networks, forming the community support groups and helping people. There are countless stories of people helping each other, people helping me, and me helping people.”

– Mr K. Shanmugam on his fondest memories from nearly three decades as an MP

On General Election

OUTSPOKEN: Criminal lawyer and pro bono advocate Josephus Tan is now in Chua Chu Kang GRC. ST FILE PHOTO

Asked about preparations for a possible General Election, Mr Shanmugam said preparations have be ongoing.

“The latest you can have it is early 2017, so it’s a good bet it’s going to be the next year or so.

“Many people think it might be faster than that. And you don’t wait until the last minute (to) prepare,” he said.

On the issue of possible new candidates, Mr Shanmugam said with a laugh that many had already been identified by the media.

“(Some of these people have) been in my branch and they’ve been in other places. I wouldn’t know if they’re going to stand for certain,” he said.

“But I know that there are people who have started in my branch and are in a number of different places now, that much I can say.

“You have Henry (Kwek), you have Louis (Ng), you have (Yee) Chia Hsing in Punggol, quite a few.”

MOVEMENTS

Mr Kwek, 39, executive director of a food supply company, started out as a branch secretary in Chong Pang but has joined veteran MP Inderjit Singh in Kebun Baru in Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Animal rights activist Ng, 37, who started out doing grassroots work in Chong Pang, was moved at the start of the year to Joo Chiat constituency under veteran MP Charles Chong.

Mr Yee, who works at CIMB Bank, also started out in Chong Pang but is now branch chairman of the People’s Action Party at Punggol East.

Asked about criminal lawyer and pro bono advocate Josephus Tan, who has been very outspoken about his grassroots work in Chong Pang, Mr Shanmugam smiled and nodded.

“Yes, Josephus is now in Chua Chu Kang (GRC),” he said.

On animal cruelty

ANIMAL LOVER: Mr Shanmugam and his wife with Zorro, a mongrel they later adopted. PHOTO: NEE SOON GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION

Mr Shanmugam said that when it comes to animal welfare, one has be realistic.

“However much society progresses, there will always be a small minority – and you hope that it’s a small minority – that engages in wanton cruelty against other human beings,” he said.

He was responding to questions about the recent cases where cats in Pasir Ris were believed to have been fed poisoned fish flakes and an old, blind dog that was abandoned in a plastic bag in Siglap on June 21.

Mr Shanmugam said: “Different traits of irresponsibility, inflicting of pain, cruelty – all these are human characteristics. Thankfully, I would say, it’s in a very small minority. That’s where you need tough laws and you need to enforce them.”

DIFFICULTY

Looking down for a brief moment, he added: “The difficulty with cruelty to animals is that it’s hard to find who perpetrated the crimes.”

Mr Shanmugam’s love for animals has been well documented.

A strong advocate of animal welfare in Parliament, he has four dogs of his own – all adopted from animal shelters.

“I’ve always liked animals, I’ve always wanted to have pets but it wasn’t possible for a number of different reasons,” he said, adding that his first two dogs were mongrels.

One was from a shelter and the other had been given up by a family moving from a house to a flat.

“In Singapore, mongrels are not easily adopted. And if someone didn’t adopt them, they’d most likely be put down,” he said.

Source: www.tnp.sg

July 6, 2015
PAP Should Field Strong Team In Aljunied GRC

First of all, I just want to come out and say that the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) is a scheme conjured up by the PAP to retain more seats in the parliament. The other ways of skewing the electorate to their advantage are: redrawing electoral boundaries, and punishing opposition GRCs and SRCs by withholding services.

I do not support the concept of GRC at all. I strongly believe if the PAP is masculine enough, they will man up, and allow for only man-to-man square off in each constituency. No need to sneak in weaker candidates on the coat tails of stronger ministers… but if this is how the PAP wants to play, let’s play.

I propose the following team for the PAP in Aljunied. If I were the PAP, I would field the strongest team possible in the Aljunied GRC. Don’t just talk. Do. Put your money where your mouth is. Unless, of course, if the PAP has no confidence.

Here goes. The 5 PAP candidates should be:
1) PM LHL
2) DPM Tharman
3) DPM TCH
4) Minister Ng Eng Hen
5) Minister Kee Chiu Sing.

If you cannot win with your A team, you have no business running the government, and for that matter, Singapore.

Let’s bring it, shall we, PAP. Show some guts for once.

National Slavery

Source: http://renounce-sg.blogspot.com.au

July 6, 2015
Amos Yee Back At IMH After Being Sent To CGH A&E

UPDATE [6.54am, Monday, 6 July]: The Online Citizen understands that Amos Yee is now back at the Institute of Mental Health, after being sent to the A&E department of Changi Hospital on Sunday night.

Even as activists gathered at Hong Lim Park to call for her son’s release, the mother of teenager Amos Yee was being informed by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) that her son would be sent to a hospital on Sunday night.

Mdm Mary Toh, Amos’s mother, says she has been informed by IMH staff that her son is now in hospital.

16-year old Amos Yee had been remanded at the IMH the last two weeks for psychiatric assessment.

He is reported to be held at block 7 in the institution, believed to be the remand ward where mentally ill patients and the criminally insane are also held.

Mdm Mary Toh tells TOC on Sunday that her son’s blood glucose level has dropped and that he has also been feeling giddy.

Mdm Toh had earlier said her son had not been eating for several days, was also not sleeping well and was feeling depressed. She says he has lost weight too.

“Even this morning, he was asking me why he can’t be released,” Mdm Toh says.

“Amos pleaded [with me] to get him out soon,” Mdm Toh told TOC on Wednesday. “He can’t stand even another day in there. He said prison is better than IMH.”

“IMH staff thought Amos could be discharged today,” Mdm Toh said then, adding that the staff have been very helpful but are also concerned about the teenager who she said has not eaten for three days.

“They are all very concerned and worried, but say they can’t do anything,” Mdm Toh said, referring to the IMH staff.

On Friday, the teen’s lawyers filed an urgent appeal with the court to ask for Amos Yee to be released on bail.

However, this was unsuccessful as the court had a full day’s schedule and was not able to accommodate an urgent hearing.

Amos Yee is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, 6 July, for his sentencing.

He was found guilty on 12 May of “wounding the religious feelings of Christians” in a video he posted online, and for posting an obscene image on his blog.

In the weeks since then, however, his treatment by the State has attracted international criticisms, including from the United Nations and Amnesty International which have described Amos Yee as a prisoner of conscience.

Protests in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia have also taken place this past week calling for his release.

On Sunday, some 500 people gathered at Singapore’s only venue for free speech to add their voices to the call.

500 people gathered at Hong Lim Park on Sunday to call for Amos Yee’s release (Photo: Terry Xu, TOC)

By the time of his next appearance in court on Monday, the teenager would have served a total of 55 days in remand at Changi Prison and the IMH.

On Monday, this could be extended further by a jail term or at least 18 months in a reformative training centre.

“According to the Office of the UN Commissioner on Human Rights,”Amnesty International said, “reformative training is ‘akin to detention and usually applied to juvenile offenders involved in serious crimes’ and was referred to in a recent Singapore district court decision as ‘incarcerative in nature and should be imposed cautiously’.”

The United Nations Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) said in a statement on 22 June.

“OHCHR is concerned that the criminal sanctions considered in this case seem disproportionate and inappropriate in terms of the international protections for freedom of expression and opinion.”

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

July 6, 2015
PAP Caught In Catch-22 Situation In Aljunied GRC

The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) organising secretary Ng Eng Hen’s latest comments on PAP’s readiness for the next polls are another sign the General Election could be near, possibly soon after the National Day Rally, said political analysts.

And ratcheting up intrigue in the forthcoming elections, which must be held by January 2017, they added, are Dr Ng’s comments about the PAP’s strategy for the electoral battle in Aljunied and the make-up of the possible new candidates it has found.

In an interview with The Sunday Times published yesterday, Dr Ng, speaking on contesting Workers’ Party (WP) in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), was quoted as saying: “Why would we want to field somebody that we know has a higher chance of being rejected and deprive ourselves of an office-holder?”

Analysts said such a strategy captured the challenges the PAP faces in reclaiming the first-ever GRC it lost — its team of candidates in 2011 included several ministers and Mr Ong Ye Kung, a new face touted as a potential office-holder. Whether the WP keeps its team in Aljunied intact — headlined by party chief Low Thia Khiang and chairman Sylvia Lim — is one factor to consider, they said.

Former Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan said the PAP is caught in a Catch-22 situation: “Putting heavyweight candidates may reflect how seriously the party wants to win back Aljunied, but they could risk losing office-holders. However, taking the less risky option almost certainly results in a situation where WP is more likely than not to retain their seats.”

Dr Gillian Koh, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, added: “For things to flip in Aljunied, minimally, it will have to be the case where voters decide they do not want a WP team, or that the WP splits the two big leaders from the GRC. It will not be a vote for a PAP team.”

What compounds the equation is the theory that the best time to claw back a constituency is immediately after it has been lost, said Associate Professor Tan. “After a while, voters could become comfortable with the fact that it has become an opposition ward, as with Hougang.”

However, political scientist Bilveer Singh, from the National University of Singapore, said that should the WP leaders venture into other constituencies, it would weaken the party’s position and the public may “punish the WP for ‘abandoning’ them”.

He hypothesised that the PAP could stay away from pushing the issue. “At a strategic level, Dr Ng may be signalling that the PAP can live with Aljunied being run by the WP. It is good for democracy and, yet, having exposed the problems of bad governance that Aljunied residents will have to live with, the choice will be up to the voters,” he said, referring to the scrutiny on the opposition party’s town council management.

With Dr Ng indicating that the slate of new PAP candidates is ready, Assoc Prof Tan felt that the polls could be called within the next six months, while Assoc Prof Singh said it could be as early as weeks after the National Day Rally — normally held two weeks after National Day.

Recent hints that polls could be held soon include Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s May Day Rally speech, which observers said carried a heavy political accent, and his targeted Cabinet reshuffle in April.

Meanwhile, on Dr Ng’s comments that the new faces from the civil service, military and police will be “in the minority” — contrary to the norm for the party — Assoc Prof Singh said the PAP may have realised it needs to recruit talent that reflects the changing socio-economic and political flavour of the nation. “The Opposition has hardly got the government-type people on its slots and has been doing well with the electorate,” he noted.

Whether coming from the private or public sector, Dr Koh stressed that candidates need to be able to manage complexities at the helicopter-view level, as well as have a good understanding of how ordinary Singaporeans think, feel and act.

Echoing Dr Ng, she added: “Managing a town council is the very basic criteria, and has to be done well. So whether from the public sector or the private one, the heart of service and these capabilities will be key.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 6, 2015