Tag: Kenneth Jeyaretnam

Mdm President. A Tale Told By Idiots Full Of Sound And Fury, Signifying Nothing
So much nonsense is being spouted about the Presidency that you have to wonder if Singaporeans have lost all of their critical faculties or are they just too busy virtue signalling.

There was widespread righteous indignation in our so-called “alternative” media over a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing’s alleged Freudian slip when he addressed Halimah Yaacob as “Madam President” rather than “Madam Speaker” in Parliament on Monday. I see that. Yes. It was a slip that gave away an early indication that our next President is going to be Madam Yaacob. Shock horror! But frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn and here’s why.
1. It’s a fact that this election is reserved for a Malay candidate.
2. It’s a fact that the PAP introduced new eligibility rules last year.
3. It seems likely that Mdm Halimah Yaacob will be the only Malay candidate who will be eligible given facts 1 and 2.
How many of these indignant scribblers are even minority race, obliged by law to carry an National Identity card identifying them as minority race? Whatever race you are, why bother getting worked up over the PAP’s moves to ensure that they have even more control over who gets elected President?

All checks and balances on executive power in Singapore disappeared a long time ago. How did they disappear? Historically through the usual power plays, deceit and conniving by Colonial rulers and vested outside interests. More recently because we the people, who still have the vote, did not resist. In fact most people welcomed the chance to give up their individual power to a draconian nanny state.

Get over yourselves. The PAP have unfettered power. Every branch of government and every institution has been brought firmly under the PAP’s control. There are no checks on that power and control. ( actually in recent years there was one. A man called M Ravi and he stopped the PM’s power over when to call a by-election- but he’s been fixed now)

Despite all the manufactured outrage by alternative media and keyboard warriors over the changes to the Elected Presidency, the EP was never an institution that was intended to keep Lee Kuan Yew and his son and later generations of the Lee family from power. The Elected Presidency was introduced solely to put a potential pebble in the machinery of government if an Opposition party was ever to take power in Singapore and produce a constitutional crisis to allow the PAP to take back power.

To understand what the Elected Presidency was about, everyone should watch this video of JBJ and Chiam See Tong debating with Lee Hsien Loong:

if you watch it and educate yourself as to how the role changed you will understand my view point. I simply cannot get excited over some of our brave so-called “civil society activists” slamming the recent changes to the Elected Presidency. These people are not prepared to agitate about any issues of real importance, merely where they feel the PAP have permitted them a safe space for a controlled and calibrated amount of dissent.

If Singaporeans want to see real democracy in action they can look no further than the huge protests have erupted all over the US against Trump and his executive orders. A judge, appointed by a Republican President, is prepared to stand up and place a temporary hold on Trump’s ban on Muslim immigration.

What does it matter who our President is? It is always going to be a PAP choice. Even before the new rules it was always pre -selection according to a PAP agenda and never was a free and open election.

I also cannot be bothered with the fools who get worked up about a not-so-much PAP candidate- i.e. retired long term PAP MP or civil servant. If one of these candidates were to be elected then again it would not matter. Why? The EP has no power because the EP must follow the advice of the Council of Presidential Advisors, which has recently been expanded and given more power. Should the EP ever go against that PAP group ‘s advice then he or she can be overruled by a 2/3 majority vote in parliament. The PAP always has, always had and probably always will have that 2/3 majority required to veto any President.

And why should I get excited over the EP when last election not one of the four campaigned on the actual unconstitutionality of the role? How it is a breach of parliamentary sovereignty. Did even one candidate ever say , “I’m just a ceremonial figurehead so long as the PAP have that 2/3 majority.”

How did all these virtuous bloggers and scribblers and activists follow up the wins of GE 2011?- by making sure the unified message to get 1/3 of opposition seats in Parliament was sabotaged. The result is a PAP majority and veto.

Get over it. You chose to put your lives and every aspect of life in Singapore into the hands of one political party. Ownself fury about ownself choice. Uniquely Singaporean!

Source: https://kenjeyaretnam.com
February 8, 2017
Reform Party: To Maintain A Reliable News Source, Government Must End Control Over Media

Chee Hong Tat, Minister of State for Communications and Information, said today (Saturday January 28 2017) that it was critical for Singapore to continue to have a national broadcaster that people can turn to as a credible and reliable news source:

“I think it’s critical for us to continue to have a credible national broadcaster that Singaporeans can turn to as a credible and reliable source of news, and also to understand what’s happening around them both locally and (in) the region,”

This is just the usual pathetic justification for the PAP to maintain a media monopoly. Despite state control of the media since the 1970s, many Singaporeans still seem unaware of the fact that Temasek, run by the PM’s wife, owns Mediacorp and that the Government controls Singapore Press Holdings through the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act. This gives the Government the right to directly appoint the management and the editors. Many former chief editors, like the late President Nathan, have been appointed directly from the Internal Security Department or ISD. So when Chee Hong Tat says that what we need is a “reliable” source of news he means one that can be reliably counted on to support the Government.

In fact the Government relies on state media to do more than just support it. It uses its lackeys in the state media to create fake news and defame and ridicule its opponents. When challenged on their lies and inaccuracies the state media does not apologise. Sometimes it amends the story without explanation or just removes it, as happened when the Business Times removed a piece making fun of death threats against the Reform Party’s SG during the Punggol East by- election.

As long as the PAP has a monopoly over the media we will not get a credible news source merely one that provides a constant diet of Government propaganda. There is not even an independent body to which you can appeal if the state media defame you or breach your privacy. We do not have an independent Press Complaints Commission unlike the UK. This has the power to compel newspapers to publish corrections and retractions to false stories and to publish apologies.

Over the last few years the Government has moved to tighten its grip even further on what little independent media there is. News websites are required now to register with the Media Development Authority and put up a deposit if they receive more than 25,000 views per day from Singaporeans. This will be forfeited if they fail to take down content that MDA objects to. In 2014 the Government closed down The Real Singapore, alarmed by its financial success, and then prosecuted and jailed its editors, one of whom was pregnant. Alternative news sites such as The Online Citizen (TOC), have been brought to heel by being designated as political and barred from accepting foreign advertising, even though they were set up by individuals connected with the PAP in the first place.

Now the Government looks set to tighten its grip on information to ensure that only its version of events gets out there. After Mindef lost the case it brought against TOC and Dr Ting Choon Meng under the Protection from Harassment Law (POHA), the Government has not denied that it is planning to amend the law so as to protect Government Ministries from what it views as false statements:

“At a time when false information can affect election results, contaminate public discussions and weaken democratic societies, it is important for the Government, as well as corporations and individuals, to be able to respond robustly to false statements that could poison public debate and mislead decision-making. Everyone, including the Government, should be entitled to point out falsehoods which are published, and have the true facts brought to public attention,”

Eugene Tan, the Government’s preferred rent-a-pundit, has echoed this call for special protection for the Government, notwithstanding all the resources it already has to put its case across through its state media monopoly. Tan said it is not a question of whether entities require protection from harassment and falsehoods, but about protecting public bodies from having to devote resources in what may amount to a “war of attrition”, and ensure as little misinformation as possible.

“There is little social value in protecting speech designed to harass or perpetuate falsehoods,” he said.

Unfortunately there is no symmetry. The Government is seeking to extend its overwhelming control of the media to put its propaganda across while at the same time stifling any criticism from independent websites or blogs by taking them down for spreading “false information” or forcing them to carry the Government’s rebuttal. As we have seen again and again, this right is not extended to individuals or the Opposition in the Government’s own media mouthpieces.

Reform Party also agrees it is vital for Singaporeans to have access to reliable news. However we differ from the Government. At present the predominant source of fake news in Singapore is the PAP Government. Singapore under PAP rule is about as far as it is possible to get from a democratic society.

We believe that you can only ensure the news is reliable if it comes from a plurality of sources in a competitive environment. Therefore we would divest Mediacorp as part of the process of privatizing and listing Temasek. We would also abolish the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act and allow anyone to start a newspaper. Finally we would not seek to apply the POHA to Government agencies that already have robust tools at their disposal to rebut criticism.

Source: http://reform.sg

February 3, 2017
M Ravi: J B Jeyaretnam Was Initially Admirer Of Lee Kuan Yew

A dinner in memory of the first opposition member to be elected to parliament, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (JBJ), was held yesterday evening (27 Nov) at Ban Heng Restaurant in Harbourfront Centre.

The event organised by friends and well-wishers of the Reform Party was attended by several prominent members of the opposition and the civil society.

One of the keynote speakers for the evening was human rights advocate, M Ravi. Mr Ravi said in his speech that JBJ was the inspiration to a whole generation of Singaporeans including Mr Low Thia Khiang, , Mr Vincent Wijeysingha, Dr Chee Soon Juan and Ms Teo Soh Lung.

In his speech, Mr Ravi further claimed that JBJ was initially an admirer of Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and that he later turned a arch-nemesis of Lee due to his lack of regards for workers’ rights.

“In fact, he was initially an admirer of Lee Kuan Yew, who started out as a lawyer for labour claims and workers. What motivated him to join and revive the Worker’s Party was his observation that the Government was moving further and further away from giving and supporting the workers and their claims. And the erosion of basic rights of workers and society at large.” – M Ravi

Mr Ravi also described JBJ a man of true principle, grit and determination who truly believed that it was the duty of an opposition MP to check, question and hold the government to account. He reminded the audience that the powers that be didn’t like this and went out of their their way to destroy JBJ, even going to the extent of mocking him for raising issues such as human rights and freedom.

Source: http://theindependent.sg

November 29, 2016
Kenneth Jeyaretnam: WP Helped PAP Kill Democracy In Singapore

I note lots of bloggers and activists putting out the Hansard of the contempt bill. This is mindless propaganda. Any bill is going to get passed BECAUSE of decades of WP leadership undermining parliamentary democracy by ensuring that PAP always have a 2/3 majority.

WP are no heroes here. Speaking in parliament about a bill they know is going to be passed is a no risk situation for them. As is every move by WP.

If we had seen any action from WP before this bill was posited or indeed fierce objection to any amendment of the constitution over the past decades then they would have a right to preach.

By ensuring the status quo can never be challenged they have killed our democracy.

Stop wasting your words. PAP will, can and do make anything they chose into Law.

Source: Kenneth Jeyaretnam

August 29, 2016
Humanising Kenneth Jeyaretnam

With a strong political pedigree as the eldest son of the late opposition figurehead, JB Jeyaretnam, one would expect Kenneth Jeyaretnam to be voted into parliament by now. Why hasn’t it happen?

From the initial excitement when Kenneth first stepped up to takeover the Reform Party to the series of missteps he had made since GE2011, people’s perception of Kenneth changed from a rising star to some kind of joker politician.

I wrote a humanising piece about the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)’s Dr Chee Soon Juan and thePeople’s Action Party (PAP)’s Chan Chun Sing earlier. Here’s the third in the series. Don’t judge a person too quickly.

Kenneth is not an engaging public speaker, but if you follow his questionings of the PAP government’s economic policies on his blog, he would make a good MP in parliament to ask all the hard stuff. After all, he is a highly educated, experienced economist with a double first class honours from Cambridge to match Lee Hsien Loong.

In Singapore, Kenneth attended St Andrew’s School, followed by the United World College of South East Asia. He attended Charterhouse School in England from 1975-77. From 1978-80 he returned to Singapore to serve his National Service. From 1980-83, he attended Queens’ College, the University of Cambridge, where he read economics and graduated with Double First Class Honours. Kenneth is also an alumnus of the Amsterdam Institute of Finance.

Credentials wise, he is rock solid.

Kenneth’s entrance into Singapore politics started with the passing of the late JB Jeyaretnam in 2008. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent a cryptic condolence letter to his two sons, Kenneth and Philip Jeyaretnam. Thereafter, the elder son went on to shoulder his father’s unfinished work in the fight to give Singaporeans an alternative voice in parliament.

Do you remember names like Nicole Seah, Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, Tony Tan and Hazel Poa? Do you know all of them first entered politics by joining the Reform Party when Kenneth stepped up?

It was the catalyst for all the political awakening that followed, leading up to the watershed GE2011.

In fact, Kenneth was a sought-after star catch then. Both the Workers’ Party (WP) and Chiam See Tong’s Singapore People’s Party (SPP) courted Kenneth to join them in contesting GE2011. If he did, he would probably be in parliament by now.

Yes, there were pitfalls. Maybe Kenneth is not a strong leader; many of the strong members in the Reform Party walked out to join the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and other political parties.

The Reform Party still managed to muster enough resources to contest in 6-members Ang Mo Kio GRC and 5-members West Coast GRC in GE2011. Not bad for a new political party. The Ang Mo Kio team was a motley crue, assembled last minute, but credits to Kenneth for at least putting up a fight there versus a walkover.

The party lost in both GRCs, polling 33.34% of valid votes in West Coast and 30.67% in Ang Mo Kio. For GE2015, the Reform Party is back to contest in the two GRCs plus Radin Mas SMC.

Kenneth tends to take things too seriously. We all know the phrase “don’t feed the trolls”. Not Kenneth Jeyaretnam. He was baited into a silly quarrel with Singapore’s top online troll, SMRT Ltd (Feedback), getting ridiculed as “jeyababy” among other names.

It stemmed from Kenneth making police reports over alleged threats made to his family members after he entered politics. Other opposition politicians like Chiam See Tong had such encounters too, but chose to laugh it off or kept it out of the public’s eyes.

Kenneth is also always quick to speak for those who are the most marginalised, like Roy Ngerng and Amos Yee. It is almost political suicide for any politicians to get themselves associated with these guys. Nonetheless, we do need someone on the far-left of the political spectrum who dare speak when others keep quiet. Imagine one day if you get wrongly arrested under the ISA; you can count on someone like Kenneth to speak for you. Probaby not WP nor the PAP.

In the eyes of many Singaporeans, these are stupid actions, but it also tells you Kenneth sticks to his values on democracy and freedom of expression, just like his late father. Even if it means losing votes.

The dumbest thing he did was to contest the by-election in Punggol East SMC in 2013. Kenneth obtained only 1.2% of the valid votes in a rare 4-cornered fight. The victory went to Lee Li Lian of the WP. This greatly damaged the reputation of the Reform Party as a credible opposition party which can pull votes.

Some stuff he did right – his scrutiny on the minute details of policies, particularly in the field of economics. His favourite targets include the CPF, the GIC and Temasek. Kenneth was the one who flagged the technicality involving a US$4 billion IMF loan commitment from our government, challenging it all the way to court. He is a policy hack.

One of his biggest folly is probably to allow all sorts of people to contest under the Reform Party. Voters view candidates as a team. If your team mates keep scoring own goals and make weird faux pas, you get dragged in the mud.

Maybe he should have went for a SMC first before gunning for a GRC. After all, his father won his first election in the single seat of Anson which has now disappeared from the electoral map.

Kenneth Jeyaretnam may not be the most engaging of speakers, but go listen to him, read his blog and find out more about him before writing him and the Reform Party off as a political lightweight.

Source: http://alvinology.com

September 7, 2015