SDP’s medium-term prospects not much damaged by fiasco

I think almost all who were sympathetic to the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) heaved a huge sigh of relief when party leader Chee Soon Juan announced on 15 January 2013 — just the day before Nomination Day — that the party will sit out the Punggol East by-election. As it has turned out, there are enough other candidates, from the Reform Party and the Singapore Democratic Alliance, to make this a four-cornered contest. The People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Workers’ Party (WP) had earlier announced their candidates and their intention to run.

But before I turn to the by-election campaigns by these four parties, I think it is important to assess how much repair work lies ahead for the SDP. In the short term, people aren’t going to forget this episode and it may hurt them, but its final decision, signifying flexibility and good sense, augurs well for its ability to learn and adjust. In my view, its medium-term prospects won’t be much damaged, and as I will argue in this article, it still has quite a credible route to parliament.

Injured worker awarded $69,000 in compensation, employer not paying

Uzzal Kumar Mondal won his case at the ‘Labour Court’ and was awarded compensation totalling $69,838. A workplace accident left him virtually blind in his right eye. The compensation order was issued on 25 October 2012. His employer has stubbornly not paid despite being given a deadline of 21 days from the date of the court order. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is not lifting a finger to help him get what is due to him.

Quite the contrary. In the second week of January, an MOM officer called him back and interrogated him. For four hours, according to Uzzal, he was talked to constantly. The officer asked him all sorts of questions about the accident all over again, at one point saying something to the effect that if his details today did not coincide with his earlier statements, there would be “problems” for him.

What was meant by that?

Uzzal felt harassed throughout. He felt that the officer was intent on tripping him up, and fishing for ways to reverse the court order; perhaps even looking for a way to prosecute him for lying under oath.

SDP trips itself up even before Punggol East starting gun

You can almost hear the boos. The Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) proposal for “compromise” with the Workers’ Party over a joint candidate for the Punggol East by-election is so ridiculous, some may question whether they have a grasp of reality.

To quote the statement put up on SDP’s website (link):

In the spirit of compromise and cooperation, we would like to propose that our two parties run a joint campaign and field one candidate from the SDP. If victorious, the SDP candidate will enter Parliament and the WP will run the Punggol East Town Council.

– Press statement by SDP, 11 January 2013

Immediately, they got little else but online flak. Many characterised this idea as one where SDP will get the glory in parliament and WP do all the grunt work.

PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback, part 6

Facebook postings about the sale of town council software to Action Information Management Pte Ltd (AIM), a PAP-owned company, fell off dramatically soon after news broke that Lee Hsien Loong’s lawyers had sent me a letter. Possibly, people felt very unsure what was safe to talk about anymore.

Therefore, I think it is important for me to clarify that the statements in the article that I had to take down, and that Lee took exception to, were not, strictly speaking, statements about the sale of the software to AIM, but phrases and sentences pertaining to him. They were statements and questions I had asked that Lee felt questioned his integrity, corruptibility and abuse of power should he not launch an investigation. The 21 readers’ comments that the lawyers cited as defamatory were of the same vein.

PAP mis-AIMed, face blowback, part 5

On Friday, 4 January 2013,  a letter from Drew and Napier came to me. Lawyer and former PAP member of parliament, Davinder Singh, acting for the firm which represents Lee Hsien Loong (in his personal capacity) said Lee was defamed by various allegations of corruption on his part in my article dated 21 December 2012, titled ‘PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback’, as well as in 21 comments following it made by readers (referred to as ‘posts’ in the letter below). Because I moderated the comments, the letter said, it meant I “subscribe to and endorse” the views expressed by those comments.

I accept that I was wrong and am publishing an apology and undertaking as requested:

Readers can look forward to a further article from me further discussing the effect of this turn of events on the AIM saga. Yes, there will be a part 6. Stay tuned.

PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback, part 4

Teo Ho Pin’s latest public statement regarding the sale of the town council computer system to Action Information Management Pte Ltd (AIM) is far from convincing. If anything, it lends even more weight to suspicions that it was improperly decided and executed.

PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback, part 3

The above tender notice appeared in the Straits Times on 30 June 2010. (Thanks to a reader who did the sleuthing, who, I believe, would prefer to remain anonymous). You can click on it for a bigger version, but for your convenience, here is the text:

PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback, part 2

I am glad my instincts count for something. When I wrote in Part 1 that “the story about town council computer and financial systems is not getting as much traction as I think it deserves”, I had only a vague feeling that a possible scandal lies there. But after seeing the obfuscatory statements by Teo Ho Pin, I became even more concerned.

There are plenty of questions; even more now after his statement and after I looked at a few town council financial reports. But I have to be realistic. Getting full disclosure from this government is going to be like pulling teeth. We may not succeed, but I hope it causes them excruciating pain, so they learn never to take citizens for fools again.

PAP’s candidate search for Punggol East may be harder than ever before

It’s almost unimaginable that there will be no by-election in Punggol East (above) until the term of the present parliament ends. It’s too many years away. Should Lee Hsien Loong delay it that long, he will only cement his reputation as the Great Ditherer.

Naturally he will want to choose a time that is most favourable to the People’s Action Party (PAP). He has already hoisted his reasons for not calling a by-election immediately, saying that there are many pressing national issues to deal with. I’m not sure how many people are as unconvinced as I am with such an excuse.

PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback

This article has been taken down. For reason why, please see PAP mis-AIMed, faces blowback, part 5.