This week, as Chee was sentenced and jailed for contempt of court, there was a perceptible shift in the questions — what do I think of him, having reported on the man for more than five years?

Journalists, being journalists, ask you questions and offer their answers at the same time.

And the results were not flattering of the Singapore Democratic Party leader.

But what struck me the most these past two weeks on this topic was not anything the Lees or Chee said in court.

It was what SDP assistant secretary-general John Tan said in the public gallery of Court 4B, where Chee and his sister’s hearing was held.

“Mr Jeyaretnam (referring to Mr JBJ) is a good man, but he doesn’t have the kind of foreign connections Chee has,” said Mr Tan.

The remark certainly is instructive of Chee and his approach to contesting the Government. This, more than any other, shapes my opinion of him.

Sadly, I think he has lost focus, lost track of why he is doing what he is doing.

I remember a time in the ’90s when he took on the machinery of the Health Ministry and debated with then-Health Minister George Yeo about healthcare subsidies and healthcare costs.

Chee’s credibility was knocked because of a typo in his report, and he came up short against the Government’s case.

Still, Chee was relevant then because he was debating an important issue. Is he relevant now?

If one were to look at some of the things he stands for — a more open society, more institutional transparency, more political checks and balances, greater separation of powers — these are things we need to talk about.

But, the test of relevance is what he has done to win the hearts and minds of Singaporeans — and not of his foreign connections.

Last week, even Mr Lee Kuan Yew suggested to Chee to have his foreign non-governmental organisation backers get him out of debt so that he can contest at the polls.

The big question is whether his alternative is going to be more effective in winning the hearts and minds of people? I think not.

It is telling the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats has registered its solidarity with Chee on his party’s website. But, Singapore is neither a South Africa with an apartheid regime, needing foreign pressure to bear, nor a Myanmar.

The late Martin Luther King appealed to his people, not to other countries, to foment change in the United States.

Our country is not perfect, but it needs Singaporeans to improve and change things. Mr Chiam See Tong, Mr Low Thia Khiang and, yes, Mr Jeyaretnam are trying to win the support of people to do so.

There is much to be said about all that Chee has sacrificed. But, as he said last week, it is not about himself or Mr Lee. It is about the interests of Singapore.

And the biggest worry is that all the good things Chee stands for risk being dismissed by Singaporeans, tainted by association with a man who cannot win their hearts and minds if he continues along the path he has chosen.

That would be the greatest tragedy.

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