Speaking freely in Singapore
Letter to the editor: Sydney
Morning Herald. Dec 12, 1997.
RELATED: Organisers
reply
Dissidents
get a chance to speak freely
Authorities
'ruling by fear, eroding rights'
Opposition
leaders to address conference on S'pore
IN Singapore dissidents
get a chance to speak freely (Herald, November 29), Hamish McDonald
reported that Mr JB Jeyaretnam had accused the Singapore Government of
ruling by fear. There is nothing to stop Jeyaretnam, Dr Chee Soon Juan
or Mr Tang Liang Hong from speaking freely in Singapore, except that Tang
faces a charge for defrauding income tax.
All three lost decisively against PAP candidates in fair, free and secret voting on January 2, 1997. The PAP was again re-elected with 65 per cent of the popular vote. How does fear or "electoral engineering" explain this?
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew did not sue Jeyaretnam for defamation without cause. In the 1976 elections, Jeyaretnam accused Mr Lee of giving a banking licence to his brother. The case went all the way to the privy council, which upheld the judgement against Jeyaretnam. In 1988, he alleged that Mr Lee had got a minister to commit suicide when was being investigated for corruption, rather than face trial.
Dr Chee Soon Juan was not dismissed for photocopying and faxing his wife's work. He misused university research funds to send his wife's thesis to America, and then lied about it to his dean and his department head, Dr Vasoo. Vasoo sued Chee for defamation after Chee accused him of falsifying minutes and fabricating evidence against him. Chee abandoned his defence and paid damages, to avoid entering the witness box and be proved a liar.
The charade to meet 40 students in Sydney to exercise their freedom of speech will not win Jeyaretnam, Chee or Tang the next election. Singapore voters know them well.
Low Choon Ming,
Singapore High Commissioner,
Canberra.
December 3, 1997
Published in the Sydney Morning Herald. Dec 12, 1997