Think Centre, a political research initiative which says it focuses on democracy, rule of law, human rights and civil society, retracted its Mar 31 statement in which it announced plans to contest Singapore's next general election, expected later this year or in early 2002.

"I'm sorry. I apologise," said Jacob George, the rights group's public affairs manager.

Meanwhile Reuters quoted James Gomez, executive director of the Think Centre saying the prank highlighted the lack of understanding and transparency in the city state's electoral process.

"We call it a public education exercise. It's a bit fun and it's a bit for political awareness," Gomez said. "The whole electoral process is not transparent whether it is the ruling party or the opposition."

The Think Centre issued a statement on Mar 31 naming the ward it wished to contest and its proposed candidates. Local media ran the story and reported Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's guarded reaction.

The long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is due to send Singaporeans to the polls by August 2002 but is widely expected to call the general election later this year.

Only registered political parties can stand for elections. The Think Centre, which was named a political association by the government Mar 30, cannot take part in its present capacity.

"Yet nobody understood this. When we announced that we were going to run as a centre, people just lapped it up wholesale," Gomez said.

The Straits Times reporting the prank, Apr 3 asked: When does a prank about serious news dent the credibility of those pulling it?

The search for new candidates in the coming general election it said has become a parlour game, where who's in or who's out, and who's standing where, is as good as anyone's guess.

The paper also ran a made up story in the Sunday Times on April 1. It claimed its report about adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow as a possible People's Action Party candidate was a joke in the “time-honoured tradition of newspapers running a plausible but made-up story”.

Reactions to the Think Centre's prank varied from it “should be taken in the right spirit” to “the stunt may jeopardise the centre's credibility”.

Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharuddin said: "Some people may think that it is funny.

“But I feel that new groups, such as the Think Centre, who are trying to make an impression on the public, should take themselves more seriously.”

He also said that there was a difference between the stunt played by the newspaper and that of the group.

“The group has been highly politicised and people don't take them lightly, but if that is how they want people to view them, then so be it.”

On its part, the Think Centre said: “It was our April Fool's Day joke, which was, in part, to inject some fun into Singapore politics and, in part, to raise some awareness of the electoral processes in Singapore.

“We do not mean to make a farce of politics in Singapore, though many may feel that it is already doing fine in this area without any help from us.”

When contacted Apr 2, James Gomez said: "I don't see it as bringing down our credibility...We take comfort that the Sunday Times had a meeting of minds, like us, to play a joke."

However, the Straits Times' political editor Han Fook Kwang begged to differ. He said: “I think there's a difference. It's almost a tradition for newspapers to do this, once a year, when readers expect us to do it for a laugh.

“I know some readers look out for it and search the paper that day and have fun trying to spot which is the story.

“But it's different when a political organisation sends its story to all the media organisations in Singapore, the newspapers, TV and the foreign news agencies, which was what Think Centre did, to fool them all into thinking it was a serious statement.”

The Sunday Times report, true to sporting form, had a few giveaways, which were spotted by some readers.

The Think Centre, on the other hand, denied its statement was a joke when asked on Mar 31, the day it sent out its statement.

Its media liaison officer Jacob George said then: “Everybody would have gotten that impression, but no, it's not.”

Han noted: “When our reporter asked if this was an April Fool's joke, they denied it was.

“They have to think about whether people will now take their statements seriously in the future, after the flippant way they hoodwinked the public.”

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, one of the MPs for Jalan Besar GRC, noted: “We can have fun in some other way, but there are just some matters that you should not make a joke of.

“At the end of the day, an elections is a serious affair, because it determines the fate and future of the country.

“By making fun of it, it just borders on bad taste and you shouldn't take the entire country for a ride.”