25 Apr 2006

Where's the defamation?

Below is the article from The New Democrat which Father Lee Kuan Yew and Son Lee Hsien Loong are saying is defamatory. Read and see how ridiculous they are.

The Government's Role in the NKF

In all the hand-wringing and breast-beating by the Government over the NKF issue, Singaporeans must not lose sight of one thing: Such a scandal is inevitable given the kind of secretive and non-accountable system bred by the PAP.

The Government now tries to exone-rate itself by playing the innocent and gullible party duped by greedy NKF officials.

It forgets that in April 2004, Minister Khaw Boon Wan had, in reaction to public unease about the NKF, sought to appease Singaporeans by telling them that the Ministry of Finance "would have reacted many years ago" if there was any breach of rules by the NKF.

Mr Khaw categorically endorsed the NKF's dealings and called on the charity to "continue" to remain "transparent" in its operations.

At the same time the Second Minister for Finance, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, said that the NKF had "quite a sound record" because it spends "more than 80 percent of its funds on its beneficiaries" whom we now know are not kidney patients.

Clearly, alarm bells were raised. People could see that something was wrong and they had expressed their unhappiness over the years.

And yet, the Government which had the power to do something, chose not to. Not only did it choose not to rein in NKF but it also continued to praise the charity and encouraged people to donate to it. With assurances from not one but two Ministers, the charity went on its merry way.

The question that is on everyone's lips is: If Mr TT Durai had not taken the legal suit, would the Government have bothered to look into the NKF records? NKF would in all likelihood have continued to operate with the Government's blessings.

The NKF fiasco is not about bad practices. It is not even about negligence on the Government's part.

It is about greed and power.

It is about the idea that the political elite must be paid top dollar, no matter how obscene those amounts are and regardless of who suffers as a result of it.

It is about a system engineered over the decades by the PAP that ensures that it and only it has access to public information and by fiat decides what is allowed and what is not.

It is about what a "democratic society, based on justice and equality" should not be.

Singaporeans must note that the NKF is not an aberration of the PAP system. It is, instead, a product of it.

To ensure that there is transparency and that Singaporeans are kept informed of matters directly affecting them and their future, the Government must:

One, disclose the breakdown of the cost of building HDB flats and the profits HDB makes.

Two, reveal where and how GIC uses our savings.

Three, disclose the salaries of the top executives of Temasek Holdings and other GLCs.

Four, declare the assets and incomes of its Ministers.

Five, reform the election system to ensure that it is free and fair.

It goes without saying that someone must be held accountable over the whole sordid NKF affair. However, real accountability starts much higher up.




12 comments:

  1. Singapore must be the only society on the planet where you can sue for defamation and win when your name isn't even mentioned in the article!

    ReplyDelete
  2. there is one more article lah. Think LKY's name is on it, but barely.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If this is indeed the "defamatory" article, then what is it exactly that is so "defamatory" about it?

    Is the SDP still selling the newsletter? And where at? I would like to see it for myself before passing any judgment about its defamatory-ness. Sorry I can't help myself, the word is addictive.. lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. The defamation is all in the insecure minds of the Lees'.

    The only world class thing the PAP can claim to be, is in the salaries of their ministers. When you have such a world class salary, you'd do anything to protect it, including adopting some low class tactics like defamatory lawsuits.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Could this whole defamation episode be the sole initiation of Lee Kuan Yew?

    If you were an MP or a minister (including the prime minister), and Lee Kuan Yew told you to join him in a lawsuit against an opposition member, could you say no and not incur his wrath?

    Perhaps Singapore's political scene will only change when, one way or another, he is no longer involved. This is the observation of many political commentators which, ironically, includes Lee Kuan Yew himself. In an interview published in the Hongkong Standard in Nov 21st 1989, Lee Kuan Yew stated that

    "As long as the Long March veterans are there, the younger leaders are governing with the blessings of Deng [Xiaoping] and the veterans. The younger generation takes over only after the Long March heroes have gone"

    ReplyDelete
  6. the 2 nkf articles found here -

    http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=99526.1

    http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=99526.12

    ReplyDelete
  7. i don't understand how this article can be classify as defamation to Lee dynasty oops wrong to MM Lee wait kena sue for defamation

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great to finally read the article...ST does not even publish it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This isn't defamotory, it is the facts!
    And if this gets to the "eyes of people outside Singapore", all the better.
    Just let them see how pathetic our government really is.

    ReplyDelete
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