SDP censored again and again and again...

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Thursday, 05 November 2009

Singapore Democrats

The Singapore Democrats have been censored again by the mass media. The Today newspaper ran a story about opposition parties and their views on the upcoming general elections. It completely left out the SDP even though we had replied to the reporter's questions.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurence as far as the local press is concerned. The Singapore Press Holdings and Mediacorps seem to have an understanding that news about the Singapore Democrats must be blacked out.

For example, Channel News Asia did a report earlier this year on how political parties were using the Internet to spread their messages. The story mentioned only the PAP and Workers' Party (WP), completely ignoring the SDP even though we have been at the forefront of using the new media. (See here)

Not to be outdone, the Straits Times published a report about the Reform Party's first anniversary dinner held in September this year. It mentioned the attendance of other opposition parties but left out the Singapore Democrats.

And when it does mention the SDP it publishes falsehoods. For example, Lianhe Zaobao in 2008 reported that this website was losing readers because of the extremist views that the party had taken when in fact the opposite was true. (See here)

In July this year Ms Mavis Toh from the Straits Times emailed the party and submitted questions about the SDP's Young Democrats because she was "working on an article regarding youth wings in singapore's political parties." As far as we know, the story never appeared.

A month later another Straits Times journalist, Mr Cai Haoxiang, emailed the SDP and again wanted to do "a story on what youth wings of political parties in Singapore are doing for National Day."

Again the SDP emailed the reporter the information and again no story appeared.

The latest incident happened when Mr Zul Othman of Today emailed the SDP a set of questions about the party's plans for the GE. We replied to the email and alerted the reporter to our response on this website. But nothing appeared in the newspaper's report about the SDP's comments. (See here)

If it happens once, it is very possible that events had overtaken or that the story had to be killed for some legitimate reason other than censorship. But when it happens repeatedly where information is sought but not published, is it not reasonable to suspect that the state media may be just fishing for information?

None of the journalists mentioned above got back to the SDP to explain why the information were not used.

Even though party members have been hard at work on the ground visiting estates in Toa Payoh, Bishan, Bukit Panjang and other vicinity, there is precious little coverage of what we do. When we achieve pioneering political work in cyberspace, the media refuses to report them.

In contrast when the PAP gets in on the online action a few years late, announcing last week that it would use new media tools in its campaign, it gets front page headlines.

The question that must be asked is: Why is the PAP-media bent on blacking out news about the Singapore Democrats? Is there something that the SDP is doing that is threatening the PAP's hold on power?

But the funny thing is that despite the media blackout, or maybe because of it, more people are joining the Singapore Democrats. This is due to our use of the Internet to reach out to Singaporeans. We are determined to bypass the state-controlled media and reach out directly to the people via the new media.

We will continue to invest in the Internet and complement our online work by working hard on the ground. We call on our fellow Singaporeans to not let the media bullying silence your voice, your party, your SDP.

Join the cause and help break the media stranglehold. Email us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Comments (15)

Thu 05 Nov 2009 9:46 AM | maxchew - As far as SPH is concerned....SDP does not exist!

When you fear your opponent or enemy or detractor and you just can't get him off your back.....you pretend that he does not exist. And the way to go about his imagined non-existence is to cut him off completely on anything concerning him.

A colleague once told me someone we both know who did him wrong has ceased to exist as far as he's concerned. This is the ultimate retaliation from one party to another it hates/fears vehemently.

Thu 05 Nov 2009 10:38 AM | compassion republican - Mind Game

Hello, what has to be clear. 1) if there is not differentiation between leftist party versus right wing party then voters will opt for the only party the know, strong ruling party. 2) if there is not differentiation between New Media versus Old Media. Then the Old Media will "control all of us" they will win. The traditional media has "to stay relevant" by not being label as Right Wing Media. Because the day they seen as Right Wing Media they had lost. Thats why Strait Times publish SPP at his fourm. 3) If the opposition is not united, continue to release news through the Old Media, then we had all lost the race. By writting to the Tradition print media, it is telling S'porean The Strait Times is a Moderate Newspapers, and she is not a mouthpiece for the Ruling Party. In this way the Strait Times will continue to control the mass S'porean politics views. Unfortunately our opposition is not united, they somehow believe Old media are on their sides. How navie and innocent, they should pack up & go home

Thu 05 Nov 2009 12:59 PM | BryanT - Laughin and crying again

Once again, I don't know whether to laugh or cry after reading this article.

Laugh, because of the irony to see SDP complain about censorship based on its own practices in this website. I have written about this before and shall refrain from reiterating.

Cry, because it seems that SDP does not understand that its reply to TODAY was devoid of information that was relevant to the article. Perhaps because of its own skepticism and caution, SDP did not feel comfortable releasing more details the party's election preparation and strategy. That is fine.

Instead, it issued a terse statement that SDP would be “fielding a team of candidates of both new and familiar faces in the next general elections. The names and gender of the candidates will be announced at the appropriate juncture on this website.” When a newspaper decides not to print something un-newsworthy or irrelevant to the topic, I don't think it qualifies as censorship.

In contrast, other opposition parties responded with useful and interesting information about their plans and activities. As such, TODAY reprinted some (but propably not all) relevant portions of their replies. That is why they are not complaining.

My recommendation to SDP is to reflect on what it wrote and then contemplate what would have been more fitting in order to get information about itself onto the MSM. Complaining does not help.

Thu 05 Nov 2009 1:11 PM | btan

I think it is a chicken-and-egg issue. Without getting parliamentary seats, the mass media can safely ignore SDP. They can't ignore, say Chiam See Tong or Low Thia Khiang by virtue of the fact that they are MPs.

Without getting exposure, it is hard to raise the profile.

Fortunately, there is the internet and many Singaporeans are net savvy. Already, two of the most prominent political websites : The Online Citizen and Temasek Review has top traffic when it comes to political matters.

It is to SDP's advantage that you should send representatives to engage with these people. They may not be your mouthpiece but they will definitely give you a free and fair exposure. On top of that, you have many supporters who are also readers of the two sites.

Already TOC has granted interview to some other political parties. So SDP should contact their admins to see if they collaborate with you.

Malaysia has Malaysiakini, which is crucial to the rise of Malaysian opposition, you need to work with our own Singapore version.

The sites are :

http://www.temasekreview.com/
http://theonlinecitizen.com/

Thu 05 Nov 2009 2:42 PM | waterfirex - Re: Laughin and crying again

So Mr T, why don't you answer seebeng's questions posed in an earlier posting? I quote them again here for your convenience:

[b]Why can’t “these remonstrations” be published. Is it not the role of newspapers, if there are really any in Singapore, to tell their readers the concerns expressed by a political party? Let the people, after reading the comments from the SDP, decide or judge for themselves whether there is any truth in its “allegations”.[/b]

Why couldn't [i]Today[/i] make a passing mention of SDP? Just one sentence like this will do:

[i]When approached, SDP said that it would announce its candidates at the "appropriate juncture". The party continued to question the independence and fairness of the electoral system.[/i]

Why are you pushing the blame to SDP again and again, refusing to reflect upon the role of the media or acknowledging the corruption in our institutions?

Let me make one modest prediction. With your characteristic hit-and-run routine, we will see no answers to these questions.

Thu 05 Nov 2009 6:22 PM | zah

I agree with btan. The internet is the way to go.Don't expect favours in the traditional mainstream media....get out of the complain culture.

Thu 05 Nov 2009 6:51 PM | quantum

BryanT, the PAP Man:
What right have you got to judge the SDP? You are just a PAP spy, mouth-piece and dog, three in one.

Thu 05 Nov 2009 9:22 PM | guy2100

Why is the SDP so concerned that the MSM had purposely exclude them in their report. I hardly read MSM these days preferring to read the news online. Local sites such as TOC, The Temasek Review and of course the SDP website have become my media. Many Singaporeans spends hours on the net online. Don't be deceived that it's only online games and facebook they are looking at. The internet has become mainstream as far as I am concerned. In this instance, the SDP has won hands down.

Thu 05 Nov 2009 10:29 PM | NissanViP - What is LKY- PAP Fear of?

I believed SDP knows inside-out about LKY-PAP, and for that reason, SDP is always a threat to PAP.

Can LKY put SDP under house-of-arrest like Myanmar opposition leader – Aung San Suu Kyi?

No, LKY can’t afford to do that, because his political influence and power will be under fire from the world community leaders, and sanction action as well.

This will hurt both economy and investment position (and LKY wealth in and outside Singapore too)

LKY smart plan to silent SDP by suing in the pretext of “Defamation”?

Smart move, right?

My point is, what have other opposition been doing lately?

Everybody knows that dealing with LKY – PAP is a big risk (No pain - No gain) including leading to ISD cell.

Other opposition may have planned to take a “hide” first while expecting the SDP to do more damages before making their final move to win the vote.

I really wonder why do they have to “hide” instead of joining forces or at least be vocal regardless what threat come what may.

To all opposition, put your PRIDE and FACE aside if you care about Singaporean.

Otherwise, it is as good as telling me that the opposition is more interested in Power & Money.

Please re-think!!!!!

Thu 05 Nov 2009 11:08 PM | BryanT - MSM vs TOC/TR

Maybe SDP is ranting about MSM for the purpose of portraying the authority's prejudice against the party.

But perhaps SDP understands the limitation of the internet in reaching a substantive segment of voters -- those who don't understand english so well, those who don't troll the internet for news, those who are devoted to the MSM, and those who abhor reading and are glued to the goggle box.

The number who roam TOC and The Temasek Review may be growing, but the lucrative fishing grounds for new votes are not at these sites. The majority of potential converts to the opposition are out there and at the market places.

SDP is best advised to build a better strategy to engage the MSM, and understand that ultimately, in their line of business, they carry news that appeal to the people. Harsh political messages may be interesting, but until something changes, they are OB to the reporters and editors.

SDP should keep such scabrous messages to its own website and focus on other softer messages for the MSM. These will appeal to the electorate and change their perceptions of the party.

PS. I apologise that I've not replied directly to commenters here; that's because the website frowns on one-to-one exchanges. Some of my direct replies have been stuck off and I'm not exhilarated. Some may taunt-and-giggle, but I do not hit-and-run.

Fri 06 Nov 2009 12:23 AM | Seelan Palay - re: MSM vs TOC/TR

[quote=BryanT]SDP should keep such scabrous messages to its own website and focus on other softer messages for the MSM. These will appeal to the electorate and change their perceptions of the party.[/quote]

Funny you say that those will appeal to the electorate as if you have special information as to what every citizen thinks.

As for myself, seeing a session of their New Democrat sales was beneficial to help me get a more balanced understanding of public sentiment outside of the impressions given by the local media and unknown online commentators such as yourself.

The SDP do have a considerable amount of support on the ground and people do welcome Dr Chee.

Fri 06 Nov 2009 12:50 AM | | seebeng - Continue exposing PAP propaganda rag

There are so many fake outfits that the autocratic PAP regime relies on to hoodwink the people. One such entity is called the mainstream media (MSM), a euphemism for propaganda rag.

There are others such as the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE),just to name a few.

NTUC is masquerading as the voice of our workers and CASE camouflaged as protector of consumer interests.

How can a bogus organisation headed by a former deputy prime minister and staffed by ISD operatives be called MSM? It's scandalous to refer to it as MSM when it remains castrated and rendered impotent.

I think SDP is neither complaining nor expecting favors from the so-called MSM. SDP is probably trying to bring into the open the duplicity of the bootlicking "media".

In fact SDP should continue in its attempt to expose the servility of the PAP propaganda rag.

Fri 06 Nov 2009 9:51 PM | waterfirex

Of course you hit and run, Mr T. It has nothing to do with responding to your critics, but everything to do with your evasive rhetoric.

In all my quiet reading of this website, I've never seen you once acknowledge the non-independence of the state media and the systematic bias in the electoral system or the judiciary. Your last post did not betray this pattern.

All your criticisms to date have been directed not at corrupted state instruments, but at SDP for challenging and openly criticising them, with diatribes oozing of loaded words and slanderous insinuations against Dr Chee. The same kind you deplore of SDP's polemics against LKY. Psychological projection?

Double standards I say. Damning evidence that you are a PAP stooge pretending to offer sincere suggestions for the good of the party. Sorry but, your 'suggestions' read more like advisories.

Me? I put my trust in the judgement of a battle hardened party, surviving the harshest persecutions by the PAP state. A rare breed of Singaporeans willing to sacrifice material comfort to fight for everyone's rights, rights usurped by PAP in the dubious name of security. I cannot help feel inspired by their moral courage and tenacity. If there is hope left for this damn country, it would be in more free thinking citizens taking to the same.

So I trust these fighters more than an armchair general like you, a comfortable retiree idle enough to hound this site and spread PAP propaganda. Don't even pretend you know the average guy on the streets. They don't even understand the vocabulary you love to show off.

Fri 06 Nov 2009 10:55 PM | BryanT - Let troll the internet

Fortunately g_e is not around, otherwise he would have noticed my committing the ne plus ultra of faux pas in my last posting. Must have been the influence of staring at waterfirex's comments too much.

Anyway, please replace "trawl" for "troll" in: ...those who don't [u]troll[/u] the internet for news....

Honest, it was not intentional....haha.