SDP urges Minister Lui to respond to newspaper application

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Monday, 26 July 2010

Singapore Democrats

The SDP wrote to the Minister for Communication, Information and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew last week urging him to approve our application for the renewal of our licence for The New Democrat, the SDP's newspaper. The application is more than three months overdue.

We have yet to here from Mr Lui. SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan has written a second letter to Mr Lui again urging him to respond. Dr Chee has asked the Minister to respond with three days.

26 July 2010

Mr Lui Tuck Yew By email and fax
Minister
Ministry for Information, Communication and the Arts
140 Hill Street
#02-02 MICA Building,
Singapore 179369

Dear Sir,

Re: Renewal for The New Democrat

I note that you have not responded to my email to you on 20 July 2010 regarding the SDP's application for the renewal of our newspaper licence. I, again, urge you to give us reply as to whether our application is approved or not.

We submitted our application on 21 April 2010 and was told by various officers at the Media Development Authority (MDA) that it normally takes two to three weeks for the application to be processed. It is now more than three months and we have yet to hear anything about our application.

We have been told by MDA officials, Deputy Registrar A R Madiee and Customer Care Officer Toh Siew Kuan, that all the necessary documentation have been submitted and that our application is in order. We repeat our communication to you as we did with Mr Madiee and Ms Toh: If there is any piece of information related to our application that we have not given or if there is any fee that we have not paid, please let us know.

I urge you to reply withing three days of this letter, failing which we will take the necessary remedies that are open to us. I await your reply.

Sincerely,

Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General

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Comments (10)

Mon 26 Jul 2010 6:07 PM | BryanT - Arsenal of Words?

SDP threatens that if the minister does not reply, it will "take the necessary remedies that are open to the (party)".

Without clearly spelling out what those onerous remedies possibly are, the minister is unlikely to be persuaded to act.

SDP should not be shy to elaborate on the arsenal of methods it has to coerce the government to act to its favour.

Otherwise, others would like assume that its most potent weapon is a puff of hot-air!

Mon 26 Jul 2010 8:07 PM | firepower - Just too scared

Lui Tuck Yew is just too scared to make any decisions on his own he's only a puppet. He needs instructions from higher authorities like Senior Lee. Puppets like these dont have balls.

Mon 26 Jul 2010 9:10 PM | quantum - Civil Disobedience

In his fight against British imperialism, Mahatma Gandhi described the life cycle of successful civil disobedience: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

Tue 27 Jul 2010 1:43 AM | g_e - We will, we will rock Yew.

"SDP should not be shy to elaborate on the arsenal of methods it has to coerce the government to act to its favour."

Well I would have thought the remedy obvious, wouldn't you?

If Minister Lui Tuck Yew continues to stonewall because he can't come up with a plausible excuse to deny the SDP's application then the SDP website shall be forced to replace all the 'L's in his name with 'F's whenever the Rear Admirer's name appears.

It will be an unfortunate but fitting typo for an overpaid ditherer.

Tue 27 Jul 2010 9:33 AM | Tan Tai Wei

BryanT, what tinct glasses are you wearing?

Apparently, you style yourself as the fair arbitrator, adjudicating on these issues "without prejudice" between SDP and PAP.

But here, you choose to focus, not on the glaring irregularity of the Minister's long overdue decision on the permit, and even more, the honourable Minister's ignoring of SDP's letter of reminder, nay, appeal.

Instead you choose to whip yet again, clearly in this instance, the sinned against rather than the sinning.

Tue 27 Jul 2010 10:47 AM | quantum - % votes for Lui Tuck Yew

How many % votes did Lui Tuck Yew truly get in the last election?

Tue 27 Jul 2010 1:36 PM | vipersonic - Votes??

@Quantum -
"How many % votes did Lui Tuck Yew truly get in the last election?"

Answer: 0%! Cause there was a walkover in Tanjong Pagar GRC.

Tue 27 Jul 2010 4:19 PM | BryanT - I am calling his bluff!

Tai Wei,

Obviously I have no clue as to why the minister is holding the renewal application up. And CSJ is correct to write in to pursue.

I have no qualms about those; and hence I did not comment directly thereon.

The issue is with the hollow threats the CSJ issues. He knows that he will get nowhere with such threats. The minister will IGNORE them.

He should know that people, ministers included, tend to be indifferent to those who cry wolf (or issue hollow threats) too often.

My postulation is that CSJ is publicising his letter with those threats for other purposes. I can guess what they are, but would rather not speculate.

Instead, I chose to call his bluff!

Tue 27 Jul 2010 6:56 PM | betrayed

Wah, Bryan calling his bluff! Will cause SDP to balls drop! haha. Who does Bryan think he is? LKY? The article highlights MICA's unfair treatment. Is it too much to ask from a civil servant or is it beyond his reasonable role? Bryan instead does not question the MICA, instead, he questions the actions of the victim. He perpetuates the behavior of these people and will this help to make our country better? Nuts and more nuts.

Tue 27 Jul 2010 11:33 PM | quantum - BryanT = PAP

BryanT:

How the 'minister' chooses to react is his choice. He reaps what he sows. The SDP's job here is to prove a point, and the SDP is pretty close to completing the proof.

The reason why you know the PAP ministers so well is because , well, you are the PAP. And this particular 'minister' did not even get a single vote to get into parliament.