Why is SDP not included in NUSSPA forum?

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Sunday, 24 October 2010

Singapore Democrats

24 October 2010

Jasmine Toh

President
NUSSPA

Dear Ms Toh,

I am given to understand that the National University of Singapore Students' Political Association (NUSSPA) has organised a forum entitled “Economic Growth: At What Cost?” where you have invited speakers from the People's Action Party (Ms Indranee Rajah), Workers' Party (Mr Yaw Shin Leong), Reform Party (Mr Tony Tan) and Nominated MP Associate Professor Paulin Tay Straughan.

It is unfortunate that the Singapore Democratic Party has not received an invitation from you to speak at the event. We would like to be represented at the forum.

You may know that the Singapore Democrats have been at the forefront of speaking about the economic situation in Singapore. In fact we have laid out our Economic Alternative Programme for the country here.

We have even dedicated an entire section to discussion the growth-at-all-cost model in our Programme. I am sure you will agree that our concerns are highly appropriate for the topic that you have chosen for your forum discussion.

We have also been the party that has actively reached out to youths in Singapore. In fact, we visited campuses at NUS, NTU and SMU last year in. Our Chairman, Mr Gandhi Ambalam, and Honorary Secretary of our youth wing, Mr Jarrod Luo, had written to NUSSPA in 2009 asking for an opportunity to address your fellow students (see here). However, to date NUSSPA has not invited the SDP to speak at any of its event.

I believe that we are the only political party to have so actively and keenly tried to reach out to our university students. Given this fact, I am certain that you are able to appreciate our disappointment of not being invited to speak at this forum.

We hope that NUSSPA will be even-handed in dealing with political parties in Singapore and not discriminate against certain parties and viewpoints. Your members will be done a disservice if an active party like the Singapore Democrats are not allowed to address your fellow students, especially when other opposition parties are invited.

We hope that you will reconsider your decision and extend an invitation to the SDP to address your students.

Please note that this letter will be posted on our website (yoursdp.org) as the subject matter is of public interest. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John Tan
Assistant Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party

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Comments (5)

Mon 25 Oct 2010 9:56 AM | Tan Tai Wei

This concern is somewhat understandable. No other has written so extensively on the subject than Chee Soon Juan, and yet he is excluded.

His motive is suspect over a mere postage of 150 dollars, which he used, thinking it was alright, since it was to validate the data of a project he was funded for, contained in his wife's Ph D thesis, his wife having been a member of his research team? Even if guilty, it was more like the guilt of our using office envelopes and ball point pens to send non- office stuff. (How many times had Vasoo, his Head and PAP MP, who reported on him, used office phone to speak to wife or his constituency people? Etc., etc.|

And do be careful whom you exclude and damn as increditable.

Foe he was an NUS faculty, and had "educated" cohorts of NUs graduates, examined and determined their class of degree.

Be careful that when ostracisng Chee, you are not also damning those holding NUS degrees, indeed NUS itseif!

Mon 25 Oct 2010 11:24 AM | maxchew

PAP Indranee Rajah felt uncomfortable with SDP rep Dr CSJ in a previous encounter during such a similar forum last time...2008?.
I think she is the culprit who threatened not to attend if Dr CSJ
is invited.
Since they are obligated to include the Govt rep....they had no choice but to exclude SDP.
But let's await the NUSS non-reply.

Mon 25 Oct 2010 1:24 PM | freedomT

The local Unis are like that. Full of ignorant and aloof people. When they like you, they close both eyes and let you succeed. When they don't like you, they acused you of copying and cheating even when you did NO wrong and dismiss you from the Uni on that grounds but when their Head asked them about it, they claimed that its you that wanted to be out from the course. Its always you but NOT them. Remember what happen in NTU, they claimed that its that boy that stab his prof but when you asked on the ground, all the students had said its that prof that is cold, unfeeling and aloof. But the media reported him to be a good prof that is well-loved by the students. We don't need these people to poison our youngster minds. We need honest people like Dr Chee to show our youngster the right path to grow. CHANGE THE SYSTEM NOW!!!! Before it is too late. Anyway NUS will never reply to opposition.

Mon 25 Oct 2010 1:43 PM | PAP Voter

Hi NUSSPA forum organiser,

I will object to send my children to be educated in such an university if the educators' intention are to tame and close the developing brain of its students to be only "order taker" or Yes man". All students should be given to hear views from all angles even those very subjectives. It is the students to evalute all informations and brain storm what is best or to be followed. They are going to be our future leaders of tommorrow. Otherwise, our future is doom with only leaders with "no objection" "order taker","yes man" and "no guts to probe" and only interested to be paid million to shut up. These are very selfish, greedy leaders as what our MM once said "If they are not paid by the millions, they will become corrupted". Our students have to smell, see and touch the shit so that they know what is shit. Otherwise, they will be lead to feel and believe that shit is sweet, nice and beautiful. Organisers of NUSSPA forum please don't let down the good name of NUS and smear it with shit.

Tue 26 Oct 2010 3:16 PM | g_e - Guess who said this?

Forty-six years later, the accuracy of these comments could not be more striking, their hypocrisy more deserving of scorn, the irony more obvious:

"Let us get down to fundamentals. Is this an open, or is this a closed society? Is it a society where men can preach ideas - novel, unorthodox, heresies, to established churches and established governments - where there is a constant contest for men's hearts and minds on the basis of what is right, of what is just, of what is in the national interests, or is it a closed society where the mass media - the newspapers, the journals, publications, TV, radio - either bound by sound or by sight, or both sound and sight, men's minds are fed with a constant drone of sycophantic support for a particular orthodox political philosophy? I am talking of the principle of the open society, the open debate, ideas, not intimidation, persuasion not coercion..."

- Lee Kuan Yew, before Singapore's independence, Malaysian Parliamentary Debates, Dec 18, 1964