Singapore Democrats
Mr Chiam See Tong has asked the Today newspaper to stop publication on his interview. Mr Chiam told Today’s senior reporter, Mr Loh Chee Kong, that his remarks about the SDP were “off the cuff”. Mr Chiam had told Mr Loh — twice — not to publish anything he said about Dr Chee Soon Juan and the Singapore Democrats.
Yet, the reporter emailed Dr Chee and quoted Mr Chiam’s remarks, wanting a response from the SDP secretary-general. Dr Chee replied to Mr Loh and refused to respond, saying that the intended report is a PAP ploy to put SDP in a bad light. (See here)
Dr Chee subsequently wrote to Mr Chiam asking the Potong Pasir MP to address the situation with Today. Dr Chee wrote in his letter which was faxed to the Potong Pasir Town Council, “We bear no ill-will towards you and we wish only the best for you, your family and the Singapore Peoples’ Party. We seek cooperation, not confrontation, with our fellow opposition parties.”
But Dr Chee pointed out the SDP rejected Mr Chiam’s characterisation of the party, saying that the comment was “inaccurate and uncalled for.”
But he also called on the SPP leader to put aside the differences: “We accept that there were differences, perhaps even irreconcilable ones. But we see no merit in dredging them up again.”
This latest incident is the clearest demonstration yet of the media’s agenda against the Singapore Democrats. Taking the cue from the PAP, the newspapers target the SDP and either black out news about us or report them in the most negative manner possible.
Today’s tactics in using comments made in confidence to bait the other party is as low-down as it gets. Now that the ploy has been exposed, what will the newspaper do?
Is there no line below which the media won’t go? Then again, we are talking about the Peoples’ Action Party.