Singapore Democrats
Members and supporters have gottentogether to raise funds for Dr Chee Soon Juan to settle thedamages he has been ordered to pay Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh ChokTong. The two former prime ministers had sued the SDPsecretary-general in 2001.$CUT$
The effort will kick off this Sunday atthe launch of Dr Chee’s latest book Democratically Speaking whereproceeds from the sales will go towards the funds to pay the amount.
Dr Chee has offered to pay Mr Lee andMr Goh $30,000 to settle the case. He had written to the OfficialAssignee to make the offer last week. Dr Chee followed up with a callto the Insolvency and Public Trustees Office (IPTO) and was told thatthe matter was handed to a “senior official”. So far there hasbeen no word from Mr Lee and Mr Goh about the offer.
The SDP leader has indicated that hewants to be discharged from bankruptcy so that he can stand for thenext general elections. He was barred from the 2006 and 2011elections, and even prevented from speaking at election rallies.
Helping to spearhead the campaign toraise the funds is Dr Vincent Wijeysingha. “Wehope to raise the money to make the payment and get oursecretary-general to be eligible for the next elections. We want toencourage everyone to contribute to this effort starting with thebook launch this Sunday.
“Come down to the Substation and geta copy of Dr Chee’s book. If all of our supporters do their part, wewill be able to meet our goal and make a historic achievement.”
Dr Chee was sued in 2001 forquestioning the loan-pledge the Singapore Government made toIndonesia following the Asian financial crisis in 1997. He had filedhis defence in court but the plaintiffs obtained summary judgmentwhich meant that the case was awarded to them without it going totrial.
Dr Chee vigorously objected to thejudgment but to no avail. Mr Lee and Mr Goh obtained a bankruptcyorder against him in 2006. He has also been barred from travelingoverseas to speak at international conferences as a result of thebankruptcy.
Democratically Speaking is DrChee’s eighth book. It covers a wide range of topics includingSingapore’s political economy, the need for dissent in this countryand the judiciary’s role in upholding the rule of law.
The book is priced at $50 for thehardcover (limited) edition and $30 for the paperback edition.
Event: Launch of DemocraticallySpeaking
Date: 5 August 2012, Sunday
Time:3-5pm
Venue: The Substation Theatre, 45 Armenian StreetAll are welcome