TOC’s response to PMO’s reply
Dear Readers,
First of all, thank you. Thank you for all the words of encouragement, emails, phone calls and sms-es following news of the Prime Minister’s plans to gazette TOC. Thank you for sharing this information with your friends and helping us double our visitor count within just one week. Thank you for not being afraid to say you’ll continue standing by us, no matter what. We’re now more certain than ever that our decision to continue is the right one.
The Prime Minster’s Office (PMO) is not backing down from its stance that TOC is a political organization. We stand by our response to the PMO’s first letter, and believe further exchanges will not be fruitful.
In fact, the Prime Minister’s decision has convinced us to go all in. It’s inspired us to think hard about how else we can make TOC a far more vibrant and dynamic platform. We’ve decided to comply so we can carry on with what we do best – telling stories that really matter, covering issues you care about, building a stronger community.
The PMO has assured us that TOC’s new status “will not impede its freedom of expression”. We are happy to take this statement at face value and will have to rely on you, our readers, to hold the Prime Minister to his word.
The PMO has asked that we submit the names of our President, Treasurer and Secretary. As we’ve said before, TOC doesn’t operate this way and there are no provisions in law mandating this structure. There is no “committee” to speak of. We are run by a revolving door of volunteers.
We have instead submitted the names of four people who have selflessly agreed to be responsible for the preparation and accuracy of our donation reports.
They are:
Joshua Chiang
Leong Sze Hian
Ravi Philemon
Siew Kum Hong
We believe strong communities thrive on new ideas and fresh initiatives. As such co-founders Andrew Loh and Choo Zheng Xi have decided to step back after four incredibly fruitful years. They will of course, continue to contribute to the site and we will be counting on them for ideas, advice and support.
New beginnings are a great excuse to celebrate. Here at TOC, we subscribe to the belief that it is always good to kick back, relax and have a bit of fun. So come join us on Saturday, the 29th of January, for “TOC Cassetted- Not A Political Party!”, our first-ever fundraiser.
We invite you to cast away your fears, stand up, make a donation to TOC, and declare it for all to see. We’re going to make it a point not to accept anonymous donations on this evening. No amount is too small – it’s the gesture that counts.
Come and meet our volunteers, tell us how YOU think we can build a stronger community for Singaporeans. We’ll also be announcing a special new project we’re all very excited about.
Thank you, once again, for your support.
The Online Citizen
To purchase our TOC Gazetted T-shirt, click here!
