• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

May 1987 – A conspiracy un-proved

by onlinecitizen
18/05/2009
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Straits Times, Front Page, 22 May 1987

 

Andrew Loh

Read also: “Marxist plot” revisited by Singapore Window.

And: Singapore is holding 12 in “Marxist Conspiracy” by The New York Times.

In May 1987, the government of then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew accused 22 church workers and social workers of being part of a plot to topple the Singapore government. The local media called it a “Marxist Conspiracy” and named former student union leader, Tan Wah Piow, as the “mastermind”. Vincent Cheng was alledged to be the man whom Tan Wah Piow, who had left Singapore for England in 1976, tasked to build up a network of “conspirators” in Singapore.

Codenamed “Operation Spectrum”, the Internal Security Department (ISD) swooped in on the 22 (in two different operations, in May and June) and arrested and detained the accused under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

In the following months, the detainees were paraded on television interviews allegedly arranged by the government. The Catholic Church became entangled in the saga and then-Archbishop Gregory Yong had to publicly disavow its involvement. Former Solicitor-General Francis Seow, who was acting for three of the detainees, was later detained under the ISA as well.

The only time the detainees spoke up on their own , away from incarceration, which they did through a press statement claiming they were ill-treated during detention and denied being part of any “Marxist plot”, they were swiftly re-arrested by the ISD. The eight who released the press statement, on 20 April 1988, later recanted.

An earlier promise by the government to hold a Commission of Inquiry to look into the allegations of abuse was shelved. The government said it saw no need for an inquiry as the detainees had signed another statement disavowing their recantation.

The Straits Times termed the detainees’ statement as a “ploy to discredit [the] Government”.

One year after the initial arrests, the government, which earlier claimed that Tan Wah Piow was the “mastermind” behind the “plot”, later insisted that “the plot was a full-blown Communist Party of Malaya operation.”

There has been no independent inquiry or investigation into the arrests till this day.

The Online Citizen looks at the Straits Times’ coverage of the saga in 1987 next.

Straits Times, Front Page, 27 May 1987
For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.
Tags: ISAisdmarxist conspiracytan wah piow

Related Posts

A thought on prisoners detained under the Internal Security Act
Opinion

A thought on prisoners detained under the Internal Security Act

19/01/2023
Current Affairs

Former Minister S Dhanabalan resigned over detention of Marxist Conspirators?

25/03/2015
Current Affairs

Checks and balance needed for ISA to prevent abuse by an all-powerful government

06/02/2015
Current Affairs

The PAP’s “aim number one” 60 years ago

08/11/2014
Community

In Memory of Dr Lim Hock Siew

04/06/2014
Uncategorized

Not forgetting 21 May 1987 and its relevance today

21/05/2014
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Kajang cops chided for denying woman access to police HQ because she was wearing shorts

Kajang cops chided for denying woman access to police HQ because she was wearing shorts

03/02/2023
Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

03/02/2023
Minister Tan See Leng only reveals 500 intra-corporate transferees from India for last year – a Covid year

Increasing number of working Permanent Residents in Singapore but with a stable PR population

03/02/2023

A multi-party parliament is the only way to make sure that Singapore continues to not condone or tolerate corruption

03/02/2023
Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

Anwar criticised over appointing own daughter as his senior advisor

03/02/2023
Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

Level of unemployment in Indonesia shows failure in the Job Creation Law, says KSPI

02/02/2023

The Keppel bribery scandal tests Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy towards corruption

02/02/2023
Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

02/02/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
36

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

by Leong Szehian
28/01/2023
69

...

Excessively charging for an essential need, and calling it affordable because people still can pay for it?

by Terry Xu
31/01/2023
39

...

May 2009
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Apr   Jun »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz