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Media speculates former SAF Scholar cum flight commander to be new PAP candidate for GE

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6 years ago

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The Chinese media published an article today (11 Mar) “speculating” that former SAF scholar cum grassroots leader, Ms Poh Li San, may be a new PAP candidate running in the coming GE.

The Chinese media reported that in Nov last year, Ms Poh became the Vice Chairman of PAP Sembawang Branch. Two months later, her face suddenly appeared on Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s and MP Amrin Amin’s Facebook postings. Both are current Sembawang GRC MPs.

And in Jan this year, she started appearing in community events together with the 4 Sembawang GRC MPs. Few days ago, her name appeared in the publicity and contact group promoting the important Merdeka Pioneer Package to residents. Furthermore, she is also the chief organizer for Sembawang’s International Women’s Day celebrations.

When the media approached her to ask if she would be running in the coming GE, she replied, “(If) given a chance to serve as MP, I will give off my best!”

Female Super Puma helicopter pilot

Ms Poh Li San was a SAF Scholar and studied at the University of Illinois. She started her career with the RSAF as a helicopter pilot in around 1999.

According to her LinkedIn information, Ms Poh was a high flyer in the SAF. By 2003, she was already an Assistant Director in MINDEF in-charge of “reviewing organizational structure and key capabilities of SAF”. She said she reviewed the allocation of Singapore’s annual defence budget and resources as well as involved in scenario planning, threat-assessments and horizon scan of disruptive technologies. “Key outcome was to lead the transformation journey of the 3G SAF,” she wrote.

In a MINDEF publication in 2004, MINDEF featured Ms Poh, “Every individual in the Air Force holds a stake in the future of the organisation and plays a part in shaping the culture. Her greatest passions in life are adventure traveling and running marathons.”

MINDEF thought that adventure traveling and running marathons are important for Ms Poh, “The former (adventure traveling) exposes her to the harsh realities of life while the latter (running marathons) pushes her to the limits of her physical and mental endurance.”

“Her personal vision is to run an ultra-marathon in the world’s most remote but pristinely beautiful Mongolian steppes or the Tibetan highlands. Of course, some people think she is a masochist whereas others think she is just nuts…,” MINDEF added.

In 2005, she was promoted to become the Flight Commander of 125 Squadron, in-charge of search and rescue. Some of the memorable moments she said in an interview include a two-week deployment to Aceh after the devastating tsunami in December 2004, and evacuating an old woman who suffered severe intestinal bleeding on a cruise ship in the South China Sea.

Ms Poh: Nathan was truly a People’s President

In 2006, she became the Aide-de-Camp to President Nathan, planning and organising “national-level events, grassroots community functions, as well as planning and co-ordinating overseas State-level visits for the President”. She also oversaw and co-ordinated daily meetings and events for Nathan. She served Nathan for close to 4 years.

When Nathan passed away in 2016, she immediately wrote a eulogy which was posted on the PSD government website. She said she “had the privilege to serve Mr S R Nathan as the first female full-time Aide-De-Camp (ADC)”.

She said Nathan was a “very down-to-earth person”. She appeared grateful that it was Nathan who had “personally initiated the idea of appointing female military officers as his full-time ADC”, a role traditionally held by only male officers.

“To me, the greatest inspiration from Mr Nathan was his genuine care and concern for people, and his relentless effort to help raise funds for the less fortunate… Indeed, he was truly a People’s President,” she said.

“Mr Nathan was the most loving husband, supportive and caring father, and a doting grandfather. He would remember upcoming birthdays of friends and relatives, and send presents and personal notes to the birthday boy or girl.”

She said she treasured the “warmth and love” from Nathan, like that from grandparents.

“As we mourn the passing of a great leader, we also celebrate together the legacy left by Mr Nathan for our nation and our people. I feel deeply honoured to have served Mr Nathan and I am inspired to carry forward a small part of his life’s work in his service to the nation and to the people,” she wrote.

Left SAF to join Changi Airport Group

In 2010, Ms Poh left the SAF after a 16-year career with the RSAF to join the Changi Airport Group as Vice President. She was responsible for the planning and development of the new Changi Airport Terminal 4. Currently, she is involved in the planning and development for Terminal 5.

She headed the airport operations for the Budget Terminal first before going on to plan and develop T4.

She said that in planning for T4, she wanted to shake off the “ghost” of the Budget Terminal.

She noted that many people initially thought the new terminal would just be a larger version of a no-frills terminal that lacks many facilities. “But in my mind, it was quite clear it should just be like the main terminals,” said Ms Poh in an interview.

Assuming she would later be “elected” as a new PAP MP through a GRC, it’s not known if she would serve the residents full-time or continue her work in planning and developing T5 while serving as part-time MP.

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TJC issued 3rd POFMA order under Minister K Shanmugam for alleged falsehoods

The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) was issued its third POFMA correction order on 5 October 2024 under the direction of Minister K Shanmugam for alleged falsehoods about death penalty processes. TJC has rejected the government’s claims, describing POFMA as a tool to suppress dissent.

Published

8 hours ago

on

6 October 2024

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The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), an advocacy group opposed to the death penalty, was issued its third Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction direction on 5 October 2024.

The correction was ordered by Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, following TJC’s publication of what the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) alleges to be false information regarding Singapore’s death row procedures and the prosecution of drug trafficking cases.

These statements were made on TJC’s website and across its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).

In addition to TJC, civil activist Kokila Annamalai was also issued a correction direction by the minister over posts she made on Facebook and X between 4 and 5 October 2024.

According to MHA, these posts echoed similar views on the death penalty and the legal procedures for drug-related offences, and contained statements that the ministry claims are false concerning the treatment of death row prisoners and the state’s legal responsibilities in drug trafficking cases.

MHA stated that the posts suggested the government schedules and stays executions arbitrarily, without due regard to legal processes, and that the state does not bear the burden of proving drug trafficking charges.

However, these alleged falsehoods are contested by MHA, which maintains that the government strictly follows legal procedures, scheduling executions only after all legal avenues have been exhausted, and that the state always carries the burden of proof in such cases.

In its official release, MHA emphasised, “The prosecution always bears the legal burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and this applies to all criminal offences, including drug trafficking.”

It also pointed to an article on the government fact-checking site Factually to provide further clarification on the issues raised.

As a result of these allegations, both TJC and Annamalai are now required to post correction notices. TJC must display these corrections on its website and social media platforms, while Annamalai is required to carry similar notices on her Facebook and X posts.

TikTok has also been issued a targeted correction direction, requiring the platform to communicate the correction to all Singapore-based users who viewed the related TJC post.

In a statement following the issuance of the correction direction, TJC strongly rejected the government’s claims. The group criticised the POFMA law, calling it a “political weapon used to crush dissent,” and argued that the order was more about the exercise of state power than the pursuit of truth. “We have put up the Correction Directions not because we accept any of what the government asserts, but because of the grossly unjust terms of the POFMA law,” TJC stated.

TJC further argued that the government’s control over Singapore’s media landscape enables it to push pro-death penalty views without opposition. The group also stated that it would not engage in prolonged legal battles over the POFMA correction orders, opting to focus on its abolitionist work instead.

This marks the third time TJC has been subject to a POFMA correction direction in recent months.

The group was previously issued two orders in August 2024 for making similar statements concerning death row prisoners.

In its latest statement, MHA noted that despite being corrected previously, TJC had repeated what the ministry views as falsehoods.

MHA also criticised TJC for presenting the perspective of a convicted drug trafficker without acknowledging the harm caused to victims of drug abuse.

Annamalai, a prominent civil rights activist, is also known for her involvement in various social justice campaigns. She was charged in June 2024 for her participation in a pro-Palestinian procession near the Istana. Her posts, now subject to correction, contained information similar to those presented by TJC regarding death penalty procedures and drug-related cases.

POFMA, which was introduced in 2019, allows the government to issue correction directions when it deems falsehoods are being spread online.

Critics of the law argue that it can be used to suppress dissent, while the government asserts that it is a necessary tool for combating misinformation. The law has been frequently invoked against opposition politicians and activists.

As of October 2024, Minister K Shanmugam has issued 17 POFMA directions, more than any other minister. Shanmugam, who was instrumental in introducing POFMA, is followed by National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who has issued 10 POFMA directions.

Major media outlets, including The Straits Times, Channel News Asia, and Mothership, have covered the POFMA directions. However, as of the time of writing, none have included TJC’s response rejecting the government’s allegations.

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Hotel Properties Limited suspends trading ahead of Ong Beng Seng’s court hearing

Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), co-founded by Mr Ong Beng Seng, has halted trading ahead of his court appearance today (4 October). The announcement was made by HPL’s company secretary at about 7.45am, citing a pending release of an announcement. Mr Ong faces one charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and another charge of obstruction of justice. He is due in court at 2.30pm.

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2 days ago

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4 October 2024

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SINGAPORE: Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), the property and hotel developer co-founded by Mr Ong Beng Seng, has requested a trading halt ahead of the Singapore tycoon’s scheduled court appearance today (4 October) afternoon.

This announcement was made by HPL’s company secretary at approximately 7.45am, stating that the halt was due to a pending release of an announcement.

Mr Ong, who serves as HPL’s managing director and controlling shareholder, faces one charge under Section 165, accused of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts, as well as one charge of obstruction of justice.

He is set to appear in court at 2.30pm on 4 October.

Ong’s charges stem from his involvement in a high-profile corruption case linked to former Singaporean transport minister S Iswaran.

The 80-year-old businessman was named in Iswaran’s initial graft charges earlier this year.

These charges alleged that Iswaran had corruptly received valuable gifts from Ong, including tickets to the 2022 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, flights, and a hotel stay in Doha.

These gifts were allegedly provided to advance Ong’s business interests, particularly in securing contracts with the Singapore Tourism Board for the Singapore GP and the ABBA Voyage virtual concert.

Although Iswaran no longer faces the original corruption charges, the prosecution amended them to lesser charges under Section 165.

Iswaran pleaded guilty on 24 September, 2024, to four counts under this section, which covered over S$400,000 worth of gifts, including flight tickets, sports event access, and luxury items like whisky and wines.

Additionally, he faced one count of obstructing justice for repaying Ong for a Doha-Singapore flight shortly before the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) became involved.

On 3 October, Iswaran was sentenced to one year in jail by presiding judge Justice Vincent Hoong.

The prosecution had sought a sentence of six to seven months for all charges, while the defence had asked for a significantly reduced sentence of no more than eight weeks.

Ong, a Malaysian national based in Singapore, was arrested by CPIB in July 2023 and released on bail shortly thereafter. Although no charges were initially filed against him, Ong’s involvement in the case intensified following Iswaran’s guilty plea.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had earlier indicated that it would soon make a decision regarding Ong’s legal standing, which has now led to the current charges.

According to the statement of facts read during Iswaran’s conviction, Ong’s case came to light as part of a broader investigation into his associates, which revealed Iswaran’s use of Ong’s private jet for a flight from Singapore to Doha in December 2022.

CPIB investigators uncovered the flight manifest and seized the document.

Upon learning that the flight records had been obtained, Ong contacted Iswaran, advising him to arrange for Singapore GP to bill him for the flight.

Iswaran subsequently paid Singapore GP S$5,700 for the Doha-Singapore business class flight in May 2023, forming the basis of his obstruction of justice charge.

Mr Ong is recognised as the figure who brought Formula One to Singapore in 2008, marking the first night race in the sport’s history.

He holds the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix. Iswaran was the chairman of the F1 steering committee and acted as the chief negotiator with Singapore GP on business matters concerning the race.

 

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