The chief of People’s Voice (PV), Lim Tean, hosted a Facebook Live broadcast yesterday (26 June) at 5pm, talking about the “outrageous tactics” being hurled against the alternative parties. He was baffled by the fact that it occurred outside of the official campaign period.
He started off the After Work session today by revealing that three PV members and volunteers were detained last night by the police for two hours. They were out and about for the community outreach in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
The lawyer was told that the PV members and volunteers were detained in a small office, or “sort of a small pantry”. The police told Mr Lim that one of the PV members was holding up picture of another political party.
“Yes, he was. I have a very enthusiastic member who carried with him a montage of various pictures of PAP MPs sleeping in Parliament.”
Based on the montage being displayed, the PV chief questioned if this was a crime. And in the end, there were no charges and legal reasons cited.
Mr Lim had also recalled the incident when members of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and a Straits Times reporter got stopped by “so-called social distancing ambassadors”.
The lawyer urged Singaporeans to compare these incidents to what happened during the circuit breaker when people were not allowed to go out of their house unless there was a “permissible requirement”. He noted how PAP members went around “doing outreach”.
POFMA and Singapore’s “overpowering Parliament”
The lawyer expressed that it is unfair because this particular law made the Singaporean ministers the “arbiters of truth”.
“Most of the time, or 90 per cent of the time, the POFMA law had been used against Opposition figures like myself. It is because we criticise the Government and their policies. When the ministers don’t like it, they slap a POFMA on you. And your post is supposed to carry this corrective notice saying that ‘This post contains false material’.”
He wants Singaporeans to judge how “ludicrous” POFMA is on Polling Day.
“I want Singaporeans and I know Singaporeans can see how ridiculous this whole notion is and I want Singaporeans to judge how ludicrous this law is at the Ballot Box.”
Due to his experience of being slapped with POFMA on Ho Ching’s salary, he exclaimed that Singaporeans do not know much about GIC and Temasek do with public money. He slammed that it is “ridiculous” that the GIC does not report on yearly returns.
Mr Lim wanted the public to ponder upon the implications of an “overpowering Parliament”. He explained that this situation affects Singaporeans’ freedom and every-day life.
“You will realise why it is important to elect people who dare to speak up. You have many MPs in Parliament today who are useless and sleeping on the job, and hardly ask any questions. You deserve better than that.”
Unlawful detention wasted PV’s time for doing outreach
During the Q&A session, a member of the public asked the PV chief if the party could take legal action against what happened to the PV members last night.
Mr Lim responded that they could take legal action because the police do not have the right to detain anyone without any lawful reasons, and this would be called unlawful detention.
The detention wasted their time and prevented them from doing outreach. He questioned if this is what will happen all the way until the elections.
He stressed that campaigning is already “so difficult” due to the banning of physical rallies and safe distancing measures. On top of that, house-to-house visits are “going to be minimal” due to the measures. However, Mr Lim explained that his party has a lot of their plate.
“We have better things to do. It is a very short campaigning period and every minute counts. Not forgetting that we are also bogged down with this crazy paperwork that has to be submitted on Nomination Day.”
MPs sleeping in Parliament
A comment about MPs sleeping in Parliament was then submitted to him by a viewer.
The lawyer agreed that it is “disgraceful” of MPs sleeping in Parliament.
“Our parliament is already a very inactive Parliament. Most of the time when I watch our Parliament, I don’t see the spontaneity, and most questions were submitted in advance. I hardly see members standing up and be able to question the ministers.”
“Everything is prepared well in advance, and sometimes the ministers don’t even reply the questions themselves, they get someone else to reply.”
Mr Lim stressed that the Parliament is accountable to the people and the ministers should be able to handle unexpected questions.
“Unlike Heng Swee Keat when confronted by the Opposition about a minor point, he spent many minutes shuffling his papers and asked for a recess. That shows you we have a bunch of MPs who can’t think on their feet.”
Mr Lim questioned if the public of the members really wanted ministers who are “not confident” and “can’t think on their feet”.
PV’s candidates for GE2020
The party chief responded to question asking when will PV announce their candidates, saying that the party’s “fantastic lineup” of candidates will be unveiled before Nomination Day.
“We do not want a party that is representative of the privileged or the elite. I am not and my members are not after candidates with impressive academic credentials who are scholars. All our candidates are well-qualified. Most Singaporeans are well-qualified.”
He had also pledged that PV wants to “be the voice of that common Singaporean”.
CPIB and ELD under the purview of the PMO
Mr Lim then received another comment that suggested that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) must be a standalone division.
The chief strongly agreed with that statement, and he added that not only CPIB but also how the Elections Department Singapore (ELD) should be independent.
Shocking how the CPIB and ELD are under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“In law, we have a saying that not only justice must be done, but the appearance of justice must be protected. How can the CPIB and the Elections Department be under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Office?”
He questioned how the CPIB and the ELD would be under the PMO.
Just talking about accountability and transparency is not sufficient, Mr Lim believed that there must a major redrawing of the institutions like the CPIB, ELD, Budget Office, Statistics Office, that these must be “totally independent”.
Alternative Parties MPs in Parliament
Finally, Mr Lim mentioned Opposition MPs must speak up for Singaporeans in the Parliament. He thinks that many Singaporeans do not understand the role of Oppositions.
Following the Westminster Parliamentary Model, there would be a Ruling Government and the Opposition, and that the two “should clash”.
The chief explained that this clash would lead to a solution for the people and for the voters. And that the people would be the judge in this particular Model.
It is the Opposition’s fundamental duty to hold the Government accountable.
Looking at how the Government handled the COVID-19 crisis, Mr Lim had also claimed that PV was the “only Opposition party that held the Government accountable”.
He noted that the Singaporean economy is “still struggling”, and he does not agree that Singapore’s condition amid COVID-19 is under control. Despite the unstable situation, the PAP had called for elections.
The chief had pledged to not let the incompetency in handling the COVID-19 saga go.