SINGAPORE — Opposition party, Peoples Voice (PV), has called for the establishment of a Commission Of Inquiry (COI) by the President into allegations surrounding SPH Media Trust (SMT).
This is in relation to a report by Wake Up Singapore (WUSG) about the alleged departure of three senior executives in the media social enterprise over alleged discrepancies relating to circulation and/or subscription numbers.
WUSG’s sources said that the decision to part ways was reached on or around 23 December last year. The alleged discrepancies were said to be discovered in an internal review or audit.
The call for a COI was penned by PV’s leader, Lim Tean, who noted that the party demands transparency on the serious allegation, given that the public is funding SMT to the tune of S$900 million over five years or S$180 million per year.
In a Telegram post on the matter, Mr Lim said that the allegation strikes at the very heart of the integrity of SMT.
He wrote, “it should be remembered that what is now SMT was previously the media arm of SPH, which was a loss-making operation, despite the fact that it had a monopolistic position as far as print media is concerned in Singapore.”
“The profitable property arm of SPH which had assets close to $4 Billion and which generated revenue of reportedly around $300 million a year was sold off. Singaporeans were left with the thin end of the wedge and having to fund the loss making media arm of SPH.”
He added, “Josephine Teo said that the government had to provide “meaningful” financial support for SMT the Ensure the viability of the local media as Singaporeans needed a local lens to view International news. She said it was critical for a multicultural and multiracial society such as Singapore.”
“K Shanmugam said there was no choice but to provide the financial support in order to have journalistic quality of the highest level. He also said the local media needed to “foster” trust with the local population in order for government to function well. S Iswaran said the readership of SPH had increased 5% from 2017 to 2020.”
Mr Lim commented that the allegations, if true, debunk the statements made by these Ministers.
“There can be no trust between the public and a media which is not truthful on its circulation/ subscription figures.” wrote Mr Lim.
“Singaporeans were asked to support a media which could not sustain itself despite its monopolistic position. The figure of $900 million is almost 1/3 of what the government will collect each year from a 2% hike in GST. Singaporeans have been ordered to pay even more of a regressive tax in economically challenging times. They will not take kindly to their monies being used to support an entity if it has not been truthful over a fundamental issue such as its subscription/ circulation figures.”
Mr Lim commented that Singaporeans have every right to the truth of the matter and said a COI, if conducted properly, will provide troubling answers surrounding the alleged discrepancy.
In particular, Mr Lim raised the question of the subscription/ circulation figures that were reported to the Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI) when the decision was made by the People’s Action Party (PAP) government to bail out SPH’s media business.
Mr Lim opined, “It is the public’s money at stake here and it would be a betrayal of the public trust if SMT keeps silent on the matter and no COI is convened. In fact it would be a dereliction of the President’s duties and responsibilities if she does not convene a COI in such circumstances.”
“Singaporeans will definitely not stand or accept any “internal” investigation or review.”
SMT has yet to respond to report by WUSG
The media publications of the former Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) were incorporated as SMT, a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG), on 19 July 2021 after being cut off from SPH due to its declining revenue.
Last year, Ms Teo, former Minister of Communications and Information, in addressing questions by Members of Parliament about the huge government grant handed to SMT, said that its readership and trust in its journalism continue to be high.
Based on a survey in 2021, Ms Teo said SMT’s weekly reach extends to almost 75 per cent of Singaporeans.
When the S$900 million funding for SMT was first announced in 2021, the former MCI Minister S Iswaran stated that “SPH’s overall reach and readership has never been higher” as SPH papers’ total circulation grew by 5 per cent between 2017 and 2020. Reference was also made to how the Straits Times’ print and digital circulation has grown by about 20 per cent.
As of August 2020, according to a report by the Straits Times, the average daily circulation of the Straits Times on print and digital platforms was 458,200, with the figures for digital circulation exceeding the numbers for print.
WUSG said it has written to SMT for clarification on the nature of the alleged discrepancies and when they started.
“It is not known, at this juncture, if the alleged discrepancies affect past published data. It is also not known whether the underlying practices behind the alleged discrepancies started before the formation of SMT Media Trust in December 2021.” wrote WUSG.
TOC has also written to SMT’s management on Sunday to seek clarification if there is any truth to the allegations and will update the post when it responds.
