Dredging up of past a ‘distraction’

After two episodes in his past were raised by two People’s Action Party (PAP) office holders on Tuesday, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan yesterday sought a halt to the “character assassination”.

Calling it a distraction thrown up by the PAP, Dr Chee said “Singaporeans are sick and tired of these personality attacks, this character assassination” and want debate on policies so they can “vote intelligently”.

Dr Chee was asked by reporters about the PAP’s Holland-Bukit Timah GRC candidate, Ms Sim Ann, who is Minister of State (Education, and Communications and Information), bringing up his ouster of Mr Chiam See Tong from the SDP in the 1990s. He said he did not oust Mr Chiam and that they have since resolved the issue.

The matter happened about 20 years ago, and the PAP “just want to dredge it up and resurrect it”, said Dr Chee. “I don’t want to do all this; I really want to move past this kind of nonsense.”

In a Facebook post made hours after a televised forum on Tuesday night featuring representatives of six political parties, Dr Chee said he was surprised by Culture, Community and Youth Minister Lawrence Wong mentioning a matter from 20 years ago.

In making his point that parliamentarians should have integrity, Mr Wong, the PAP’s candidate in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, brought up an episode in 1996 when Dr Chee presented false data to a parliamentary committee tasked to verify healthcare subsidies of polyclinics and public hospitals, and was found to be in contempt of Parliament.

Mr Wong’s “outburst” was “not in keeping with the spirit and tone of the forum which, up until then, was a robust, but civil debate on the issues of the day and the future of our country”, said Dr Chee. “It is my sincere hope that, for the sake of Singapore, the PAP will stop what it is trying to do and get back to having a constructive General Election.” NEO CHAI CHIN