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YMCA: Planning for carnival began 10 months ago

SINGAPORE — A day after ugly scenes at Hong Lim Park broke out and triggered a maelstrom of reactions online, the YMCA of Singapore issued a statement yesterday pointing out, among other things, that it had started planning for its carnival, which was disrupted on Saturday by several hundred protesters attending a rally called Return Our CPF, since December last year.

SINGAPORE — A day after ugly scenes at Hong Lim Park broke out and triggered a maelstrom of reactions online, the YMCA of Singapore issued a statement yesterday pointing out, among other things, that it had started planning for its carnival, which was disrupted on Saturday by several hundred protesters attending a rally called Return Our CPF, since December last year.

It also said the event, YMCA Proms @ the Park — where Minister of State (Trade and Industry) Teo Ser Luck was guest of honour — has been held annually at various parks across the island since 2007, including in 2010 when it was also held at Hong Lim Park.

The protesters’ behaviour drew sharp criticism, including from Members of Parliament from the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Workers’ Party, as well as Cabinet ministers.

Some questioned why both events were held at the same venue on the same day. The National Parks Board (NParks) had demarcated and allocated a lawn each for both events. YMCA had applied first to use the park and received approval on Sept 9.

Application for the rally, organised by blogger Han Hui Hui, was received last Monday and approved on the same day, NParks and the police said.

YMCA said that on April 11, NParks acknowledged its intent to hold the event and reserved the venue for its use on Saturday, pending approval from the relevant authorities.

YMCA also reiterated that it is a voluntary welfare organisation and not a grassroots organisation. Ms Han had earlier said she was spoken to by “grassroots leaders”, who tried to dissuade her from holding her rally.

During the rally, Ms Han and Mr Roy Ngerng — a blogger who is facing a defamation lawsuit by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong — led the protesters on a march around Hong Lim Park. Video recordings uploaded on YouTube showed the protesters, at one point, stopping at a stage, waving Singapore flags and chanting slogans, as a group of special needs children was about to perform a dance item.

In a lengthy blog post slamming the media coverage on what took place, Mr Ngerng yesterday said the PAP sought to “play politics” with the incident. Nevertheless, he conceded: “There were some things we should have done better, for that I am sorry”.

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