I love my country, I'm not a traitor: Thum Ping Tjin

SINGAPORE — Historian Thum Ping Tjin on Monday (Sept 3) spoke up against claims that he is a "traitor", as he responded to a barrage of public criticism over his meeting with Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad last week and a subsequent Facebook post on Malaysia's independence day.

“Any notion that I am a traitor to my country is ridiculous and unfounded. I love my country and my people," he wrote on Facebook.

“I believe democracy, human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of information will make Singapore and our world better. I will never stop fighting for a Singapore that embraces these values and respects the dignity and rights of each and every individual. I also believe in engagement on the basis of mutual respect,” he added.

Last Thursday, Dr Thum, along with political dissident Tan Wah Piow, freelance journalist Kirsten Han, civil rights activist Jolovan Wham and award-winning graphic novelist Sonny Liew, made the headlines after they held an 80-minute meeting with Dr Mahathir in Kuala Lumpur.

On the same day, Dr Thum posted on Facebook a photo of the meeting, adding that he urged the Malaysian premier to “take leadership in South-east Asia for the promotion of democracy, human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of information”.

The following day, on Malaysia’s independence day, Dr Thum wrote on Facebook: "Selamat Hari Merdeka to the people of the former Federation of Malaya! (and happy unofficial independence day to the people of Singapore!)"

Separately, civil activist Teo Soh Lung commented on a Facebook video by socio-political website The Online Citizen that "Singapore is part of Malaya la”.

A number of political office holders in Singapore have weighed in on these comments and the meeting, among them Mr Seah Kian Peng, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, as well as Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

On Saturday, Mr Seah hit out at Dr Thum for suggesting that Singaporeans should also rejoice on Malaysia's independence day, which was on Aug 31.

Writing on Facebook, Mr Seah had said: "I’m amazed that Dr Thum and his supporters should proclaim that Singapore is part of Malaysia (or Malaya). Perhaps that is why he thinks it is permissible to ask its current prime minister to interfere in our affairs. It appears quite clear to me that PJ Thum does not wish Singapore well.”

On Sunday, Mr Shanmugam noted that while it is the people’s right to have political differences in Singapore, one should “never go out and invite a foreign politician to intervene in our domestic politics”.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event, Mr Shanmugam had described the whole conduct of the Singaporeans involved in the meeting with Dr Mahathir as "a little sad" and "a bit regretful".

He said: "Dr Thum puts up a photo of him holding his book on politics in Singapore, shaking hands with the Malaysian prime minister, then puts up a forum post saying that he invites Dr Mahathir to take a leading role in promoting democracy, human rights, freedom of speech in South-east Asia. I think it is quite clear what that means."

However, in his Facebook post on Monday, Dr Thum wrote: “Malaysia is now a beacon of hope for democracy in South-east Asia, and I expressed to Dr Mahathir the hope that many of us feel.”

He added that he did not “want Singapore to ‘do a Malaysia’”, rather, he wanted “Singapore to do a Singapore”.

He went on to say: “The solution to many of Singapore’s problems lie with Singaporeans. But that does not preclude us from learning from others’ experiences to make our country better. Human rights are universal, and we can always aspire to improve the quality of our democracy.”

In another Facebook post on Monday, Mr Seah responded to activists’ calls for him to retract his public comments about them.

Ms Han and Ms Teo said on Sunday that they have received threats and abuse from the public following Mr Seah’s earlier Facebook post.

Thanking those who agreed and supported his views, while noting that there were those who disagreed, Mr Seah said that it is “regretful” to see “all kinds of abusive remarks” made. He also said that he does not support such comments, regardless of the views or positions they take.

“Whilst we have different points of views, I call on all to maintain a certain decorum in our comments and we should not get personal or abusive. We can all agree to disagree and be civil about it,” he said.

He also apologised for including the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in his comments on Dr Thum and Ms Teo.

“As Ms Teo had previously stood as an SDP candidate in GE2011, I had assumed she was still a member. I apologise for this wrong assumption and thank SDP for the clarification,” Mr Seah said.

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