By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 May 2008 1937 hrs
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee
Kuan Yew are expected to take the stand in Singapore's High Court next
week.
The hearing is to assess the damages they are claiming against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and its leaders.
Both Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Mr Lee Kuan Yew won their defamation
suit against the SDP for defamatory remarks in the SDP publication "The
New Democrat" after they obtained a summary judgement from the court.
The defamatory remarks were contained in an article - both in
English and Mandarin - about the National Kidney Foundation scandal in
April 2006 that was published at the height of the 2006 General
Election.
Lawyers from Drew and Napier, who will represent the two Singapore
leaders, confirmed they will appear before Justice Belinda Ang during
the three days set aside for the hearing to determine the quantum of
damages to be awarded.
Besides the two Singapore leaders, several journalists are also expected to take the stand.
The article in question was headlined: "Govt's Role In The NKF
Scandal". A captioned photograph in the publication - which showed a
group of protesters outside the CPF Building holding a placard and
wearing T-shirts with the words "HDB, GIC, NKF and CPF" - was also
singled out as having caused offence.
PM Lee had argued that in their ordinary meaning and innuendo, both
the words and the photograph alleged that he is dishonest and unfit for
office.
The SDP also alleged that as Prime Minister, Mr Lee perpetuated a
corrupt political system for the benefit of the political elite.
These allegations were based on the premise that the government had
access to the information, which has now been unearthed about the NKF,
but concealed it to avoid criticism.
Similarly, Mr Lee Kuan Yew argued that the words and photograph
implied that like the PM, the Minister Mentor is also dishonest and
unfit for office.
Another allegation was that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had managed the
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) in a corrupt
manner.
Meanwhile in a separate case, lawyers for both PM Lee and MM Lee
will be arguing in the High Court to grant them a summary judgement in
their case against the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER).
FEER and its editor are being sued for defamation by the two
leaders for an article published in July 2006 about the National Kidney
Foundation saga.
Lawyers for PM Lee and MM Lee claim the article had set out to
disparage the leaders. The hearing for this case, also fixed for next
week, is before Justice Woo Bih Li.
sunnytv, can edit off Lee Kuan Yew's face or not?
I see his lan jiao face I very du lan.
Thanks.
MM, Can we move on?
no contest one lah.
confirm they win.
black will become white and white will become black.
Damages of $1, $1000 or $100,000 or $1,000,000?
Legalized robbery...
IMHO I think he is unfit for office. Can I be sued for my opinion?
Each time when LKY instigate legal actions against members from the Alternative Political Parties, I will look back at his past speeches to find if the LKY today is a miscreant from the past:-
.
"If it is not totalitarian to arrest a man and detain him, when you cannot charge him with any offence against any written law - if that is not what we have always cried out against in Fascist states - then what is it?… If we are to survive as a free democracy, then we must be prepared, in principle, to concede to our enemies - even those who do not subscribe to our views - as much constitutional rights as you concede yourself." - Opposition leader Lee Kuan Yew, Legislative Assembly Debates, Sept 21, 1955
.
"If we are to survive as a free democracy, then we must be prepared, in principle, to concede to our enemies - even those who do not subscribe to our views - as much(sic)constitutional rights as you concede yourself." - Lee Kuan Yew Legislative Assembly Debates Sept 21, 1955
.
"But we either believe in democracy or we not. If we do, then, we must say categorically, without qualification, that no restraint from the any democratic processes, other than by the ordinary law of the land, should be allowed... If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, then, they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication. Then, no law should permit those democratic processes to be set at nought, and no excuse, whether of security, should allow a government to be deterred from doing what it knows to right, and what it must know to be right... "- Lee Kuan Yew, Legislative Assembly Debates April 27, 1955
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" Repression, Sir is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love-it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. All you have to do is to dissolve organizations and societies and banish and detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil on the surface. Then an intimidated press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if these things are referred to again they're conveniently distorted and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict." -Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition PAP member during 1956 speaking to David Marshall
.
"If we say that we believe in democracy, if we say that the fabric of a democratic society is one which allows for the free play of idea...then, in the name of all the gods, give that free play a chance to work within the constitutional framework." - Opposition leader Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore Legislative Assembly, Oct 4, 1956
.
"Repression can only go up to a point. When it becomes too acute, the instruments of repression, namely the army and the police, have been proved time and time again in history to have turned their guns on their masters." - Opposition leader Lee Kuan Yew, Straits Times, May 5, 1959
.
Is the above statement, an ominous prediction for himself, which explains for his toughness in exercising suppression towards any loud and prominent protests from Singaporeans ?
Could this be the reason for the very short term tenure of the SAF Chief of Defense Force, and the Commissioner of Police - with the excuse of self-renewal ?
.
.
"I pointed to an article with bold headlines reporting that the police had refused to allow the PAP to hold a rally at Empress Place, and then to the last paragraph where in small type it added the meeting would take place where we were now. I compared this with a prominent report about an SPA rally. This was flagrant bias." - Complaining about the Straits Times in 1959.
.
.
.
.
"Let us get down to fundamentals. Is this an open, or is this a closed society?
Is it a society where men can preach ideas - novel, unorthodox, heresies, to established churches and established governments - where there is a constant contest for men's hearts and minds on the basis of what is right, of what is just, of what is in the national interests, or is it a closed society where the mass media - the newspapaers, the journals, publications, TV, radio - either bound by sound or by sight, or both sound and sight, men's minds are fed with a constant drone of sycophantic support for a particular orthodox political philosophy? That is the first question we asked ourselves.
I would like to see minds stimulated and debate provoked, and truth refined and crystallized out of the conflict of different evidence and views.
I, therefore, welcome every and any opportunity of a chance to agree, or to dissent, in order that out of thesis comes synthesis - thesis, anti-major premise, anti-premise, synthesis, so we progress...
I welcome every opportunity to meet members of the opposition, and so do members of my party, over the radio, over the television, university forums, public rallies. We never run away from the open encounter. If your ideas, your views cannot stand the challenge of criticism then they are too fragile and not sturdy enough to last. I am talking of the principle of the open society, the open debate, ideas, not intimidation, persuasion not coercion...
Sir, the basic fundamentals we asked ourselves...is whether the duties of the Minister of Information and Broadcasting are to produce closed minds or open minds, because these instruments - the mass media, the TV, the radio - can produce either the open minds receptive to ideas and ideals, a democratic system of life, or closed and limited.
But I know that the open debate is a painful process for closed minds...But let me make this point: that 5 million adult minds in Malaysia cannot be closed - definitely not in the lifetime of the people in authority.
It is not possible because whatever the faults of the colonial system, and there are many...they generated the open mind, the inquiring mind." - Lee Kuan Yew Dec 18, 1964 Malaysian Parliamentary Debates
.
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Is it not ironical for LKY to admit that in his ending statement that ''whatever the faults of the colonial system.... and there are many..... they generated the open mind, the inquiring mind.''
How is LKY to account for the degradation of the Singaporean minds that result in a lack of talent today after 50 years of his uninterrupted interference ?
If CSJ and SDP had existed in the late 1950s and early 60s, he would probably have placed LKY on a pedestal for championing the same Human Rights Principles.
I'm a victim of grave abuses from people in power in Singapore with access to telepathic person(s). They have friends here too. All abuses are to convince people I'm mentally ill to cover their grave evil. Telepathy is not a far off fiction. It's a fact. I've realized I'm fighting a 12 year old.
I'm perfectly functioning and not suffering from any mental illness. Any ordinary people would see that.
LKY family are liars without conscience.
Just because I say that there are people who can read mind doesn't make me crazy. They defamed me of being szizhophernic(whatever the spelling) in which I'm hearing voices inside my mind. I refused medication and proceeeded to finish my graduate degree locally in Indonesia refusing to go back to NTU. The NTU authority even sent me a letter stating that my doctor has given permission to resume my study. What doctor since I never saw one and what letter? LYING BASTARDS.
One of my hobbies is model kit building one of which that I built took me 5 weeks to complete. Any idiot could tell I'm not what they told me I am.
hey whiners.... stop complaining... SDP people are stupid to defame singapore leaders without proper evidence.
SO much education for these SDP. They are throwing stones at their own legs. If I was an opposition, I would not anyhow talk without good evidence. They are justplain stupid lah.
You all are imaginative also. ANything wrong , all arrow to government and PAP. Pls stop arrowing people liao.
Originally posted by january:hey whiners.... stop complaining... SDP people are stupid to defame singapore leaders without proper evidence.
SO much education for these SDP. They are throwing stones at their own legs. If I was an opposition, I would not anyhow talk without good evidence. They are justplain stupid lah.
You all are imaginative also. ANything wrong , all arrow to government and PAP. Pls stop arrowing people liao.
Life is not always stuck in the month of January - it is now April 2008.
Have you been sleeping for the last 3 years and 5 months ?
Your imagination is super to make you believe that there is nothing there for SDP to stand on in the statements that they have made.
Have you even read what the issues are about that is raised by the SDP before submitting your skewed judgment on their position ?
Is there any reason for MM and PM to take such actions against the SDP, or like you was it their self-inflicted imagination that led them to believe that the SDP actions had alleged that they are dishonest and unfit for political office ?
Surely you do not believe your imagination as real perceptions in the details that you have written about others ?
SG government has been extremely good at using the law to bankrupt opposition parties into nothingness.
I remember a case on a political analyst , lol..
Originally posted by january:hey whiners.... stop complaining... SDP people are stupid to defame singapore leaders without proper evidence.
Yes SDP people are stupid people
MM Lee and PM Lee are the smart people who could defame back people with evidence.
At least the SDP are courageous and most probably honest.
Originally posted by sunnytv:By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 May 2008 1937 hrs
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew are expected to take the stand in Singapore's High Court next week.
The hearing is to assess the damages they are claiming against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and its leaders.
Both Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Mr Lee Kuan Yew won their defamation suit against the SDP for defamatory remarks in the SDP publication "The New Democrat" after they obtained a summary judgement from the court.
The defamatory remarks were contained in an article - both in English and Mandarin - about the National Kidney Foundation scandal in April 2006 that was published at the height of the 2006 General Election.
Lawyers from Drew and Napier, who will represent the two Singapore leaders, confirmed they will appear before Justice Belinda Ang during the three days set aside for the hearing to determine the quantum of damages to be awarded.
Besides the two Singapore leaders, several journalists are also expected to take the stand.
The article in question was headlined: "Govt's Role In The NKF Scandal". A captioned photograph in the publication - which showed a group of protesters outside the CPF Building holding a placard and wearing T-shirts with the words "HDB, GIC, NKF and CPF" - was also singled out as having caused offence.
PM Lee had argued that in their ordinary meaning and innuendo, both the words and the photograph alleged that he is dishonest and unfit for office.
The SDP also alleged that as Prime Minister, Mr Lee perpetuated a corrupt political system for the benefit of the political elite.
These allegations were based on the premise that the government had access to the information, which has now been unearthed about the NKF, but concealed it to avoid criticism.
Similarly, Mr Lee Kuan Yew argued that the words and photograph implied that like the PM, the Minister Mentor is also dishonest and unfit for office.
Another allegation was that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had managed the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) in a corrupt manner.
Meanwhile in a separate case, lawyers for both PM Lee and MM Lee will be arguing in the High Court to grant them a summary judgement in their case against the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER).
FEER and its editor are being sued for defamation by the two leaders for an article published in July 2006 about the National Kidney Foundation saga.
Lawyers for PM Lee and MM Lee claim the article had set out to disparage the leaders. The hearing for this case, also fixed for next week, is before Justice Woo Bih Li.
maybe CSJ is PAP people? Then LKY pay him n his party to create problem, sell things illegally at toa payoh and defaming LKY? Then LKY act like very angry go sue CSJ.
I believe if CSJ get into so many 'planned' problems, the govt would have expel him citizenship and kick him out of s'pore
Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 18 minutes ago
SINGAPORE: The High Court hearing to assess damages claimed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew against an opposition political party, has been adjourned for two weeks.
PM Lee and MM Lee are taking the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and its leaders to task for defamation.
On Monday, the High Court adjourned the hearing to give SDP and its lawyers more time to prepare their arguments.
The outcome will now be known on 26 May.
The article at the centre of the defamation action appeared in the SDP publication "Demokrat" in April 2006 with the headline "Government’s role in the NKF scandal".
The court found that the article defamed PM Lee and MM Lee.
Both leaders successfully obtained a summary judgement against SDP chief Dr Chee Soon Juan, his sister Chee Siok Chin and the party.
After two years of court procedures, all that is left now is to assess the quantum of damages.
Both PM Lee and MM Lee were to have taken the stand from Monday to Wednesday.
But there was a turn of events on Monday. Lawyers for the Prime Minister and Minister Mentor said a major part of Monday’s hearing was centred on whether issues which were meant to be dealt in chambers should be heard in open court.
The SDP and its lawyers felt they were of matters of public interest and hence should be heard in open court.
But the judge finally decided that these matters could also be dealt with and heard in chambers.
The Chees also wanted Justice Belinda Ang to disqualify herself from hearing the case on the grounds that she had awarded the Lees a summary judgment in 2006 after the Chees had walked out of court.
But this was dismissed, with Justice Ang emphasising that it is her duty to hear all cases presented to her.
Also dismissed was an application to allow a representative from the Malaysian Bar Council to be admitted to observe the hearings in chambers.
Another point brought up on Monday was the affidavit known as "Evidence in Chief" filed by the SDP, its leaders and a former opposition election candidate Francis Seow.
Lawyers for the Singapore leaders want them to be struck off, arguing they are irrelevant to the hearings.
This matter will now come up for hearing in chambers on 22 May, four days before the court sits again to start proceedings to assess the damages claimed by PM Lee and MM Lee. — CNA/ir
Professor Jayakumar said over the TV tonight that his greatest achievements as a Law Minister for the past 20 years have been raising the standard of law and justice to match that of first world country.
He probably regarded it as his achievement too to keep quiet about the suing of political oppositions for remarks many of which are highly of public interest and justifiable in the heat of electioneering.
If he has indeed earned those achievements he mentioned would we have MM Lee challenging George Gomez to challenge him with a law suit in his court where judges were appointed solely by him and promotions decided by him and pay scales benchmarked by him too.
He claimed that he is open about the decision of the international court over Pedra Blanca.
Is he ready too to submit all political defamation suits against government ministers' political oppositions to International Court and feel sanguine about accepting such international court's verdict as well. If he can be that honest as well to accept international court's verdict to avoid bias in government's defamaion suits against political opposition then he would certainly be looked upon differently as an international stateman and not a yes-man.
"his greatest achievements as a Law Minister for the past 20 years have been raising the standard of law and justice to match that of first world country."
So does that mean Sg juriprudence has great consideration in countries like USA, UK, Oz or China?
It doesn't make an awful lot of sense to regard this as being significantly newsworthy, does it?
With a corrupt judiciary that allies with a politicised legislature which is effectively a puppet of the executive that basically self-elects, what sort of rational jurisprudence could you expect to witness in cases where the interests of tyrants are concerned?
After all, as Francis Seow (once the regime's solicitor-general) aptly pointed out, nowhere in the free world is there an anectodal precedence of someone having successfully filed more than 20 libel suits within the same jurisdiction and won them all. Surely, it can't be a matter of pure coincidence or sheer probability that a blatantly obvious fact highlighted by a one-time second-in-command at the Attorney General's Chambers could be missed by the public?
I won't recuse myself: Judge Belinda Ang
http://www.yoursdp.org/component/content/article/
Ladies and Gentlemen,
According to Singapore's state controlled media Channelnewsasiaof May 13, 2008, former law minister in Lee Kuan Yew's cabinet, S Jayakumar wants more Singapore lawyers to enter the field of international law;
quite a daunting task since lawyers themselves are turning out to be an
endangered species there.
In 1997 when the population was only
3.5 million in the island, there were 3,400 lawyers, a very small
number even for Singapore of the time, already a city engaged in
international trade, banking and commerce. After 10 years, today, you
will be surprised to know that the number of lawyers have not increased remaining still
at 3,400 despite the fact that business has increased 10 times and so
has the population to 4.5 million!
In fact the Singapore legal profession is declining from reliable intelligence indicating today of not more that 3,000 actually doing any legal work. Resignations, retirements and emigration has been the order of the day.
Why the malaise in the profession? It should be obvious. With Lee Kuan Yew determined to use the law as a tool to eliminate political opponents, by suing them in defamation of character lawsuits and bankrupting them with the help of conniving compliant judges, the law has lost all respectability.
No self respecting human being would want to join the profession in Singapore which means joining a large firm and doing corporate work while willing lawyers are used to sue Lee's opponents, while everyday the Constitution is violated by arresting peaceful protesters and imprisoning them and while the Internal Security Act is used to detain and torture innocent citizens who challenged Lee's political authority.
So we should tell Mr. Jayakumar not to raise his hopes. If he cannot even increase the numbers in the profession, how can he increase the numbers in a selective field such as international law.
The article also refers to how he "discovered" the new Minister for Law while he was a professor at the Singapore University. He says he noticed the young Indian student, recognized him
as a good student and invited him to his office to invite him to enter
politics and "serve". Coming from a state controlled media you probably
guessed that is not the whole truth.
Perhaps it is more like this. Since the age of 10, this young man had realized that the only way to succeed in Singapore is to sell his soul to the devil, that is to serve his master Lee Kuan Yew unconditionally; never mind the constitution, never mind the laws,
never mind nothing. In other words, he had decided from an early age
that he was going jump anytime and as high, and as many times as Lee Kuan Yew wanted. Whenever Lee flicked his fingers. In other words, he was a
sterling member of Hitlers Youth wing, sorry Lee's "Young PAP".
It is true that Jayakumar had asked him if he wanted to serve. What he meant, and what Shanmugam understood to mean, is of course, whether he was prepared to serve Lee, unconditionally; not serve the country.
So, there you have it.
My dear Mr. S Jayakumar. It is simply not going work. Don't raise your expectations.
If I am to give some advice to Jayakumar, it is this. If you want a vibrant legal profession, engaged in the country and in their work, then
introduce democracy. Introduce the rule of law. Otherwise the
profession will continue to decline, Singaporeans will emigrate and you will find only yourself and your chosen disciple Shanmugam left. In an English speaking western thinking country like Singapore,
most people are uncomfortable to jump just becasue Lee wants to see it.
There may be some like this Shanmugam, but most would decline the invitation.
Thanks but no thanks.
Gopalan Nair
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2008/05/
They only choose those that kowtow to their dictates.
I like what the outgoing talented talent said about court rulings that many cases are arguable and it can go either way, depending on the judge.
Originally posted by robertteh:Professor Jayakumar said over the TV tonight that his greatest achievements as a Law Minister for the past 20 years have been raising the standard of law and justice to match that of first world country.
...
Oh yes, without his great effort, how could the pore legal system be what it is today?
MM never lost dio boh? because he good. fair system, really. ;)
u no the believe me meh? he hee..
So much for being a democratic society
With so much negative information related to the present Political Regime, where are their erstwhile defenders with their ever willing vigor to ''polish up the gloss on the rotten apple'' ?
The various national prints will never publish the events that transpired even in an open court, and it takes a blog site to publicise the shocking efforts in ''fixing'' the system ''to fix'' their political challengers.
Why will Judge Belinda Ang insist on holding the hearings in chambers ?
Are the issues so ''private'' as claimed by the lawyer for the plaintiffs ?
Is it so ''private'' to the extent that it will further damage their already self-inflicted bad reputation without any help from SDP ?
It must be their moral conscience to interprete the SDP publication on the NKF issues to have impinge on their personal reputation, and make them believe that they are ''dishonest and unfit for political office''.
If at all the SDP's publication was a hit at the entire PAP Government, and it should be the PAP taking legal actions against the SDP - not MM LKY and his son PM LHL.
At the end of the day, this would have been POLITICS in any other democratic countries - but not in thin skin Singapore, where the politicians refused to allow their actions to be called as it is - ''a spade will always be a spade'' and ''a rose will always be a rose'' even if you attempt to call it by any other name.
If the political truth hurts is it the attempt to bar the proceedings from getting any further publicity that will simply hit CSJ and his sister below the belt ?
So much for the high standards of Singapore Law that the outgoing Law Minister has managed to have achieved - it is only by is own imagination.
In reality it is ''one set of legal interpretation'' for getting Citizens to tow the political line, ''another set of legal interpretation'' for the commercial world for the sake of Global Publicity, and a ''final set of legal interpretation'' for the Political Elites that keep them above the Law.
Sadly, it is only in a 'Totalitarian State' that allow this to happen.
So according to you pro-democrats, Justice Belinda Ang was prejudiced in making her decision? Did you think that the High Court would have allowed prejudice to take place in a case between two public figures? I think not. Sure, MM Lee might have made a few speeches in the past which makes him look hypocritical, but you can only blame the leaders/parties of the past not to have sued him. And I'm glad they didn't.
political justice? well..not in singapore!
it discourage young/ intelligent ppl from joining the politics, when the going get tough to finding new blood, the ruling regime will again resort to increase their own salaries citing reason which is often contridicting. this is a viscious cycle.
Originally posted by [MG]FFX2:So according to you pro-democrats, Justice Belinda Ang was prejudiced in making her decision? Did you think that the High Court would have allowed prejudice to take place in a case between two public figures? I think not. Sure, MM Lee might have made a few speeches in the past which makes him look hypocritical, but you can only blame the leaders/parties of the past not to have sued him. And I'm glad they didn't.
So I supposed any edict that tows the "official" line or has the slightest iota of official endorsement in any form, shape or way is a testament to an independent Judiciary?