Singapore Unbound Denounces Harassment of PJ Thum and New Naratif


Singapore Unbound
Public Statement 
September 21, 2020 

Singapore Unbound Urges Prime Minister's Office to Withdraw Police Complaint

Singapore Unbound denounces the People's Action Party government's harassment of PJ Thum, the Managing Director of New Naratif, an independent news website reporting on Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The Elections Department, Prime Minister's Office, has filed a police complaint against New Naratif, alleging that New Naratif published “paid advertisements that amounted to the illegal conduct of election activity under s83(2) of the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA) during the recent 2020 General Election.”

As New Naratif points out, the PEA is framed so broadly that almost any kind of paid public comment could be construed to run foul of it, including New Naratif's coverage of the General Elections, boosted as paid posts on Facebook. Judge for yourself: The PEA states that “…such material shall be election advertising even though it can reasonably be regarded as intended to achieve any other purpose as well and even though it does not expressly mention the name of any political party or candidate....” It is our opinion as Singaporean citizens that this law proscribes too large a swarth of political expression and leaves too much power in the hands of senior civil servants and elected officials to decide on what constitutes election advertising.

This demand for the withdrawal of the police complaint is not only for the sake of one independent news website, no matter how indispensable. It is, fundamentally, for the sake of all citizens of Singapore, who deserves the right to information and the freedom of expression. To function properly as a deliberative democracy, we need different perspectives and critical voices. To survive as a country, we need independence of thought and the courage of one's convictions. By harassing and intimidating its critics, instead of debating them, the People's Action Party is setting Singapore on a course of decline in order to maintain its grip on power.

The results of the recent General Elections have shown clearly that an increasing number of Singaporeans will not stand for such bullying. The People's Action Party did not receive the mandate that it sought, its share of the popular vote dropping to a near-record low. The message is clearly understood by the governing party, but its response is to give a sop to the Opposition (creating an official Leader of the Opposition, for instance, when such a position should have been established a long time ago), hoping, it seems, to seduce the Opposition into a brand of respectability politics. Would the Leader of the Opposition condemn the harassment of PJ Thum and New Naratif in Parliament? We shall see. The other part of the People's Action Party's response is to intimidate its civil-society critics, especially its most dangerous, because outspoken and knowledgeable, ones.

Because the demand for the Prime Minister's Office to withdraw the police complaint is on behalf of all Singaporeans, Singapore Unbound urges all Singaporean writers, artists, and arts organizations to make the same demand in solidarity with PJ Thum and New Naratif. A number of writers and activists have already taken such a stand publicly, but we need a united show of solidarity to influence public opinion, and thus the government. The legal arguments may be convoluted, but the moral and political principles are not. Shouldn't a government be debating its critics instead of silencing them? Shouldn't a government be transparent and accountable in all its dealings instead of being tyrannical and arbitrary? Shouldn't a government be governing for the interest of all, instead of its own narrow political interest? If every writer, artist, and arts organization takes the same stand, the government cannot remove all our funding, since that is tantamount to destroying the entire arts sector.

Why should anyone who is not a Singaporean care about any of this? When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died three days ago, we mourned for her, even those of us who were not Americans. When novelist Arundhati Roy spoke against the Hindu nationalism of the Modi government, we cheered for her, even those of us who were not Indians. When Hong Kong democrats held yet another vigil for the Tiananmen massacre, we prayed for their safety, even though we were not Hong Kongers. We are growing a world-consciousness that joins all of us together. Some call it Gaia. Others the Tao. Yet others the World Spirit. Whatever its name, it is a call to unity, and whether it is for good or for evil depends on each and every one of us.

Jee Leong Koh
Founder and Organizer, Singapore Unbound
A concerned citizen of the Republic of Singapore

Hear PJ Thum give the Opening Address of the 2020 Singapore Literature Festival in New York City on the topic "Is There Hope for Democracy?"

Hear three comics contributors to New Naratif—Sonny Liew, Joy, Ho, and Shirin Rafie—speak about hitting the bull's eye in an authoritarian state.

Support New Naratif by becoming a member today.

Singapore Unbound is an independent, NYC-based literary non-profit dedicated to the advancement of freedom of expression and equal rights for all. We seek to build meaningful cultural exchange between Singapore and the USA and beyond.

(Photo from PJ Thum's Facebook page)

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