The “revamped” P65 blog which is supposed to be “non-partisan” in nature is fast turning out to be a farce with the latest revelation that one of its regular bloggers Mr Fredric Fanthome is not only a YPAP member, but a new citizen from India as well.
The P65 blog was set up after the 2006 elections by the post-65 PAP MPs to connect with the online community, but floundered due to the lack of commitment and traffic.
It had recently undergone a major “revamp” in August this year with a complete new editorial team to replace the PAP MPs who no longer blogs on the site.
According to YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck, the P65 blog will no longer carry just the PAP’s views and will steer clear of supporting a political party.
Instead, it will be open to all post-65 Singaporeans, who can write about ‘anything under the sun’, from entertainment and the economy to race and religion, said Mr Teo Ser Luck, 41, who leads the group of 12 post-65 PAP MPs.
“We have our own Young PAP website for the politically inclined,’ he added, referring to the PAP youth wing which he heads. ‘The p65 blog is to allow other young people to share their views, which are non-partisan, neutral and can be constructive criticism of policies,” he said.
Though Mr Teo said initially that none of the writers are affiliated to theYPAP, one of them, Vikram Nair admitted a week later on the P65 blog itself that he is a YPAP member.
Two other writers are in organizations affiliated to the PAP including unionist Mohamad Nazir Sani, 35, and grassroots leader Terence Quek, 34.
Contrary to Mr Teo’s claims that the views espoused on P65 are “non-partisan” and “neutral”, a quick glance at the articles shows that they reflect the ingrained mindset of the PAP and are strongly pro-government both in substance and tone.
For example, in his controversial article on the “cooling-off” day, Mr Fredric Fanthome wrote that the opposition should not just oppose for the sake of “opposing” and that its role is to offer “constructive” criticisms.
He also defended the GRC system using the PAP’s standard explanation that its continued existence is necessary to ensure minority representation in parliament.
It appears that the P65 blog is staffed by PAP apologists rather than “independent” bloggers as claimed by them.
If the PAP thinks that the revamped P65 blog in the guise of a “non-partisan” site not affiliated to it will help it establish a presence in blogosphere, then it is grossly mistaken.
Barely four months after the site was “revamped”, its already pathetic readership drops by more than half from an alexa traffic ranking of 20,934 in August to just 43,219 now.
Perhaps it is more apt to rename the P65 site as a YPAP-P65 blog or a YPAP-new citizens blog.
The P65 blog was set up after the 2006 elections by the post-65 PAP MPs to connect with the online community, but floundered due to the lack of commitment and traffic.
It had recently undergone a major “revamp” in August this year with a complete new editorial team to replace the PAP MPs who no longer blogs on the site.
According to YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck, the P65 blog will no longer carry just the PAP’s views and will steer clear of supporting a political party.
Instead, it will be open to all post-65 Singaporeans, who can write about ‘anything under the sun’, from entertainment and the economy to race and religion, said Mr Teo Ser Luck, 41, who leads the group of 12 post-65 PAP MPs.
“We have our own Young PAP website for the politically inclined,’ he added, referring to the PAP youth wing which he heads. ‘The p65 blog is to allow other young people to share their views, which are non-partisan, neutral and can be constructive criticism of policies,” he said.
Though Mr Teo said initially that none of the writers are affiliated to theYPAP, one of them, Vikram Nair admitted a week later on the P65 blog itself that he is a YPAP member.
Two other writers are in organizations affiliated to the PAP including unionist Mohamad Nazir Sani, 35, and grassroots leader Terence Quek, 34.
Contrary to Mr Teo’s claims that the views espoused on P65 are “non-partisan” and “neutral”, a quick glance at the articles shows that they reflect the ingrained mindset of the PAP and are strongly pro-government both in substance and tone.
For example, in his controversial article on the “cooling-off” day, Mr Fredric Fanthome wrote that the opposition should not just oppose for the sake of “opposing” and that its role is to offer “constructive” criticisms.
He also defended the GRC system using the PAP’s standard explanation that its continued existence is necessary to ensure minority representation in parliament.
It appears that the P65 blog is staffed by PAP apologists rather than “independent” bloggers as claimed by them.
If the PAP thinks that the revamped P65 blog in the guise of a “non-partisan” site not affiliated to it will help it establish a presence in blogosphere, then it is grossly mistaken.
Barely four months after the site was “revamped”, its already pathetic readership drops by more than half from an alexa traffic ranking of 20,934 in August to just 43,219 now.
Perhaps it is more apt to rename the P65 site as a YPAP-P65 blog or a YPAP-new citizens blog.
