Re: Police classify distributing anti-PAP flyers as ‘seditious’
Pamphlet may be illegal election advertising
PAP Paya Lebar branch chairman K Muralidharan claims that the pamphlets were distributed by PAP activists as a “ground-up” initiative. It is unclear at this point of time whether that means these efforts had the approval of the party’s leadership. Whatever the case, Muralidharan has stated that “there was no difficulty in understanding that (the flyer) was from the PAP,” indicating that the activists were acting in their official capacity as party members.
These pamphlets thus qualify as election advertising under the definition set out in the Parliamentary Elections Act, Part I, Section 2:
“election advertising” means any poster, banner, notice, circular, handbill, illustration, article, advertisement or other material that can reasonably be regarded as intended —
(a) to promote or procure the electoral success at any election for one or more identifiable political parties, candidates or groups of candidates; or
(b) to otherwise enhance the standing of any such political parties, candidates or groups of candidates with the electorate in connection with any election,
and 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, but excludes any button, badge, pen, pencil, balloon and any other thing prescribed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette; [emphasis mine]
This may be illegal. Under the Act, political campaigning may only be carried out within the campaign period, between nomination day and one day before polling day. Furthermore, the content of any material that is published must be disclosed to the returning officer.
“Low blow. Despicable. Shameless.”
Whether or not it is illegal, many Singaporeans have found it utterly distasteful. Kana Gopal commented on Facebook, “Continue doing this PAP and more Aljunied voters will vote in WP at the next elections.” Despite the story being posted at close to midnight, Gopal’s comment has already received over a hundred likes.
Having dominated the political scene for half a century, the PAP had for a long time encouraged Singaporeans to view fervent political activism negatively, mainly because its opponents had always been the ones who had to fight tooth and nail to get a seat in Parliament. However, since the release of the AHPETC report, they have become the most strident voices of criticism — an irony that is not easily lost on Singaporeans such as Ciestera Michael who wrote, “The more u wana stir, the more i’ll support the opposition. Any party, i dont care.”
Others like Swee Heng are happy to see the PAP press the issue, “If WP has nothing to hide, why can’t it simply answer the questions? Don’t answer to Parliament. Don’t answer to residents. Then WP is answerable to no one.”
Although opinions remain divided on the issue of AHPETC’s mismanagement, the PAP’s strategy of capitalising on it has slowly begun to backfire as most people have begun to see it as a big bully—one that has become more concerned with scoring points with the electorate by taking cheap shots at the opposition rather than fixing pressing problems.
Joshua Tan writes, “Signs of desperation? How about spending the resources to fix the broken transport rail system first. Just think of all the productive hours lost by everyone by the numerous delays. That would bring you more votes.”
After the release of the AGO’s audit report, it was no pretty sight — a parliament full of PAP MPs questioning a few opposition MPs for two straight days. Now that issues of national importance such as the recent increase in train breakdowns have come under the spotlight, the PAP’s continued focus on AHPETC — which is essentially a municipal issue that has already been debated extensively — may prove to be politically costly.
The Facebook commenters with a feel for public sentiment have already weighed in. As Au Kah Kay writes, “The more PAP activists do such shameless things like this, the more petty and insecure they are being portrayed to be and the more likely Aljunied GRC voters are likely to vote for WP. Isn’t 2 full days of Parliament debate devoted to this issue enough?” Or more succinctly, “Low blow. Despicable. Shameless,” says Robert Yong. These were the sixth and seventh most-liked comments respectively.
Whatever the merits of its case, the PAP is unlikely to win more supporters than it loses with its latest antic. This may be further proof that the PAP has yet to learn its lesson from the humiliating outcome in the 2011 General Election —it remains out of touch with popular sentiment on the ground. Perhaps it’s time the PAP had party leaders from humbler backgrounds, people who can connect with average Singaporeans. Taking public transport everyday like the rest of the steerage and getting rid of those obscene monthly pay checks would be good starts. Who knows, the PAP might even start attracting the right crowd into its ranks if it lowered ministerial salaries.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/131345/pap-activists-illegal-pamplets/
