Online academic platform East Asia Forum has been issued a correction order for publishing an article containing multiple false statements in relation to Singapore’s governance. They include the handling of the 38 Oxley Road dispute, and the trial of Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) office said on Wednesday (Jan 22) that it has directed the platform to put up a correction notice for the article, following instructions by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Indranee Rajah.
The original article, written by Associate Professor Michael Barr from Flinders University’s College of Business Government and Law, was titled “Singapore’s new prime minister entangled in old politics”.
The Australia-based platform will be required to carry a correction notice at the top of the article, and also on its social media sites X, Facebook and LinkedIn, where it shared the article.
The notice must provide access to the government’s correction on its fact-checking website Factually. “This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions,” said the Pofma office.
The article published on East Asia Forum on Jan 14 “communicates assertions which are false and misleading”, said PMO.
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The first assertion was that the Singapore government had misused the resources and time of the Cabinet, Parliament, police, Urban Redevelopment Authority, and Building and Construction Authority, to pursue Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s private agenda against his siblings and turn his family home -– 38 Oxley Road – into a memorial to his father, Lee Kuan Yew, and himself.
The police investigations involving Lee Hsien Loong’s brother, Lee Hsien Yang, took place because a disciplinary tribunal found that he and his wife, Lee Suet Fern lied under oath, and had committed possible perjury.
“The couple refused to cooperate and left the country,” noted PMO, which added that SM Lee has long recused himself from all discussions on 38 Oxley Road.
“Since then, he has not been, and is not, involved in the decisions made by the Cabinet or any government agency in relation to 38 Oxley Road.”
Additionally, no decision has been made yet on 38 Oxley Road, with the National Heritage Board planning to carry out a study of the site to assess if it is worthy of preservation as a national monument.
Next, the article falsely alleged that WP chief Pritam Singh, was prosecuted without basis, in pursuit of motives other than proper enforcement of the law.
The PMO clarified that the conduct of both Singh and WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap during the Committee of Privileges hearing in December 2021 was referred to the public prosecutor. The hearing was about former WP MP Raeesah Khan’s lies in Parliament that she had accompanied a rape victim to a police station.
The public prosecutor subsequently levied Singh with two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee.
PMO noted that during the trial, the defence made a submission of “no case to answer” in respect of Singh’s two charges.
“However, the court called on Mr Singh to enter his defence on both charges, which confirms that there were grounds for prosecution,” said PMO.
It added: “The trial was held in open court, and Mr Singh gave evidence, as did other witnesses. Closing submissions have been made. The court will render its verdict in due course.”
A verdict on the case is expected on Feb 17.
The article also falsely alleged that after the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) caught six former senior management staff of Singapore-based, government-linked Keppel Offshore & Marine (O&M) paying US$55 million in bribes, the executives were not charged or publicly identified due to “lack of evidence”.
The PMO clarified that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, issued stern warnings to the six individuals who were formerly senior management of Keppel O&M.
PMO said the decision by the prosecution was made with its discretion and professional judgment, taking into account all relevant considerations pertaining to the case.
“These included evidentiary difficulties in the case – for example, many of the documents were located in different jurisdictions, and key witnesses located outside of Singapore could not be compelled to give evidence here.”
PMO added that only one person, and not six, was prosecuted in the US. The US DOJ did not charge any other Keppel O&M executives or publicly identify them.
Additionally, the East Asia Forum article falsely alleged that there is a complete absence of laws or conventions requiring political office holders to declare their financial interests, assets, or conflicts of interest.
The PMO said that according to the 2005 Code of Conduct for Ministers, there are rules which require ministers to declare financial interests and assets, and rules on the acceptance of gifts and conflicts of interest.
“In addition to and in the context of the code, and as a matter of convention, ministers who declare a relevant interest will be required to recuse themselves from decision-making in related matters,” it said.
The PMO laid out several other discrepancies and falsehoods in the article.
PMO said Prof Barr had suggested some impropriety in the reduction of the two charges against former minister S Iswaran, who was eventually handed a 12-month jail sentence for obtaining valuables worth S$403,300, and obstructing justice.
“The conviction came only after the original charges were downgraded to those that would apply to a civil servant who had not declared a gift,” wrote Prof Barr.
PMO said that Prof Barr is “mendacious in his allegations”, noting in most countries, gifts such as a whisky bottles “would not attract any attention, let alone a criminal charge”.
It also noted Prof Barr’s “bald accusations” that Singapore’s leaders, including the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, conflated public interest and private interest and pursued self-interest while in office, suggesting that they engaged in wrongdoing, lacked integrity and/or were corrupt.
“The Singapore government has zero tolerance for corruption,” said PMO, adding that ministers, Members of Parliament, and all public officers are expected to be scrupulously above board, and that any evidence of wrongdoing would be fully investigated.
“While Mr Barr is free to express his opinions from afar, he is not free to make sweeping false allegations,” it added.
The PMO also said that Prof Barr has made allegations against Singapore for decades, with his comments usually being “acerbic and biased, lacking any connection to the facts”.
“Most Singaporeans ignore Mr Barr and the prescriptions he has proffered over the years,” said PMO, adding that the Republic ranked fifth in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2023, compared with countries like Australia (14th), the United Kingdom (20th) and the United States of America (24th).
“Singapore’s governance system is built on a foundation of integrity and public service, carefully established over generations and upheld by successive leaders… This hard-won public trust is precious and must be safeguarded,” said PMO.
“The Singapore government remains steadfast in its commitment to earning and preserving the people’s trust, including countering those who attempt to erode it by spreading falsehoods.”
Internet service providers here had previously been ordered to block access to the East Asia Forum website after it failed to comply with a correction order in September 2023.
It was unblocked after an article written by Dr Ying-Kit Chan from the National University of Singapore was retracted. THE STRAITS TIMES
