SINGAPORE - Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam has confirmed he
will be contesting the Punggol East by-election.
"Yes, it is confirmed," he
said.
When asked why there was no formal introduction, he said, "Well I
think people know me, without sounding arrogant, they know how hard
I've campaigned on national issues like accountability,
transparency and the use of reserves."
The 53-year-old revealed his campaign slogan is "no more broken
promises", both on the local and national level.
"We don't have millions of dollars to promise, but one thing I can
tell you, we won't make promises we can't keep."
On Monday evening, six members of the Reform Party, including Mr
Jeyaretnam, handed out flyers to Rivervale residents from Blocks
123A to E and Rivervale Plaza patrons and shop owners.
The flyer contains a write-up on how the party aims to alleviate
the income woes of Singaporeans as well as the party's contacts and
biographies of Kenneth Jeyaretnam and the party's founder, his late
father, JB Jeyaretnam.
It is illegal to campaign before Nomination Day on Jan 16, but when
asked if Reform Party had broken any laws, Mr Jeyaretnam said this:
"I'd say that's rubbish, both activities we've been carrying on for
the past five years."
Mr Jeyaretnam met Punggol East residents from Blocks 196 and 197,
who said they were concerned about problems such as water
seepage, bad maintenance and slippery floors when it rains.
Although he mainly discussed local issues with residents, Mr
Jeyaretnam maintains tackling national issues is just as
important.
Reform Party had called for assentors on its Facebook page on
Sunday.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130115-395564.html
5:27 pm | Monday, January 14th, 2013
SINGAPORE—Police said Monday they were investigating Singapore’s
top daily The Straits Times over a voter survey it conducted ahead
of a by-election in apparent breach of a law against polls during
the campaign.
The by-election on January 26 is for a seat left vacant when the
former Speaker of parliament, Michael Palmer, stepped down after
confessing to an extramarital affair.
The Elections Department said an article published by the
English-language newspaper on January 10, a day after the election
was called, was “currently being looked into by the police.”
Police confirmed the investigation.
The Straits Times itself disclosed the investigation on its website
late Sunday and said it would cooperate in any police probe.
The broadsheet’s January 10 issue carried a report on a poll it
conducted among 50 residents in the contested ward.
The article was headlined “ST poll: More rooting
for PAP.”
The PAP, or People’s Action Party, has been in power since
1959.
“This was not a full-scale survey, or scientific
poll, by any means,” editor-in-chief Warren Fernandez said in
remarks carried by the newspaper on Monday, vowing to cooperate
with any police probe.
“The headline for our story overstated the significance of the
information gathered by calling it a poll. We are sorry for this
lapse.”
The Straits Times is the flagship publication of Asian media giant
Singapore Press Holdings.
In Singapore it is illegal to publish the results
of voter surveys from the day the election is called until the end
of polling.
Offenders can be fined up to Sg$1,500 ($1,200) or jailed for up to
12 months, or both.
The by-election will give a new snapshot of the public mood less
than two years after the PAP suffered its worst ever election
result in May 2011 when its share of the popular vote fell to 60
percent.
It still holds 81 of the 87 seats in parliament but has come under
severe criticism for its handling of immigration and public
services as well as the rising cost of living and widening income
gap in the affluent city-state.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/340353/police-probe-singapore-daily-over-voter-poll
