Editor, The
Age
letters@theage.com.au
In your
report "Singapore Accused of Hypocrisy on Drug Stance" (The
Age, 23 Nov 05), you quoted Dr Chee Soon Juan's comments on
Singapore's economic links with Myanmar "despite the regime's
complicity in the opium trade" and insinuated that the
Singapore Government had invested in projects in Myanmar that
supported the activities of the drug lords.
This is an
old, baseless allegation which Dr Chee first raised almost a
decade ago. The Singapore Government had then explained that
the investment by the Government of Singapore Investment
Corporation (GIC) in the Myanmar Fund was completely open and
above board. The Fund held stakes in hotels and companies that
were straightforward investments in bona fide commercial
projects. Other investors in the Fund included Coutts & Co, an
old British bank, and the Swiss Bank Corporation. GIC was a
passive investor in the Fund. Subsequently, it divested its
stake in 2003.
At the time,
the Government also offered to set up a Commission of Inquiry,
so that Dr Chee could produce his evidence, and there could be
a full and open investigation. Unfortunately, Dr Chee never
took up the offer.
If any
Singaporean disagrees with our tough laws on drugs and the
death penalty for drug traffickers, the proper and democratic
way to proceed is to contest and win an election, and press to
change the law in Parliament. Dr Chee has stood for elections
three times, but lost each time, most recently in 2001
garnering barely 20% of the popular vote.
Dr Chee has
compared his struggle to Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent fight
against the British in India, but Singaporeans know Dr Chee
for what he is. In 1993, he was dismissed by the National
University of Singapore for misusing university research funds
to pay for postage on his wife's PhD thesis and falsifying
transport claims. In 1996, when appearing before a hearing at
a Parliamentary Select Committee, he wilfully gave false
information and was censured by Parliament for perjury. Dr
Chee's rehashed allegations about Singapore's links with
Myanmar, and his criticisms of Singapore democracy, must be
seen in this light.
Joseph K H
Koh
High
Commissioner
Singapore
High Commission
17 Forster
Crescent
Yarralumla,
ACT 2600, Australia
Tel 61 (2)
6273 3944
Fax 61 (2)
6273 9823
25 Nov 05
Editor, The
Australian
letter@theaustralian.com.au
Dear Sir
In "To End
Death Penalty, Become a Democracy" (The Australian, 24 Nov),
Dr Chee Soon Juan alleged that the Singapore Government had
invested in projects in Myanmar that supported the drug trade.
This is an
old, baseless allegation which Dr Chee first raised almost a
decade ago. The Singapore Government had then explained that
the investment by the Government of Singapore Investment
Corporation (GIC) in the Myanmar Fund was completely open and
above board. The Fund held stakes in hotels and companies that
were straightforward investments in bona fide commercial
projects. Other investors in the Fund included Coutts & Co, an
old British bank, and the Swiss Bank Corporation. GIC was a
passive investor in the Fund. Subsequently, it divested its
stake in 2003.
At the time,
the Government also offered to set up a Commission of Inquiry,
so that Dr Chee could produce his evidence, and there could be
a full and open investigation. Unfortunately, Dr Chee never
took up the offer.
If any
Singaporean disagrees with our tough laws on drugs and the
death penalty for drug traffickers, the proper and democratic
way to proceed is to contest and win an election, and press to
change the law in Parliament. Dr Chee has stood for elections
three times, but lost each time, most recently in 2001
garnering barely 20% of the popular vote.
Dr Chee has
compared his struggle to Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent fight
against the British in India, but Singaporeans know Dr Chee
for what he is. In 1993, he was dismissed by the National
University of Singapore for misusing university research funds
to pay for postage on his wife's PhD thesis and falsifying
transport claims. In 1996, when appearing before a hearing at
a Parliamentary Select Committee, he wilfully gave false
information and was censured by Parliament for perjury. Dr
Chee's rehashed allegations about Singapore's links with
Myanmar, and his criticisms of Singapore democracy, must be
seen in this light.
Joseph K H
Koh
High
Commissioner
Singapore
High Commission
17 Forster
Crescent
Yarralumla,
ACT 2600, Australia
Tel 61 (2)
6273 3944
Fax 61 (2)
6273 9823
25 Nov 05
Editor,
Sydney Morning Herald
letters@smh.com.au
In "In a
Singapore State of Mind"To End Death Penalty, Become a
Democracy" (The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 Nov 05), you quoted
Dr Chee Soon Juan who alleged that the Singapore Government
had invested in the Myanmar Fund which was claimed to be
"controlled" by "one of Burma's most notorious opium drug
lords".
This is an
old, baseless allegation which Dr Chee first raised almost a
decade ago. The Singapore Government had then explained that
the investment by the Government of Singapore Investment
Corporation (GIC) in the Myanmar Fund was completely open and
above board. The Fund held stakes in hotels and companies that
were straightforward investments in bona fide commercial
projects. Other investors in the Fund included Coutts & Co, an
old British bank, and the Swiss Bank Corporation. GIC was a
passive investor in the Fund. Subsequently, it divested its
stake in 2003.
At the time,
the Government also offered to set up a Commission of Inquiry,
so that Dr Chee could produce his evidence, and there could be
a full and open investigation. Unfortunately, Dr Chee never
took up the offer.
If any
Singaporean disagrees with our tough laws on drugs and the
death penalty for drug traffickers, the proper and democratic
way to proceed is to contest and win an election, and press to
change the law in Parliament. Dr Chee has stood for elections
three times, but lost each time, most recently in 2001
garnering barely 20% of the popular vote.
Dr Chee has
compared his struggle to Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent fight
against the British in India, but Singaporeans know Dr Chee
for what he is. In 1993, he was dismissed by the National
University of Singapore for misusing university research funds
to pay for postage on his wife's PhD thesis and falsifying
transport claims. In 1996, when appearing before a hearing at
a Parliamentary Select Committee, he wilfully gave false
information and was censured by Parliament for perjury. Dr
Chee's rehashed allegations about Singapore's links with
Myanmar, and his criticisms of Singapore democracy, must be
seen in this light.
Joseph K H
Koh
High
Commissioner
Singapore
High Commission
17 Forster
Crescent
Yarralumla,
ACT 2600, Australia
Tel 61 (2)
6273 3944
Fax 61 (2)
6273 9823
Source:
www.mfa.gov.sg Press Release 25 Nov
2005 |