Chee Soon Juan
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Dr. Chee Soon Juan (Simplified Chinese: 徐顺全; Traditional Chinese: 徐順全; pinyin: Xú Shùnquán, born 1962) is the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). He is known for his opposition and numerous confrontation with the ruling People's Action Party (PAP).
Chee is a trained neuropsychologist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1990. He joined SDP in 1992 and later took over the Secretary-General position from founder Chiam See Tong who left to join the Singapore People's Party. Chee has been convicted and imprisoned several times for charges such as "speaking in public without a permit" and "attempting to hold rally without a license". Chee lost a defamation lawsuit filed by PAP leaders in 2001, and was declared a bankrupt in 2006 when he failed to pay the damages.
He is the Chairman of the Alliance for Reform & Democracy in Asia, and was a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (2004)[1]. He participated in many international organisations such as World Movement for Democracy and the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia Pacific. He was the recipient of the Defender of Democracy Award 2003 given by the Parliamentarians for Global Action.
Chee has written several books, including Dare to Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore (1994).
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[edit] Pre-2000
[edit] Joining the SDP
Until 1993, Chee was a National University of Singapore (NUS) psychology lecturer. In 1992, Dr. Chee joined the SDP and according to the words of then opposition leader Chiam See Tong he placed "his career in jeopardy".
[edit] 1992 by-election
Chee's first election was the 1992 Marine Parade By-election when his team won 24.5% of the votes in a People's Action Party stronghold.
[edit] NUS firing and hunger strike
In 1993, a few months after Chee joined the SDP, he was sacked by NUS for alleged misappropriation of research funds. In protest he staged a multi-day hunger strike during which he consumed only water mixed with glucose.
[edit] Spliting of SDP
Disagreement between Chee and Chiam See Tong, the founder of SDP, led to a split of the party. A new party Singapore People's Party (SPP) was formed. Chiam later left SDP to join SPP. This cost the SDP party dearly, as it originally held 3 constituency seats during 1991-1997, but since 1997, it has not managed to win any seat.
The SDP, headed by Chee, was later sued by Chiam See Tong, for insinuating that Chiam was acting on behalf of the ruling party. SDP lost and was ordered, with others, to pay Chiam damages of $150,000.
[edit] 1997 election
In 1997, MacPherson was separated from the Marine Parade Group-Constituency. This arose from a challenge by Chee to Matthias Yao to take him on one on one. Chee lost, garnering 34.8% of the votes, way below the national average for the other opposition candidates for that election.
[edit] 2000-2005
[edit] 2001 election
Chee led another team to lose again with 20.2% of the votes in Jurong GRC in 2001. During that election, he was caught on national television running after the Prime Minister with a loudhailer shouting "Mr Goh, where is our money."
[edit] 2001 defamation lawsuits
In 2001, Chee was sued for defamation by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew for remarks he made during the Singapore General Election. He allegedly accused both Goh and Lee for misleading Parliament over an alleged $17 billion loan to former Indonesian president Suharto. Chee lost the lawsuits and was ordered to pay S$200,000 to Lee and S$300,000 to Goh. Chee was later declared a bankrupt in 2006, for failing to pay the damages.
[edit] Speakers' Corner incident
In 2002, Chee was fined S$3,000 for allegedly making comments on religion at Singapore's "Speakers' Corner" on 15 February 2002, which requires prior registration and where discussion about race and religion is prohibited. Chee was commenting about the recent class suspension of three Muslim whose parents wanted them to wear headscarves in school. As a result of this conviction, Chee was ineligible for the 2006 general election.
[edit] Protest at Istana
Later on Labour Day, 1 May 2002, Chee staged a rally in front of Istana, official residence and office of the President of Singapore. He was arrested after he ignored a warning by a police officer to leave. Chee had earlier applied for a license to hold the rally, but the application was denied. Chee was later charged for trespassing and for attempting to hold rally without a license. The incident was captured by film and later included in Martyn See's 2004 documentary Singapore Rebel.
[edit] Documentary film: Singapore Rebel
- See also: Censorship in Singapore
In 2004, Martyn See directed a documentary on Dr. Chee called Singapore Rebel. It was supposed to be screened at the Singapore International Film Festival but was forced to be withdrawn from the festival and later banned by the Singapore government because of its political content. Singapore's Film Act forbids the production and distribution of "party political" films, which are defined as films "made by any person and directed towards any political ends in Singapore". Martyn See agreed to surrender the film on 29 August 2005 along with his video camera. The documentary is available on the Internet [2].
[edit] 2006-present
[edit] 2006 election
On 27 April 2006, he challenged Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to a public debate about the government role in the NKF scandal during a forum held in the National University of Singapore, titled - "The General Election: Does Singapore have a choice?"[3]
On 27 April 2006, nomination day for Singapore's General Election 2006, SDP chairman Ling How Doong was reported to say the party's executive committee is planning to remove Dr Chee Soon Juan as its secretary-general.[4] This was quickly debunked by both Chee and chairman Ling, with them blaming the local media being a government mouthpiece and waging a campaign against the SDP.[5]
At the 2006 General Elections, the SDP was the worst performer at the polls, their 7 candidates being the only ones who did not garner at least 25% of the votes.
[edit] SDP podcast
Despite a recent rule in Singapore that bans Podcasting during elections[6], Chee released a political podcast nevertheless on 23 April 2006.[7] However, it was, on the order of the Elections Department, removed by 25 April 2006.[8]
[edit] Civil disobedience at Annual Meetings of IMF and World Bank
On August 22, 2006, Chee announced that he is planning to hold rallies and marches in Singapore during 61st Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group as part of Singapore 2006 in September 2006 to protest against the rising income gap and raise awareness of the hardship of working-class people in the country. [1][2][3] The police application for the protest was rejected on 30 August 2006.[4] Nonetheless, Chee, in the SDP website, continues to urge people to participate in the protest. [5]
On September 9, 2006, Chee started to alert the public to the planned "Empower Singaporeans Rally and March" on September 16, 2006 by distributing leaflets but was stopped by the police to do so. The police then reminded the public that anyone participating in Chee's planned rally and march would be committing an offence.[9][10]
On September 13, 2006, Chee invited both Mr Paul Wolfowitz, President of World Bank and Mr Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, to his planned rally on September 16, 2006. At a press conference the next day, Chee announced that his application to be a civil society representative to Singapore 2006 as a representative of the Open Singapore Centre, was rejected by the IMF/World Bank. His sister and party's member Chee Siok Chin's application to represent the Alliance for Reform & Democracy in Asia, was approved by the IMF/World Bank but was rejected by the Singapore government.[11][12] On September 15, 2006, Chee released a podcast that warned Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that the Singapore 2006 event was a "public relations disaster" for Singapore. [13]
On September 16, 2006, Chee started off the "Empower Singaporeans Rally and March" at 1100 at the Speakers' Corner, Hong Lim Park but was stopped by the police when he started his march.[14][15] As the police had formed a human barricade to stop him whenever he resumed his march, Chee announced at 1730 that there would be a rally the following day in front of the Parliament House.[16] Nevertheless, Chee was stopped from leaving the park unless he agrees to stop the protest immediately. Left with no choice, he stayed at the park with his party's members and supporters.[17]
On September 17, 2006, Chee announced his plan to continue the protest by remaining at the park until the start of the IMF-World Bank meetings two days away. On September 18, 2006, after hours of negotiations with police, Chee went to Raffles City to hand out pamphlets to the public and he returned to the park.[18] Chee stopped his protest accordingly at noon on September 19 and he concluded that his protest had achieved its purpose.[19] Chee further announced that the just concluded 72-hour protest was only a start. Chee mentioned that for the next few months, more activists would be recruited and trained, and more activities would be organized for the campaign to bring pressure on the Singapore Government to reform.[20]
[edit] Reports of internal dispute in SDP
It was reported in local media that some of his party colleagues including party chairman Ling How Doong have said that the party "would be run even better" without its secretary-general, Chee, who was sentenced to jail for criticising the Singapore judiciary. They felt Chee was too obsessed with international issues and this had isolated the party from the local voters, who are more concerned with bread and butter issues. To this, Chee's sister, Chee Siok Chin, a member of the party's central executive committee, rebutted the claim that there was a spilt within the party.[21]
[edit] 2006 bankruptcy and contempt of court
On 10 February 2006, Chee was declared a bankrupt by the High Court, after failing to pay S$500,000 in damages awarded to Goh and Lee in the 2001 defamation lawsuit. Upon this bankruptcy order, Chee will not be allowed to stand for elections until February 2011. [6]
On 24 February 2006, Singapore attorney-general filed contempt of court charges against Chee for refusing to answer court's questions and criticising Singapore judiciary during a bankruptcy petition hearing on February 10. [7] Later, Chee was sentenced to a day in jail and a fine of $6,000, but he failed to pay the fine and was jailed for an additional seven days. [8] [22] He was released on 24 March 2006. [23]
In April 2006, Chee was stopped at the airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Istanbul. He is currently facing a charge for attempting to leave the country without official approval, which he was required to seek as a bankrupt.[9]
[edit] NKF incident
On 21 April 2006, Chee rejected an offer by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan to call for a Commission of Inquiry to look into his ministry's handling of the NKF Scandal, instead he asked the government to stop all their 'wayang'.[24][25] This comes after the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his eldest son, the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had demanded an apology from SDP (including Chee) for their slanderous remarks on NKF in the latest issue of its party newspaper, The New Democrat.[26] In it, SDP criticised the government in mishandling and covering up the infamous NKF Scandal that had rocked Singapore although they were not able to show any evidence of wrong doing beyond financial mismanagement.
The SDP, its 12 members and its printer, Sum Kwai Lum trading as Melodies Press Company, have till 10AM April 25, to respond to the demands for an apology.
This apology, according to the text set out in the letters of demand, is to be published in two local dailies on April 27, failing which both leaders will sue all parties involved. But the SDP has announced ahead of time they will not be apologising. But currently all members of the SDP and the printer have apologised except Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin.
[edit] Charges for speaking in public without a permit
On 20 June 2006, Chee was charged in court facing eight counts of speaking in public without a licence between 13 November 2005 and 22 April 2006, allegedly violating the Public Entertainments and Meeting Act. Two other SDP members were also charged. [10]
[edit] November 2006 imprisonment
On 23 November 2006, Chee was jailed for five weeks over his failure to pay a S$5,000 fine for speaking in public without a permit in April 2006. Two other SDP members, Gandhi Ambalam and Yap Keng Ho, were also imprisoned.[11] Chee reportedly became ill in prison, leading to speculations from the SDP that he was poisoned. From a statement released by SDP [12], Chee was feeling nauseous and dizzy, and was unable to sleep.
Four days later, the Ministry of Home Affairs asserted that Chee was treated the 'same as other prisoners' and that the SDP's claims are 'baseless, malicious and seek to undermine the reputation of the Singapore Prison Service'.[13] On December 3, 2006, after the doctor at the Queenstown Remand Prison had found traces of blood in Dr Chee's urine, he was admitted to Changi General Hospital. [14] On 10 December 2006, about a dozen of Chee's supporters, including Chee's family and his sister Chee Siok Chin, held a protest march starting at Speakers' Corner, Singapore and ending at Queenstown Remand Prison where Chee was incarcerated.[15] Several foreign non-government organisations released statements expressing concerns about Chee's health and treatment in prison.[16]
Chee was released on 16 December, 2 weeks short of his sentence, for good behavior in jail.[12] Two days later, he published a statement on what happened during his stint in jail. He claimed that his food tray was marked, and that the light in his cell had remained on during the night causing sleep deprivation. [17] Two days later, the Ministry of Home Affair replied to this, claiming "Chee’s insinuations about being the victim of a food conspiracy are ridiculous and a product of his own mischief... that Chee’s purported "ailment" in prison served only to provide an expedient story for his associates and foreign supporters to faithfully distort and exploit for political mileage." [16] Chee immediately released another statement rebutting MHA, claiming "the MHA’s statement is riddled with inconsistencies, contradictions and outright lies." [18]
[edit] 2007
Another hearing began for Dr. Chee began on 8th January 2007 for attempting to leave the country without a permit.[27]
[edit] Other activities
Chee was Honorary Research Associate at the Monash Asia Institute in 1997 and at the University of Chicago in 2001. In 2004, he participated in the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Program at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C..
[edit] Quote
- "As citizens of the country, we do not give "feedback". We have the right to tell the government what we want or don't want as public policy. We have the right not to be intimidated or threatened."
Quoted from [28].
[edit] Works
- Dare to Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore (Singapore Democratic Party: 1994)
- Singapore, My Home Too (1995)
- To Be Free: Stories from Asia's Struggle Against Oppression (Monash Asia Institute: 1998)
- Your Future, My Faith, Our Freedom: A Democratic Blueprint for Singapore (Singapore Open Centre: 2001)
- The Power of Courage: Effecting Political Change in Singapore Through Nonviolence (2005)
[edit] References
- ^ "Singapore police mull alternatives sites for World Bank protests", Deutsche Presse Agentur, 2006-08-23.
- ^ "S'pore asked to waive protest ban", 2006-08-23.
- ^ "Media Release: Singaporean activists to hold protest march during WB-IMF meeting", 2006-08-22.
- ^ "Singapore police deny protest permit", Today (Singapore newspaper), 2006-08-30.
- ^ "Peaceful assembly the key to change in Singapore", Singapore Democratic Party, 2006-08-30.
- ^ "SDP's Chee Soon Juan declared bankrupt, cannot stand for elections till 2011", Channel NewsAsia, 10 February 2006. By Farah Abdul Rahim.
- ^ "Opposition leader charged for court contempt", Reuters, 1 March 2006. Posted on www.singapore-window.org.
- ^ "SDP leader jailed 7 more days for not paying fine for contempt of court", Channel NewsAsia, 17 March 2006.
- ^ "Chee case adjourned while he briefs new lawyer", Today (Singapore newspaper), 4 January 2007.
- ^ "SDP's Chee slapped with 8 charges of speaking in public without licence", Channel NewsAsia, 2006-06-20.
- ^ Singapore jails opposition leader over public speaking. Reuters (23 November 2006).
- ^ a b Urgent: Dr Chee Soon Juan's health deteriorates in prison. Singapore Democratic Party (28 November 2006).
- ^ "Chee treated 'same as other prisoners'", The Straits Times, 2 December 2006.
- ^ Dr Chee Soon Juan admitted to hospital. Singapore Democratic Party (4 December 2006).
- ^ "S’pore govt allows rally by pro-democracy activists", Reuters, Gulf Times, 11 December 2006.
- ^ a b Ministry of Home Affairs Response to Misinformation in Statements Issued by Chee Soon Juan on SDP Website. Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore (20 December 2006).
- ^ Chee Soon Juan. "What really happened in prison", Singapore Democratic Party, 18 December 2006.
- ^ Point-by-Point rebuttal to Ministry of Home Affairs’ statement. Singapore Democratic Party (21 December 2006).
[edit] External links
- Personal blog
- Interview with Dr. Chee Soon Juan
- Link Page for Articles on Dr. Chee Soon Juan
- Dr. Chee Soon Juan Interview on CNN TalkAsia
- Pressing For Openness In Singapore by Dr. Chee Soon Juan Journal of Democracy (Volume 12, Number 2 April 2001, p.157-167.)
- Dr. Chee Interview on The Pilot n' Jo Show
- Archived news articles in the Singapore Democratic Party website
- Singapore Democratic Party Website
