Hougang By-election: The Art of Low

Low explains comments on media

I SHARE the editorial writer's view that 'anyone who claims to promote the idea of a First World democracy should take care to uphold its institutions, including the media' ('Fallout from the Hougang showdown'; yesterday).

At the by-election public rally last Thursday, I said: 'The media is a potentially powerful tool for or against certain political parties. Therefore, it is imperative that the media must become a reliable source of information for the people, independent from the strong influence of the Government... We must not allow the media to be used by the Government as a political tool.'

At the press conference last Saturday night, I reiterated that only with an independent media that presents fair and accurate information, can the people make an informed choice of their Member of Parliament.

In the recent campaign, I detected biased reporting, calculated to damage the Workers' Party (WP) candidate and the party itself. For example, the front page of The Straits Times last Wednesday showed a large photo of party chairman Sylvia Lim and myself talking to each other with grim faces at our rally, with the candidate in between, with the headline 'WP faces allegations of dishonesty'. This was after the accusations had already been publicly clarified.

The writer is wrong to suggest that I am unhappy because there were adverse reports about WP. I welcome scrutiny of WP, but when images and headlines are manipulated to mislead readers, is it acceptable?

The media also reported unverified news and anonymous opinions. In Lianhe Zaobao on Monday, I cited the front-page report by my paper last Thursday, featuring an e-mail interview with the 'Secret Squirrel', who claimed to be a WP member, attacking WP.

I have asked my paper whether it has established and verified the identity of 'Secret Squirrel'.

Based on my 30 years' experience in Singapore politics, I am well aware of the critical role the media can play towards a First World democratic society.

The recent reportage of the Hougang by-election leaves me concerned. The media can become a stumbling block to the progress of democracy in Singapore and set us back by 20 years.

Whether this is unfounded or not, I leave it to Singaporeans to judge.
Low Thia Khiang
Secretary-General
Workers' Party

ST Editor replies: We believe our coverage of the Hougang by-election was balanced and fair.
Mr Low has taken issue with a photo we used on May 23. We picked this as it summed up dramatically the story of that day.

It showed the Workers' Party candidate Png Eng Huat, the man in the middle of the controversy, framed by his party leaders deep in discussion.

The headline accurately referred to the WP 'facing allegations of dishonesty', as was the case from the developments through the day, and which the WP sought to address at its rally.

On the leaked WP memo sent by 'Secret Squirrel', we chose not to run this on the night it was sent to us, so that we could do our own checks on it.

There were also many other allegations swirling about on the Internet about the WP candidate, which we decided not to run as they could not be substantiated.

If indeed we were minded to paint a misleading picture of the WP, as Mr Low charges, we would not have acted with such circumspection.

The morning after his post-election outburst against the media, Mr Low told reporters that his remarks stemmed from a 'feeling' that the mood among journalists during the campaign was 'not so jubilant' compared to last year's General Election.

That came as a surprise. As professional journalists, we do not see ourselves as cheerleaders for any political party. Our aim is simply to report the news dispassionately and objectively, so that our readers can decide for themselves. That we have done, and will continue to do.

ST Forum, 30 May 2012

Straits Times, Zaobao challenge Low's remarks

TODAY, 30 May 2012

The Hougang by-election may be over, but its ramifications are still being felt.

Following Workers' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang's criticism of sections of the media at its press conference on Saturday, Lianhe Zaobao and the Straits Times have weighed on the issue.

In a commentary published on Monday, Zaobao editor Goh Sin Teck described Mr Low's remarks as "irresponsible" and "unfair" and said he should not use the media as a "target board".

Mr Goh also questioned why Mr Low only made these accusations after the elections. He noted that the WP had faced questions during the campaign period over party discipline and whether its candidate Png Eng Huat had been upfront about not being selected as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament.

However, the WP chose not to address them and instead levelled accusations at the media.

He also defended the paper's handling of the "Secret Squirrel" episode - where minutes of a WP central executive council meeting were leaked by a source who called itself that - saying it had acted professionally in verifying the facts and had given the WP the chance to respond.

According to Mr Goh, the reporters tried to contact the WP, but its designated spokesperson did not respond. WP chairman Sylvia Lim replied after midnight that the issue would be addressed the next day.

Without any response from the WP, Mr Goh said the newspaper decided to go ahead and publish the story after determining - based on experience - that the minutes were authentic.

Low responds to Zaobao editor

In a response to Mr Goh's commentary, which was published in Zaobao yesterday, Mr Low stood by his remarks. Nevertheless, he clarified that he did not accuse the media of being the perpetrators of an attempt to discredit the party.

Mr Low said that what he had said at the press conference was that the media was being used as a powerful tool by those seeking to hurt the WP, and that he did not accuse any media outlet of behind a "thug" of the People's Action Party (PAP).

He also pointed out that he had spoken on the need for an independent media during the WP's final rally on May 24. Mr Low reiterated that, by allowing itself to be used for political gains, the media would encourage others to do the same in future.

Referring to the "Secret Squirrel" incident, Mr Low directed criticisms at MyPaper, which had interviewed the anonymous source. Mr Low questioned if MyPaper knew for a fact that "Secret Squirrel" is a WP member.

Mr Low said: "If the media does not verify the veracity of its sources, or even the identity of its source ... it misleads readers and could lead to public mistrust of the media."

Straits Times weighs in

During the press conference, Mr Low had criticised, in particular, the Straits Times' use of photographs and its headlines.

The Straits Times joined in the fray yesterday: In an editorial, the newspaper pointed out the developments in the run-up to Polling Day "were no fabrications by the media but emanated from within the party". It added that "far more damaging material" on the WP could be found on the Internet, "which the mainstream media mostly chose not to pick up, as it was unsubstantiated and possibly defamatory".

The editorial added: "Mr Low's charges that the mainstream media was used as a 'political tool' by the ruling People's Action Party were therefore unwarranted and unfounded. His post-election outburst, scripted and delivered live on national television, seemed designed for political effect, firing a salvo at his political opponents, with the media caught in the crossfire. That is lamentable, not least since anyone who claims to promote the idea of a First World democracy should take care to uphold its institutions, including the media."

Speaking to TODAY, PAP Member of Parliament Baey Yam Keng, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Information, Communications and the Arts, reiterated that "no one can control the media and any responsible media would want full editorial independence".

Mr Baey said: "Sometimes reports may not be what the newsmaker wants it to be, because there may be neutrality by the media, so it's not always what the newsmaker wants."

He disagreed with Mr Low's assertion during Saturday's press conference that the conduct of the by-election was regressive.

Mr Baey said: "I don't think we have gone back 20 years, I think the balance of coverage now is quite fair in that you have more profiling of the Opposition parties than you did before, perhaps even more than what the PAP would like. Readers will have to decide for themselves, and nowadays social media also plays a big role ... They can look at what is out there and form their own opinion."

联合早报, 28 May 2012
吴新迪：别把主流媒体当箭靶子
回应

　　这次的后港补选，还真是如工人党秘书长所说的“充满变数”。

　　最后一个变数，竟然是来自他本人。他选择在补选成绩揭晓后的记者会上，突然向主流媒体发难，把所有主流媒体说成是暗箭的射手，是人民行动党在竞选期间的“政治打手”。

　　这些话，不管从哪个角度来看，都是对主流媒体的公正和诚信所作出的严厉指控。更重要的，这些话，不是他在被记者提问时临场回答的，而是从事先早已准备好的中英文讲稿中念出来的。也就是说，他是经过慎重和周密考虑后，向主流媒体开炮的，而且所选择的字眼，都是经过推敲的，绝不含糊。

　　尽管后来回答记者提问时，《联合早报》并不在他所列举的两个实例中，但因为他曾很具体地说“媒体在无法确认自称‘神秘松鼠’的身份，就刊登了匿名者电邮的相关报道”，而《联合早报》是第一家报道这个匿名电邮内容的主流媒体，刘程强的谈话，无疑让人认为，《联合早报》就是那个放暗箭的“行动党打手”。

　　虽然，刘程强在昨天上午答谢后港选民后接受本报访问时澄清，《联合早报》的报道在竞选期间相对来说是持平的，说法跟前一晚有很大的不同，让人摸不清工人党究竟持着什么立场。但最重要的，破坏已造成了。

　　作为《联合早报》的总编辑，作为有尊严的新闻从业员，我必须严正指出，我们不能接受刘程强毫无根据的指控。

　　5月21日（星期一），工人党的候选人方荣发在接受电视访问时说，他是因为反对非选区议员制度，而向中委要求在投票推选非选区议员时不要把他的名字放在名单上。《联合早报》后来收到他的声明，解释为什么工人党没有推选他为非选区议员。

　　但是，当天晚上10时许，我们接到自称“神秘松鼠”的匿名信，指称方荣发的说法与事实不符，并附上了当年工人党中委开会推选非选区议员的会议记录。在这个会议记录上，方荣发得了一票，这就跟他之前接受电视访问时的说法有出入。

虽然这已接近我们的截稿时间，但是我们的记者以专业的本能，尝试通过各种可能的途径求证。其中，当然包括工人党发言人。不过，工人党的指定发言人没有音讯。过了半夜，工人党主席林瑞莲终于回复询问，并表示会在隔天回应。我们以所得到的信息，凭着做新闻的经验，判断会议记录并非伪造，决定在当天第4版刊登匿名信的内容。

　　这起事件，我们没有在后面暗中操盘，想要破坏工人党。相反的，在整个过程中，我们的记者都是以非常专业的态度进行查证和报道。我们认为，读者有权利知道这个最新的发展，至于这个发展对哪个政党有利，并不是报纸所考虑的。工人党会不会回应、要怎么回应、它的回应是否能说服选民，这些也都不是我们所关注的。作为一个传播信息的平台，我们要确保的，是如果工人党有回应，我们会公正地照实报道，而实际上，我们在隔天也这么做了。我们在23日（星期三）的封面，显著与全面地刊登了刘程强和方荣发的回应。

　　为什么有人要选择在这个时候通过匿名方式来揭发这些事？工人党是否要展开内部调查？这些其实应该公开向选民交代清楚的问题，工人党并不正面回答，而是选择把主流媒体当成是箭靶子，这是不负责任，也是不公平的指责。

　　从选战开始的报道，包括对两党候选人的专访，到今天见报的胜利者和失败者的谢票活动，《联合早报》的记者、编辑在处理时所秉持的信念是：专业、公正与独立。面对我们的读者，我们问心无愧。

本文作者是本报总编辑.

The following is a rough translation;

Wu Xindi: Wrong to Target Mainstream Media
Response

This Hougang BE is indeed "highly variable" as proclaimed by the Workers' Party Secretary-General. The last variable unexpectedly came from the man himself. He chose the post-BE press conference to launch an attack on the mainstream media, describing all the mainstream media as back stabber, as the “political thugs” of PAP during the election campaign period. These words were clearly a serious attack on the impartiality and integrity of the mainstream media. More importantly, these were not an off-the-cuff reply to a reporter's question, but in the prepared speech read out in both Chinese and English. In other words, this attack was a deliberate one on the mainstream media after careful and thorough consideration, with the words used carefully chosen and scrutinised without any ambiguity.

In his reply to a question raised by reporter, "Lianhe Zaobao" was not listed in the two instances cited by him. However, he specifically highlighted that, “the media went ahead to publish the email posted by an anonymous writer without confirming the identity of the 'secret squirrel'. As "Lianhe Zaobao" was the first mainstream media to report the content of this email, what Low Thia Khiang mentioned without doubt led people to conclude that "Lianhe Zaobao" is the “PAP thug” placed to backstab the Worker's Party.

Low Thia Khiang clarified during an interview yesterday morning, after thanking the HG voters, that "Lianhe Zaobao" reports during the election campaign have been balanced. This is significantly different from what he said the night before, making people unable to figure out what position the Workers' Party is taking. But most importantly, the damage has been caused.

As editor-in-chief of "Lianhe Zaobao", as media workers with dignity, I must solemnly highlight that we cannot accept unfounded allegations by Low Thia Khiang.

On May 21 (Monday), the Workers' Party candidate Png Eng Huat said in a television interview that because he was against the NCMP scheme, he had requested the CEC not to include his name on the list of names in the vote for the NCMP seat; "Lianhe Zaobao" subsequently received his statement explaining why the Workers' Party did not nominate him as the NCMP.

But on the same day around 10 pm, we received an anonymous letter from someone claiming to be the "secret squirrel”, which alleged that what Png Eng Huat said was inconsistent with the facts, and attached the minutes of the Workers' Party CEC meeting convened to elect NCMP. The minutes of meeting stated Png Eng Huat has received one vote, and what was stated differs with what he previously said during the television interview.

Although it was already close to our deadline, we still based on our professional instinct as reporters to try to verify the facts via various possible ways, which among them, of course, include making an inquiry to the Workers' Party spokesman. However, we did not receive any news from the designated spokesperson of the Workers' Party. After midnight, the Chairperson of the Workers' Party, Ms Sylvia Lim, finally replied to our query, stating that they would respond the following day. Using the information we obtained, based on our experience, we judged that the minutes of meetings were not fabricated, and decided to publish the contents of the anonymous letters on page 4.

During this incident, we did not manipulate behind the scene to undermine the Workers' Party. In contrast, during the whole process, our reporters have maintained professional attitude to verify and report news. We believe that our readers have the right to know about this latest development. As to how this development is beneficial to which political party is not a consideration of the newspaper. Whether or not the Workers' Party would respond on not, how they would respond, whether the response would be able to convince the voters, these are also not our concern. As a platform for dissemination of information, we must ensure that, if the Workers' Party has a response, we will fairly and truthfully report it. And in fact, we had done so in the following day. On the front page of our 23rd (Wednesday) paper, we published in full and in an obvious manner the responses from both Low Thia Khiang and Png Eng Huat.

Why would anyone want to choose this time, via an anonymous way, to expose these? Has the Workers' Party launched an internal investigation? While these questions should be properly addressed publicly to the voters, the Workers' Party chose not to address them, but instead chose to make the mainstream media as a “live target” – this is irresponsible and an unfair accusation.

In dealing with all the reports since the election campaign began, including interviews with both candidates, up to today’s report on the appreciation activities by both the winner and loser, "Lianhe Zaobao" reporters and editors have upkeep our belief in professionalism, impartiality and independence. To our readers, we have a clear conscience.
The author is this newspaper’s editor-in-chief

28-5-2012 

Biased? But S'poreans have right to know...
IT IS fascinating that Workers' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang is claiming the moral high ground over the People's Action Party with accusations that the ruling party had discredited Mr Png Eng Huat and the WP in the run-up to the Hougang by-election ('WP chief lashes out at PAP and media'; yesterday).

Did the WP not also cast aspersions on the integrity of Mr Desmond Choo as an independent-minded PAP candidate throughout its campaign?

The views of both parties were presented very fairly in The Straits Times.

Still, Mr Low complained bitterly about the bias of the mainstream media while conveniently ignoring the pro-opposition and anti-establishment stance that some online media have chosen to take.

Singaporeans, including the residents of Hougang, attach a huge importance to the integrity of their MPs, and have the right to know about the true character of all candidates who choose to serve them.

Otherwise, why would the WP sack Mr Yaw Shin Leong, shortly after insisting that his alleged sexual peccadilloes were a private matter and nine months after it presented him as a righteous man?

Mr Low speaks highly about building a First World society and First World Parliament.

Unfortunately, this did not stop the WP from stoking anti-foreigner sentiments during the last General Election to win votes, only to call for a relaxation of foreign worker quotas in certain sectors after the polls.

If these were not calculated moves to discredit its opponents and extract political mileage, then I don't know what is.

I urge Mr Low and his party to get on with the job of serving the people instead of painting themselves as political victims to win sympathy.

Be gracious in victory.

As the saying goes: 'If you can dish it out, then you must be prepared to take it back.'
Toh Cheng Seong

ST Forum, 30 May 2012


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