Under The Angsana Tree: GE 2015: Rallies Round-up & Trolls

THE home-stretch now. Four more days to Polling Day and only two days left for the candidates to say their piece. After listening to the rallies over the past few days, we’ve identified five issues that have cut across party lines to emerge as the major themes of this election: Character, Checks and Balances, Cost of Living, Foreigners, and Family. Here’s what the candidates had to say about them. Nine rallies. One neat summary.

CHARACTER
CHECKS AND BALANCES
COST OF LIVING
FOREIGNERS
FAMILY

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How GE has made 2015 the year of the troll

IN DECEMBER last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said “the coming GE is going to be a deadly serious fight”. Our PM is not prone to exaggeration. As promised, the lead up to GE 2015 has been insane.

Singapore’s trolls have come out in force, many having repurposed their entire existence into being temples of psychotic rage. If someone could find a way to generate power from pure crazy, Singapore right now would make the sun redundant. Troll Timeline:

August 3: NSP – Kevryn Lim
August 13: SDA – Desmond Lim
August 23: NSP – Steve Chia
August 28: WP – Daniel Goh

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#GuessWho Standing By The Roadside?

PAP fan boy page FAP (Fabrications About The PAP) posted this picture of Kevryn Lim implying that she is a sex worker. They then try to deny their claim by saying it was never explicitly stated.

Isn’t it disgusting that in 2015 a female politician in Singapore cannot run without getting sexism thrown at her face? They have to discuss what she is wearing instead of focusing on the policies that she wants to implement. Her dress isn’t remotely revealing or immodest.

This is a low blow and frankly quite fucked up. “she is making a statement with her attire” She is wearing a white dress that covers herself up, The dress alone does not make a statement, your statement “#guesswho standing by the road side” makes a statement. That you are a sexist pig who will desperately take any pot shots you can imagine up in your tiny sexist little brain of yours.

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Desmond Lim: He who toils in the background

It would appear that Desmond Lim has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

First, after an edited clip of a campaign video for the 2013 Punggol East by-election went viral earlier this month, netizens skewered the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) chairman for his poor command of the English language. But he’s taking the jibes in his stride. “I humbly tell [them] that this is me, and that I’m always trying to improve,” Mr Lim said. “I cannot stop those who wish to laugh at me, because I’m only concerned with things which are within my control.”

In this vein, what about his track record at the ballot boxes – even if they were three or four-cornered fights – something which is within his control? After all, the second criticism has been his poor performance as a political veteran. During the 2011 general elections and the 2013 by-election in Punggol East he garnered just 4.45 per cent and 0.57 per cent of the votes respectively, and as a result lost his election deposit on both occasions.

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ATTACKS ON SDA'S DESMOND LIM AND NSP'S STEVE CHIA ARE DISTASTEFUL & DESPICABLE

I find it totally distasteful and downright despicable for supporters of some political party to utilize underhand smearing tactic to attack their opponents.

We won't be able to achieve "First World Parliament" with such Third World despicable dirty politics.

First the mob attack SDA Desmond Lim, harassing him to the max with all kinds of insinuation and smearing. Then they turn against NSP Sebastian Teo and Steve Chia.

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NSP'S STEVE CHIA PULLS OUT OF MACPHERSON CONTEST DUE TO SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST HIM

The Trolls have won

With this notice, I am announcing that I will not be standing for this coming ‪#‎GE2015‬ and will not be contesting in ‪#‎MacPhersonSMC‬ anymore.

It is with anguish and deep sadness that my lifelong ambition to be the people's spokesman in Parliament ends today.

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DANIEL GOH DENIES EXTRA-MARITAL AFFAIR WITH FORMER STUDENT

Several press in Singapore have received a letter on Thursday night from a "Max Chan" who alleged that Dr Daniel Goh had an affair in 2008 with a post-graduate student from NUS.

In the e-mail that was also sent to Workers' Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang and chairman Sylvia Lim, the writer questioned Dr Goh's character and morals. He also claimed that the woman's boyfriend, whom he referred to only as J, had found out about the alleged affair through her phone messages.

Dr Goh said he was advising the female student in her master's thesis from 2007 to 2009. After she graduated, the student left Singapore to get a PhD.

related:
WP'S GENTLEMAN RESPONSE TO POISON PEN: "WE WELCOME SCRUTINY"
PROF DANIEL GOH LODGES POLICE REPORT AGAINST POISON PEN LETTER
DANIEL GOH: GIVE MEDIA CHANCE TO DEVELOP

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Daniel Goh’s Wife’s Response To Her Husband’s Infidelity Rumours Is Just Win

Forget it. Either you’re so threatening they need to stoop so low or they are so boh liao. I think your (all of you) time is better spent resting. Nothing to it. You know it’s bound to happen, gutter politics. No need to convince me. Make the meeting with Low chop chop. Tell him your wife says you need to sleep.

That was the SMS reply Daniel Goh got from his wife after allegations broke out that the Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) had an affair with a former student.

The allegations made against Daniel was sent via email to several newsrooms as well as to the chairman and secretary-general of the Workers’ Party Thursday night (27 Aug).

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Government-controlled media CNA engage in gutter politics smearing Workers’ Party Professor Daniel Goh

WP Professor Daniel Goh has confirmed that the rumor comes from a poison-pen letter sent anonymously to various media and the WP Headquarters:

“Hello everyone, thank you for your amazing support thus far. Thanks for encouraging me to stand strong. Someone wrote a poison pen letter to WP and to the media to smear me with the allegation that I had an affair with a former student of mine whom I supervised for her thesis. And the media is going to run the story online and in print. The timing is sensational.

I categorically refute the baseless allegations and I question the timing of the poison pen letter coming immediately after the candidate introduction. I have been in the public eye, involved with WP, for over two years, and if the intention is to alert the party to alleged moral failings, it would have been done earlier and directly to the party leaders. I have always maintained a professional relationship with my students. This is very hurtful and unfair to my family.”

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Poison Pen Letter: WP’s Luke Koh was Arrested for Offences Related to Messy Divorce

It was revealed to local tabloid The New Paper by a letter writer who chose to remain anonymous.

The letter writer said that “a person who wants to hold public office cannot have that kind of history behind him.”

The letter writer also said that he alerted the media instead of the Workers’ Party because “It is a failure on their part (the WP) if they do not exercise due diligence,” and would have done the same if Mr Koh had belonged to any other party.

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Arrest allegation made against WP's Luke Koh

When you want to occupy public office, you must not have a "dark history".

These were the words of a reader who felt a wider audience should be made aware of a candidate's history.

The reader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, felt the public should know that Mr Luke Koh, WP candidate for Nee Soon GRC, had been arrested before in connection with an acrimonious divorce.

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NSP President Sebastian Teo denounces mud-slinging, writes post to 'set the record straight'

National Solidarity Party (NSP) president Sebastian Teo on Wednesday (Aug 26) denounced the "mud-slinging tactics" he said had been used to discredit and inflict damage on him and his party.

The party was plunged into crisis last week, with the abrupt resignations of two central executive council (CEC) members - including acting secretary-general Hazel Poa - and revelations about Mr Teo's conviction for corruption in the 1970s put up on the web.

"I am confident that these mud-slinging tactics by our rivals and opponents will not work, and that what they reveal instead is a fear by them of the strength and appeal of the NSP," he said in a note titled "NSP President Sets The Record Straight" on NSP's Facebook.

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A Vote for Change (Singapore)