外国干预？

FOREIGN INTERFERENCE?
By Teo Soh Lung

I feel really angry about these repeated, unfounded allegations that the late Mr Francis Seow was offered payment by the United States to join opposition politics and contest in the 1988 general election.

I was in prison when the 1988 general election took place. As we all know, Francis Seow stood as a candidate of the Workers' Party in Eunos GRC. I was certainly excited that he had the guts to stand for election so soon after he was released from ISA detention. Some senior ISD officers bragged to me that the government had been very decent and magnanimous to release Francis Seow in time for him to contest the election. Big deal!

I do not believe the PAP's allegation that First Secretary Hank Hendrickson was involved in cultivating lawyers to join the opposition. We must not forget that in 1986, Francis Seow was the president of the Law Society of Singapore. As a president, it was natural for ambassadors in Singapore to want to meet him. And it was also natural that Francis Seow would have brought along fellow lawyers to meet the ambassador.

ISD officers used to tell me that ambassadors are actually spies for their home countries. Their job is to know what is happening in the country and report to their government. I am sure our ambassadors are also spies for Singapore. Meeting people to get a feel of the political and economic situation of the country is part of their duty. And so for Frank Hendrickson to meet Francis Seow and other lawyers was the most natural thing to happen.

We must also not forget that in 1986, the Amendment to the Newspaper and Printing Presses Bill was presented in parliament. PM Lee Kuan Yew was very angry that the foreign presses had the gall to criticise his government. He accused them of commenting on “domestic politics”. The new law would forbid them from criticising Singapore. Only Singaporean politicians are allowed to comment on politics. Naturally, I think, Hendrickson would be interested to know the views of lawyers on this Bill.

In 1986, Francis Seow and many lawyers opposed the new Bill. As president, he appointed a committee to look into this bill and to present a report to the society to be sent to the attorney general.

I happened to be the chairperson of this committee and we worked very hard to prepare a report for the society. Upon completion, we sent it to the Law Society which in turn sent it to the attorney general, Tan Boon Teik. I was told that Tan did not even acknowledge receipt of the report. Such arrogance of an attorney-general is hard to fathom.

I cannot remember very much of events that took place more than 30 years ago. But I recall that in those exciting and troublesome days, I too met Hank Hendrickson together with a few lawyers, including the Late Mr Subhas Anandan over lunch. I cannot remember where but it could have been the American Club. I also cannot remember what we talked about but it certainly was nothing about him egging us on to join the opposition or promising us political asylum or money for going into opposition politics if we ever want to do so. What benefit would he derive from us joining the opposition? Now that I have disclosed this meeting, I wonder if the ISD would like to interrogate me.

I don't know how often Francis Seow had lunch with Hank Hendrickson but I wouldn't think it was a weekly affair or more often than PAP ministers meeting up with him. As for me, I can only remember it was just one occasion.

I recall that soon after the Amendment to the Newspaper and Printing Presses Bill was passed, all the foreign publications were gazetted i.e. they were not allowed to sell more than 500 copies in Singapore. Far Eastern Economic Review, Asiaweek, Asian Wall Street Journal, Times of London, Herald Tribune, Newsweek and even the Economist were gazetted within a matter of months. Foreign publications left our shores and Lee was happy. His government didn't care because it knew that they would return one day as Singapore seems to be a very important city to them. So the PAP continued its oppression of the people after the foreign presses left our shores. It was good for them because no one would be able to criticise the government when it does bad things. The government then took the opportunity to arrest 22 people including me in May and June 1987. We were labelled Marxists not communists as in earlier times.

One would have thought that if foreign influence was the target in the 1987 arrests, I would have been interrogated for meeting Hank Hendrickson. Yet I was not. In fact, none of us was asked about lunches with the American ambassador. Why then did the ISD and the government raise this issue foreign interference only when they arrested Francis Seow one year later, in 1988?

The reason is very simple. Francis Seow cannot be labelled as a Marxist or communist. No one would believe the PAP if he was called a Marxist or communist. It would have been the joke of the town if they had done so. Francis Seow was a capitalist and loved life. So how can the ISD make up a “credible” story to justify his arrest? The simplest way or so they thought was to accuse him of being cultivated by the Americans to join the opposition. But even if this is true, the allegation is extremely stupid. What is wrong with joining the opposition and fighting against the PAP in a legitimate general election? It is for the people to decide whether to elect him or not.

In the general election rallies of 1988, the cowardly PAP did not accuse Francis Seow of being used by the Americans. Why didn't they do so?

The answer is simple. Francis would be able to rebut and ask them to show proof. So they kept quiet throughout the election period. It was only after Francis Seow left Singapore that he was again accused of being an agent for the United States. The PAP knew that he would not be able to return to Singapore after he was denied of his NCMP seat.

But fortunately for us, Francis Seow in a recorded interview denied the PAP's accusation against him and you can listen to what he has to say here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOLJE2ysNw

I am sure the ISD knew that I met up with Hendrickson for lunch. Yet when I was first arrested in May 1987, the ISD never asked me about my meeting with Hendrickson. Neither did they ask me about Hendrickson when Francis Seow was arrested when he came to interview me in prison. Why didn't the government also accuse me of being made use of by Hendrickson? Or arrest Subhas Anandan for having lunch with Hendrickson?

This bogey of foreign interference is just a convenient tool of the PAP. It may have worked in Lee Kuan Yew's time but I believe it will fail today. Singaporeans are smarter than the PAP leaders think.

Unfortunately, today's PAP leaders are like old dogs which cannot learn new tricks. So they follow Lee Kuan Yew's ways which to his credit, worked very well in his days.

Come on Ministers. Stand up for yourselves and don't rely on old tricks of your long gone leaders.