A piece of fake news that Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Dr Chee Soon Juan have jointly crafted a manifesto for the upcoming General Election, is rearing its ugly head on social media again. Dr Tan is the secretary-general of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), while Dr Chee is the head of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP). Last year, Dr Chee invited Dr Tan to lead a coalition of opposition to challenge the incumbent, the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The fake news was quashed by Dr Chee when it started going viral last year. Responding to the viral fake news, Dr Chee said:
“There is a message that is being spread that Dr Tan Cheng Bock and I have come up with a new manifesto for an opposition coalition. This is not true. Please help quash this falsehood by sharing this post. If in future you come across any announcement or “news” regarding the SDP or me, please check the SDP or my Facebook to verify its authenticity. If it doesn’t appear here, please disregard it. Thanks, everybody.”
https://www.facebook.com/cheesoonjuan/photos/a.10150092386688849/10158086978023849/?type=3&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARByb2D3vXeViuvmkmnB8_hmvWhCfBn4V0h8ctN7UvQJd1b4m8bW9DPcSFKL382LpJVc5S1J4wAnjEcrckl39jhE7C-vDCAxozxD0TAYqOghQuQXT4YhI7HCleRZlsU5UmwwEEGdeO35UFFfIyEmtZtXxfwMS5ges0tbdNEORfG3ulUZLh17SsAF9R0wUYbygEYIV1u6Bw2og-TSsOr6b0iAqngPbYMpgTjCDxHYl2Vo1O618v-ofPiTlxpA8pPU9h5J4uldSCYicWuTl28KrATa1F3wahQUIZky7WhSrWkHSnz9Eq3SWOtRrzqjJXvEWvObpWfM2ZaqKT0J5A&__tn__=-R
The fake news parried by Dr Chee reads as follows:
“A must read for everyone and time for change in Singapore
The new coalition headed by Dr Tan Cheng Bok and Dr Chee Soon Juan told this morning at a coffee shop in Marsiling that their new manifesto for the coming GE:
• No more GST and all CPF will be returned at the age of 55.
• No medical fees or charges for in-and out-patient treatments in Government Hospitals and Polyclinics but will be the same as usual for structured Hospitals.
• All disable persons will be given $1000 per month till their dying days.
• All Ministers and MPs will have 50% reduction in their salary.
• Free food items will be given to all needy families every week amounting to $300 per month.
• Utilities charges will be reduced by 60%.
• All SDP MPs elected into Parliament will give 50% of their salaries to CommunityChest every month.
Additional lists from Singaporeans
1) Disband GIC and Temasek Holdings and eradicate crony capitalism
2) Housing for homeless
3) CEO and other posts in public organisations to go through proper channels of recruitment, evaluation and hiring not via ‘global search’ or army barracks.
4) Disband NTUC, just rename it Fairprice Supermarket.
Restructure the organisation and sack the CEO and all PAP partisan in the union.5) Sack the Auditor General and Attorney General.
6) All salaries of CEO of public organisations be revised lower.
7) More usable space for void decks to cater for old folks’ hangout.
8) Ban PSLE. 11-12 years old are kids’ formative years. Academic pursuit is not the only thing to aim for a successful living. Focus on character building. Streaming should start at secondary 2. Restructure to elementary (7 to 10 years old), intermediate (11 to 14 years), high school (15 to 16 years).
9) Revise fiscal policy
10) CPF to be reviewed, bring back pension scheme or a combi. Untie CPF from sovereign wealth funds. Taxpayers’ fund should be state’s funds. No more meddling with our CPF money.
11) Get rid of cronies and partisans in People’s Association, taxpayers pay billions to upkeep community centres and chairman should not come under current PM
12) Ban Presidency, PM is good enough. But have a committee from all walks of profession to check on state coffer.
13) Reform judiciary system. Need to have a panel of jury.
14) Make HDB more affordable. Review 99 years leasehold. HDB apartments that are older than 50 years to be sold to Permanent Residents or open market to private landed property owners and allow children or grandchildren who are currently staying in landed properties to own inheritance from HDB apartment owners rather than to sell just because the criterion dictates that they can’t inherit HDB apartments because they are staying in landed property. In this way grandchildren or children can have an option to continue staying in the HDB apartments. The law should work both ways.
15) Ban GRC, bring back meritocracy, all constituencies to have SMC to promote meritocracy and no hitch riding on GRC
16) Ban ISA, and let dissidents come back home.
17) Allow free speech and demonstrations
18) Parliamentary debates to be broadcast live and those MPs who don’t attend have to provide a letter of excuse and apology. If absent more than 3 times consecutively, the MP post will be relinquished.
19) Ban Straits Times and allow free speech. We should have more than one local media.
20) All PR whose children have not served NS will not be eligible for PR status, unless the children have served NS. With immediate effect…..and they will be served $10,000 for every year that the child did not serve NS.
21) Review labour laws. Singapore citizens who are currently employed and below 55 shall be holding permanent jobs if they are contract staff. MOM shall form a committee to assist in this area. Currently many MNC companies are abusing local citizens as contract staff and PR as permanent staff.
22) NS conscription to limit to one year. Some boys have to wait another 9 months because university matriculation starts in August for local university and some in November and they wasted another year to be enrolled to the university of their choice.
Long Live Singapore”
https://www.facebook.com/theonlinecitizen/posts/10157497116201383
Fake news aimed at making the opposition less electable is not new. During the 2015 General Election, odds, supposedly provided by illegal bookies, started circulating on message boards and social media. It suggested that the Opposition will win big and 14 non-PAP members will get elected to Parliament.
The PAP won that election with a vote share of almost 70%! -/TISG