A RALLY to save opposition MP J.B. Jeyaretnam's political career will be held at Yio Chu Kang stadium on March 31 - if the eight organisers succeed in getting a police permit. They hope to raise more than $400,000 at the rally for the Workers' Party chief and Non-Constituency MP by selling his book, Make It Right For Singapore, T-shirts and stickers.

The money will help to pay off the more-than $200,000 plus legal costs that he has to pay the eight people defamed by the Workers' Party in 1995. He was made a bankrupt recently after failing to meet the deadline to pay the third instalment of the defamation damages. As a bankrupt, he not only stands to lose his seat in Parliament, but would also be unable to contest the next General Election, which must be held by August next year, if he cannot settle all his debts by this time. He plans to appeal against the bankruptcy order.

Mr James Gomez, executive director of Think Centre, an independent political discussion group, leads the team of organisers, who are exercising their rights as concerned citizens. The plan is for Mr Jeyaretnam and 10 other speakers, including those from Think Centre, the Workers' Party, the Singapore Democratic Party and PKMS, a Malay opposition party, to speak at the proposed rally from 5 pm to 10 pm. Mr Gomez yesterday described Mr Jeyaretnam as a political icon fighting hard for democracy and the opposition in Singapore. He told reporters that if the application for a permit for the rally was rejected, the organisers must look at the new rules on political donations, which had not been tested, before they could decide on the next step.

Asked whether the organisers would contest the next election as opposition candidates, he replied that those taking part in the polls must be able to raise the money required. He added: 'So let's see whether we can raise the money. It is impractical to say you want to stand for election when you may not even be able to pay your bills.'

TC: Firstly, TC is NOT a political discussion group. We're registered as an independent non-profit, events and publishing company engaged in civil society work, primarily, creating more political awareness among Singaporeans. Secondly, to even ask "whether the organisers would contest the next election as opposition candidates" is totally out of synch with the fact that this is a citizen’s initiative by a group of individuals who have come together to do their part for an old warrior in opposition politics who is battling for his political life. The fact that no one organisation is heading this effort is testament to that fact. We welcome others to come aboard the Organising Committee (OC) or to help us in any way. So what if the OC, speakers or supporters is made up of opposition figures and TC members? Somehow this old style of political reporting does not capture the way politics is developing in Singapore.

POLITICS:
Jeya Rally? TNP, 10 March 2001:

THERE'S uncertainty over the proposed rally to help MP JB Jeyaretnam's political career. The rally's eight organisers are not sure whether they would get a police permit to hold it from 5pm to 10pm on March 31 at Yio Chu Kang stadium. At a press conference yesterday, the organisers gave no indication of what they would do if their application is turned down.

TC: Is it any surprise that this report is from TNP which is not known for its strength in political news! There is "uncertainty over the proposed rally" and the "organisers are not sure" because the permit is still pending approval by the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit. The organising committee has submitted the application for a permit on 1st March 2001 by giving the licensing unit the details of the event and even calling the person in-charge to ensure that our faxed letters got through to them! If the application is turned down, we would seek clarification as to why it was rejected. The TNP report, though economical in its words, did give some measure of publicity for the event and for that, the committee would like to thank them. But TNP should realise why the organisers cannot give a clear answer because the whole police licensing procedure is not transparent. Put a spin on that!

Now, for the Save JBJ rally by Zackaria Abdul Rahim, TODAY, 10 March 2001:

First, they wanted to demonstrate against the Internal Security Act, then they wanted to protest against the dismissal of a radio presenter. Now, civic group Think Centre is back with a new rally - to "save JBJ".

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the Centre's executive director, Mr James Gomez, said the rally aims to give moral support and solidarity to opposition politician J B Jeyaretnam, as well as to raise funds to help settle his defamation suits. While Mr Gomez sounded optimistic about getting a permit for the rally, several questions cropped up. First, was there really a need to hold a political rally if the purpose of the group is to raise funds? As it is, they are not charging any admission fees to the rally, which, permit permitting, is scheduled to be held at Yio Chu Kang stadium on Mar 31. They still hope to raise $400,000 from the sales of tee-shirts, stickers and Mr Jeyaretnam's book entitled Make It Right For Singapore. Then, there is the issue of what the permit applied for entails.

Does the public entertainment permit allow them to put up a sale to raise funds? And, of course, with the Political Donations Act in place, everything now seems to be really swimming in the grey. The Act pertains to donations received by political parties. While Mr Gomez himself wasn't able to provide clear and direct answers to these questions, he said the group would stick by the rules and apply for the permit. He added that he would seek further clarification and assistance from the authorities if the permit were to be rejected.

More poignantly, he said: "There's a desire to explore all possibilities to help this man (Mr Jeyaretnam), and this desire will continue". But if helping is what the group wants to do, why was the rally title of "Save JBJ" used instead of "Help JBJ"?

TC: TODAY begins the report by saying that "Think Centre is back with a new rally…" but this is not organised by TC. Some of our members are part of the organising committee, namely: James Gomez, Yaw Shin Leong and Jacob George.

The questions asked in the report about raising funds during the rally and the Political Donations Act is left to the authorities concerned since the organising committee, in its application to the licensing unit, revealed that books, t-shirts and stickers would be sold at the rally.

It was obvious that "Mr Gomez wasn't able to provide clear and direct answers" since the ball is now in the court of the authorities! Perhaps the professional thing for the TODAY reporter to do is to direct that question to the licensing authorities!! Also if we take the advice of the reporter to change the word SAVE to HELP, by doing can he ensure that more money can be raised for JBJ?

In conclusion, this rally is, first and foremost, an initiative by a group of individuals who do not wish to see J B Jeyaretnam declared a bankrupt and booted out of parliament. For close to 30 years, JBJ has done his part for opposition politics and democracy, in general. A rally at the stadium with a large audience coming together to show their respect, solidarity and support for "the man with the mutton-chop sideburns" who has been speaking up for the ordinary man, will be the best indicator that JBJ should remain in parliament!