Interested internet users are advised to temporarily update their links and view the wordpress account instead. No word has been given as to when TOC’s current site will be functional again.

UPDATE at 1600GMT (0000 Singapore Time, 14/01/2010) – TOC and Temasek Review are currently inaccessible.

UPDATE at 0145GMT (0945 Singapore Time, 14/01/2010) – TOC and Temasek Review are seemingly up as per normal.

Reports have been circulating on the Intenet that Singapore independent media sites The Online Citizen (TOC) and The Temasek Review are currently under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. A DDoS attack occurs when multiple systems flood the bandwidth or resources of a targeted system, usually one or more web servers, making the targeted site or system inaccesible.

The Online Citizen is the first site to be targeted. According to administrators on TOC’s Facebook Page, the site has been experiencing problems since the 9th of January, with the first DDoS attack involving thousands of connections from other countries spanning a period of 18 hours. TOC’s site was the only one which was targeted on the host server.

Both sites are said to be inaccessible within Singapore at the moment, but the Temasek Review is still accessible as per normal overseas.

More updates will be posted when they are available.

The Reform Party is hosting an Education Seminar on 23 Jan 2010, 1:30pm @ Berkshire School Pte Ltd, 100 Beach Road #02-19A, Shaw Towers, S189702.

The seminar will see the discussion the following issues:

1.Education policies needed to prepare our next generation of Singaporeans

2.How education can be made as the key mean of enhancing social mobility and employability of Singaporeans

3. Education plans for Special Need/Disabled Children

No RSVP is required for this event.

The newest democracy NGO in Singapore, Singaporeans for Democracy (SfD), will be “soft launched” at a Talk Politics All Night Long event on the 14th Jaunary, 2010. The location for the event is the Post Museum at 107 Rowell Road.

Details of the event are as follows:

–

Talk Politics #10: Critical NGOs and Civil Society
PLUS: the soft launch of Singaporeans for Democracy (SFD) website

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Location: Post Museum, 107 Rowell Road

One defining feature of the civil society is the autonomy of social actors to shape, criticize and reproduce essential social and political norms, values and identities through communicative – as opposed to coercive interaction. (Habermas).

In this session we will look to discuss:

(1) The role of constructive criticism in civil society – in shaping political discourse and social sensibilities

(2) Importance of a democratic space in which actors can articulate possibilities of social betterment. What chance for Global Civil Society?

(3) The gap between civil society and the state machinery – where does the NGO fit in? and should NGOs influence top-down policy making?

Also, for the first time, Dr James Gomez of the newly created NGO Singaporeans for Democracy (SfD) will share his thoughts and conduct a question-and-answer session on the newly formed SfD, and how SfD can contribute to the current political climate.

Ms Chee Siok Chin, a member of the Singapore Democratic Party’s Executive Committee, began her jail term for “distributing flyers without a permit” on Monday. Ms Chee was sentenced and convicted together with her brother (current SDP Secretary-General) Chee Soon Juan and Gandhi Ambalam (Chairman of the SDP) for distributing flyers which the courts deemed as “opposing the actions of the government.” The maximum penalty for the supposed offence was S$1000 or a jail term in default.

Ms Chee has chosen to serve the default jail term first, and also intends to appeal the conviction during her time in prison. She will also be brought to the courts to contest a seperate charge of attempting to participate in an illegal assembly during the 2006 WB-IMF Conference in Singapore.

The full statement from the Singapore Democratic Party’s website is reproduced here.

Singapore Democrats
Tuesday, 5th January 2009.

Ms Chee Siok Chin began serving her one-week jail sentence yesterday after District Judge Chng Lye Beng had found her guilty together with Mr Gandhi Ambalam and Dr Chee Soon Juan for distributing flyers without a permit.

A permit was required because, one, 5 or more persons were involved and, two, the police insist, the flyer was demonstrating “opposition to the actions of the Government.”

The Deputy Public Prosecutor had during the hearing emphasized that it was not the distribution of the flyers per se that was illegal but the content of the flyer which was critical of the policies of the Government was also illegal.

The police witnesses had testified during the trial that distibuting flyers was a common and normal activity. They could not say what offence the Defendants had committed. One even said that in his opinion, the SDP leaders were not committing an offence.

Furthermore, the licensing officer testified that distributing flyers for a commercial cause did not require a permit whereas one was needed if the cause was political. This, of course, is not true because the law (Miscellaneous Offences Act) does not make such a provision.

The Defendants also argued that the fact that the flyer criticised the Government was irrelevant to the charge.

Despite all these, Judge Chng sided with Prosecution and convicted Ms Chee, Mr Ambalam, and Dr Chee, sentencing them to the maximum fine of $1000, or one-week jail in default. (See here)

The three have appealed the conviction. Ms Chee has chosen to serve her sentence first but will continue with her appeal because it is important that the High Court renders its decision and grounds if it upholds the conviction.

Even as she begins serving her sentence, Ms Chee will be brought to court daily for the on-going hearing before District Judge Toh Yung Cheong for a separate charge for “attempting to take part in a procession” during the WB-IMF meeting in 2006.

Immediately after Mr Chng made his decision on 18 Dec 09, Ms Chee stood up and told him:

“I continue to say that what we did was not a crime. Criticising one’s government is a right guaranteed in a democratic society. By finding us guilty you are as good as saying that we do not have this right. By pronouncing us guilty you are also saying that Singapore is not a democratic society and that this government is an undemocratic one.”

Academic and former 2006 General Elections Candidate, Dr James Gomez, has decided not to remain with the Workers’ Party after his party membership term ended on 31st December last year. Mr Gomez revealed his decision during an event commemerating the birthday of the late opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam at Hong Lim Park (Speaker’s Corner) on Tuesday.

Gomez last ran with the Workers’ Party team in Aljunied which narrowly lost to the PAP in the 2006 General Elections. He was also in the spotlight during that election involving a mix-up with electoral nomination forms, and was roundly criticized by PAP leaders and candidates.

Dr Gomez has indicated he does not intend to run as a candidate with a different political party in the next general election because he has other plans for registering a politics-oriented society called Singaporeans for Democracy (SfD), as well as concentrating on his academic work. According to Dr Gomez, SfD will be focused on issues related to civil and political rights in Singapore, and will work with parties and NGOs to achieve its goals for fostering greater political participation amongst Singaporeans.

The 45 year old academic is currently employed by Australia’s Monash University as a lecturer in the university’s communications department in Melbourne. – Additional reporting by TOC and CNA

MR YEO Cheow Tong, a former Cabinet minister who has been representing the Hong Kah area for 25 years, will not contest the next general election.

Mr Yeo told The Straits Times on Tuesday that he had expressed his intentions to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong before the last general election in 2006.

‘I agreed with the Prime Minister then that I would stand for one more term. After that, I want to retire from politics,” he said.

‘Having been MP since 1984, it’s time to call it a day and let a younger person take over,’ added the 62-year-old, who left the Cabinet in 2006.

The next general election is due by February 2012. Mr Yeo’s desire to step out of politics completely was disclosed by PM Lee after the 2006 polls. But Mr Lee asked him to stay on as MP ‘because I know how much work he has put in at his constituency’.

Hence, when reporters on Tuesday posed the question, Mr Yeo said he ‘felt I should confirm I won’t be running rather than give the wrong impression’.

The NSP will continue with their North Star Outreach in Upper Boon Keng on Sunday as well.

SINGAPORE – Lee Hsien Loong’s proposal for an additional day of non-campaigning, which would ban political party broadcasts and door-to-door campaigning on the day before election day and complementing the current restrictions on political parties campaigning on Polling Day itself, has been met with swift condemnation from the parties, journalists and activists here. The Reform Party, the Singapore Democratic Party and the Workers’ Party have all voiced their objection to the proposal. Given that the proposed restriction that indicates a more direct government line on the curbing of blogging election related content, prominent bloggers and news blog sites in Singapore such as Cherian George, Ng E-Jay, Seelan Palay, the Online Citizen and the Temasek Review have all anaylzed, criticized or condemned the government’s proposal.

Currently, the Singapore Democratic Alliance and the National Solidarity Party has not released any statements on the proposed restriction.

The Round-Up from the Net:

A) The most vigourous condemnation of the proposal comes from the Singapore Democratic Party’s. It’s President, Gandhi Anbalam, stated that the current laws has the aim of suiting the PAP during elections, given that the government controlled mainstream media will still disseminate news stories about the PAP and disregard any events in the opposition camp. The Party also reiterated the call for an independent elections commission, a free press and an adequate campaiging period.

B) The Workers’ Party Secretary General, Mr Low Thia Kiang, raised the concern of the PAP and the government using the mainstream media to raise issues during the cooling off day. Mr Low gave the example of a ministry raising policy objections to opposition party proposals on the cooling off day, and claims this “disadvantages” the opposition camp.

C) The Reform Party has responsed in similar fashion to the Singapore Democratic Party, with the party’s CEC publishing their take on the PAP’s unfair institutional advantages in the government controlled mainstream media and the likelihood of positive “spin” of the ruling party’s policies in the press. Like the SDP, the RP has called for an independent elections department, extended electoral campaigning period and a free press, but also goes on to call for the abolishment of the GRC system and the amendment of libel laws in Singapore.

D) The Online Citizen’s Fang Shihan provides her analysis of the situation by asserting that these new laws only affect the political parties and questioning the current perception that discussion of politics during election time is completely disallowed. She then goes on to say that it would be prudent for the Government not to regulate online news sites or discussion forums as this will allow the larger role of political debate to continue.

E) Artist and activist Seelan Palay has condemned the government’s proposal and has promised to post about his views on parties, candidates and the election during the cooling off day, ending with a call for all Singapore bloggers to do the same. Seelan also analyzes the cooling off period during election time in other countries, citing Australia’s example of ban on political party television advertisements three days before an election, but not on newspaper & radio ads or outdoor campaigning.

F) The Temasek Review has slammed the proposed restrictions, calling the cooling off day as a day for the PAP to use the mainstream media to make last minute pitches to voters. TR criticizes the new policy as an insurance policy for the PAP Government fearful of voters being won over by charismatic opposition proposals, but remains extremely optimistic that voters will see through this new guise and actually contribute to a “freak” election result which will find the PAP out of power.

G) Academic and writer Cherian George does not questions the government’s rationale behind the proposed restrictions and claims it is “sensible”, but also argues that the government has to provide the green light for online citizen journalism, lest the party closes all the doors to moderate citizen journalists and “hollows out the internet” of the kind of debate which is needed to counter the Government’s proposal. Cherian warns this will be detrimental to the PAP as it will only provide more ammunition for others to slam the PAP’s belief in itself to win elections.

H) Lastly, Ng E-Jay of Sgpolitics.net calls the proposal a “distraction” from critical issues, reminding readers that the Singapore media is rated poorly by Reporters Without Borders and the potential of the mainstream media being utilized to promote the PAP side of things. Ng also calls on the opposition not to distracted by these issues, to continue galvanizing support and to call for a free press and a independent elections department.

The Reform Party’s Secretary-General, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, will be hosting this discussion session on Singapore’s economy at the RELC Building, 30 Orange Grove Road. Mr Jeyaretnam will be discussing the RP’s mimimum wage proposal and other significant proposals which aim to improve the lives of ordinary Singaporeans.

The NSP is also conducting its North Star Outreach at Jurong West St 52 Block 505 this coming Sunday, the 6th Dec 09.