CHEE'S PARTY FACING THREAT OF DISSOLUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 001153 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM SN SUBJECT: CHEE'S PARTY FACING THREAT OF DISSOLUTION REF: SINGAPORE 1099 Classified By: CDA Daniel L. Shields III, Reason: 1.4(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Beset by legal actions, threatened with insolvency, and hobbled by a leadership that seems unable to gain traction with the public, Chee Soon Juan's Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) shows no sign of becoming a credible political opposition for the long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP). On the contrary, recent defamation judgments mean the party may be one step away from dissolution. In addition, the Attorney-General charged three SDP members with contempt for wearing T-shirts showing a kangaroo in judicial robes to a court hearing in the defamation case. Meanwhile, trial commenced for 18 SDP members accused of unlawful assembly. Two of those defendants undercut the SDP's civil-disobedience approach by pleading guilty on the trial's first day, and Chee's call for a public show of support generated virtually no response and few spectators in the courtroom. End summary. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: The SDP continues to seek confrontation with the PAP government instead of working toward electoral success. This approach reflects Dr. Chee's belief that "playing the game" by existing electoral rules is futile and that only civil disobedience will eventually generate true grassroots opposition to the PAP. But the public has not responded in any visible way, and the guilty pleas by two of the SDP members accused of unlawful assembly show that party discipline may not be equal to the task. Far from galvanizing Singaporeans to support greater democratization, the SDP's current tactics have principally succeeded in exposing the party to possible extinction. End comment. HEFTY DAMAGES THREATEN SDP WITH DISSOLUTION -------------- ¶3. (C) SDP chairman Dr. Chee and his sister, SDP executive committee member Chee Siok Chin, appeared demoralized when PolOff met with them on October 22. They candidly admitted that the overlapping legal proceedings currently menacing them, many party colleagues, and the SDP itself are taking a toll on individuals and the organization. They nevertheless reaffirmed their commitment to continued opposition to the PAP. ¶4. (C) The Chees stated that the large defamation judgments awarded on October 13 (see reftel) threaten the SDP's existence as a political party. According to the Chees, the tactical advantage now rests more firmly than ever with the PAP plaintiffs, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who control the timing of any effort to collect the judgments. Because the SDP will be unable to pay, the Chees asserted that the government would have a legal basis to shut it down. The Chees believe, however, that the plaintiffs will not follow this course immediately for fear of generating moral support for the SDP. Instead, the Chees expect that the plaintiffs will time their collection efforts ahead of the next round of elections in 2011 to disrupt or prevent the SDP's participation. ¶5. (C) The Chees' fears of an SDP shutdown appear realistic under Singapore statutory law. Singapore's Societies Act, under which the SDP is registered, gives the Minister for Home Affairs power to order dissolution of a registered society on any of several vague grounds. Some of those grounds seem elastic enough to cover the case of a political party that engages in defamation and cannot pay its judgment creditors. A dissolution order would prompt the immediate appointment of a receiver charged with "winding up" (i.e., terminating in an orderly fashion) the SDP's affairs. SDP LEADERS HAVE NO PLAN IF PARTY IS SHUT DOWN -------------- - ¶6. (C) The SDP does not seem to have planned seriously for the worst-case scenario of a forced party shutdown. The Chees hold fast to the belief that the PAP plaintiffs are too concerned about public opinion to make such a move, at least in the short term. When asked what they would do if the SDP could no longer function as a political party, the Chees had no detailed answer but indicated that they would somehow continue their efforts toward political reform, possibly by forming an NGO. (Note: This may be easier said than done; the Societies Act provides that if the Minister for Home Affairs dissolves a society, no officer of the dissolved society may serve as an officer of any other society for three years without the government's permission.) T-SHIRTS IN COURT PROVOKE CONTEMPT CHARGES -------------- SINGAPORE 00001153 002 OF 002 ¶7. (C) SDP Assistant Secretary General John Tan and two other party members have their own legal woes as the result of their wearing to a hearing in the defamation case T-shirts showing a kangaroo in judicial robes. The Attorney-General is now pursuing contempt of court charges against the three. Tan must respond to those charges in court November 4-6, just as his ongoing trial in a different matter comes to a close (see next paragraph). The Chees reported to PolOff that the Singapore branch of Australia-based James Cook University, where Tan is a lecturer, suspended him based on the Attorney-General's announcement alone, before the contempt charges were even filed. 18 SDP MEMBERS GO ON TRIAL; 2 PLEAD GUILTY -------------- ¶8. (SBU) On October 23, trial commenced for 18 SDP members accused of breaking Singapore's public assembly laws by protesting cost-of-living increases outside Parliament in March 2008. Both Chees and John Tan are defendants in the case. As the trial opened, PolOff observed that although the SDP had called for supporters to appear in red shirts, there were only about 20 spectators in the courtroom. Five or six of those appeared to be journalists, and of the remainder, only three wore red shirts (whether to express solidarity with the defendants or by chance is unclear). Many of the defendants are unrepresented by counsel. By the end of the day, two had entered guilty pleas and been fined. Trial of the remaining defendants is scheduled to last through early November. Visit Embassy Singapore's Classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/singapore/ind ex.cfm SHIELDS