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