We have been informed by the police on the evening of Tuesday, 15 May that the exemption granted under the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act to Speakers’ Corner, Hong Lim Park has been revoked with effect from 16 May to 26 May 2012 because of the upcoming by-election. A police permit is therefore required for our event on 19 May 2012.

Owing to the short notice and uncertainties in obtaining a police permit, as well as the prospect of inconvenience to our guests and contractors should the permit be refused, we are sorry that our event at Speakers’ Corner, Hong Lim Park, has to be postponed.

We deeply regret that a by-election in the single-member constituency of Hougang, has disrupted and inconvenienced Singaporeans from enjoying activities at Hong Lim Park which is not part of Hougang.

We will now hold our event on SATURDAY, 2 JUNE 2012 at 3.00 pm. The programme remains unchanged and, we hope to continue receiving your support.

We are aware that this notice may not be read by all our guests and members of the public who have made plans to be at Hong Lim Park on 19 May 2012. As organisers, we will be at Hong Lim Park to meet those who may turn up because of our inability to reach them.

The organisers,
Function 8 Limited and MARUAH
17 May 2012

Since it was established, AICHR has refused to release a single document related to the drafting of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration – including its terms of reference, the names of the drafters, and actual drafts of the declaration. Nor has AICHR met as a regional body with civil society representatives, despite repeated requests to do so. When it comes to public participation, AICHR has been nothing short of a full-blown train wreck. The peoples of ASEAN should be asking how a purported “human rights commission” can operate while continually refusing to talk to those whose rights it is supposed to protect?

Link here.

The power of the event — whose sponsors include Sergey Brin’s and Peter Thiel’s charitable foundations — lies in the seamless mix of grassroots activists, many of whom have risked their lives to speak out, and the top-level policymakers and influencers who can act on what they learn. You might run into Hollywood glamour in Julia Ormond, or world-class philanthropists such as Omidyar Network’s Pam Omidyar — but the real stars were the former political prisoners, child slaves, torture victims and tribal-rights campaigners who had in many cases taken big risks in order to travel to Norway. And each one I spoke to made me understand just how vital the role of the western media can be in articulating their stories and, in an oft-heard phrase, speaking truth to power.

More at the link here.

More details here.

On 19th May 2012, MARUAH will join several other organisations in commemorating the 25th anniversary of the arrest of 24 persons during Operation Spectrum under the Internal Security Act (ISA), for an alleged Marxist conspiracy.

The ISA allows detention without trial (for potentially indefinite periods). Prior to the 1987 arrests, the ISA was also used in 1963 (Operation Cold Store) and 1970s. Chia Thye Poh was detained for 23 years under the ISA, from 1966 to 1989. [Note: Mr Chia was placed under house arrest in Sentosa from 1989 to 1998] More recently, the ISA has been used to detain Jemaah Islamiyah alleged terrorists from 2001 onwards. None of the ISA detainees have ever been tried or convicted in a court of law.

Between 1987 and 1988 the following were detained under Operation Spectrum which has also come to be known as the Marxist Conspiracy.

1. Vincent Cheng Kim Chuan,
2. Teo Soh Lung,
3. Kevin de Souza,
4. Wong Souk Yee,
5. Tang Lay Lee,
6. Ng Bee Leng,
7. Jenny Chin Lai Ching,
8. Kenneth Tsang Chi Seng,
9. Chung Lai Mei,
10. Mah Lee Lin,
11. Low Yit Leng,
12. Tan Tee Seng,
13. Teresa Lim Li Kok,
14. Chia Boon Tai,
15. Tay Hong Seng
16. William Yap Hon Ngian
17. Tang Fong Har,
18. Chng Suan Tze,
19. Chew Kheng Chuan,
20. Ronnie Ng Soon Hiang,
21. Fan Wan Peng,
22. Nur Effendi Sahid
23. Francis Seow
24. Patrick Seong

This was the timeline of what happened
(from http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1578_2009-10-31.html)

Timeline
May 1987 : Sixteen persons are arrested under the ISA. Government says detainees are involved in a Marxist conspiracy.
Jun 1987 : Lee Kuan Yew meets Archbishop Yong and Catholic leaders. Four of the original 16 detainees are released. Six more people are arrested.
Sep 1987 : Teo and six others are freed.
Dec 1987 : All detainees freed except for Cheng.
Apr 1988 : Nine detainees issue statement denying involvement in Marxist plot and alleging ill-treatment while under detention. Eight are re-arrested. Teo files writ of habeas corpus.
Jun 1988 : Four more detainees freed. Teo, Tsang, Wong and Kevin de Souza are issued with one-year detention orders. They begin habeas corpus proceedings.
Aug 1988 : Teo’s habeas corpus dismissed. She files appeal to Court of Appeal.
Sep 1988 : Appeal is heard.
Dec 1988 : Court of Appeal orders four detainees released but are re-arrested immediately.
Feb 1989 : Two more detainees freed.
Mar 1989 : New writ of habeas corpus hearing on Teo’s re-detention. Three other detainees withdraw their writs and are released.
Apr 1989 : Teo’s habeas corpus application is dismissed. She appeals.
Jun 1989 : Detention orders for Teo and Cheng extended for one year. Cheng files writ of habeas corpus.
Feb 1990 : Cheng’s application is dismissed.
Apr 1990 : Teo’s appeal is dismissed.
Jun 1990 : Teo and Cheng are released.

The detainees were accused of being Marxists or followers of such an ideology that could pose a security threat to the country.

What is Marxism?

“the political, economic, and social principles and policies advocated by Marx; especially : a theory and practice of socialism including the labor theory of value, dialectical materialism, the class struggle, and dictatorship of the proletariat until the establishment of a classless society”
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marxism

“The fundamental ideology ofcommunism, it holds that all people are entitled to enjoy the fruits of their labour but are prevented from doing so in a capitalist economic system, which divides society into two classes: nonowning workers and nonworking owners. Marx called the resulting situation “alienation,” and he said that when the workers repossessed the fruits of their labour, alienation would be overcome and class divisions would cease.”
http://www.britannica.com.sg/government/marxism-371443.html

To date, the Government has never clearly detailed the ideology being followed by the alleged Marxist conspirators , or the specific acts that had genuinely threatened national security. Even if they had subscribed to some form of Marxism, MARUAH contends that the use of the ISA would still not have been justified, because the ISA is meant to address conduct and not just political beliefs. An open and transparent hearing on or inquiry into their activities, such as a criminal trial in open court, would have been a more appropriate response by the Government.

MARUAH notes that many of the accounts that have since emerged suggests that most, if not all, of the detainees had merely been activists who had cared for the well-being of society and had been deeply involved in aiding marginalized communities. They had raised awareness, conducted case advocacy and questioned the adequacy of legal protection for vulnerable workers. There is no public evidence, other than their confessions (the voluntariness of which has been cast into doubt), to suggest anything more sinister.

This incident, known as Operation Spectrum, continues to cast a long shadow of Singapore politics and civil society. 22 activists and their two lawyers were detained under the ISA and were then pronounced as a security threat and as Marxists. Yet, the uncomfortable question of whether it was a fair process, remains unresolved and continues to be the elephant in the room of Singapore’s political history.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of this case, MARUAH calls for this open wound in our nation’s psyche to be considered, for the first time, in an open hearing, with a Commission of Inquiry to be established to transparently determine the facts in this case.

We also reiterate our call for a public review on whether the ISA can remain relevant in the current form when there are possibilties of effecting anti-terrorism laws to deal with security threats. We ask as we did in the submission made to the Human Rights Council during the Universal Periodic Review ( UPR) reporting on Singapore that it would be better for us to amend the ISA to observe the following:-

1. comply with international norms and best practices on preventive detention, including strict limitations on the maximum duration of detention.
2. reinstate the courts’ power to review the Government’s detention decisions on substantive grounds
3. ensure that the advisory bodies under the ISA be institutionally independent from the executive, and empowered to decide on substantive issues including whether the detainee in question does in fact pose the type of exceptional danger justifying preventive detention and whether there are any other satisfactory methods of dealing with the detainee besides detention without trial;
4. make it mandatory to comply with the decisions of such independent advisories bodies
5. comply with the requirements of due process and a fair trial to the maximum extent practicable, including allowing the detainee and his or her counsel to review evidence against him or her unless there is clear, objective evidence that doing so would materially compromise any person’s security or safety;
6. extend the independent advisory bodies’ jurisdiction and powers to include overseeing the appropriate conditions of detention for each detainee, with the objective of ensuring that no detainee is put in fear of torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment, physical or psychological, of any kind.

The above recommendations can be found in MARUAH’s submission to the United Nations, when Singapore’s human rights was scrutinised under the Universal Periodic Review.

The ISA is a blunt approach to counter terrorism. Instead, a anti-terrorism approach should include the following (from UN factsheet (PDF) on Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism)

1. measures to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, including the lack of rule of law and violations of human rights, ethnic, national and religious discrimination, political exclusion, and socio-economic marginalization;
2. foster the active participation and leadership of civil society;
3. condemn human rights violations, prohibit them in national law, promptly investigate and prosecute them, and prevent them;
4. give due attention to the rights of victims of human rights violations, for instance through restitution and compensation

Arbitrary detention is a serious violation of human rights. Arrests under the ISA go against core values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which contains specific articles (Article 9 & 10) relating to arbitrary detention.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

So join us at Speakers’ Corner this Saturday [19th May 2012, 4pm] to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ISA arrests under the alleged Marxist conspiracy. There will be an exhibition, booths, and sharing sessions by ex-detainees and civil society representatives. More details at the event website.

Today is World Press Freedom Day. It is important that we acknowledge this date to

1. celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;
2. assess the state of press freedom throughout the world;
3. defend the media from attacks on their independence;
4. pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

As a human rights advocacy group, MARUAH has reported on limited media freedom in Singapore at the Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process last year.

MARUAH calls upon the Singapore government to also observe this day and in doing so, consider review of the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA) to give freedom to the media.The government enacted the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act in 1974, implementing a regime whereby all printing presses had to be licensed and all newspapers had to apply for an annual permit, all subject to the Minister’s discretion¹. The stated aim of the law was to prevent newspapers from being funded by foreign sources with hidden agendas. The effect was to essentially throttle the previously lively media scene.

In 1984, Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) was established through the merger of three newspaper publishers. The Government has the power to control the appointment of the SPH management, by way of special management shares with enhanced voting powers. SPH became and remains the dominant newspaper publisher in Singapore; it was also the sole newspaper publisher after the Singapore Monitor closed in 1985, until MediaCorp Pte Ltd began publishing the TODAY newspaper (which SPH currently owns 40% of) in 2000.

The Act was further amended in 1986, to empower the Minister to gazette any foreign newspaper as “a newspaper engaging in the domestic politics of Singapore” and thereafter restrict the sale and distribution of such newspapers.²

The right to information is a fundamental human right. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

It is immediately apparent that the Act has seriously constrained the press in Singapore, with a corresponding restriction on individuals’ right to information. With Malaysia moving to repeal its own version of the Act, the time has come for Singapore to also review and modernise its own press laws.

MARUAH also urges the Government to unequivocally state that it does not intend to tighten regulation of the Internet, and accordingly to acknowledge that a new code of conduct for online behaviour is not necessary. Contrary to Government assertions, the online community has been able to self-regulate, as shown by, for instance, the very vocal condemnations of racist comments in Singapore. More regulation is not necessary, and will likely lead to some chilling of free speech in Singapore.

In commemorating this day, MARUAH would also like to raise concern over a grave reality in our region. The Philippines has the highest number of journalists killed within the ASEAN community and possibly globally. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)’s annual Impunity Index³, which identifies countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes, Philippines is ranked third globally with 56 unresolved murders.

MARUAH emphasises that journalists and their work must be protected as World Press Freedom Day is a reminder on the sacred values of a free press to nurture the mind and spirit of the people. Unpunished violence also often results in vast self-censorship, which is also undesirable.

This year’s observance theme is New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies. More information is available on this UN website.

Footnotes
1. Section 3(1) of the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act
2. Sections 21 and 22 of the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act. To read the rest of COSINGO’s UPR report, please click here.
3. Impunity is a key indicator in assessing levels of press freedom and free expression in nations worldwide.

Today is Labour Day. MARUAH would like to wish all Singaporean and foreign workers a happy Labour Day!

We would like to appreciate the work put in, on a daily basis, by all in Singapore. A worker needs to be respected not just on May 1st but everyday.

The government is increasing its efforts to offer more protection and security to workers. In the recent year these are some of the efforts:

1. More measures to enable workers to upgrade skills,
2. More measures to protect workers with regard to Workplace Safety and Health,
3. Incentives to hire persons with disabilities (PWDs),
4. Legislation on mandatory day-off for Foreign Domestic Workers,
5. Anti-discrimination campaign in workplaces by fair employment watchdog, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP)

However, MARUAH is deeply concerned about two issues this Labour Day and seeks remedial action for two communities that need protection the most.

The first issue is the protection of the rights of our lower-end wage earners.

Earning SGD$1,500 per month is just not enough. According to the article “Mindset Change Needed to Help Low-wage Workers” (Straits Times, Feb 7, 2012), government figures show that there were 236,300 Singaporeans and residents who earned a gross income of less than $1,000 per month as of June last year, up from 218,700 a decade earlier. [i] Looking at household income figures, the situation is similar as 2010 figures show more than 100,000 households with $1,400 monthly income.

While the pool of people earning less than $1,500 is getting larger, latest available expenditure figures, covering 2007/2008, show that Singaporean households in the bottom fifth of the income scale, actually needed around $1,700 a month to cover basic costs of living like food and utilities. But they were earning an average of only $1,274 per month at that time.

There is a disconnect. For the worker and his/her family, it has dire consequences on the ground as they simply cannot make ends meet and care for their family well. This is an area of grave concern and the situation will get worse unless we look at adequate social security for this community.

Wages of our lower-end workers have slid downwards . The same ST article reported that the median gross wage for cleaners and labourers was $1,277 in 2000. Ten years later, instead of rising, the wages fell to $960. For cleaners of industrial buildings, the median gross wage is even lower, at around $600 in 2010.

There have been recent calls for a minimum wage to be instituted, to protect lower-end workers against exploitation. MARUAH joins this call and urges the government to look into the right of all workers to fair wages. This is one of the rights within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which Singapore, being a member of the United Nations, has pledged to achieve.

Article 23 of the UDHR states:-

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

The second issue that MARUAH highlights here is the protection for the more than 200,000 foreign domestic workers who work in our homes.

We urge the government to ban the cleaning of windows (outside frames) in high-rise homes. Employers, as in any workplace have a duty to protect the worker against harm and even self-harm (when workers can be overly enthusiastic).

A country of origin has imposed rules to protect its workers from a safety perspective. As a country that takes pride in being part of an international community that vigorously promotes safety at worksites, the current situation is unacceptable. The home is also a worksite in this scenario, and MARUAH urges the government to put a stop to these unnecessary deaths – already one too many.

This Labour Day, MARUAH acknowledges the efforts by the government to protect workers. But we also ask that the government consider what we see as two critical areas that need immediate attention to ensure that all workers live in dignity and are protected.

We wish all Singaporeans and foreigners who work here an enjoyable May Day.

Cheers,

From all us @ MARUAH

Footnote
[i] The figure excludes incomes of full-time national servicemen.

Message of Michelle Bachelet Executive Director of UN Women on International Women’s Day 2012
International Women’s Day 2012
“Empower rural women: End hunger and poverty”

This International Women’s Day, I join women around the globe in solidarity for human rights, dignity and equality. This sense of mission drives me and millions of people around the world to pursue justice and inclusion. Looking back at the first year of UN Women, I applaud every individual, government and organization working for women’s empowerment and gender equality. I promise the highest commitment moving forward. The creation of UN Women has coincided with deep changes in our world –from rising protests against inequality to uprisings for freedom and democracy in the Arab world.

These events have strengthened my conviction that a sustainable future can only be reached by women, men and young people enjoying equality together.From the government that changes its laws, to the enterprise that provides decent work and equal pay, to the parents that teach their daughter and son that all human beings should be treated the same, equality depends on each of us.

During the past century, since the observance of the first International Women’s Day, we have witnessed a transformation in women’s legal rights, educational achievements, and participation in public life. In all regions, countries have expanded women’s legal entitlements. Women have taken many steps forward. More women are exercising leadership in politics and business, more girls are going to school, and more women survive childbirth and can plan their families.

Yet while tremendous progress has been made, no country can claim to be entirely free from gender-based discrimination. This inequality can be seen in persistent gender wage gaps and unequal opportunities, in low representation of women in leadership in public office and the private sector, in child marriage and missing girls due to son preference, and in continuing violence against women in all its forms.

Nowhere are disparities and barriers greater than in rural areas for women and girls. Rural women and girls comprise one in four people worldwide. They work long hours with little or no pay and produce a large proportion of the food grown, especially in subsistence agriculture. They are farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders, and their contributions sustain their families, communities, nations and all of us.

Yet they face some of the worst inequities in access to social services and land and other productive assets. And this deprives them and the world of the realization of their full potential, which brings me to my main point on this International Women’s Day. No enduring solution to the major changes of our day—from climate change to political and economic instability—can be solved without the full empowerment and participation of the world’s women. We simply can no longer afford to leave women out.

Women’s full and equal participation in the political and economic arena is fundamental to democracy and justice, which people are demanding. Equal rights and opportunity underpin healthy economies and societies.

Providing women farmers with equal access to resources would result in 100 to 150 million fewer hungry people. Providing women with income, land rights and credit would mean fewer malnourished children. Studies show that higher levels of gender equality correlate positively with higher levels of per capita gross national product. Opening economic opportunities to women would significantly raise economic growth and reduce poverty.

The time is now.

Every human being has the right to live in peace and dignity. Every human being has the right to shape their future and the futures of their countries. That is the call for equality that I hear wherever I go. For this reason UN Women will place special focus this year on advancing women’s economic empowerment and political participation and leadership. We look forward to continued strong partnership with women, men and young people and with governments, civil society and the private sector.

Today on International Women’s Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to women’s rights and move forward with courage and determination. Let us defend human rights, the inherent dignity and worth of the human person, and the equal rights of men and women.

MARUAH recognises that individuals, including public figures, have a right to protect their reputations. However, that right needs to be balanced against the right to free speech.

When political leaders threaten defamation lawsuits against internet blogs and forums, there will invariably be a “chilling effect” on online political discourse. Such actions to protect one’s reputation carries a heavier “footprint” than necessary, and more appropriate responses to defamatory comments are possible, in today’s Web 2.0 world.

We would encourage politicians who believe that they have been defamed, to write to the site owner directly to inform the owner; ask for the comment to be taken down; and request for the publication of the politician’s own statement. We believe that blog and forum owners, including those operating anonymously, would generally respond positively to a polite and cogently-worded request. There is no need to engage lawyers or threaten lawsuits to rebut defamatory comments.

MARUAH urges politicians, who seek to build a better Singapore for Singaporeans, to step back and take a broader big-picture perspective. It is incumbent on politicians to refrain from unnecessarily restricting the overall space for political speech in Singapore.

In any case, history demonstrates the poor record of defamation lawsuits in quelling rumours and speculation. TR Emeritus apologised to the Prime Minister over comments that were first made a decade ago, despite these comments having been the subject of repeated defamation lawsuits. These past lawsuits have clearly not been effective in eliminating the speculations.

MARUAH does not condone the publication of defamatory statements. This is especially so, if it is done as part of an organised, deliberate campaign to destroy the reputation of a public figure.

But just as society has a responsibility to protect the reputations of individuals against illegitimate attack, society should also protect the freedom of expression. And when or if a politician has a valid cause of action, he/she, as a leader of Singapore, also has a moral obligation to avoid unnecessarily limiting freedom of speech to clear his/her good name.

We urge that this letter be taken in the spirit that it is written as we mature as a society and walk this fine balance between rights and responsibilities.

Ms Braema Mathi
President
MARUAH Singapore

The proposed ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) will establish a framework for human rights cooperation through various ASEAN conventions and other instruments dealing with human rights.

MARUAH is organising another public consultation on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD). Please join us for an update on the regional discussions on the proposed declaration.

We want your views on our working draft submission.

Date: 9th March 2012, Friday
Time: 7.15pm – 9pm
Venue: Training Room
Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE)
Blk 5 Dover Crescent
#01-22
Singapore 130005
[map]

To register, please complete the form below.
[Registration]