The BBC reports that Singapore's High Court has ruled that the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine defamed Singapore's leaders in an article in 2006.
The Lee family requested summary judgment, which means a judge sits alone without a court, over an article about the main opposition leader Chee Soon Juan. Justice Woo ruled that the article implied that Prime Minister Lee (the son of Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founder) "is unfit for office because he is corrupt and he too has set out to sue and suppress those who question him to cover up his corruption". Ironically sue is exactly what they did.
I must say I find this very disturbing. I have contributed to the FEER, which is a serious, sober publication, and spent quite a bit of time in Singapore. It is a great place to live and work with a superbly managed economy, efficient social services and good race relations in a unique ethnic mix. There is an enormous amount for the Lee family to be proud of. They do not need to attack every little insinuation of wrongdoing against them: their works speak for themselves.
Singapore is a modern, outward looking nation. It is high time it had the self-confidence to allow modest criticism of the government, from opposition and press alike.
The Lee family requested summary judgment, which means a judge sits alone without a court, over an article about the main opposition leader Chee Soon Juan. Justice Woo ruled that the article implied that Prime Minister Lee (the son of Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founder) "is unfit for office because he is corrupt and he too has set out to sue and suppress those who question him to cover up his corruption". Ironically sue is exactly what they did.
I must say I find this very disturbing. I have contributed to the FEER, which is a serious, sober publication, and spent quite a bit of time in Singapore. It is a great place to live and work with a superbly managed economy, efficient social services and good race relations in a unique ethnic mix. There is an enormous amount for the Lee family to be proud of. They do not need to attack every little insinuation of wrongdoing against them: their works speak for themselves.
Singapore is a modern, outward looking nation. It is high time it had the self-confidence to allow modest criticism of the government, from opposition and press alike.
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