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SINGAPORE – A group of alumni from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have abruptly removed two academics known for their socio-political comments on Singapore from a webinar and replaced them with a new list of speakers.
The webinar, titled “Public Speech: Truth and Trust,” initially featured Hong Kong Baptist University Media Studies Professor Cherian George and Senior Lecturer and Public Policy Practice Professor at the University of Science and Technology from Hong Kong, Donald Low, as guest speakers.
It was organized by the Raffles Hall Association and scheduled for Sunday (November 1), from 8 pm to 9:30 pm, as part of the Raffles Hall Alumni Learning series. The association is a group of alumni with ties to NUS’s Raffles Hall, a residential hall.
On Tuesday, however, another post appeared on Facebook, with a new list of speakers under the same webinar title: Former Singapore Press Holdings journalist Al Ramirez Dizon, NUS New Media and Communications speaker Shobha Avadhani, as well as special research advisor at the Arun Mahizhnan Institute for Political Studies.
Arun later said on Facebook Tuesday that he had not been given a full report on what had happened before he was included in the lineup. He has since withdrawn from the webinar.
Professor Low told ST on Thursday that he has yet to receive a response from NUS and the Raffles Hall Association as to why the speaker lineup had been changed.
“Last Friday Cherian told me that the NUS / Raffles Hall organizer had told her that he was facing an obstacle and that he would email us to confirm it. But we have not heard from NUS / Raffles Hall since then; all that we’ve heard it’s been from social media, “he said.
He and Professor George are co-authors of a new book PAP v PAP: The Party’s Struggle To Adapt To A Changing Singapore.
Published in October, the book is an anthology of essays on how the ruling Popular Action Party (PAP) should reform its approach to politics and governance. It also influences the implications of the recent general election results for Singapore and the PAP.
Professor George and Professor Low are now based in Hong Kong and had previously taught at Nanyang Technological University and NUS ‘Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, respectively.
A member of the Raffles Hall Association Facebook group, Mr. Sonny Yuen, apologized Wednesday for the changes to the speaker lineup.
All Raffles Hall alumni learning events are private events for Raffles Hall alumni only, he wrote in a post on the public Facebook group.
“As it is a community and voluntary event behind closed doors, the program and its content are developed at the discretion of the organizer,” he said. “We continue the important conversations in today’s (social) media world, where apparently we can no longer trust what we read, see or hear.”
ST has contacted Mr. Yuen for comment.
In response to inquiries, a Raffles Hall spokesperson said Wednesday that the Raffles Hall Association is an “autonomous group of alumni” that is not governed by Raffles Hall and NUS.
The abrupt speaker replacement has caused a stir on social media.
Commenting on the episode, former MP-nominee Calvin Cheng said on Facebook Thursday that while he does not agree with Professor George’s views, his views and those of Professor Low “are not seditious.”
“They are not extremist religious preachers. I don’t know what made the Raffles Hall alumni association replace them without warning, but the way it was done was cowardly,” he wrote.
Former cabinet minister Yaacob Ibrahim also weighed in, commenting in a Facebook post about the affair from sociopolitical commentator Bertha Henson.
Professor Yaacob said: “Very strange and so undiplomatic.”
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