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A journalist was called for questioning by the Police on Sunday (January 31) after a report was presented against him for sedition for questioning a member of Parliament (MP) of the Popular Action Party (PAP) for the act of the politician posing with placard in a street vendor center.
Shawn Lim, a media reporter at The Drum, took Twitter yesterday to reveal that someone had reported him after he did not like how he asked if a PAP deputy needed to apply for a permit to carry a sign given that several LGBTQ + activists were arrested for not doing so.
“As a journalist my job is to ask the questions, but someone reported me to the police for ‘sedition’ as they didn’t like how I questioned whether a ruling party deputy needed to apply for a permit to hold a poster because some LGBTQ + activists they were arrested for not doing it, ”he said.
He added: “Some people (especially those on the right) like to complain about the cancellation of culture and criticize ‘THE IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN VALUES OF MEANING’, but they tried to cancel me because they did not agree with what I said. How ironic.”
Last week (January 26), three people were arrested outside the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) building in Buona Vista for holding and participating in a public assembly without a permit.
The posters held by the individuals, some of which say “#FIX NON-STUDENT SCHOOLS” and “Trans students will not be erased,” are made in relation to the recent saga involving the MOE, in which a transgender student alleged that the Ministry interfered with his hormone replacement therapy.
However, in June of last year, PAP MP Louis Ng took to Facebook to share a photo of him holding a sign that read “Support them” at the Yishun Park Hawker Center.
The Nee Soon GRC MP did so to show his support for street vendors, as well as to announce that customers can dine at said street vendor center after the Government announced Phase 2 of its reopening.
No complaints were made against the MP for carrying signs.
In Lim’s series of tweets, he also said that “a healthy society should have more than one voice,” adding that he regrets disappointing the person who reported him, as he is back on Twitter after recording his statement with the Police. .
“This only increases my determination to continue speaking out and pushing for diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said.
Speaking of his experience during the interrogation, Mr. Lim said that it was “quite nice and short”, however he noted that he had to delete the tweet to cooperate with the investigation.
“I urge people not to go to the police every time they disagree with someone because it is an abuse of our country’s legal process and resources. Have a critical thought and get out of your echo chambers “, he concluded.
As a journalist my job is to ask the questions, but someone reported me to the police for “sedition” as they did not like how I asked if a ruling party MP needed to apply for a permit to hold a poster because some LGBTQ + activists were arrested for not doing it.
– Shawn Lim (@mediumshawn) January 31, 2021
In May last year, the police called civil rights activist Jolovan Wham after he held a sign with a smiley face in Toa Payoh Central about two months earlier. The social worker said that the police informed him that the act violated the Public Order Law.
Mr. Wham noted that he “left immediately after” holding the poster and taking a photo with it.
Mr. Wham indicated that the gesture of holding up the smiling face banner was made in solidarity with a climate justice activist who was questioned by the police and had his electronic devices confiscated in the process.
The activist was seen, in a photo on the Instagram page @ fridays4futuresg, wearing a face mask and holding a cardboard sign that read “SG IS BETTER THAN OIL @ fridays4futuresg” in front of the Central Community Club of Toa Payoh and the Center of Toa Payoh Neighborhood Police. .
The 20-year-old, police said, “did not request the necessary police permit” before carrying out such activity.
In Singapore, holding or participating in a public assembly without a permit is criminalized under the Public Order Act.
The only place in the country where citizens can hold public assemblies often of a political nature without applying for a police permit in advance is Hong Lim Park or Speakers’ Corner.
However, this location is currently closed due to security measures taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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