We hereby categorically make the following open statements with regards to NEA’s action against us in our recent outreach on 4 July 2010 at Blk 137 Tamines St 11:
1) We strongly believe that it is totally inappropriate to use the Environment Public Health Act to charge us for “Illegal Hawking” when we are merely promoting our party publication North Star News. There is no issue of public hygiene with regards to selling a publication. There is no applicable licence, as confirmed by NEA officer, for political parties carrying out such activity. How could we be charged for not applying a licence under the ACT when there isn’t a relevant one to start with?
2) We are a legally registered political party carrying out our legitimate political outreach just like any other political parties or grassroot organizations like the Resident Committees (RC). We sell publications just like all other political parties, including PAP (in some branches) and RC which periodically send members to sell National Flags, dinner tickets, fun fare tickets etc. We are all volunteers who are providing Public Service in terms of grassroot or political activism. WE ARE NOT HAWKERS, least illegal ones, who depend on such activities to earn our individuals’ livelihood.
3) It is a total blatant INSULT to us, including all other social-political activists (from RP, WP, PAP, RC etc), who have sacrificed their free time and effort when NEA considered all of us as ILLEGAL HAWKERS.
4) We are a lawful and law abiding organization but we will not ignore UNFAIR and UNREASONABLE rules and regulations. We will fight to change these rules and regulations for the betterment of Singapore.
5) We will defend our Dignity as political activists in Public Service with whatever little resources we could garner.
6) However, we also hope that we could first meet up with the relevant people in NEA with the authority and power to make decisions on such serious matters to resolve this issue ONCE AND FOR ALL for the benefits of ALL social political activists who are actively engaged in their respective organizations.
7) With due respect to NEA as the law enforcer, we will voluntarily take a temporary break for the coming Sunday (11 July 2010) and we hope that NEA would reciprocate by meeting up with us to resolve this serious matter amicably.
Goh Meng Seng
Secretary General of the 13th CEC
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7 comments:
Dear Mr Goh,
NEA has made a mockery out of our legal system with the issuance of this fine.
This incident has once again proven that our public servants aka highly-paid civil servants are carrying out their duties irresponsibly and worst still, blindly. The implication of their action is something that they do not consider within the reasonableness expected of a long arm of the law.
Along with many of my friends, I for one has lost faith in the ruling party, given the good but not perfect job done by some of the old guard ministers.
Having said that, members of the opposition parties are sad to say quite reluctant to engage in big policy issues, preferring to stand aside and look see look see what goes on before giving their five cents worth of opinion and eventually stop at that.
Your recent posts have somehow rekindled a flicker of hope for many Singaporeans, especially the lesser educated ones.
While it is our hope to see you fight for the good cause of moving the country forward, we certainly hope you can go along the logical lines of engagement with the ruling party. So far, we are fortunate to see you doing fine and we pray that you and your party members do well in the coming election.
Many people are watching what people in NEA and the court of law will do in this incident. Either they reinforce our belief that they are out to perform their duties without responsibility or they are indeed what they claim to be, i.e. to protect the interest of Singaporeans.
I wish you and all in the part well and hope to see you guys in parliament.
I was wondering whether NEA has ever issued a single hawker licence for those hundreds of newspaper vendors which are operated by uncles and aunties at our neighbour centres or around the street corners during the night.
If not, why not ?
You just cannot selectively persecute someone and then says it is against the law when you are closing your eyes to hundreds, if not thousands, of such 'illegal' hawkers.
PAP has again demonstrated to us that it has again abused the whole system to suit its small-minded and selfish objectives.
Should we be supporting such a political party with such self-serving narrow interests ?
There is an article here :
http://tinyurl.com/25mba28
Explanation by NEA is a load of rubbish. Using the Environment Public Health Act to throw at a cause that is totally irrelevant to the Act is absolute nonsense.
NEA can do better than that.
If you had reacted in a similar way when the SDP was repeatedly fined and jailed for doing the same thing, your outrage now might actually be credible.
Anon 10.57
Dr. Chee was fined back in 1998/1999, I wasn't even in politics yet.
I also do not know under what circumstances he was fined and how he fought his case.
For me, though we are taking a firm stand, but we are still open to talk.
Goh Meng Seng
The illegal hawkers have been a nightmare for us for the past years. But I do agree that you cannot just easily prosecute someone without any probable cause.
Not to worrrryyy,you'll get many sympathy votes.We Singaporeans have eyes to see.
Rgds,
Moe Gan Thai
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