Your view on WP’s sacking of Yaw Shin Leong

PAP leaders criticize WP for letting Hougang voters down

PAP leaders have accused the Workers Party of letting the voters of Hougang down with the unprecedented sacking of its MP Yaw Shin Leong from the party, thereby triggering a by-election in the single seat constituency.

Mr Yaw was unceremoniously expelled from WP after his repeated refusal to address the on-going allegations enshrouding his private life despite being given ample opportunity to do so by the party leadership.

Under the Constitution, a MP has to vacate his seat in Parliament if he/she resigns from his/her party or is sacked from it.

Speaking to the media on calling a by-election in Hougang, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said an election is a very serious matter and noted that Singapore just had a General Election less than a year ago.

“Now, the Hougang SMC is vacant, as a result of what Mr Yaw Shin Leong has done, and the way the WP has handled the matter”, he said.

PM Lee added that “the WP has let down the voters of Hougang”.

In a separate interview, PAP Chairman Khaw Boon Wan also had strong words for WP, asking “why did the WP take so long to investigate and what new information had the party discovered.”

“The people needed to know and the WP needed to come clean with the people about the information they have about Mr Yaw, and in particular, what did they know about him prior to the 2011 General Election, and if they knew, why did they field Mr Yaw. It is sad that the voters have been misled by the WP,” he noted.

 

Netizens hail expulsion of Yaw Shin Leong from WP

The shocking expulsion of Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong by the Workers Party was hailed by most netizens as a step forward in Singapore politics.

In an earlier press conference held at the party headquarters today, WP Chairman Sylvia Lim announced the sacking of Mr Yaw with immediate effect because the party felt that “Mr Yaw has fallen short of its expectations in being transparent and accountable to the party and to his constituents.”

Mr Yaw was embroiled in a series of controversies in the last few weeks over his alleged affairs with other women including a party colleague and neighbor from China.

Despite the widespread negative publicity and questioning from his own party leaders, Mr Yaw adamantly refused to refute the allegations.

News of his unceremonious sacking from WP spread like wild fire in cyberspace with more than 300 comments posted on Yahoo News in less than two hours.

Philip Joshua Singh wrote:

“Very good decision taken by the Worker Party Leadership as the people will continue to have faith in the party. Yaw Shin Leong had killed his own political life and he will be finished for sure.. it’s such a pity that he did not used this opportunity to make himself a name in the Singapore Political Areana… he choses to be irresponsible in his actions.”

Princess added:

“Bravo to the WP. We feel that this is a right move to ensure an honest and clean government. There must always be accountability when you are spokesperson for a nation and her people. We hope officer bearers will take these recent incidents as lessons. We tax payers do not pay for characters that are morally questionable. We need our representatives to be clean and green.”

While Chairman Sylvia Lim admitted that the decision to expel Mr Yaw was not unanimous, most party supporters still hail the party for having the moral courage to do the right thing and account to the electorate.

Stephen Sim posted on WP Facebook:

“Bold step! My respect for WP is reinforced with this expulsion. One can say that the party need time to investigate and deliberate the issue. And now it is the time to act. I have nothing against Yaw but the party interest to serve the people must take priority over any other thing.”

Kelvin Koo was pleased with the decision:

“Kudos to WP for daring to make the tough decision. Else, they cannot expect to have any sort of moral authority in parliament. Last thing we want is WP behaving like neutered dogs in parliament.”

Feroz Bessir was impressed:

“It is an unprecedented move. WP is showing that principles and accountability comes foremost. They are not saying sorry our candidate screwed up…. they are showing that the party is vigilant to act and stand for the higher morale ground. This is refreshing and honest.”

Sherin Lew, however, had doubts on the move to expel Mr Yaw:

“it is not right on mr yaw part, maybe. however, should we not look at the bigger pic? shuld seperate persnal matters with the ability and passion to serve. so long as the rumour and matter stop, we should all give him a chance. its difficult for opposition to hv presence in singapore. why jeopardise it?”

Elsewhere, the news have spawned no less than 10 threads on popular forum Hardwarezone as netizens continue to have a field day arguing about the pros and cons of WP’s unprecedented move to sack their MP.

 

Workers Party expel Yaw Shin Leong

Source: Channel News Asia

Yee Jenn Jong or Gerald Giam to contest Hougang by-election?

NCMPs Yee Jenn Jong and Gerald Giam are front-runners to contest Hougang by-election after its MP Yaw Shin Leong was sacked unceremoniously from the party today.

In a terse press conference called at the Workers Party Headquarters, Chairman Sylvia Lim announced the sacking of Mr Yaw with immediate effect.

Mr Yaw has earlier tendered his resignation from the WP CEC as treasurer with the position being taken over by Mr Yee.

Mr Yee garnered a respectable 49.3 percent of the votes in Joo Chiat during the 2011 election while Mr Giam’s team in East Coast GRC managed to win 46 percent of the votes.

 

Party insiders speaking on the condition of anonymity said the both NCMPs are in the driving seat to be fielded by the party in Hougang and an official announcement would be made soon.

WP Press Statement: Expulsion of Yaw Shin Leong from Party Membership

The Workers’ Party has expelled Yaw Shin Leong from the party with immediate effect.

WP believes strongly in transparency and accountability, and expects no less from our party members, especially our Members of Parliament.

Shin Leong has been accused of several indiscretions in his private life.  By continuing not to account to the Party and the people, especially the residents of Hougang, he has broken the faith, trust and expectations of the Party and People.

This is a difficult and painful decision for us.  Shin Leong has been a core member of the Party leadership for more than 10 years, and has made significant and unique contributions towards WP’s growth.   He has also served the residents of Hougang diligently.  However, the Council has decided that it is in the public interest to take this step.

We also believe it is only fair to the Hougang residents that they have another opportunity to elect their Member of Parliament.

We apologise for having to put them through a by-election.

We wish to assure Hougang residents that they will continue to be served by the Party until the by-election is called.

The Meet the People sessions in Hougang will continue, with the other MPs covering.  Residents are free to contact any WP MP for assistance.  In addition, town council services will continue to be provided under the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.

Finally, we wish to thank the public for their concern towards the Party and for walking with us through this difficult period.

Sylvia Lim

Chairman

 

工人党对议员有一定的要求。议员是人民的代议士，也是个公众人物；必须做个好榜样；最重要的是有担当，肯负责。

最近大众传媒接二连三出现对饶欣龙种种严重的指控，他选择不回应，也不出来解释清楚，是不负责任的行为，也造成了信任危机。

后港是捍卫新加坡民主政治的先锋，没有后港20年来的支持，工人党不会有今天的发展，新加坡也不会在民主的过程中迈步前进。

我们不能辜负后港选民的支持和期望，因此决定开除饶欣龙，让后港选民可以再次做出决定。

由于这个事件，使到后港人感到困扰，也造成后港区需要补选，我向后港选民道歉。我也感谢在这困难时期不离不弃，与我们共同奋斗的新加坡人。

从现在开始到补选举行期间，在后港每周的接见选民依旧进行。阿裕尼－后港市镇理事会也会照常运作。

 

 

刘程强

秘书长

15 February 2012

Source: WP Facebook

Breaking News: Yaw Shin Leong expelled from Workers Party; by-election looms for Hougang

Workers Party MP Yaw Shin Leong has been expelled from the Workers Party, said WP Chairman Sylvia Lim at a press conference today. Mr Yaw has been embroiled in an online storm of late over alleged extra-marital affairs with a few women which has tarnished the image of the party.

“We apologise for having to put the people of Hougang through a by-election,” she said in a stern voice to a shocked audience.

She added it is a difficult decision which has to be taken as “he has broken the faith and trust of the party and the people.”

According to party insiders, the decision was taken after an emergency meeting called last night with a few CEC members exerting “great pressure” on WP Secretary-General Low Thia Kiang to sack his protege.

A visibly disappointed Mr Low reprimanded Mr Yaw for being irresponsible in not addressing rumors, stressing that MPs must set an example for the people.

Mr Yaw joined the Workers Party in 2001 and was groomed by Mr Low to take over his seat of Hougang. He was widely regarded as the natural successor to Mr Low when the latter retires from politics.

The move by WP comes after weeks of controversy enshrouding Mr Yaw after his alleged affair with a party member was reported by a local blog with the mainstream media then going on a rampage to dig out his “liaisons” with other women including a married neighbor from China who has been helping him to translate his parliamentary speeches.

Despite the extensive negative media publicity, Mr Yaw has adamantly refused to refute the damaging allegations made against him. His abrupt resignation from the WP leadership council last week only fueled more speculations that there may be an element of truth in the allegations after all.

While party leaders had remained tight-lipped over the ongoing debacle, their patience finally ran out with Mr Yaw’s refusal to explain himself to the party.

In his latest comment on the saga after WP dinner in Hougang last Saturday, Mr Yaw said he would not respond even if there are “six, seven or eight women coming forward accuse him of having affairs with them.”

Under Singapore’s parliamentary rules, a MP must vacate his/her seat if he resigns or is sacked from his/her party. Mr Yaw won Hougang in the 2011 General Election by 64 percent of the votes, trouncing his opponent Desmond Choo from the PAP.

MORE UPDATES TO COME

Workers Party to hold press conference at 5pm

The Workers Party will be holding a press conference today at 5pm. Though it did not make any prior announcement on its website, it is speculated that the conference is called to address the recent negative publicity over the alleged extra-marital affairs committed by one of its MPs.

Chinese tabloid Shin Min Daily ran on its front page a cheeky headline – “WP Press Conference – Yaw Shin Leong play finished?”

Law Minister Shanmugam sends lawyer’s letter to blogger Alex Au

Law Minister Mr Shanmugam has sent a letter to prominent blogger Mr Alex Au yesterday requesting him to remove a comment made about him on his blog “Yawning Bread” five days ago.

In the letter which was reproduced in full on Mr Au’s blog, the lawyers from Allen and Glenhill LLP described the allegations reproduced on Mr Au’s blog as “false and scurrilous”.

The allegations were first made by a moniker named “Scroobal” on a porn forum last year and were circulated widely in cyberspace. “Scroobal” is allegedly under police investigation for “criminal defamation and intimidation” in another separate case.

Mr Au wrote he took the Law Minister’s “word” on the matter and have “withdrawn that comment as requested.”