“Volkswagen and The Straits Times are brands with a successful history and a reputation of trust.” – Mr Leon Gumpert, general manager, Sales Singapore, at Volkswagen Group Singapore. (its Times, 15 August 2009)
“So they have to adapt but they have to remain objective, maintain a high quality newspaper and if you read something in the Straits Times or on CNA, you must know that it’s real.” – PM Lee in his National Day Rally speech in 2008.
In Parliament on 18 August, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was asked to reveal the reasons for Mr Charles Goodyear’s resignation from Temasek Holdings. In his reply, Mr Tharman said:
People do want to know, there is curiosity, it is a matter of public interest. That is not sufficient reason to disclose information. It is not sufficient that there be curiosity and interest that you want to disclose information.”
However, in the printed edition of the Straits Times the next day, 19 August, Mr Tharman’s “public interest” remark was inexplicably left out. The Straits Times published an ad verbatim transcript of the exchanges in Parliament betwen Mr Tharman and MPs. So, why was Mr Tharman’s “public interest” remark edited out of the transcript?
Did the Straits Times intentionally leave out Mr Tharman’s admission that the issue of Mr Goodyear’s resignation was of public interest?
Here’s Today’s report which included the remark left out by the Straits Times:
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We can’t be too picky on PAP Press Holdings. If they can afford to cover up, they will. We all know PAP press holdings are never in objective reporting mode. All these decades of trees being sacrificed, we have not a single piece of paper from them or space allocated specially for alternative parties Signaporeans have been spending too much money buying pap paper. I rather we donate the same amount of money saved from unsubscribing it to help the poor and needy and not to enrich the pap press holdings.
wat is worse is the decades of brainwashing they did to us. and the worst?? we dont even realise it. all these years of brainwashing and whitewashing. no wonder we sgreans are dumbed down.
Thank u for the report.
However, I will not call the journalists and their editors prostitutes. By equating them with prostitutes is an insult to the latter…
This is NOT the first time that ST “edits” its articles.
Another example was highlighted by Mr Wang Says So in this blog, where ST edited its archives:
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2008/05/thank-you-for-reading-my-blog-aljunied.html
Nothing is sacred as far as ST is concerned.
Even if a dog stands against a PAP candidate, I’ll vote for the dog. At least he can bark and bite!
Which GRC voters voted this man?
He is not going to tell anyone anything. He still remembers what happened in 1993.
Arrest and Conviction
While serving as economics director in Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1993, Tharman was charged under the Official Secrets Act for inadvertently releasing Singapore’s 1992 second-quarter flash projections[3] to a research director Mr Raymond Foo, and economist Manu Bhaskaran, of Crosby Securities and journalists, Kenneth James and Patrick Daniel from the Business Times.
Tharmam was convicted by Senior District Judge Richard Magnus, and fined S$1,500 along with the other defendants.
By replacing the word ‘Temasek’ with ‘NKF’, just imagine the possibility of how cunning Tharman could be if we were to refer the context of Tharman speech to the NKF scandal as follows :-
In other words, the government will only disclose what it deems acceptable regarding NKF, a fund that totalled xx million Singapore dollars as of November. NKF’s internal governance, Mr. Tharman said, “is a matter for the board to oversee and the key task of the government is to make sure we are comfortable with people on the board. Once government starts intruding, or for that matter, parliament starts intruding, with the best of intentions, then we are, over time, changing the character of that relationship between government and NKF.”
If it is not acceptable for NKF, how can it be acceptable for Temasek.
The next obvious question is could there be some scandal cover-up in Temasek that they have to say that it would not serve any strategic purpose to tell the truth ?
Tharman can sleep well at night knowing that he has succesfully prevented? a fallout of nuclear proportions – indeed, how could have let lesser mortals know that there is a huge hole in the nuclear reactor that is Temasek? Sleep well knowing that Tharman is carrying all our pain for us, shielding us from the unbearable truth. It pains me . So I’ll vote for another to take over his pain in the coming elections.
…reminds me of the novel 1984 where they control the news to control or sway the opinion of the population.
I’ve always felt very uncomfortable when Tharman takes the stand because my past analysis of what he said always reveals that there is something wrong therefore the govt sends him. in summary:
1. when Bangkok Post published the entire chronology of temasik’s involvement with Thaksin all the way from the setting up of shell companies to the day HC and Thaksin’s wife shook hands listing the names of all involved, the dates accounts/companies were set up even to the place where the 2 honchos shook hands and listed all the laws broken in Thailand during this whole sequence of events, Tharman stood in parliament and said that he is confident that HC/Temasek did not break any laws in Thailand. if that was the case, why didnt Temasek/HC sue BKK Post for so blatantly naming all the offences HC committed?
2. When Tharman defended GIC and said govt not involved in its decision making, then why is almost half of GIC’s board of directors ministers including himself? board of directors who dont get involved? then do they get directors fees..for doing nothing? all those in business know that directors are there for direction and governance and major decisions. even sleeping partners need to know occasionally what is going on so its hard to believe that GIC has half a board of sleeping directors who dont get involved in its running.
3. not to mention the whole episode about saying that drawing of reserves is based on ‘trust’.
i hope i’m not paranoid to say that there is enough to indicate that whenever he appears, there is something more to it. i’ve always felt that Tharman’s greatest strength is his eloquency. perhaps this is where he comes in most useful – when something is wrong and cannot be revealed.
>>By equating them with prostitutes is an insult to the latter…
Ya lor…at least the latter gives us VALUE FOR MONEY :)
Following up on “Vote of Opposition” comment, maybe Tharman’s comment on why disclosing the reasons for Goodyear’s removal “serves no strategic interest” refers to what’s posted in http://johnharding.com/2009/02/08/is-charles-chip-goodyear-iv-an-impostor/
If you take Singapore Airline, the main newspaper is Straits Times (ST).
But many foreigners perfer otherwise.
The Straits Times newspaper distributed to the planes will come Without the Classified Section, always.
Why?
The number of people declare as Bankruptcy + court cases advertised in the Classifed will be shocking….
No surprise certain statements (include this topic) are often omitted out by ST.
Only silly one like T.T. Durai wanted to sue ST.
It’s an honest mistake, Let’s move on!
This is typical isn’t it? But will the 66.6% learn to see the implications of all these recent events?
This is exactly one of the points raised in NMP Viswa’s speech – how we need traditional media to not be govt. lapdogs.
you guys are blind or what. It says right at the beginning of the transcript that this is an edited transcript. I believe editing means removing repetitions, among other things. There’s already this sentence in the column on the left — “It is a matter of public interest who the CEO of Temasek is”. So I don’t see any cover up here.
Seeing ghosts is really seeing ghosts. He does not know the meaning of ad verbatim transcript.
well.. consider this..
ask anymore questions and tharman will need to do a jack nicholson.
YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!
“you guys are blind or what. It says right at the beginning of the transcript that this is an edited transcript. I believe editing means removing repetitions, among other things. There’s already this sentence in the column on the left — “It is a matter of public interest who the CEO of Temasek is”. So I don’t see any cover up here.”
Are you really seeing ghost or are you really the ghost yourself ?
“People do want to know, there is curiosity, —-snip snip——. That is not sufficient reason to disclose information. It is not sufficient that there be curiosity [and interest] that you want to disclose information.”
The self censoring folks at Shit Times forgot to cut out the words in square brackets – “and interest” which refers to the deleted part ” it is a matter of public interest”.
Now, that’s interesting!
The name “Shitty Times” is
not far off the mark. Time
for a name change.
It’s the PAP Times to the rescue again!!
It is so glaringly blatant what the Straits Times is doing and I wonder how our President scholars (top academic creme de la creme) can accept the nonsense and even defend it vehemently. I won’t even call them academics!
10) Fat Hope on August 20th, 2009 4.51 pm
Lau Lee once said that our ST is so good that foreign governments refer it for information (maybe it is Myamar?). Junior Lee also once said that our ST is a quality, solid paper with good journalism, not some kind of cowboy internet forum……..
lol ^ what foreign governments would read our papers?? no democratic country would read our papers because they know very well its full of shit. thats right i said SHIT, its full of SHIT.
‘Straits Times’ should call it newsletter instead of newspaper
“Lau Lee once said that our ST is so good that foreign governments refer it for information (maybe it is Myamar?). ”
Yes, democratic foreign government will refer to our ShittyTimes just to learn how NOT to write trash, nonsense, and one-sided partisan information.
Myamar Junta may refer to our ShittyTimes because they want to know the status of the Orchard that name after them in Botanic Garden. Is it cursed and dead in Botanic Garden ? They also want to refer to it for propaganda Shit that love to publicise the negativeness and disaster of other countries that make SIN gov look so good and heaven.
Who on earth gave him the assumption that people are “curious” ? His cronies or his yes-man ppl from the ypap?
The people are “demanding” facts and justifications for the massive losses, not out of curiousity but a responsibility towards the management of the state and people’s funds.
Pls, wake up your million dollars brain, tll now we are still kept in the dark as to how our hard earned CPF monies are being invested and managed by who.