By Choo Zheng Xi / Editor-at-large
On 6 March 2010, Mr Gopalan Nair asserted that sources had informed him that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had suffered a massive heart attack and had been warded in intensive care at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Less than a day later, after exciting interest across the whole blogosphere, Mr Nair admitted that it was a hoax.
Whatever political point Mr Nair was trying to make by his despicable joke is likely to be overshadowed by the backlash against Mr Nair from ordinary Singaporeans.
Mr Nair’s initial post was picked up by almost a dozen blogs, making the headlines on several popular Singaporean websites.
In response to Mr Nair’s post, TOC sent out requests for two of our writers to be on standby to attend Monday’s parliamentary sitting and look out for motorcades or unusually tight security at SGH. We also asked all our writers to closely monitor online forums like Channelnewsasia, Sammyboy, the comment sections of Temasek Review, and several public Facebook groups for leads.
TOC also emailed the Prime Minister’s office, wrote to Mr Nair requesting a phone interview, and contacted several sources who have connections to SGH.
All this turned out to be a waste of energy, and many involved in chasing Mr Nair’s wild goose felt outraged.
Wasted interest and effort aside, it is completely tasteless to deliberately lie about someone’s death regardless of how much you despise him.
TOC has been a consistent proponent of community moderation, arguing that the abuse of free speech in the form of spreading deliberate misinformation has the potential to cement the public’s perception of the internet as untrustworthy. Further, it provides the Government with the best excuse to regulate the internet to prevent such misinformation from spreading.
TOC has never held back from attacking the government’s positions or questioning public authority, but we have always made these criticisms on the basis of our belief in contributing to a political culture of transparency and accountability. Deliberate misinformation from any side of the political aisle is inimical to that culture.
Mr Nair, who styles himself a “Singapore dissident”, should know that no dissident from even the most repressive dictatorships would deliberately put out blatant lies that can be easily debunked. All this would do is undermine the credibility of the dissident in question.
That should be Mr Nair’s fate.
Mr Nair, when revealing his hoax, asked:
“Is it not stupid that a mere blog like mine, which is not a major newspaper and not a news source of any major importance can be taken so seriously and cause such worry and uncertainly?”
The online community could do Mr Nair a favor by taking him at his word now and completely ignoring anything else he has to say. We would be stupid indeed to do otherwise.
Gopalan Nair’s orginal blog post, which he updated on Monday to reflect that it had all been a grand hoax, as well as his latest blog post, which effectively makes a mockery of all those who believed him:
___________________________________________________
Comic insert courtesy of the Singaporean Says blog
_____________________________________________________________________
@
sgcynic
Mar 8, 2010 15:42
Mr Nair, when revealing his hoax, asked:
“Is it not stupid that a mere blog like mine, which is not a major newspaper and not a news source of any major importance can be taken so seriously and cause such worry and uncertainly?”
The online community could do Mr Nair a favor by taking him at his word now and completely ignoring anything else he has to say. We would be stupid indeed to do otherwise.
Indeed. Stupid idiot undermines his own credibility.
We have been call “daft” , looks like it turns out to be true.
You choose your own path. You choose what you want to read.
What is GN real point? That sg is not faster , not better, harddriving and not cheaper, so much so that you depend on just one person to survive. @Andy has point out quite correctly, he has not hurt anyone, but you choose to read his blog, and TOC choose to put it in its web. George Yeo say – “What to do, it happen”. Dr. Y – say ” it’s a freak event” so why bother.
Seriously, what’s wrong with the hoax? It’s very much in the American culture – they even have a fake news website – The Onion, and with the videos and news report so professionally done, many foriegn news agency have been fooled by them. The last time was an Indian (or is it Parkistan?) news agency picking up on the story that Neil Armstrong admits moon landing was staged.
We need to learn how to take ourselves less seriously.
Gopalan N. is despicable without doubt,his hatred for LKY is well known but that does not allow him take Singaporeans for granted and should be like him and his band of hero worshipers.
the internet community is based on trust. and this shows that some bloggers are not worth that trust. the problem is this blogger was a candidate before and could have been one of singapore’s leaders. on hindsight, it was a good that he lost.
but kudos to TOC for having good journalistic standards and calling out GN when he abuse the trust of the net community. there are still sites on the net that we can trust. :)
Andy,
You sure asked a lot of questions, my friend. My only question to you is this: “Is it necessary for GN to stoop this low?”
Yes, it is despicable to have been lied to time and time again as you have brought across by your numerous questions highlighting what the PAP and the government have been doing to us all these years. Nothing can be more despicable than that but the difference here is that, whether we like it or not, and broadly speaking, there are enough takers to deem such lies to have their values.
So we apply the same to GN. Why is there a need to go down the same despicable road that he, for one, has been championing against? Why follow the footsteps of the despicable ones and be despicable himself?
Won’t it be despicable of you and me if we give him our support? No, my friend, there is a time for everything and what goes around, comes around. And this is no time to lend support to an act that is so despicable and unnecessary.
Our enemy is politics. Every politician thinks he is doing good even though it is plain and clear to the rest that it isn’t so. That’s why we mustn’t wish ill on anyone, politicians or priests, young or old, able-bodied or disabled etc.
A wish is a wish, and we all wish good things on others, never a bad thing – for the word to use when wishing bad things is ‘cursed’. That’s why the ‘joke’ by GN is so despicable. It is a cursed – jokingly or otherwise.
TOC seems indignant at being played out by this false rumor. the fact is, no one forced anybody to believe the crap Goplan has been spouting. Goplan is a timely reminder that we should all inject ourselves with a healthy does of scepticism when it come to unverfiied info from the net.
Moderating Editor: Personally, we are annoyed because a lot of time and effort was wasted verifying the claim over the 24 hours. Whilst we were skeptical of the source, good journalism is not about dismissing information but about seeking confirmation that either proves or denies the allegation. However, the nature of the claim here was such that the information would never readily have been furnished to deny the allegation outright. This kept us hunting for non-traditional clues and searching for independent evidence only to find out it was a prank. As volunteers who take our responsibility to the community seriously, it was disheartening to see so much effort wasted – which would have gone into doing other productive things.
i agree that GN did us a service. but that is not to prepare us for the funeral. no one seriously expects he is going to live forever, so what is GN preparing us for?
the (dis)service GN did was to show how someone can blatantly spread lies on the internet. now that the seed of doubt is there, can people trust what they read on the net anymore? can people trust Temasek Review’s stories, knowing that they never check out the stories before publishing it? the content of the prank is irrelevant- it’s the distrust that the prank brings that harms.
We can say many things here. But one thing is patently clear to me. This has nothing to do with PAP or for that mater LKY. And everything to do with how G.Nair considers it a big fat joke when he thinks God has given him a right to cry wolf, no matter what the cost, price or even inconvenience it causes to others, it seems providing he can get his selfish capper out, that’s the only thing that really matters to him. In other words he doesnt care about the internet and cares even less for the interest of every netizen. So why should we even bother about him?
http://dotseng.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/gopalan-nair-the-idiot-child-who-cried-wolf/
SD
Let’s move on…
It appears that the majority of writers here seemed to wish to put and really had put people other than themselves (me too might be included putting others into one) inside certain fashionable boxes.
I agree more or less with tatum, nesta and andys’ views which are defintely more mature, objective and, had nailed the whole issue.
Great alas! And if TOC can learnt valuable lessons from here (which I m sure there are, and they are also mentioned some that they did), greater still. And for all participants whether you write or read, we really really had an eye-opener, isn’t it so? Cos no one has an absolute monopoly of ideas (and thoughts!) right or wrong, which unmistakenbly includes PAP (and GN). But I may add only PAP think that they can fool all the people all the time !!
Has anyone seen Shawn Michael’s obsession with the Undertaker?
Tatum, I can understand you have your points for supporting GN, and yes, they may be valid. However, you surely understand that GN’s opinion, your opinion and even some of our opinions here in TOC, about LKY, differs greatly from those of other Singaporeans who still hold him in high regards, and rightfully so.
LKY, whether we like it or not, had helped transformed Singapore into the city-state that we are today, for better some would say, while others think otherwise.
Many today are lamenting the fact that the present LKY is nothing but similar to the LKY of old and perhaps GN is one of those clouded by his judgment which suggests to us that he thinks there is not one iota of good in LKY for wishing him the way he did.
You are also right to observe that there is a vast difference between the PAP and GN but what you failed to opined is the fact that the PAP is the duly-elected representative of the people. For every gripe and grouse we hear, there are at least two others who would sing their praises.
In this regard, GN ought to have been wiser to realize that whatever grievances he may have against the PAP or certain members from that party, he still have to accord the right level of respect to those who have made their preferences known during each general election. The respect for his fellow citizens cannot be taken as child’s play. He ought to have weighed this. He ought to have known.
Does it now mean any TDH can now follow suit and lambast or prank the PAP anyway they see fit? Surely you cannot support such a suggestion?
There are ways to go about correcting the wrongs we see each day. There is a time for it too. Being a prankster will only set you back to where you started. It is foolish. To play a prank that rides on the ill-fortune of another is downright despicable. Period. Let us not make any more excuses for such an act.
You know what i do when i see a crazy and possibly angry dog barking away, snarling, growling at everyone ? I stay far far away from him and let him be.. eventually he will quiten down ……
This is sick. I knew it was a hoax so even before I read half of the article I’m already feeling sick in my stomach. The word “despicable” is very suitable indeed. For a man his age, I’m surprised how immature Nair is. Grow up.
Singaporedaddy.
Pls dont blow this matter up further. Gopalan Nair is not the face of opposition politics in Singapore. I hope you will remain open minded and try to use your influence in a positive manner to add value to the opposition movement in Singapore by explaining this to your community, instead of using this to undermining us all.
This is where you are wrong and still fail to see it. You asked where the respect for GN was when he was at the lowest ebb of his life, being ridiculed for the choices he had made for himself, and you chose to cite the mainstream reactions that suggested he was all on his own, alone, helpless and having no one to turn to. How foolish! How you have made it seem my prayers for him were wasted!
You failed miserably to see that there are fellow-citizens who, although not as visible, loud and daring, have understood him for the things he had done.
This is why the act he did today is so despicable for not taking all these into consideration except the so-called ‘right’ that he has to do things his way. So be it then. There will be no more sympathy from his fellow citizens henceforth. And, please, don’t blame us for standing off this time round.
Once there was a person who barked from relative safety of the other side of the ocean.
He then purposely crossed the ocean and knowingly walking into the arms of the persons he barked at, even proudly announcing his arrival and dared his opponents to arrest him, even providing his location.
When confronted, he became as meek as a lamb, barely whispering, just wanting desperately to get out. (Not he was not imprisoned, but only had his passport impounded while he was being charged).
And once let out, he fled back across the ocean to resume his barking. And apparently begging for alms along the way after wasting Singapore tax dollars.
http://silentassassinarchive.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/gopalan-nair-lawyer-activist-beggar/
This does not fit a description of a scapegoat.
Look at Aung San Suu Kyi. She stood grounds despite her imprisonment for more than a decade, never “apologizing” or wavering.
Then again, its probably an insult to make such a comparison to her in the first place.
gemami,
btw, he’s no longer a Singapore citizen, if that’s what you meant.
tatum,
I don’t see what race has to do with the issue. GN did a big ball ups on this one and he knows it. And if he was thinking of batting for the opposition, it’s no longer a good idea. He’s achieved nothing from this apart from destroying his own credibility and exposing deep character flaws. No one would vote for him (not that he can run for a seat anymore) and no one would want to engage his legal services. And he’s lost the trust and respect of anyone (netizens and otherwise) who might have sought his blog for alternative views. Time to face the music and the facts.
Thanks suffernofools for pointing it out. Ironically, it reflects the deep affection some of us once had of him – doesn’t it?
suffernofols, why bother replying to tatum when the cowards here in TOC have started censoring his posts. I’ve been monitoring this.
Moderating Editor: Nice try tatum-using-another-nick, we have removed all your posts after careful consideration and find that your comments do not add to the discourse but incite anger or annoyance instead, apologies.
Gopalan Nair is an insult to all American Citizens
GN is really mad. He would have been sued to his 2nd bankruptcy if LKY is American.
What he did should be reported to the Californian Bar Council or whatever is the equivalent. How can such a guy practise law? He lacks decency and common sense.
i am so disappointed that it’s a hoax! wanted to celebrate but now have to postpone it!
I just wonder how would people react if the target of his hoax is someone who is “the face of opposition politics”? Would they be so kind to him?
Although he is not “the face of opposition politics”, he is a face associated with some oppositions figures.
Mr Nair exposes the vulnerability and fears of the people. Some people are afraid their guardian might die, then when he didn’t die, the people are afraid the guardian will punish them.
Maybe its time for our dear leaders to start briefing us on the future departure of our current global economic advisor cum global sales minister, and introduce to us more new Senior Ministers and Minister Mentors.
TOC I am a new comer to your BLOG and I SALUTE you for your responsible and professional reporting.I definitely will be a regular.
We were all concerned about this but did the mainstream media do anything? Nope…. they choose to keep low. Only thing which seems to suggest that MM is alive is that he’s traveling overseas. Other than that they fail to acknowledge anything. At least they are smart enough to at least let people like us who know the hoax that MM is alive and kicking to travel overseas.
GN never meant any harm in my perspective and what he just shows that we cannot trust everything we read or see. We have to use our own judgment and make our own choices. Do you think everything we read in the Straits time is true and accurate? Nope. Is everything we see on the news true and accurate? Nope. I personally have been a “witnessed” how the media reports. They selectively screen out information. Yes, they might not lie but they don’t want you to know some information.
I think Singaporeans who use the internet also take things too seriously without verifying information from various sources. Getting information is not an easy thing to do. Don’t depend on just one person for information. That reminds me… also don’t pin your hopes, dreams and lives on just one political party. If ever something really happens to LKY and the PAP, all hell will break loose. It’s time we slowly voted them off and spread the power to other parties so we have an even representative from different groups of people.
I agree that TOC has got more responsible journalistic qualities than TemasekReview. TR thrives on sensational reporting to attract readership, something which the Chinese press here also indulges. Tha”s for the baser element of society.
Mother of all idiots
Political Salesman,
Many Alternative Blog readers were unhappy because of another reason. I cannot say. Not diplomaticoly correct u know?
I hope no more such stupidity again especially when election is drawing near. People who are ready to give atlernative parties the supporting votes might think this is really a cheap joke and than decided to cast an impulsive vote to PAP out of sympathy. A good leader should always think and verify informations before they talk or act. It has impact on shares and economy out of simple joke like this and words are sacred if you want to be a statesman.
What GN did was planned and methodical.
I’m assuming he did it to goad the MIW to impose more restrictions on Websites that reports on Singapore’s socio-political-economic issues. On top of getting more eyeballs on his blogpost.
The victims, will be us Singaporeans. Already, we have a one-day cooldown before voting day; I shudder the thought, the MIW will use GN as an excuse to impose an internet media blackout during the GE while the MSM continue to report the MIW in a favourable light. Starve of information, the blind Singaporeans who have voted the MIW in the past will continue to vote the MIW again. And people like GN will have a good laugh at our own expense.
I would understand completely if this ‘moral outrage’ were purely strategic, i.e. meant to dissociate TOC and other bloggers from Gopalan Nair, in order to show that the online community can indeed self-regulate. It’s another thing, however, if one claims that there should be genuine indignation at Gopalan Nair’s hoax. I think that’s just misplaced righteousness.
The arguments for the Hoax being ‘despicable’ are far from convincing:
To say that this will give the Government more ammunition to regulate is perhaps true… but this Hoax is but a drop in the ocean of past online ‘incidents’ the Government could draw on to justify Internet censorship. The recent Facebook racism incident involving three youths, for example, surely serves as a far more convenient pretext for regulation.
To say that the TOC staff wasted valuable time/effort verifying Nair’s claims may be a legitimate ground of frustration for the TOC staff themselves, but not a cause for common outrage among netizens. First, TOC (and others) chose to take Nair’s claims as credible enough to be worth further consideration — despite his notoriously dodgy reputation and behaviour. Second, the time/effort expended in fact-checking is simply part-and-parcel of being a credible news-source. It’s rather odd to hold yourself out to be reliable, but then to complain about the ‘unnecessary’ hassle of having to verify rumours heard through the grapevine (and face it, ‘rumours’ were what they were).
To say that Nair’s actions undermined the trust on which the Internet community is founded… is idealistic bunk. This ‘community’ is a rather flimsy one, once you expand it beyond the circle of bloggers/netizens who’re personally acquainted with one another (which you’d need to do to include Nair’s blog, surely). The only commonality among this diffuse, variegated group of netizens would be one subject-matter (i.e. local politics). But are we more inclined to believe someone just because he/she blogs about Singaporean politics and current affairs? No, our trust is more discerning than that. So unless one trusted Nair to begin with (if so, volenti non fit injuria), this argument fails too.
To say that it’s ‘tasteless’ to joke about any person’s health, or to insinuate that he’s dying, might be true… but again, is not basis for moral censure. Taste, after all, is subjective — as demonstrated by the countless, tiresome jokes here on TOC itself involving weak puns on words like “PAP” and “Lee”. Besides, as Will.I.Am and F15 point out above, the Hoax was satirical, and had a point. So it cannot be dismissed as entirely valueless speech, or a malicious lie solely intended to deceive.
So, again, I fail to see any bona fide reason for outrage.
MM Lee is confident of PAP holding on to power for the next 10 years, probably because he estimate his life expectancy till 2020. After that he will rise from the grave and destroy any political opponents.
That leaves some time for the 3rd generation Lee to get some experience and consider taking up an apprenticeship for the family business.
there is nothing wrong with his joke on lky’s heart attack. only fools will take notice of this and have only themselves to blame. please, it is not the joke but those who read it and interpret it.
anyway, have you guys heard the story about the first emperor of china upon his death. his death was covered up by the court officials for fear of disorder.
think about lky and the first emperor of china. I guess you will never know the truth in uniquely singapore, suckers! good luck seeking the truth.
Hi La Nausee,
Thanks for your lengthy comment.
First, your conflation between “satire” and “hoax” is not entirely accurate. Satire aims to use irony or caricature to advance political commentary, whereas a hoax is a deliberate attempt to make the public believe something is actually true, despite knowing that it isn’t.
While the latter can also be used to make a political statement, and comedians and journalists do occasionally rely on them, hoaxes do have a substantially different practical impact on the public. Consider, for instance, if the hoax had indeed been more artfully crafted, and did indeed cause the stock market on Monday to crash. Or consider a comedian who, in attempting to show up the weaknesses of airport security, sneaked in an explosive looking device through customs and triumphally revealed it mid-flight. I do allow that hoaxes do attempt sometimes to satirize, but these need to be distinguished from those that purely seek to mislead.
In that vein, you seem to be taking Mr Nair’s assertion that he was making a valid political point at face value. Read his second post again and vet for consistency of reasoning, I think you will find it wanting and come to the conclusion that the intelligent political point he wanted to make was a piece of ex post facto reasoning after the reactions to his initial post got out of control.
Next, while you’ve done a very good job of trying to find loopholes in our particular reasons for outrage, the fact remains that there is something viscerally offensive about being lied to. Tally up the responses of netizens excoriating Mr Nair, and you will find that a good majority of netizens feel this way.
You are, however, correct in pointing out the thinness of the conception of community. This is something that I personally have an interest in defining and strengthening. Read our editorial again in that light.
Your point on the three youths providing the government as much of a basis of regulation as Mr Nair is misguided. If you’ve followed most of the government’s discourse rationalizing why online regulation is necessary during the AIMS debate, you’d realize that Mr Nair’s hoax is precisely the sort of mischief the government is most concerned about using political internet laws to prevent.
Which brings me to the point you raised at the start of your post, that of strategy. In the long run, in the context of community building and defining not only internally but to the offline world that receives its news through the print press (see the ST article that came of this and envision what else it could have looked like if the online community’s outrage wasn’t vocalized), that is indeed the name of the game.
la nausee,
You said,”To say that it’s ‘tasteless’ to joke about any person’s health, or to insinuate that he’s dying, might be true… but again, is not basis for moral censure.” Are you sure you meant to say that? Or was it a hoax? Or just satire?
papsupporter,
I don’t think GN helped in unveiling the truth.
Bottom line is the opposition, if you can call it one, has to up its game.
Interesting that the only blog defending Gopalan Nair is Temasek Review… What is the link between the two?
“To say that this will give the Government more ammunition to regulate is perhaps true…”
How plausible is this scenario? Please understand I merely wish to gain an appreciation of the probability of such an event occuring. It is very important to us - can anyone please share with me how likely this scenario is?
Thank You.
SD (Internet Liaison officer of the Brotherhood – sponsored jointly by the ICG & The Underground Confederation of Gamers)
If anyone went to GN’s website, they would have seen comments that some people were poised to do some stock trading based the hoax. I would not be surprised if someone actually did.
As mentioned by above posters, since GN always wanted to portray his blog as a serious one, this hoax basically means we shall now have to take everything we read from his site with a pinch (or maybe a truckload) or salt.
GN’s website has devolved into a joke site. (His latest post does little to discourage this notion). Lets move on.
DS76
I just had a look at GN website. GN is the joke.
Indeed, time to move on.
One of his older posts even gives out the contact details of one of his arresting officer. A person whose “crime” if it be such was that of being “unfortunate” enough to be arrowed to be one of the persons who had to take in this guy as his job.
Reminds me of those toilet advertisements advertising free sex where one puts down the phone number of someone he/she hates as the provider. How juvenile can one get.
Social media, the touted alternative to traditional MSM, has had its own assassin in Gopalan Nair. I do applaud TOC for taking a strong stance on this and making it clear that it is no laughing matter.
The many commentators on this topic alone goes to show how much vibrancy there is but yet at the same time the credibility of many valid views may sadly be clouded over by the silly (if I may add extremelt stupid) act by GN.
I had commented earlier that some online portals posted GN’s hoax as truth and the pervasiveness of the spread of online information is indeed amazing.
To find out how much journalistic investigation took place before a particular portal published the article, I ventured to ask the editor of A Paskistan News to remove the article as it was a hoax. The process took me 3 whole days and multiple exchanges and requests to show proof (that it was a hoax and that MM was alive and kicking) to get the main article deleted. If only they spent the same amount of effort verifying the story in the first place…
my views
he does not understand how much respect ordinary men and women have for the Minister Mentor.
ha ha ha..who are the ordinary folks? well beside the rc and the overpaid scholars/civil servants? when you mentioned ordinary do you meant those who earned $8000/month and above?
as for gopolan himself..i have no comment..he do his creativity i do mine…
KoPiO,
Looks like a lot of people will be more careful when they read articles posted by A Pakistan News in the future.
This is the kind of acts opposition must avoid at all cost! Low class!
http://forums.delphiforums.com/3in1kopitiam/messages?msg=29892.1
Coffeeshop Chit Chat – On Gopalan’s hoax and PAP hoaxes Subscribe
From: Guestman551 8:47 am
To: ALL (1 of 1)
29892.1
From an anonymous commenter in Singapore Dissident blog:
Has Gopalan’s hoax hurt anybody? Why it is despicable? Is it more despicable than the following hoaxes perpetuated by the Lee govt.?
That the CPF will see through Singaporeans’ retirement. That HDB flats are affordable. That foreigners work harder than Singaporeans. That the GRC system was implemented to ensure minority representation in Parliament.
That there are no poverty and homelessness in Singapore. That ministers’ salaries are meant to ensure that only the best talents enter govt. service. That the two child policy was good. That there is no white horse platoons in SAF.
That opposition like JBJ and CSJ are out to destroy Singapore. That Mas Selamat escaped through the toilet. Many of us do not even acknowledge these are hoaxes because we have swallowed hook and line these lies over the years via the MSM
http://theinkhorn.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/gopalan-nair-why-so-serious/
Moderating Editor: This is a good take on things from a step back!
GN thinks its funny. I dont know. Dont know enough of the politics between him and the Lee’s. I do know however when the laison officer ask these type of questions. It is usually trouble. It is always trouble when they start asking questions concerning gahmens. It means they dont trust them. They will be preparing a plan B. That means they are planning another round of pull out’s. The last one was bad enuff. If there is another one everything will be in Malaysia and nothing will be in Singapore.