TODAY: Police quiz Gomez again

WP man was asked to give 'detailed responses', PAP MP Inderjit Singh interviewed

LOH CHEE KONG
cheekong@newstoday.com.sg


PROBE: Mr Gomez (right) was yesterday asked to elaborate on questions that were raised during his first interview on Sunday. PAP MP Inderjit Singh was also interviewed by the police.

THE Workers' Party's (WP) James Gomez was summoned by the police for the second time yesterday, as investigations into his alleged offences of criminal intimidation and providing false information to the Elections Department gathered pace.

The People's Action Party's (PAP) MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Mr Inderjit Singh, was also interviewed by the police.

Yesterday, Mr Gomez arrived at the Police Cantonment Complex at about 9.30am and emerged from its premises some five hours later.

The researcher, 40, later told TODAY that he had received a call from the police late on Monday night for him to go down to assist in investigations.

"They were essentially elaborations and clarifications to questions asked in the first round (on Sunday). They wanted more detailed responses," he said.

According to Mr Gomez, the police also requested a copy of his minority certificate application form, which he gave them along with the letter of authorisation and submission that would enable a candidate to authorise another person to collect and submit the form on his behalf.

Mr Gomez was stopped at the airport on Sunday while leaving for Sweden to resume work at Idea International. His passport was seized and he was questioned for eight hours. While he was willing to cooperate fully with the investigations, he took the opportunity to convey to the police his concerns about his financial and work obligations.

Due to start work in Sweden yesterday, Mr Gomez managed to obtain a letter from the police to explain his predicament to his employers. But he had other concerns, such as getting his passport back so that he could get back to work.

"While I am involved in this, I need to get on with other aspects of my life as well," he said.

He added: "My ticket transiting from Bangkok to Sweden was a non-refundable ticket. And I run the risk of not receiving income for the days that I'm not at work. I also have bills and rents to pay in Sweden because I have an apartment there."

Mr Gomez said that the police were unable to put a time frame on the investigations. Nonetheless, they told him they would look into his concerns.

When contacted, the police said that the second interview was part of "the process of reviewing the evidence and interviewing all relevant persons". It added that it had also interviewed Mr Singh, who declined to comment when contacted by TODAY.

The MP, who is embarking on his third term following the elections, had issued a public statement during the height of the controversy on a conversation he had with Mr Gomez on Nomination Day. According to Mr Singh, Mr Gomez had told him then that the whole episode was a "wayang" (show).

On Monday, WP chief Low Thia Khiang was interviewed by the police at his office for more than three hours, while the party's chairman Sylvia Lim also gave a statement on Sunday night.

Officials from the Elections Department, the complainant, have also been interviewed.

The controversy started when Mr Gomez claimed to have submitted his application form for a minority candidate certificate to the Elections Department.

The department disputed the claim and made public its evidence such as security video footage and a transcript of a telephone conversation Mr Gomez had with a department official.

The Elections Department lodged a complaint against Mr Gomez on Polling Day last Saturday, and police are investigating the case as alleged offences of criminal intimidation and giving false information.

Though he did not submit his form, Mr Gomez was reported to have warned Elections Department officials of "consequences" when told that they did not have his certificate.

Speaking to 938Live, lawyer Edmund Pereira explained what might constitute "criminal intimidation".

"Whenever a person threatens another with injury - either to his own person or to that person's reputation - or to his property, like for example, I'm going to burn your house down, and causes that other person to be put in alarm, or fear," he said.

Mr Gomez is part of the WP team led by Ms Lim that challenged the PAP in Aljunied GRC. The contest ended with the PAP team, fronted by Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, winning 56.1 per cent of the vote.

Channel NewsAsia: Elections Dept asks WP to name NCMP from its Aljunied team

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006

By Dominique Loh

The Elections Department confirms it has asked the Workers' Party to name a member of its Aljunied GRC team to be declared as a Non-Constituency MP.

Either Goh Meng Seng, James Gomez, Sylvia Lim, Mohd Rahizan Yaacob or Tan Wui-Hua could be named as the next NCMP.

The party members are to meet on Tuesday night at their headquarters to make that decision.

The Parliamentary Elections Act allows a maximum of 3 NCMPs to be declared, minus the number of opposition MPs voted in.

Choosing the NCMP is determined by the highest percentage of votes garnered by a candidate among the opposition parties in descending order.

Since two opposition MPs were voted into Parliament after this year's election, the Act allows for another opposition MP to be inducted into Parliament as a NCMP.

The Workers' Party have until 15 May to make their decision and inform the Returning Officer. - CNA/ir

TODAY: NCMP seat to go to WP?

THE Elections Department said yesterday it has offered the role of Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) to the best performing loser in this General Election but did not reveal to whom it was offered.

The offer will most likely go to the Workers' Party (WP), whose team in Aljunied GRC obtained 43.92 per cent of votes. The party can choose one from among its five-member team to take up the NCMP seat.

If the WP rejects the seat, the Elections Department will then offer it to the second top loser, the Singapore Democratic Alliance's Steve Chia. - CHANNEL NEWSASIA

TODAY: Gomez investigation continues

JASMINE YIN
jasmine.yin@newstoday.com.sg



THE police have confirmed that they are investigating Mr James Gomez (picture) from the Workers' Party (WP) for alleged offences of criminal intimidation and providing false information to the Elections Department.

Several persons, including Elections Department officials, Mr Gomez and WP chairman Sylvia Lim, have been interviewed, but "no arrest has been made and no persons detained in police custody", said the police in a media statement released yesterday.

"The police are in the process of reviewing the evidence and interviewing all relevant persons."

This probe follows a complaint lodged by the Elections Department against Mr Gomez on Polling Day last Saturday.

The 40-year-old researcher became embroiled in controversy during the nine days of hustings when the Elections Department disputed - using evidence such as security video footage and a transcript of a telephone conversation he had with a department official - his claim about having submitted his minority candidate certificate to the department.

Late on Sunday afternoon, Mr Gomez was stopped at the airport where he was planning to catch a flight to Sweden to resume work at Idea International - a job he had taken up just a few weeks ago. He was asked to assist in investigations pertaining to this complaint and acceded to that request.

Emerging from the Police Cantonment Complex just past midnight after some six hours of questioning, he told the waiting media that his passport had been seized and impounded indefinitely.

Mr Gomez was part of a WP team led by Ms Lim that challenged the People's Action Party (PAP) in Aljunied GRC.

The contest ended with the PAP team, which is fronted by Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, winning 56.1 per cent of the votes.

Mr Gomez told TODAY he had not been called for further police questioning, but that he is "willing to cooperate with the investigations in any way possible".

When asked if he had been in contact with WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang and Ms Lim after he was released from questioning, Mr Gomez would only say: "I've been in touch with my party colleagues."

He said that the police had not reverted to him on his request for a letter that he could use to explain the situation to his employers at Stockholm-based think-tank Idea International, who are expecting him to report for work this week.

"I'll just wait, but I have informed them of the situation," he said.

While investigations are now underway, an online petition has been set up to protest against the probe on Mr Gomez.

Straits Times: WP offered NCMP seat, party to decide this week

TAKE IT OR NOT?: Ms Lim confirmed the Elections Department's offer was received yesterday.

THE Workers' Party (WP) has been offered the Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) seat in Parliament, because its Aljunied GRC team was the top scorer among defeated opposition candidates.

However, it has yet to decide if it would accept the offer from the Elections Department.

WP chairman Sylvia Lim told The Straits Times yesterday that a decision will be reached by this week. Ms Lim led the Aljunied team, which got 43.9 per cent of the valid votes cast in the GRC.

In the letter of offer issued to the WP yesterday, the Elections Department asked the party to propose who among the five Aljunied candidates would take up the NCMP post. It was given seven days to submit a name.

Under the NCMP scheme introduced in 1984, the highest-scoring opposition losers are admitted to Parliament if there are fewer than three elected opposition MPs.

An NCMP does not represent any constituency but can take part in all debates. However, such MPs cannot vote on major issues such as no-confidence motion, amendments to the Constitution, the Budget and other financial Bills.

If WP turns down the offer, the NCMP seat will be offered to the next best loser: Mr Steve Chia who received 39.6 per of the votes cast in single-seat Chua Chu Kang.

But the former NCMP said last night he would not take it up.

"Why should I?" said Mr Chia, who had announced that he was quitting politics after he lost in his third attempt at the polls.

He urged WP to accept the offer, as the chosen MP would gain from the higher public profile as well as the experience of debating in Parliament. He was an NCMP for the past five years.

But he cautioned: "It has been proven that the NCMP seat is not effective in winning elections."

However, Ms Lim, whom he expects to be the next NCMP, may fare better, he added.

SUE-ANN CHIA

Straits Times: Gomez saga: Police quiz WP chief

They wanted to know why Gomez applied for a minority certificate, says Low Thia Khiang

BY PEH SHING HUEI & KEN KWEK

POLICE officers yesterday interviewed Workers' Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang at his Hougang office for more than three hours in connection with the James Gomez affair.

Two plain clothes officers who emerged from the Hougang Town Council office at 6.25pm told The Straits Times they were there to interview the Hougang MP-elect but did not provide other details.

Police said in a separate statement that they were investigating "a complaint from the Elections Department against Mr James Gomez for alleged offences of criminal intimidation and providing false information".

"Police have interviewed several persons, including Elections Department officials, Mr James Gomez and Ms Sylvia Lim," the statement said of the probe by the Criminal Investigation Department.

Mr Gomez has been at the centre of a controversy with the department over his non-submission of a minority candidate certificate.

Mr Low confirmed that police had a 3pm appointment with him to provide a statement as a witness in the case.

"They wanted to know what I told James as secretary-general of the party," he told The Straits Times.

"For instance, why he went to apply for a minority certificate. And also what I previously said to the press - that this was a mistake, that it was not something James purposely did, and it was not an intentional kind of thing."

He also told the officers that he had made it known previously that it has been standing practice in the party that non-Chinese candidates likely to be standing for election must apply for a minority certificate.

He told members "long ago" to do this, and he had also said the same thing before the 2001 General Election.

"There was also an election seminar which I held some time last year," he said, referring to an internal party event. "I told them, and James Gomez was present, that all of you (non-Chinese) should go and apply."

He said the complaint by the department against Mr Gomez was possibly for "criminal intimidation of a public servant".

Mr Gomez became a focal point of last week's election campaign, after claiming he submitted a minority candidate certificate to the department. When a security camera recording showed he did not hand in his form, he said he was "distracted" and apologised. But People's Action Party leaders said the apology was inadequate.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng issued an 11-page statement detailing how Mr Gomez "stage-managed" the incident to damage the Government and discredit the Elections Department.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew called Mr Gomez a liar and challenged him and the WP leadership to sue him if that was untrue.

Mr Gomez was stopped from leaving the country on Sunday afternoon and taken to the Police Cantonment Complex where he was questioned for nearly eight hours. He was heading back to Sweden to resume work at the Stockholm-based think-tank, International IDEA.

Yesterday, Mr Gomez appeared relaxed when he visited the Hougang Town Council office with Ms Lim, who is the WP chairman. He said he was taking things in stride and waiting for the next development. He is unable to travel as his passport has been impounded and has not been told when or whether police intend to interview him again.

Ms Lim, who led the WP's team which included Mr Gomez that contested Aljunied GRC, was also interviewed on Sunday for about three hours as a witness in the case.

Mr Low said he was not aware of any other WP members being called up by the police.

The police statement yesterday said that "no arrest has been made and no persons detained in police custody. The police are in the process of reviewing the evidence and interviewing all relevant persons".

shpeh@sph.com.sg

kenkwek@sph.com.sg

TODAY: Young candidates a 'breakthrough' for WP

Low says Workers' Party will continue to attract young talent to contest in the next GE


ANSLEY NG
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES: Yesterday, Workers' Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang was at his Hougang constituency to thank voters for their support.

ANSLEY NG
ansley@newstoday.com.sg

CONDUCTING a post mortem for reporters after a victory parade in Hougang yesterday, Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang said that the WP's ability to find enough "capable" young candidates had been the key to the party's performance in the General Election (GE).

And despite winning only one seat in Parliament, the WP - the best performing Opposition party - scored more than 30 per cent of the votes in all the three Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) and four Single Member Constituencies (SMC) it contested.

Said Mr Low: "The breakthrough for the Workers' Party is that we were able to field capable young candidates. We could get the support from young voters."

Mr Low also singled out his lineup in Ang Mo Kio GRC for praise.

The six-man team - all first time candidates with five who are no older than 30 years old - managed to win 33.87 per cent of the votes against a People's Action Party (PAP) team helmed by PrimeMinister Lee Hsien Loong.

That showing, Mr Low said, demonstrated that there was "a level of trust" in his party. He also said that the party would keep attracting young talent, and would work on it immediately.

"The election is a politicising process - we politicise and raise the awareness of the young. (Whether) that awareness level will translate into the person joining a party or (becoming) just a supporter, we do not know," he said yesterday.

But Mr Low did reveal that some young people, "who are interested to join us" either as volunteers or just supporters, have approached his party. The profiles of spectators at his party's rallies also helped him gauge the WP's appeal to young Singaporeans.

"I noticed that there is a sizeable number of younger Singaporeans who are attending our rallies," he added. "When I speak, they listen."

"I also got feedback from party members that some of them (young Singaporeans) were prepared to join us during GE 2006 or after," Mr Low added.

Meanwhile, WP chairman Sylvia Lim confirmed that the party would be back to contest the Aljunied GRC again, despite the loss.

Her team had garnered 44 per cent of the votes at last Saturday's polls, losing the constituency to the PAP team helmed by Foreign Minister George Yeo.

Said Ms Lim: "It has been quite a gruelling campaign. And after that we will plan to work towards the next GE, probably in terms of the groundwork we intend to do and we'll probably carry on to work in Aljunied.

"Hopefully there won't too much redrawing of boundaries the next round." - ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LEE CHING WERN

---

LOWSPEAKS

Hougang residents want and need upgrading but they have character. If you threaten them to replace Low Thia Khiang with upgrading, it doesn't mean they would do it. Every time I see (SM Goh), I will ask him for the money. I will tell him: "This is a promise you made." He can't go back on his word. My priority - if I get the money - is to provide lifts that stop on every floor.

- Workers' Party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang

TODAY: James Gomez under police investigation

LEE CHING WERN
chingwern@newstoday.com.sg



WORKERS' Party candidate James Gomez (picture) is under investigation by the police.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr Gomez was at the airport to catch a flight when he was stopped by immigration officials. Police officers later took him to the Police Cantonment Complex where he gave a statement. His passport and boarding pass were confiscated.

Mr Gomez left the complex after midnight. He told reporters: "I remain relaxed as usual, you know, and cooperate with the police and see how I can help them."

Asked whether charges would be filed, he said: "No, er, I don't know and I can't answer that. But all I can say (is) I've given a statement ... that took me six hours to put together."

A police spokesman told TODAY that they are investigating a "complaint" by the Elections Department against Mr Gomez.

During the election campaign last week, Mr Gomez had blamed the department for losing his minority certificate form, warning them of "consequences".

After video footage of the incident emerged, proving that Mr Gomez had not submitted his form, he apologised, saying that he had been distracted due to his busy schedule. He was, however, still asked to give a fuller explanation by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, who said that Mr Gomez's actions did not seem to be an innocent mistake.

Yesterday morning, Mr Gomez went on a "thank you" parade around Aljunied GRC with his party colleagues to thank residents for their support after Saturday's polls, which the WP team lost to the PAP by 12 percentage points.

Before 4pm yesterday, Mr Gomez rushed to the airport to catch a flight to Sweden, where he works as a policy analyst. At the airport, he was stopped by an immigration officer who asked him to wait in order for them to "do some checks", said Mr Gomez, to TODAY.

"They took me to a corridor and asked me to sit on a chair and wait. My passport and boarding pass had been taken from me," he said.

According to the WP candidate, a police official had told him that he was being investigated for a case of criminal intimidation. At about 5pm, Mr Gomez was escorted by three police officers to the Police Cantonment Complex, where CID officers interviewed him.

Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim was also seen arriving at the Police Cantonment Complex shortly after 8pm. She emerged from the building after three hours at 11pm.

She said she was called in to make a statement as a witness and she did not see Mr Gomez. The police report by the Elections Department was dated yesterday, she revealed.

"We will try our best to cooperate within what we have to do under the law," she said. "The police have a duty to do, and we should follow the due process."

When asked if the party would issue a statement on the latest development, Ms Lim said: "I don't think in that sense it is a party issue, so we'll have to see."

Straits Times: S'poreans willing to give opposition a go: Low

ELECTION 06

WP chief says party did well despite many first-timers

BY KEN KWEK

THE election results show that Singaporeans are willing to give the opposition a chance and have provided the Workers' Party with an incentive to continue engaging the public - especially the young, party chief Low Thia Khiang said yesterday.

Assessing the results a day after being re-elected to a fourth term in Hougang, he said the 'greatest breakthrough' for his party was in putting up a credible team of young candidates, and getting the support of young Singaporeans.

This was critical to helping in the development of the opposition as a whole, reversing its decline in the past few years, he said.

'If the opposition did not have some credible new faces, there would be no real competition. And younger voters would have found it difficult to connect with the opposition. This would affect our future prospects,' Mr Low told reporters over a lunch of Teochew food after a three-hour tour of 'thank you' tour of Hougang.

He hoped that the younger members of the WP team who contested the election would serve as an encouragement to other young professionals to join the ranks of the opposition.

Having learnt 'how to fight an election, how to manoeuvre and manage on the ground', they would be able to pass on these skills to newcomers in the future, he added.

He said the WP did well compared to the 2001 election despite most candidates being first-timers. Its share of the vote at this election stood at 38.4 per cent.

"There's a level of trust in the WP though the candidates are new."

He highlighted the performance of the WP's Ang Mo Kio team which contested against the team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and rookie candidate Lian Chin Way who stood in Nee Soon Central against PAP veteran Ong Ah Heng.

"The Ang Mo Kio team was a very young team, and yet, against the Prime Minister, they secured 33 per cent of the vote, which is remarkable to me. So yes, people have sent a signal."

Mr Low had cast the election as a referendum on the future of the opposition and had asked voters to signal that they wanted opposition politics to stay.

At the end of a separate procession in Aljunied, party chairman Sylvia Lim said similarly that the WP achieved a respectable and meaningful overall percentage.

This would enable the party to attract more credible candidates in the future.

"There is visible support for the WP, and of course, I think people would like to join organisations where they see some potential."

The future of politics and how young Singaporeans viewed politics was a theme for both the WP and the PAP in the election.

Mr Low observed that many young Singaporeans had attended WP rallies.

Their concerns about policies which affected their livelihoods might have contributed to the rise in votes for the opposition.

"If you look at the percentage, especially in Ang Mo Kio GRC, I believe the ground was not as sweet as the PAP thought.

"I think the younger generation do worry about their future. Some of them who voted for the PAP in 2001 have their own families now and they realise some policies are affecting their quality of life."

He also said the Government should do more to encourage young Singaporeans and cited the Internet as being a place which contained "sharp" and "creative" ideas from young Singaporeans. The Government should not over-regulate the use of the Internet for political reasons, he said.

"You want to stop them from doing that because of political reasons, because it can be a political threat? Come on. We believe in Singapore being a globalised city, so please don't do that."

As Mr Low made his way through the constituency on the back of a lorry yesterday, residents cheered and drivers tooted their horns.

A gentlemanly fight

'I think the Prime Minister has been gentlemanly in this contest, when he engaged the Ang Mo Kio team. This is the right spirit and the right direction for Singapore.

'We should move towards a more mature democracy in which the rules of engagement are more civilised, rather than look at each other as enemies.

'Whether you are from the opposition or the ruling party, there must be some common platform and goal for everyone to reach, for the good of the nation, for the betterment of society, for a better life. The WP is prepared to meet the PAP on those platforms.'

- WP CHIEF LOW THIA KHIANG, responding to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who said the WP put up a slate of credible candidates and thanked the party for giving voters a choice in Ang Mo Kio GRC

Channel NewsAsia: WP wins Hougang, loses contests in 3 GRCs and 3 SMEs

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006

By Dominique Loh


Opposition leaders Low Thia Khiang (L) and Sylvia Lim (R) of Workers' Party

SINGAPORE : The Workers' Party had the best showing among the opposition parties in the General Election 2006.

It garnered 16.34 percent of the valid votes - a sharp improvement over its 2.7 percent showing in the 2001 elections.

The party challenged three Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and four Single Member Constituencies (SMCs), but was only able to win its stronghold of Hougang, held by incumbent Low Thia Khiang.

Despite having lost all their contests, save one, the Workers' Party teams were cheered by supporters when they turned up their gathering centre in Yio Chu Kang Stadium.

Its Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang retained Hougang with 62 percent of the valid votes, despite the PAP's pledge of a $100 million upgrading plan for the constituency if its candidate Eric Low was elected.

The WP team that contested Aljunied GRC had the best showing among all the opposition parties, garnering 43.9 percent of the votes.

Ms Sylvia Lim, Workers' Party candidate for Aljunied GRC, said: "I think the showing is a credible one, of course in your heart you sometimes harbour hopes that you might win but we know that winning a GRC is not an easy thing, so I think we are quite satisfied."

During the hustings, the Aljunied team was at the centre of a controversy involving the non-submission of a minority candidate certificate form by one of its members, James Gomez.

He has been accused of discrediting the Elections Department by claiming that he had submitted the certificate but was caught on security camera putting the form away in his bag.

Over at East Coast, its team bowed out to the PAP slate - taking only 36 percent of the votes.

And its team for Ang Mo Kio GRC received only 33.3 percent of the votes - losing to the PAP team anchored by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Despite the losses, Mr Low Thia Khiang is keeping up a brave front.

He said: "For the Workers' Party with the results and the election, even with 33 percent in Ang Mo Kio, it shows that we have a bright future and with the renewal process it's carrying on, I believe we are on the right track."

In other single seats, the Workers' Party failed to win Joo Chiat - with its candidate losing to the PAP's Chan Soo Sen with only 35 percent of the votes.

Its candidate Lian Chin Way secured only 34.6 percent of the votes in Nee Soon Central, losing to PAP's Ong Ah Heng.

Its candidate for Nee Soon East, Dr Poh Lee Guan, also lost to the PAP's candidate Ho Peng Kee - taking only 31.2 percent of the valid votes. - CNA/de/ls