Posted June 17, 2014 22:48:21
A blogger who called for transparency over how Singapore's retirement funds are invested says he's surprised to be sued for criminal defamation by the country's Prime Minister.
Roy Ngerng has written hundreds of articles about what he sees as injustice and unfairness in the country.
But his blogs about Singapore's compulsory superannuation, its state savings scheme called the Central Provident Fund, attracted a strong response and he is now facing two years in jail if he is found guilty.
'Currently the investment funds are earning 6.5 to 16 per cent. But for Singaporeans with retirement funds, we are only earning 2.5 to 4 per cent,' he told PM's Peter Lloyd.
'So my argument is that if investment firms are earning such a high interest and Singaporeans are earning such low interest, then there must be some transparency and accountability as to how our retirement funds are being used.'
Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is chairman of the CPF and took personal offence at the call for more transparency.
His lawyer says the article accused the Prime Minister of 'criminal misappropriation'.
Mr Ngerng immediately removed the offending post, apologised, and offered Mr Lee $5,000 in damages.
But the offer was dismissed as 'derisory'.
Mr Ngerng says he was surprised he was then sued for defamation.
'Last year they came up with Media Development Authority licensing rule, where they say that if the government is not agreeable with any article that you put up, they will ask you to take it down or, and to pay a performance bond of SGD$50,000,' he said.
'So I expected that at some point I will be subjected to that rule, to have to take it down but to be sued is beyond my current expectations.
'I would rather the government engage citizens or the citizens who are asking them key questions on the retirement funds to actually let us see the transparency reports and to engage us in conversation.
'Then we can then decide, based on the information that we know, we think that these are the solutions that should be done.
'I think it's better that, instead of the government telling us and scaring us.'
In Singapore, there's been strong public backing for Mr Ngerng's stand with 6,000 people turning up to support him at a public rally.
More than $100,000 has been raised through a crowd-sourcing platform online to pay Mr Ngerng's legal bills.
The first hearing is in July and Mr Ngerng is settling in for a long battle.
'I think Singaporeans are frustrated that for a very long time, for more than the past 10, 20 years, we have been giving the feedback to the government on the CPF, the retirement funds, and it has fallen on deaf ears,' he said.
'And the government hasn't responded as much as it should and the solutions that the people want have not been heard.
'So I think they see this as an opportunity for them to be able to speak up, perhaps using me as a platform, but to be able to at least have their voice heard.'
Mr Ngerng recently lost his job as a patient co-ordinator with a State hospital with the Minister for Health announcing his sacking.
Topics:law-crime-and-justice, government-and-politics, singapore, asia
No comments:
Post a Comment