Daily Lesson from Life 13 October 2008

"Lees awarded libel damages

High Court awarded PM $500,000 & MM $450,000 in damages in a defamation suit. Mon, Oct 13, 2008 The Straits Times

THE High Court has awarded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong $500,000 in damages and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew $450,000 in damages in a defamation suit that both won against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and several of its leaders.


Six of the party leaders and three other central executive committee members had, in 2006, apologised for the libel contained in articles in the party newsletter, The New Democrat, that same year. The Lees each received $170,000 from this group.

But the SDP, its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and central executive committee member Chee Siok Chin contested the suit. The High Court in 2006 found that they had defamed PM Lee and MM Lee."

Another win for MM Lee and PM Lee. The oppositions, for some reasons only known to them, kept taking this self-destructive path to bankruptcy by making libelous remarks about MM and PM. It is like they subscribed to the saying: Practice makes perfect! Though the truth is: Practice perfectly makes perfect!

Lessons for me are:

1. as leaders, we must be clean above all suspicion. We will have to defend our good names everything someone spread untruth about our conducts and behaviors that damaged the public goods and interests;

2. as anti-establishment elements, it must be done with a clear mind and focus. You just have to produce enough evidence that are good enough for the court of laws to function properly. Otherwise, you cannot just blamed that the judiciary is not impartial! That the establishment had the whole thing covered! It will be derelict to their duties!;

3. in this particular case, I really do not have much sympathy for the defendants. They have shown over time that they are not capable of being impartial whenever it comes to debate or discuss sensitive and controversial issues with MM and PM and the establishment. It increasingly looks like they are focused on being personal instead of really contesting for the greater good of the people.

While I do not really agreed with this tactics of suing any opponents, I do agreed that everyone has a right to rebuke and defense against untruth allegations.

May those who want to stand up against the establishment do it right in the future!