Translated by Donaldson Tan
This is a non-verbatim translation of OMY.SG report 《沈克栋踢爆: 詹时中13年来少给13万捐款》 dated 21 December 2010.
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Mr Sin Kek Tong, Chairman of the Singapore People's Party
According to Singapore People’s Party (SPP) Chairman Mr Sin Kek Tong, Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir Mr Chiam See Tong has under-contributed to SPP funds for 13 years already.
The SPP constitution requires every SPP MP to contribute 10% of his MP allowance to the party. Mr Chiam’s short-fall amounts to at least S$130,000.
“Although Mr Chiam has made numerous contributions over the years, he still has to adhere to the party constitution. Our party constitution is very clear on this,” said Mr Sin.
He also added for the past 13 years, Mr Chiam has only contributed S$500 per month from his MP allowance. This amounts to annual contribution of S$6,000.
Mr Sin said that it is only natural for MPs to contribute funds to their own political party. He said that the People Action Party (PAP) MPs also do this.
Mr Lau Ping Sum, Executive Director of the PAP, confirms this. Every PAP MP contributes S$1,800 a month to the PAP which is equivalent to 13% of his MP allowance while PAP Ministers contribute a much higher quantum to the party fund.
However, Mr Lau stressed that the PAP did not make this a compulsory contribution.
Workers’ Party (WP) Chairman Sylvia Lim also said that WP does not compel its elected MPs to contribute to the party fund.
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Below is the original mandarin transcript from OMY.SG
沈克栋踢爆: 詹时中13年来少给13万捐款
人民党主席沈克栋踢爆，詹时中身为波东巴西议员，理应捐献10％议员津贴给党，但他13年来一直“少给”，至今已少给超过13万元！
人民党主席沈克栋（64岁）说，根据人民党章程，一名民选议员必须把议员津贴的10％捐献给党，但詹时中过去13年来却一直少给。
沈克栋说：“虽然詹时中这些年来对党作出很多捐献，但他必须依照章程。我们的党章程清楚写明这一点。”
沈克栋今早受访时说，过去13年来，詹时中身为党秘书长每月只捐献500元，一年只捐献6000元。
他表示，政党议员把津贴捐献给党是“理所当然”的。据他所知，人民行动党的议员都这么做。
人民行动党执行理事长刘炳森告诉《新报》，行动党议员一般上每月捐献1800元，也就是津贴的13％，而部长通常捐献更多，但捐献并非强制性的。
工人党主席林瑞莲受访时也曾说，工人党没强制旗下民选议员作出捐献。
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Read also: Issue of Chiam’s cash contributions to the SPP ‘has to be resolved’
Mr. Chiam must be a major threat to some one here… Why Mr Sin has to blow this whistle only at this time since this has happened for so long is up to everyone’s imagination…
Now the treachery begins!
He is an obvious govt mole, a scum to bring it up at this point!
His ‘justification’ is just crap of an excuse for his hidden agenda.
Mr Chiam See Tong told The New Paper “nobody is unhappy” over his contributions to the party. This possibly suggests that Mr Chiam’s financial under-contribution has been an open secret among party members for a long time.
Over the years Dr Chee has found out who will stand by him.
Mr Chiam is slowing learning that there are people in his team who might score an own goal.
To : Anony on December 22, 2010 at 14:28
This “government mole” and “scum” was Chiam most devoted prominent supporter in the Singapore Democratic party in the early 1990s. After Chiam quarrelled with Chee, he founded the Singapore People Party so that Chiam can be secretary general of a party when he left the SDP.
If Sin Kek Tong is a mole or scum, what is Chiam?
Sin’s attack on Chiam sparks speculation
Straits Times. By Kor Kian Beng
Dec 23, 2010
WHEN Singapore People’s Party (SPP) chairman Sin Kek Tong publicly attacked his leader Chiam See Tong this week for not giving more of his MP’s income to the party, the question on many minds was: Why?
Some in the opposition scene saw it as a move to shield himself from blame in knowingly letting Mr Chiam contribute less than the stipulated amount to the party coffers for 13 years.
Others viewed it as an attempt by Mr Sin to show other opposition parties that he is no pushover, as he sought to re-assert his claim to contest the Chua Chu Kang single-member constituency (SMC), which is being eyed by the Reform Party.
Mr Sin’s criticism of Mr Chiam centred on the amount the MP for Potong Pasir should contribute from his monthly MP’s allowance to the SPP.
An MP gets around $13,000 a month. Speaking to The New Paper, Mr Sin said the SPP’s Constitution requires an MP to contribute at least 10 per cent of this a month. He said Mr Chiam had contributed $500 monthly since 1997, and raised this amount to $1,000 earlier this year.
He also said he had raised the issue with Mr Chiam before but was unable to resolve it. Another reason he cited was that he wanted to promote transparency and accountability in the SPP and the opposition at large.
In an e-mail reply yesterday, Mr Chiam, the SPP’s secretary-general, said the dispute was an internal matter and had been resolved.
‘Our party’s priority right now is to campaign for the coming election,’ he added.
An opposition leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Sin’s aim in speaking out was to lay claim on Chua Chu Kang SMC as his potential battleground at the next general election, which is due by February 2012.
In 2008, the SPP and the National Solidarity Party (NSP) decided that Mr Sin would contest Chua Chu Kang while the NSP would contest the MacPherson SMC. But Mr Sin’s plans came under threat last year when the Reform Party announced that it too wanted to contest Chua Chu Kang.
When Mr Chiam and Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam began talks on a proposed alliance in June last year, Mr Chiam promised Mr Sin that he would fight for him to stand in Chua Chu Kang – in return for his support for the alliance, said the opposition leader.
But with the alliance talks now on the backburner, the opposition leader said Mr Sin decided to act – out of concern that he may be challenged on his claim to contest Chua Chu Kang, whose current MP is Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong.
Added the source: ‘Mr Sin is trying to show voters and other opposition parties that he is clean, above board and not a pushover.’
Mr Sin, who runs his own chemicals company and has contested five elections since 1988, yesterday dismissed these suggestions.
But his remarks on the Reform Party’s interest in Chua Chu Kang are telling. He told The Straits Times yesterday that it should give way to him in Chua Chu Kang, arguing that he has been doing the groundwork, like going on walkabouts, since 2008.
He also said he was keen to contest Chua Chu Kang at the last three polls, but had to give way to NSP candidates.
This time, Mr Sin said, he was not going to budge and had told Mr Jeyaretnam that his priority was to stand in Chua Chu Kang, or Braddell Heights if it was carved out of Marine Parade GRC.
He said: ‘I don’t know why the Reform Party continues to say it wants to contest in Chua Chu Kang. I hope Kenneth will respect me and give in to me.’
When contacted, Mr Jeyaretnam said: ‘Where we contest will depend on the electoral boundaries report. But if Mr Sin decides to stand in Chua Chu Kang, he would have to take into account the risk of a three-cornered fight.’
Issue of Chiam’s cash contributions to the SPP ‘has to be resolved’
TODAY. Teo Xuanwei and Leong Wee Keat
Dec 22 2010
SINGAPORE – More cracks seem to be appearing within the Singapore People’s Party (SPP), with chairman Sin Kek Tong speaking out against secretary-general and Potong Pasir Member of Parliament Chiam See Tong over the latter’s monetary contributions to the party.
According to Mr Sin, 64, who is also the founder of the SPP, the party constitution stipulates that an elected MP has to contribute at least 10 per cent of his MP allowance to the party for day-to-day expenses and activities. Going by the annual allowance of about $190,000 for MPs last year, this would amount to close to $1,600 monthly.
Mr Sin was quoted by The New Paper yesterday as saying that Mr Chiam had been giving $500 a month since he was elected MP in 1997. It was only recently that Mr Chiam increased his contribution to $1,000 monthly, he added.
Asked why he only raised this issue at a time when the elections are looming, Mr Sin told MediaCorp: “This is something that has to be resolved. I believe it will be good overall for everybody, for Mr Chiam, for myself, for democracy.”
He added: “I am now so old … if I am still not lucky (at the polls) and fail again, then I’ll have no grounds to bring this up.”
Mr Chiam could not be contacted yesterday. But he reportedly told The New Paper “nobody is unhappy” over his contributions to the party.
Asked why he increased his contributions, he was quoted: “That is a party matter, an internal matter … I already paid.”
A rift between Mr Chiam and his former right-hand man Desmond Lim Bak Chuan had dominated news on the SPP in recent months.
After Mr Lim lost his post as SPP assistant secretary-general in August, Mr Chiam tried to remove him from the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) but the move was blocked by SDA leaders.
Last month, Mr Chiam also sent out a press release insisting that Mr Lim’s “position in SDA is not recognised by the SPP”.