AWARE, The Straits Times exposed!
May 1st, 2009 | 
Author: By Yeo Toon Joo, Peter, who ceased to be a newspaperman when he found none left
[NOTE: this article was published with kind permission from the author]
The inordinately extensive and daily coverage of the AWARE leadership tussle exposes and underscores the provincialism of Singapore’s press, the Straits Times in particular.
Any thinking person, with a modicum of appreciation of what constitutes news, must marvel over the MSM’s (mainstream media) ability to ignore the real issues of the day in Singapore while focusing so much of its might on what was primarily a parochial affair.
Instead of enlightening Singaporeans on the pressing issues confronting us – events that beg many questions and offer much scope for enquiry – our national press chooses to rivet readers’ attention through a daily barrage of reporting on the dispute of a marginal organization, till recently, of no more than 100 or 200 feminists.
Has the subservient MSM lost its way, just as AWARE allegedly had lost its own focus and objective?
It is incredible that the full strength of the MSM’s reporting staff had failed so remarkably to ferret out the real issue of the leadership coup – until spoon-fed by the protagonist.
In the not too distant days of yore, one of my rookie reporters would surely have enlightened us, and quite early on, too.
The Straits Times’s willingness to manipulate, or be manipulated (wittingly so) by minority interest groups, is so clear for all to see: any image consultant worth his salt will promptly point out how the ST’s photo/news editor had deliberately selected for publication the most frumpy photos of the new committee while editing so dramatically the most flattering portraits of the old, ousted committee members.
Sure, concern over AWARE’s alleged espousal of the cause of lesbianism and homosexuality was at the crux of the crisis. But this is no longer the hot issue of the day.
Aren’t there other pressing national issues worth examining? Is Singapore so boring that a storm in a teacup should excite the brains of its handpicked leaders? Should the people who wield the mighty pen (in our newspaper offices) engage in such peevishness? And be so actively stoking it up into a national controversy?
If our national press is truly unable to focus on what concern more Singaporeans than what used to engage a handful of AWARE feminists, may I suggest that it thinks about real national issues and cease its tomfoolery. May I offer some news gathering tips to our wayward press:
· Stop conducting yourself like a mosquito press while holding – by default only – the mantle of a national daily
· Be serious and desist from propagating a modern version of yellow culture in your pages or so-called Life-style sections (“Bollywood’s newest hotties”! My foot! Only good upbringing constrain me from a rude retort; MITA whither art thou?)
· Stop flaunting semi-nude bodies in your life-style pages or flashing regularly the bust lines of dumb broads, and exalting the careers of those engaged in promoting the bacchanalian life styles of geeks and Zouks
· Desist from playing up the prating of some misguided, immature, amorous young reporter who boasts about squeezing some exposed part of a film or rock star (such a confession should, in a court of law, rightly result in a charge of criminal molestation)
· Tell us about the vast disparity of incomes in our so-called 1st World economic miracle and how suffering Singaporeans are coping with the recession
· Instead of giving him scant attention, tell us more and truthfully about Kenneth Jeyaretnam, JBJ’s second son and his dream for the Reform Party. What about his brother Philip?
· Tell us also about the millions being frittered away everyday to finance the myriad failed bio-tech start-ups, and round it up with a balance sheet of Singapore’s successes-failures in this field – and what prospect the future holds
· Tell us something about how our Ah Bengs and Ah Lians are coping in this new world order and with unemployment, or do they not exist?
· Explain how that Singapore family could lose its 5-room HDB flat, and fall through the cracks of MCDYS’s social benefits safety net to spend the past year cadging for food and sleeping on park benches
· If the Straits Times press could devote a full page to profiling China’s five rising stars, why do our leaders in Temasek remain anonymous? Can’t get an interview with them? Surely!
· How will Singapore hope to recover some of its lost national wealth in the world’s economic downturn?
· If even a Warren Buffett could be caught out by the economic downturn and make some massive investment mistakes why is blogosphere so unkind to and unreasonable with Ho Ching?
· If Singapore could throw up a Ho Ching, a truly remarkable woman, why are so few women in parliament and just one has become a full fledge cabinet minister? (This is one issue the old AWARE could have shown some gumption in pursuing)
· Tell us how are our million guest workers, especially the lower-skilled ones, coping with Singapore’s recession and what is their likely fate; this study could also include the sub-standard living conditions of these people, the prostitute camps that used to spring up overnight around their dormitories, and their exploitation by hard-pressed and ruthless employers
· We read that, together with the 1.8k workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely, total redundancy in Singapore increased to a record 12.6k in 1Q09. Obviously, poor people do not exist in the MSM’s world; everyone seems to be happily employed only in media and marketing, if not in the press
· Tells us also what it means to our society to have a trade volume that is three times our GDP; does this not affect our values?
· Throw the spotlight on our local banks, e.g. how did the still independent OCBC and UOB manage to escape being caught more deeply in CDOs and toxic assets of other banks?
· How is Wee Cho Yaw planning his leadership renewal and how he built up his father’s little bank into the behemoth it is today without a foreigner at the helm, while OCBC still struggles to raise its profile, and why DBS with all its patronage is not faring so well
· Stop publishing all the incredible ‘feel good’ stories that we read daily, e.g. how our displaced unemployed workers are merrily engaging in community work, how Mr Mohd Zainuddin is happily adapting to a lowly paid job (1/3 what he used to earn) and is so optimistically looking forward to promotion in his new found position, and signing for self-improvement marketing courses in his late middle-age
· And, if you are truly interested in why and how people become homosexual, conduct a real examination of this subject. Give us, in a non-partisan and objective manner, an intelligent digest of the question. So many people, including even senior cabinet ministers, still labour under much misunderstanding of this subject. Apparently, too, even our Minister Iswaran (Education) and the Ministry’s director of education programmes have not read the old AWARE’s manual on sex education before issuing a defence on the issue a few days ago.
The ideas thrown up above are quick from-the-hip suggestions that any news editor worth three-quarters his salt would suggest on a daily basis, even hourly if need be. That’s because, unlike now, the journalists of old used to be trained, sensitive, experienced and fiercely jealous of their independence. We were not automatons who had to wait for cues from news editors who reside outside the newsroom.
I know Saturday’s EGM at AWARE will throw up more morsels for the MSM to continue its feeding frenzy. If it is true that the newspapers of a country reflect the caliber and depth of a society’s intellect, then the MSM does Singaporeans much injustice.
Posted in Opinion
What rubbish. The AWARE saga is newsworthy. It has drama, colourful personalities and an interesting underlying subtext (the religion issue).
You mean you’d rather read about people losing their jobs? What sort of media do you want? CCTV, TASS? Perhaps we should fill the pages of ST with 10-year economic plans and pictures of tough looking women toiling in the fields.
The stories you suggest are boring. Who cares about the succession plan of UOB.
Frankly, if Singapore is such a terrible place to live, why not emigrate. I suggest Mexico.
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Some substance finally. Bravo! Bravo!
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Finally a well-balanced article published by WP. After reading so many lob-sided articles by WP, i have thought WP has lost it’s way. I hope WP can continue to be an viable alternative main source of balance reports that the people duely lack here.
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“IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT DAYS OF YORE, one of my rookie reporters would surely have enlightened us, and quite early on, too.” (capitalization mine)
Lol, it’s pretty clear which school the writer went to.
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the media has always strove to make
centssense of any controversy. who wants to read about civil resolution when a cat fight is always so much more intriguing?Like or Dislike:
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Drama happens at AWARE. People are interested. ST runs several articles on it. Wayang Party runs several articles on it.
BUT DO NOT BE FOOLED! The ST reported it to increase the support to the gahmen, and was manipulated by various shady groups into brainwashing the public! Everything they publish is propaganda anyway, so even though WP and ST essentially reported the same event, ST did it for nefarious purposes. Remember people, WP good, ST bad.
Anyone who does not agree with me has already been brainwashed by reading too much articles about AWARE on the ST, and must be re-educated.
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Amusing to see Wayangparty also devoting so much space to the AWARE affair. How better are you guys from MSM?
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Musings from YASRP? (Yet-Another-Self-Righteous-Prick)
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If we replace TSM with a dishonest leader, and replace Josie and her new exco with an inept team, we will see that WPC is improving on their whistleblowing technique and their ways of exposing the truth behind the propagandized slant used by an incumbent. I say give the team a Tiger.
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After reading the reports in msm, I can’t help but form the conclusion that it was the ST journalists who were using religions to further their agenda. They were the ones who made a lot of speculations even before the new exco have started work. ISD should investigate the background these ST journalists. Who are behind them? Why have they exploited the AWARE leadership change to cause so much disquiet in the past one month?
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Re Beware of ST on Sat, 2nd May 2009 9:54 am
Exactly!
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How about some spotlight on the judiciary system?
How did the Shin Min editor get such a light sentence and that the case can’t be used as a precedent?
How did the business analyst get away with such a light sentence for his near murder, with mitigation claims not challenged?
(Even the victim has successfully gained the upper hand concerning the claims in divorce suit. Check out http://www.apill4life.blogspot.com)
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Well done. Wayang Party.
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Well done.
We have our very own redtops – TNP…perhaps TODAY as well.
In AWARE tabloid tales, you are correct to point out that as an analogy, The Times (UK) had sunk to the level of “Page 3″ The Sun.
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Try telling that to the rabid followers of AWARE.
They’ll just question your agenda and accuse you of trying to deflect attention away from the extremely important issues (i.e AWARE) by saying that there is nothing to see here, lets move on.
I wonder if these people actually can tell what is and isn’t a national issue?
Sigh.
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Religious fervent is no small matter. It can divide a nation. We have seen the use of “war” by some. The topic is important enough to move our PM, 2 DPMs, and a few ministers to come out openly to warn against it. ST has done a great job in giving the deserving coverage to this important episode in the history of Singapore.
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Peter,
Religious fervent is no small matter. It can divide a nation. We have seemed the use of “war” by some. The topic is important enough to move our PM, 2 DPMs, and a few ministers to warn against it. ST has given a deserving coverage of this important episode in the history of Singapore.
I am not a supporter of the old AWARE, but I have seen to much of twisted logic. If the new exco managed to garner X% of the support in the EGM, it is highly likely that those who cast their vote against them will be accused of being pro-homosexual. Extending the twisted logic, those Singaporean who does not speak against their rival will be accused of being pro-homosexual. This would make Singapore a sin city. Not too long, the ruling party who allow this to happen will be accused of being pro-homosexual. Another infiltration to change the guards?
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Well, their circulation is dropping. by going tabloid-like,they hope to fight against the headwind.
There is a statistic demanding question to be asked:
Singapore 2008 abortion figures are 12222, birth figures are 39935, if abortion could be reduced, then singapore may not face the problem of declining birth rate, new immigrant number need not surge so high.
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Everyday, I’m looking forward to more news on AWARE. Damm interesting.
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Finally, a good article. Please stop with the AWARE nonsense. I cant take it anymore…
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To Peter:
Based on your comments, it shows what a shallow, uneducated, ignorant dolt you are. Some times, real news is ‘boring’ but it’s life and impacts real people. You obviously don’t want to be informed – job loss (for example) is a stark reality and other suggestions above are issues that are important to various communities. The fact that you are just interested in tabloids, entertainment news, soap operas, is very telling about you. You completely miss the point of the above article and your comments and suggestions are just downright retarded and rude.
Andrew Chan – how about some constructive comments instead of just name-calling, you dumbass childish POS (piece of shit).
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I find Yeo Toon Joo, Peter, to be naive at best.
The whole article reeks of disguised support for the disgraced and discredited COOS Senior Paster, Thio Su-Mien etc and the puppet Exco of AWARE led by Josie Lau.
The State Times, (oops, should be Straits Times) and the TODAY rightly give prominence to the AWARE saga BECAUSE the takeover of a secular NGO by the Christian fundamentalists, which incidentally is also being condemned by other Christians, National council of Christian Churches is seen as a threat of even more such activism to DOMINATE other religions and even non-believers and our secular way of life.
As for Yeo Toon Joo’s mention about Warren Buffett’s performance, which Yeo said should be compared with Temasek, Yeo glaringly failed to give ANY anecdotal evidence to support his covert support for Ho Ching.
For info, Berkshire’s book value dropped 9% last year and a further 6% for the first quarter of 2009.
While Buffet spent only US$244 MILLION buying into failed Irish banks, Temasek spent nearly US$6 BILLION buying up the FAILED Merrill Lynch which would have gone BANKRUPT if Bank of America had not bought it over.
The provision for loss on the Irish bank of around 85% is even less than Temasek’s total loss amounting to S$500 million from its investment in the Australian ABC co.
I think it is disappointing to read Yeo’s verbiage on WP, which must be congratulated for its other topics including its coverage of the AWARE saga and other social & politics issues.
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> BECAUSE the takeover of a secular NGO by the Christian fundamentalists
It was the liberals who “discovered” that the ex new exco were Christians. Since they did not quote Scripture etc, what the liberals did was tantamount to an attack on Christians and Christianity. This hate-filled comment reveals the liberals’ hatred of Christians, and it is a sign that “Christians need not apply”. The anti-Christian hatred seeps through the meta.
>seen as a threat of even more such activism to DOMINATE other religions and even non-believers and our secular way of life.
Oh yes, play the victimization card, even though it was the liberals who play the religion card and bring religion intothe secular realm first. Who gave the liberals the right to dictate to us how to live our lives? The bigotry and hypocrisy of the liberals is absolutely disgusting!
Imagine if the ex new exco were all Muslims. Would the oh-so-brave liberals dare to write the following headline: “Muslim fundamentalists take over secular NGO”?
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The think it was the main stream media that brought the attention to the general public.At least i get to know it from the MSM first. People who wants to findout more accessed into these websites to listern to alternative views or more updated ones. But i think this case deserved credit as it is not just a woman affair but it served as a reminder to be vigilant in our fragile society. It has implication in our daily life. Anyway I get latest update and others viewpoints from the alternative webpages also.
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There are two charges Yeo makes against The Straits Times.
1) The Straits Times is a parochial newspaper that writes up insignificant fluff and passes it off as news; and
2) The AWARE situation is largely the domestic affairs of a marginal organisation with little impact or relevance beyond the gay issue and sex education.
Taking the first point, Yeo charges that the Straits Times shouldn’t be presenting fluff like “Bollywood Hotties” and “semi-nude bodies in [the] life-style pages” (Perhaps Yeo thinks these should be on page 3 as is traditional?)
His prescription is that ST should focus on real news with real issues of the day affecting Singapore and Singaporeans. In other words, this AWARE business is just “petty politics”. (Now, who else characterised this sad affair as “petty politics”? I guess Yeo concurs with him.)
Well, Yeo (and the powers that be) are free to characterise this issue as “petty politics” or fluff, or not “real issues of the day”. The fact is that there is a variety of issues that interests and affect people. Certainly, sports news, horse racing information, and lottery results are not issues of the day. But they are in the papers, and people do want to read them.
So is the ST to be some elite newspaper intended for the well-read, well-informed, serious policy maker and policy commentator? Or is it intended to be a mainstream broadsheet with something for the whole family? Then it has to cater to all these interests, and that means bread and butter issues, jobs, employment, the economy and economic outlook and government policies – all the important issues of the day, as well as sports news, entertainment news, lifestyle, food, fads, health and so on.
The ST has done rather well in continuing to be profitable, maintaining and even increasing it’s readership in a era of falling readership worldwide for print media. That means that it has managed to stay relevant and hold the interests of its readers. And if Yeo thinks that the ST is parochial, he should check out newspapers in countries such as Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia and many other countries. Even some of the “international” papers in the US, is more US-centric, than truly international. Because of Singapore’s dependence on the global economy, I would argue that the ST is in fact one of the more “globalised” in perspective.
Which brings us to the second charge: that the whole AWARE issue was fluff. There is nothing wrong with fluff, but does it deserve pages and pages of newsprint? (Front page on Sunday 3 May!) Yeo is of course entitled to his opinion as to the relevance and importance of the AWARE issue. He can remain convinced that it is nothing more than a storm in a teacup over some gay issues and the syllabus of some sex education programme.
But based on the interest and arguments raised on the internet, I put it that his opinion is not shared by many others. The discussion, arguments, criticisms, and posts on the matter extends beyond the explicit bone of contention (sex/gay education) to what sg netizens identified as the expansion of the religious realm and an encroachment into the secular common space. It has become an public discourse (a rowdy and passionate discourse!) on the role of religion and what is secular common space, and the expression of religious values in secular terms.
In other words, netizens and the ST recognised that the crux of the matter was not simply a debate about sex education by a liberal, marginal civic organisation, but about how religious values relates to civil society organisations. Concerned parties recognised that the “inadvertent” strategy of the insurgents was tantamount to an attack with no interest in discussion or debate.
The ST may have been tipped off to this story by their contacts in AWARE, but the other factor that weighed in as newsworthy was the amount of cyber-chatter on the issue. If the ST had ignored the new media, then wouldn’t they be guilty of selective blindness or traditional media snobbery?
So, no. The ST is probably one of the least parochial papers in the region. And no, the AWARE story was not just a petty politics story about a marginal feminist organisation.
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So now that Josie and gang had lost, their supporters try to play up the slant that they lost because the msm demonised them.
For once I am glad ST did a fair and even job on this matter. I am surprised they can be unbiased when it comes to non governmental affairs.
Then, I reminded myself they had a record before this, of exposing non governmental org for corruption. NKF corruption was brought to light because of an ST article.
If you didn’t noticed already, ST tries to humanise Josie Lau by doing an interview with her by Sumiko Tan, trying to make people see she’s human and likable.
Why would they do that if they are really biased?
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Looking above this article on WP, for Daily Musings:
“Tide of public opinion turns against AWARE new exco”
“Photo Gallery: AWARE EGM, 2 May 2009 (before the EGM outside the hall)”
“Video reports of Aware EGM, 2 May 2009″
“VIDEO: Thio Su Mien asked the crowd to show her some respect during Aware EGM”
“Photo Gallery: AWARE EGM, 2 May 2009 (Inside Halls 402 and 403)”
Translation:
AWARE, AWARE, AWARE, AWARE, AWARE.
I hearby conclude that The Wayang Party and The Straits Times are the same thing.
The inordinately extensive and daily coverage of the AWARE leadership tussle exposes and underscores the provincialism of Singapore’s websites, the Wayang Party in particular.
Any thinking person, with a modicum of appreciation of what constitutes news, must marvel over the NM’s (new media) ability to ignore the real issues of the day in Singapore while focusing so much of its might on what was primarily a parochial affair.
Instead of enlightening Singaporeans on the pressing issues confronting us – events that beg many questions and offer much scope for enquiry – our news websites choose to rivet readers’ attention through a daily barrage of reporting on the dispute of a marginal organization, till recently, of no more than 100 or 200 feminists.
Has the subservient NM lost its way, just as AWARE allegedly had lost its own focus and objective?
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To Shannon:
News is never boring. If it is, it’s not news. There are self-righteous media publications out there that publish boring crap we don’t want to read, but they are now at the point of extinction. I suppose you are not aware that the New York Times (the most boring paper ever) is practically insolvent???
Furthermore, perhaps ST is doing the right thing by publishing feel-good stories. ST has clearly decided not to talk down the economy. Since the world-wide recession is CURRENTLY based on lack of confidence as opposed to anything else, maybe that is not such a bad idea. Since the export led part of the economy is doing badly, we at least want to keep domestic confidence up. It is difficult to understand how any leveraged person with home mortgage or car loan could possibly disagree with that.
As for me being shallow, it’s very true. John Stuart Mill said it’s better to be an unhappy Socrates than a happy pig. Many years ago I was asked to write a 10,000 dissertation on Mill, and instead I wrote 10 lines on why it’s much better to be a happy pig. My professor gave me 0% and wrote beside it ‘marked by a pig’.
I am very proud to be that pig – and I shall instil similar values in my piggy children.
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I agree. The crisis….the H1N1 flu…are more pressing, n immed issues to deal with….rather than aware?….wtf is tht abt also?……dumb ass of mainstream media to report so much abt it…….and wayang party, y do u dedicate so much space n time to it? it also puzzles me….
cram on Sat, 2nd May 2009 6:40 am
Amusing to see Wayangparty also devoting so much space to the AWARE affair. How better are you guys from MSM?
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Peter
Well done… Aware fiasco n storm in a tea cup, though everyone is entitled to her or his opinions.
Just because someone expresses different opinions or points of view does not warrant telling a fellow Singaporean to emigrate. However, do take note that just a generation ago our parents changed their nationality at least 7 times(China-British Subject-SioNan Tao-British subject-Singaporean-Malaysian-Singaporean). In my case 4 times.
This insolence was hurled at me when i participated as an Independent candidate during 2001 Election, and more recently on the Casino issue. Really, this nation is as much ours as it is theirs, whichever camp or vantage point you may be. If any Singaporean who holds a different view or make a mistake have to emigrate then Singapore should in the final reckoning be run by either foreign or fllen talents, don’t you think?
In passing the two issues i laboured at Singapore Speakers’ Corner were “Mandatory Jail for Singapore Landlords for the Harbouring of Illegal Immigrants”. Widows and widowers in their 70s were jailed. The Law changed 4 years later empowering the judiciary to decide whether to send offenders to jail. Spoke for the sharing of golden eggs from our Golden Geese (Foreign and Fiscal Reserves)with our citizens from S$1.4 billion increased to S$2 billions during 5 years of speaking. In 2006 PM Lee delivered S$2.6 billions to Singapore citizens in 2006. i don’t claim all the credit, but nice to believe that a difference was made.
At least with every issue, Singaporeans become more AWARE that there are blind spots in Singapore, that is a good thing. Since 2001 Election, infact 2000 Sept 1 since the inception of Speakers’ Corner Singapore i had asked when is our National Press going from 3rd World to the First? There was that MM Lee forum with the age 30s Journalists at the last election…well, work on it perhaps we are getting there.
Best Regards
kc
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If “bah” and Peter Yeo (the author of the original article) sre one and the same (they do express the same opinions in the same words), then obviously his mind and view of what constitutes news is as parochial as he seems to think the Straits Times is.
Moreover, I think it is absolute arrogance for him to think that only he can define what is news and what are the “pressing issues” of the day.
For those 3,000 people at the EOGM, the pressing issue of the day (and they did spend most of the day there) was about what AWARE stood for.
It is easy to be caught up in the big issues like the “imminent” flu pandemic, the ongoing economic crisis, and SM Goh’s Chicken Pox. But to see the world in a grain of sand, the universe in a wild flower, and beyond the explicit issues of the AWARE takeover to the underlying principles that were being threatened (and the reason why netizens were agitated) requires an insight that bah/Peter lacks.
And what he cannot see and cannot understand, he puts down.
How… parochial, provincial, and small-minded.
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Gabriel: No I am not Peter Yeo.
Hi thar, this are teh intarwebs, kindly l2satire.
To put it in more explicit terms for those who still don’t get it, this is my first comment on this page which isn’t entirely sarcastic.
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