Dear Nicole,
I thought that was a despicable reporting by SPH, wasn't it! Anyway, I am glad that both AsiaOne and Wanbao have issued an “apology”.
It was said that in military manoeuvring, when you scored an easy victory on a strong enemy, do not pursue further, especially into unfamiliar ground. So grab your “half-victory” and do not pursue into your enemy’s kill zone!
On one hand, I doubt this is the type of apology you deserved, if one reads the Chinese words and phrases carefully. Seemed to me more like an official clarification of its previous report.
But on the other hand, if the case has ended in court, in my opinion, SPH may not lose the legal battle. Never underestimate what a good defence counsel could do to you during the cross-examination. And who carries the daily news about the court case to the middle-ground voters? SPH’s newspapers. MediaCorp news channels. Even though you win the libel suit, your political image may already be destroyed by a good defence counsel – I repeat, even though you win. What if you lose? Can you take that further humiliation?
There were far too many people who chose not to take legal action against another person, not because they did not have good grounds, but due to various factors such as financial or social cost, prospect of answering humiliating questions, and the uncertainty of an outcome.
I believe a minor political damage has already been done on you. They probably targeted at the middle-ground. And in election, you need as much of the middle-ground as possible! Hopefully, time can neutralise that minor damage.
Nicole, my dear, now that the dust is about to settle, may be you would like to spend some time thinking over whether there is any lesson for you to draw upon this case?
I do not want to go into the details. Suffice to say, you must have made many of your supporters perspired!
Remember, my dear, you are first a politician, not the public’s cousin! There are certain things you cannot do – which we can do because we are not politicians!
We love you, Nicole.
Celia Lim