Problem inside is no problem, outside problem then got problem!

My favourite Minister Chan Chun Sing is back in the news. After not much success with the SMEs, this time he visited Woodlands Constituency and turned to the youth and students to sell his new “Ko Yok” aka product – “Call on youth to help shape Singapore in 2065”, as reported in Straits Times.

During the dialogue (oh..not engagement) with the youth, he was probed with questions about the dysfunctional state of affairs in Singapore and in particular, the frequent breakdowns of SMRT that prompted one of the youth to state his intention to migrate to Switzerland. Having gone through the baptism of fire by the SMEs, he was well prepared this time round. Clearly not to be stumped again when faced with no answers, he applied the time tested strategy of diversion, and started to urge the youth: “Never be a frog in the well, concerned with only our own issues,” he said, citing a Chinese proverb. “Never keep our eyes off the ball of what is happening elsewhere which may impact us.”

In another words, it seems he was trying to tell the youth that “the problems in Singapore are not problems, only those problems that are outside Singapore are real problems”. Indeed, I am marveled at his replies and started to wonder what courses he has undergone to come up with such artful wits. Ah… I suddenly recalled an incident in 1997, whereby a doctrine of similar vein was made famous by our former Attorney General and Chief Justice, Mr Chan Sek Keong.

The incident happened during the 1997 General Elections, then Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong and his two deputies Dr Tony Tan and Mr Lee Hsien Loong were found inside a Cheng San GRC polling station, and none of them being candidates for Cheng San GRC.

Section 82(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act reads:

“No person shall wait outside any polling station on polling day, except for the purpose of gaining entry to the polling station to cast his vote. No person shall loiter in any street or public place within a radius of 200 metres of any polling station on polling day.”

Subsequently, a police report was lodged by The Workers’ Party against Mr Goh Chok Tong, Dr Tony Tan and Brigadier-General (NS) Lee Hsien Loong that they had been inside a Cheng San GRC polling station on Polling Day.

Attorney-General Chan Sek Keong said that there wasn’t any violation of the act on the part of the PAP MPs because they were inside the polling station and not outside the polling station, and thereby not considered within its 200 metre boundary. The violation of the act applies to those outside the polling station, but it wasn’t applicable to those inside the polling station.

This was explained by Mr Chan to the then Law Minister Jayakumar:

“There is a consistency in the rationales of the regulatory schemes governing activities inside and those outside polling stations on election day. Waiting outside a polling station is made an offence because it gives rise to opportunities to influence or intimidate voters: see paragraph 99 of the Elias Report. Hence, the Act has provided a safety zone which stretches outwards for 200 metres from the polling station. In contrast, the possibility of a person inside a polling station influencing or intimidating voters in the presence of the presiding officer and his officials, the polling agents etc was considered so remote that it was discounted by the Act.