Re: *BREAKING** Blogger Roy Ngerng has managed to reach his 70k Target in less than 4
[h=2]
Roy’s legal defense fund hits $70K target in 4 days[/h]
June 2nd, 2014 |
Author:
Editorial
In an incredible feat, blogger Roy Ngerng who is currently being sued by PM
Lee for defamation raised $72,043.91 from the public in 4 days for his legal
defense fund:
Writing on his blog [
Link],
Roy thanked everyone for the support.
He said, “Today is Day 4 of the fund raising and we have managed to reach the
target of $70,000.”
“I would like to thank everyone for the support and for the unity that we
have shown. I had managed to speak to several Singaporeans who had passed the
funds to me. They had wanted to thank me for standing up on behalf of
Singaporeans to voice out. Please know that the support you give means a lot and
I will continue to stay strong and stay on course with everyone,” he added.
“Thanks to Singaporeans, we have managed to reach the target in 4 days. Thank
you everyone.”
Roy also said that a number of Singaporeans actually met up with him and
delivered cash to him personally:
He said, “Last night (1 Jun), I received 3 amounts of $70, $200 and $620 from
three groups of people. This afternoon, I had also received $600. I was able to
chat with two of them.”
“With one gentleman and his friend. We sat at my void deck to discuss about
the CPF. His colleagues had discussed the case and they would like to contribute
to fight the case, and were supportive that someone had wanted to speak up on
the CPF.”
Now that the $70,000 target has been reached, Roy said he will not be seeking
funds at this point.
He said, “We have reached the target of $70,000 for the legal and court fees.
I will not be actively seeking for funds at this point. For the actual amount of
damages, we would only be able to know after the court case is over.”
“I understand that funds might still be coming in. I will continue to keep a
transparent records of the funds so as to be accountable and allow everyone to
keep track of the funds,” he added.
“I am thankful that many Singaporeans have come on-board to support the
cause. The CPF is an issue that affects everyone, and this episode has
galvanized Singaporeans. I will continue to do my part and stand strong to fight
for answers on our CPF. Thank you for your support. I will continue to speak up
on the CPF to raise awareness and to advocate for CPF changes that will benefit
and protect Singaporeans.”
On 7 June at 4pm, Roy and the other activists will also be organising an
event at Hong Lim Park to talk about the CPF issue and making several demands
[
Link]:
- To increase CPF interest rates be pegging to what GIC and Temasek Holdings
earn
- The right to opt-out from the CPF Minimum Sum and CPF Life schemes and be
able to withdraw CPF
- Full reports from GIC, Temasek Holdings and MAS on how CPF is being invested
- To increase the CPF payout
With regard to PM Lee’s legal actions against Roy, many have felt that it was
a bit overboard.
A blogger wrote (‘
An absurd defamation suit by Prime Minister Lee‘):
“I can understand if the PM sues another politician; a professional of
standing or a media person because that fellow is credible. But who is Roy
Ngerng?”
“To me it is laughable to suggest Roy could defame the PM with his blog
posts. Far too many of us do not think he analyze the CPF issue correctly
anyway. How many readers of his blog are so inane to only read him and not
others including expert views before making up their own minds. We are no longer
in the Middle Ages or a very undeveloped country where people believe and spread
silly rumors.”
“The PM stand to lose more by suing this nobody for defamation. And if he
thinks Roy is the monkey he is out to kill as a warning to the rest of us, I
think he has achieved some success. However this is not worth it because in the
privacy of our votes, we will “defame” him with our choice which he cannot sue
us.”
Reader Patrick Low commented (‘
Why is it necessary for PM Lee to sue Roy Ngerng?‘):
“Why can’t he be a magnanimous Prime Minister and invite this erring young
fellow Singaporean for a cup of tea and thrash out with him why and how he has
gone wrong in his analysis.”
“In so doing he would have earned the respect of millions of Singaporeans and
thousands of bloggers in the social media who can begin to relook at his new
style of governance and perhaps adopt a less hostile attitude towards his new
brand of ‘constructive politics’.”
Former Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian wrote on his blog hoping that PM
Lee will be magnanimous over the incident (‘
Not being magnanimous could damage PM’s reputation‘):
“There is still time for an amicable, out-of-court settlement. I hope that
the prime minister will take this opportunity to show that he is
magnanimous.”
Another former Presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock also wrote on his
Facebook page (‘
Dr Tan Cheng Bock: The CPF and beyond‘):
“Younger Singaporeans, better educated, and with a more enquiring mind zoomed
in on how the CPF money was invested. They raised some pertinent questions like
interest rates and want to know where, how and quantum of return from
investments but they got same standard answers (e.g. CPF are invested in
Singapore government bonds). This did not satisfy their young minds. They want
to know whether GIC and Temasek holdings are also managing the funds. But
apparently these questions were not well clarified. This created a suspicion of
the government not being transparent and that the government was not revealing
the true status of our money in the CPF.”
“As the answers were not forth coming, more pressure was exerted through the
new media and some got carried away too far with allegation of wrong doings by
the authorities. So the big stick was used.”
Dr Tan also opined that there will be more such “standoffs” in future. He
said:
“The CPF issue is but one of many such encounters that the government will
have to face. It is very challenging and difficult.
There will be more such standoffs. But for now, how is the government going
to manage this? Will the tough action taken, strengthen the resolve of the young
or a more engaging approach be a better way for such encounters in future?
How hard the big stick is used will be carefully watched both by Singaporeans
and Singapore watchers abroad.”