Serious New PAP tactic to take over NGOs and replace them with own Porlumpars

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[h=1]Green group chief 'shocked' by suspension[/h]
The head of a green group has been suspended indefinitely, surprising many in the environmental scene.
Mr Edwin Seah, 46, who has been executive director of the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) since April last year, was told of the move yesterday morning while on leave. He said he was told via a phone call from the council's executive committee chairman Lam Joon Khoi.
"I'm shocked because no reason was given, and I was due to travel tomorrow night on official business," he told The Straits Times.


He was due to fly to Ukraine tonight for the annual general meeting and elections for the Global Eco-labelling Network, of which he is an elected board member.
An SEC spokesman said:"The SEC Board has decided to suspend Edwin Seah with effect from today. We are unable to comment further as investigations are ongoing." ST understands the council will hold a committee of inquiry next Wednesday.


The non-governmental organisation spreads environmental awareness through training programmes, awards and its Singapore Green Labelling Scheme. It was started in 1995 and has 28 full-time staff.
Mr Seah, who was previously at the Singapore Tourism Board and Energy Market Authority, was nominated along with SEC former eco-certification head Kavickumar Muruganathan for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award last year. They were recognised for raising awareness about the link between the haze and unsustainable paper products.
Mr Seah's suspension is the latest in a string of personnel changes in the charity. In April, Mr Kavickumar, 27, left to join Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). Former chief executive Jose Raymond, 44, also joined APP in January but left last month and has since set up his own public relations firm.
Professor Ang Peng Hwa, who co-founded the Haze Elimination Action Team volunteer group, said he was shocked by the news, especially as he had just met Mr Seah at an SEC event on Wednesday.
"With all the recent personnel changes this year, it seems like it is a spell of bad luck for SEC," he said.

 

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[h=1]Is the Singapore Environment Council truly a civil society organisation?[/h] 0
By onlinecitizen on May 3, 2016 Civil Society, Opinion
Half of its board and advisory committee are government officials, including two current PAP MPs
In his speech at the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources on 15 April, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli spoke at length about the role of civil society groups in promoting a sustainable agro-forestry sector.
He specifically also said civil society plats a critical role in “enhancing transparency and accountability of companies.”
See full text of Minister Masagos’ speech here.
One of the civil society organisations he mentioned rather specifically is the Singapore Environment Council (SEC).
On its website, SEC states that it is an “independently managed, non-profit and non-government organisation.”
But upon closer observation, how non-government can it be when it has the following people on its board and advisory committee?

• Dr Teo Ho Pin – Mayor of Northwest CDC and People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament for Bukit Panjang
• Dr Leong Chee Chiew – Deputy CEO of NParks
• Dalson Chung – Director of Industry Development and Promotion, National Environment Agency
• Tan Nguan Sen – Chief Sustainability Officer, PUB
• Lam Joon Khoi – Secretary-General of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and former Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.
• Ms Rahayu Mahzam, PAP Member of Parliament
• Lee Kheng Seng – Director of 3P Network, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

Until recently the board of the SEC also included Tan Wee Hock, who is a director at NEA and Ms Linda Dorothy de Mello, a Deputy Director of PUB.
And while Mr George Huang, who is the husband of current chairman Isabella Loh and Emeritus President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation is no longer on the board as an advisor, the SEC has inducted Mr Lam Joon Khoi onto the Board. He is currently the secretary-general of the SMF, where Mr Huang is the Emeritus President. He was also a former Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and former CEO of the Land Transport Authority.
Interestingly, the NEA has also ‘seconded’ Mr Chong Kai Sin to the SEC to head up the Eco-Labeling and Certifications team, a role left vacant by the departure of Mr Kavickumar Muruganathan, who joined Asia Pulp and Paper. Mr Chong, as seen in this screengrab taken off the Singapore Government Directory just this morning, is currently a Senior Manager at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Department of the NEA.

Interestingly, there was no advertisement for the role vacated by Mr Kavickumar.
So is the SEC a government-appointed non-government organisation and is it truly independent?
Or is the SEC a vehicle for the Singapore government?
What’s also interesting is that the SEC, which is a registered charity and institution of public character, has removed all its financial information from its website recently. Charities are supposed to put all their financial information online for public scrutiny and accountability.

TOC has written to the Commissioner of Charity on this irregularity on 25 April but has not received any reply.
TOC also has yet to receive a reply on the investigation outcome on the alleged conflict of interest surrounding Ms Loh's position and her appointment in a research project. TOC understands that SEC was informed by the Commission of Charities (COC) to give a review to them about its alleged conflict of interest by 4 March.
Read more - Chairman of local charity, allegedly influenced staff to take research project for own financial gains
Isn’t it ironic that the organisation which demands transparency and accountability and is supposed to “enhancing transparency and accountability of companies” seems not to be practicing what it preaches.