SINGAPORE, May 28 — The Singapore Herald ceased publication today following a Government order at noon revoking the newspaper's printing license.
The Herald was the second Singapore English‐language newspaper to close within the last two weeks during a mounting controversy over what Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his supporters charge are foreign efforts to influence the local press.
In addition, four top editorial executives of a major Chinese language daily, arrested May 2, have been ordered detained without trial for a period of at least two years.
Jimmy Hahn, The Herald's managing director and former Asia manager for Reuters news agency, accused the Government again tonight of “premeditated murder” in its actions against the newspaper. He also said, “It was definitely unnecessary to take such brutal, callous action against a newspaper which has done nothing at all.”
Accused by Prime Minister
Mr. Lee has repeatedly accused The Herald of “taking the Government on” ever since the paper began publication last July.
In recent weeks, Mr. Lee and a few other senior members of his Government have made variety of allegations and insinuations that The Herald was implicated in some sort of operation where foreign investors somehow intended to use The Herald to stir up trouble in Singapore.
The International Press Institute, the Asia Press Foundation and a number of Singapore groups and citizens have called, for an independent inquiry into the Herald affair.
So far, neither, Mr. Lee nor, his Government has disclosed, any evidence to substantiate the charges, as they did in the case of The Eastern Sun, the English daily Closed two weeks ago. At that time Mr. Lee dis closed specific details of loans made by Chinese Communist agents in Hong Kong to The Eastern Sun's proprietor.
Ambrose Khaw, The Herald's editor, wrote in a front‐page signed editorial recently, “Unless we defend ourselves publicly, we may be forced to disappear from the Singapore scene under a clinging morass of half‐truths, innuendoes and downright inanity.”
Tonight, speaking to a staff composed overwhelmingly of young Singaporeans, Mr. Khaw said “I just want to run a good newspaper for this community. We just want to live as a newspaper. We don't want to hash the Government or overthrow it.”
Beyond a Government statement earlier this week that unless the Herald found new local financial hackers to take over Its indebtedness, the newspaper's license would he revoked today, there have been no public explanations.
Both Mr. Hahn and Mr. Khwa reiterated tonight that The Herald could he a viable commercial enterprise.
https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/29/...-singapore-is-closed-on-government-order.html
The Herald was the second Singapore English‐language newspaper to close within the last two weeks during a mounting controversy over what Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his supporters charge are foreign efforts to influence the local press.
In addition, four top editorial executives of a major Chinese language daily, arrested May 2, have been ordered detained without trial for a period of at least two years.
Jimmy Hahn, The Herald's managing director and former Asia manager for Reuters news agency, accused the Government again tonight of “premeditated murder” in its actions against the newspaper. He also said, “It was definitely unnecessary to take such brutal, callous action against a newspaper which has done nothing at all.”
Accused by Prime Minister
Mr. Lee has repeatedly accused The Herald of “taking the Government on” ever since the paper began publication last July.
In recent weeks, Mr. Lee and a few other senior members of his Government have made variety of allegations and insinuations that The Herald was implicated in some sort of operation where foreign investors somehow intended to use The Herald to stir up trouble in Singapore.
The International Press Institute, the Asia Press Foundation and a number of Singapore groups and citizens have called, for an independent inquiry into the Herald affair.
So far, neither, Mr. Lee nor, his Government has disclosed, any evidence to substantiate the charges, as they did in the case of The Eastern Sun, the English daily Closed two weeks ago. At that time Mr. Lee dis closed specific details of loans made by Chinese Communist agents in Hong Kong to The Eastern Sun's proprietor.
Ambrose Khaw, The Herald's editor, wrote in a front‐page signed editorial recently, “Unless we defend ourselves publicly, we may be forced to disappear from the Singapore scene under a clinging morass of half‐truths, innuendoes and downright inanity.”
Tonight, speaking to a staff composed overwhelmingly of young Singaporeans, Mr. Khaw said “I just want to run a good newspaper for this community. We just want to live as a newspaper. We don't want to hash the Government or overthrow it.”
Beyond a Government statement earlier this week that unless the Herald found new local financial hackers to take over Its indebtedness, the newspaper's license would he revoked today, there have been no public explanations.
Both Mr. Hahn and Mr. Khwa reiterated tonight that The Herald could he a viable commercial enterprise.
https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/29/...-singapore-is-closed-on-government-order.html
