The Yaw Saga

Today I read one such article in Straits Times:

WP 'had absolutely no idea of Yaw's alleged affairs'In letter, Low refutes criticism that expulsion was hasty and careless
By Andrea Ong & Kor Kian Beng 

WORKERS' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang has made clear that he and the party's election committee had 'absolutely no idea' of the alleged extramarital affairs of sacked member Yaw Shin Leong when they decided to field him as a candidate in last May's General Election.
'Even though I was familiar with Yaw Shin Leong's background and I have met his family and attended his two wedding ceremonies, I have no way and no authority to inspect his private matters and personal life.
'I am a Member of Parliament, not a private investigator!' Mr Low said in a letter to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao yesterday.
He added: 'Mr Ho Kah Leong said I should take responsibility for the Yaw Shin Leong saga. May I ask how I should take responsibility?'
Mr Low was replying to the former People's Action Party MP, who had criticised the WP's conduct in the matter.
Mr Ho, a former senior parliamentary secretary, said in a letter to Lianhe Zaobao three days ago, that he found it hard to believe Mr Low had not known anything about Mr Yaw's personal life and family.
He questioned if the WP had stringent selection criteria for its candidates and called on Mr Low to take responsibility.
Replying, Mr Low said that even though he had worked with Mr Yaw for many years, he and the committee that pick election candidates had no idea of the allegations until the media reports emerged last month.
Mr Low's statement is the strongest denial yet that the WP leaders knew of the alleged indiscretions of the Hougang MP, who has reportedly left the country. Sources said he was in Vietnam last Friday.
At a media conference last Wednesday announcing Mr Yaw's expulsion, party chairman Sylvia Lim said queries from the media on the allegations were 'the first time that we were aware the media was looking into this matter'.
In his letter yesterday, Mr Low also rebutted Mr Ho on several other points.
He said his relationship with Mr Yaw had been that of working colleagues, not the 'master-apprentice' tie described by Mr Ho. Mr Yaw succeeded Mr Low in Hougang, where the opposition veteran was MP for 20 years.
Mr Low also refuted Mr Ho's criticism that the expulsion seemed hasty and careless. Mr Yaw should have been given a chance to defend himself, Mr Ho said.
Mr Low argued that about a month had lapsed between the first media reports on the allegations and the sacking.
'From start to finish, Yaw Shin Leong did not step forward to state his stand, and refused to explain himself to the executive council,' wrote Mr Low. The WP then 'had no choice but to expel him'.
Finally, he took issue with Mr Ho's charge that the WP was abusing the democratic system by calling for a by-election - which requires a lot of public resources - to uphold the party's image.
Mr Low said the WP expelled Mr Yaw 'because he was irresponsible and had lost the public's trust'.
He also said that in 1992, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had on his own accord resigned as an MP, triggering a by-election in Marine Parade GRC just one year after the 1991 General Election.
In the 1991 election campaign, Mr Goh had promised to hold a by-election in 18 months because, among other things, he wanted to bring new talent into the party and Government.
Current Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean was the newcomer in the by-election slate.
In a separate development, Ms Lim confirmed that Mr Yaw's grassroots arm in Hougang is being re-organised for a leadership reshuffle.
Two WP executive council members have been added to the Hougang Constituency Committee to beef up its ranks.
They are deputy webmaster Png Eng Huat, 50, who contested in East Coast GRC last year, and organising secretary Ng Swee Bee, 31.
Their appointment has sparked talk that either could be fielded in the Hougang by-election.
When asked, Ms Lim said: 'I'm not answering that question.'

Then I read in another article on Facebook that the scandal supposedly emerged before GE2012. This intrigued me a little bit to find out that perhaps the storm was already waiting at the peripheral since before the decisive election. Then of course this begged the question, actually a lot of questions.

Firstly, why is it that Low Thia Khiang at this point in time start to deny the 'master-apprentice' relationship between him and Yaw when that impression has been allowed to simmer in public opinion for so long. I can still remember the day Yaw won the seat in Hougang and what did Low say? Anyone still remember? I guess that statement summed up a lot about their relationship and helped forge public opinion about their relationship. The best part is that they repeated their changing stance method as they did during the debate on ministerial pay, as if to tell us that they can change stance for all they like but they will be above reproach, unlike the PAP. Changing stance from supporting Yaw (or appearing to stand behind him) to expelling him and now claiming that they don't know anything about his private life.

Secondly, why wasn't anything surfaced when the first sign of scandal emerged and why did WP choose to keep it quiet? All in the name of winning and retaining the seat in Hougang? Then of course why act now? Is it because it has become untenable for the incumbents to remain 'innocent' without distancing themselves from Yaw?

Thirdly, is there a power struggle ongoing within WP itself? A seemingly cohesive opposition party (perhaps the only one in Singapore electoral history since the Barisan Socialis) is crumbling within its ranks?

I think perhaps out of the whole incident, Yaw is the most pitiful character here. True enough, if the allegations are true, he will have to bear responsibility for his actions, especially when he is a public figure. There is no escaping from it (although he seems to be running away as I see it now). But upon the unveiling of this scandal, people started to emerge to talk about how irresponsible he has been, the character flaws that he has displayed and the number of affairs that he has engaged in, which lead me to think 'why now'. It almost seems to me that this becomes a coordinated effort by his ex-friends to discredit him and to distance themselves away from them.

It may be true that WP deems it necessary to expel Yaw due to his conducts. However, the fact remains that this decision came after the declaration to support him from within the party ranks. This came after the 'lou hei' party that they had before the Great Expulsion. WP does have a valid reason to expel him but WP's change of stance and apparent distancing from their involvement in Yaw's private life remains questionable. I find it hard to believe that Low does not know anything about his private life after attending his two wedding ceremonies.

That of course will be true if Low is in the first place not interested in Yaw's life and only interested in using Yaw to fulfill his own political agenda. This is all speculation but evidence may seem to point analysts towards that direction.

Conclusion? I think the nation will decide one day how to make sense of this incident and it will be intriguing to see how the WP come back from this. The political development from now on will prove interesting.

And of course it will get more exciting if Tan Jee Say decides to contest in Hougang.