Everything About the Dispute Between Reform Party & IMDA Summarised & Simplified for You

If you tuned into the Reform Party’s (RP) political broadcast on 3 July, you might have noticed something odd.

It looked a little like a classroom or office on a Monday after a long weekend; mostly empty.

Residents wondered whether RP’s candidates had forgotten about the broadcast or had more important things to do, like post pictures of cats for a fellow opposition party member.

Alleged Last-Minute Notice

Then the party’s secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam uploaded a video on Facebook explaining why the party only sent two representatives to their broadcast:

The RP chief, who sounds more British than Winston Churchill, claims his party was only informed of the broadcast session a day before through email, telling them to report to IMDA by 10am the next day.

He said most of his party members found it hard to get out of obligations at short notice because they were “ordinary Singaporeans”  and “not of the elite kind”.

One of RP’s candidates apparently had “something” which meant that he was only available from 4pm that day.

Jeyaretnam then claimed he had emailed IMDA and made three requests:

1. That the session be postponed until 4pm that day
2. That the session be delayed by half an hour in order for their Chairman to arrive
3. That he be permitted to make a speech from a remote location as he was serving his SHN

All three requests were denied by IMDA, according to Jeyaretnam.

“How can this be a free and fair election? It is so completely one-sided as to be a farce”, he said.

He added that his party will be lodging a complaint to the United Nations after this election.

IMDA Refutes Claims

In response, IMDA said that all parties were briefed on 26 June, days before the broadcast.

It claimed that the parties were informed of the format and recording schedules, as well as the fact that recording slots would be confirmed after Nomination Day.

Representatives from RP were present and no concerns were raised, IMDA said.

According to IMDA, the recording schedules were sent to all political parties on 1 July, a day after Nomination Day, and RP’s representatives were contacted via email and phone, reported Mothership.

The authority said that RP’s representatives acknowledged the email and refuted Jeyaretnam’s claims about denying his requests:

“It is not true that Mr Jeyaratnam was not allowed to record a CPB because he was serving a Stay Home Notice. IMDA never received any request to do so,” it said.

In other words, it’s all fake news, according to IMDA.

RP Requested Postponement Half an Hour Before Broadcast

IMDA then threw a stick of dynamite into the mix by claiming that RP had sent them an email on 2 July, half an hour before its slot, requesting to postpone the session.

However, two of RP’s representatives were already present at the location, so they proceeded with the recording.

It was also difficult to reschedule the session because postponement would affect the recording sessions for other parties and candidates, IMDA said.

They added that all other parties and candidates were able to record their political broadcasts at their allocated times without any issues.

Yes, it’s yet another he said, she said argument before the election. Polling Day is only three days away, but I’m sure we’ll have a few more disputes till then.

And on a side note, candidates have been talking about NCMP (Non-Constituency Member of Parliament) in recent days. So, what’s an NCMP? Do you know that it’s just like an MP but the allowance is much lower? Watch this video to find out more: