22 June 2010
Bangkok

Singaporeans for Democracy (SFD) will be submitting an independent report on Singapore's electoral system to the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process set up in 2006 to review member countries' human rights record.

Dr. James Gomez informed human rights officer Ms Hannah Wu and several of her colleagues of SFD's plans and secured agreement to the independent submission during a meeting at the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in Bangkok on 22 June 2010.

Director
Internal Security Department
Email: isd@mha.gov.sg
Tel: 62566657

31 May 2010

Re: Mr. Vincent Cheng - ex-Internal Security Act detainee

I am writing to you, on behalf of Singaporeans for Democracy (SFD), about ex-ISA detainee Mr Vincent Cheng’s public speaking engagement at the NUS History Seminar 2010 on 4 June 2010, 2.30p.m at the National Library Board (NLB).

It has come to public attention that the National Library Board has asked the NUS History Society to take Mr. Vincent Cheng off the speakers’ list. Hence on 4 June 2010, Mr. Vincent Cheng will no longer be on the NUS History Seminar’s panel of speakers.

As a registered political association looking into matters of civil and political rights, SFD would like to seek from you answers to the following questions:

17 May 2010
Singapore

Singaporeans for Democracy is deeply concerned over the killing of protestors in Bangkok by Thai government troops.

SFD calls on the Thai government to immediately stop hostilities against the protestors and enter into talks.

SFD further calls on the Singapore government to go beyond advising Singaporeans not to travel to Bangkok and expressing “dismay” and to talk directly with the Thai government to halt the shooting of protestors in Thailand.

Source: The Online Citizen

Each time Mr Seelan Palay has had to fill in the “race” column in application forms, he feels “awkward”. “I’ve cultivated a practice of avoiding to fill it in completely, and many of my friends do the same,” he says in a brief interview with The Online Citizen (TOC).

Mr Seelan feels so strongly that “race” should be removed from the NRIC, an identification card which all Singaporeans carry, that he has started a Facebook group asking others to support the call. The Facebook group currently has 710 members.

3 film-makers at helm of civil society group

(Cassandra Chew, Straits Times, 30 April 2010)

FILM-MAKERS now hold three of the four key posts in the fledgling civil society group Singaporeans For Democracy (SFD).

They are Mr Martyn See, who is its executive secretary; Mr Seelan Palay, its communications director; and Mr Ho Choon Hiong, its finance director.

The group's executive director is Dr James Gomez, a former Workers' Party member now based in Melbourne, where he teaches public relations at Monash University. He plans to continue living in Australia.

Singaporeans for Democracy

Pro-tem President Report
(29 April 2009 to 28 April 2010)

Application

Singaporeans for Democracy (SFD) was conceptualised at a meeting of experienced activists in December 2008 to further civil and political reform in Singapore. Following this first meeting, further online and face-to- face consultations were held to identify key individuals who would form the pro-tem committee. After the pro-tem committee members were identified, it was agreed that an application to register SFD - as a political association - will be lodged with the Registrar of Societies. On 29 April 2009, an online application was submitted via the ROS portal. The application materials are archived under “Documentation” on http://sfd.sg/.

Singaporeans for Democracy will establish a racial discrimination monitoring committee that will run with immediate effect to the duration of the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on Racism's submission of his report.

The aim of the committee is to continue gathering information on racial discrimination and to respond to the UNSR's report when he presents his findings on Singapore before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva (in June 2011) and the UN General Assembly in New York (in November 2011).

Your Excellency
Mr. Githu Muigai,
UN Special Rapporteur on Racism

22 April 2010

Re: Contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances in Singapore

Welcome to Singapore and thank you for meeting with Singaporeans For Democracy (SFD).

We like to highlight the main points in written form below and articulate examples during our face-to-face meeting.

Overview

In 1992, Choo Wee Khiang who was then People's Action Party Member of Parliament, made disparaging remarks about Indians and "Little India". He told Parliament: "One evening, I drove to Little India and it was pitch dark but not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around."

Race exerts a marked influence upon public policy in Singapore. The PAP government`s race related policies has resulted in a high consciousness of an individual`s race. The main example is the statement of race on Singaporean identity cards. This accentuates racial categorization and gives rise to racism and racial discrimination.

20 April 2010
Singapore

SFD will highlight the practice of political discrimination by the PAP government in its upcoming meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur.

The SFD delegation to be led by Dr. James Gomez will comprise of Mr. Martyn See, Ms. Rachel Zeng and Mr. Seelan Palay.