LATEST - In a letter dated 29th March 2001, the Minister of Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng rejected the appeal by organisers of the "Save JBJ" Rally. The decision dealt yet another blow to democratic transparency of license issuances. However, MHA left an option for the rally organisers to reapply for the permit under an organisation. Read the letter below.
MHA (PS) 10/3/02
MlNISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
Joint Operations Division
Phoenix Park, Tanglin Road
Singapore 247904
Tel: 838 5706
Fax: 838 5702
29 Mar 2001
Mr James Gomez
Chairman
Organising Committee, Public Rally
PROPOSED POLITICAL RALLY
Please refer to your letter dated 28 March 2001 addressed to the Minister for Home Affairs appealing against the refusal by the licensing officer to approve the application to hold a political rally at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium.
2 The Minister has considered your appeal. I regret to inform you that your appeal is not successful.
3 Political rallies have the potential to lead to law and order problems. The Minister has agreed with the assessment of the licensing officer that, given the scale and nature of the intended event, there is the concern over the issue of accountability in the event of any law and order problem and that the application, being an application from an individual, should not be supported. However, you may wish to consider reapplying for the permit as an organisation.
4 When the Police issues a permit for a privately organised public meeting or entertainment, it is a standard condition that the organiser of such a private event has to employ sufficient resources to maintain an orderly conduct of the event. This may include the deployment of security guards or other personnel to manage the crowd. The Police will discuss with the organiser to assess the resources he will need to deploy and the conditions to be imposed. The organiser must be held accountable for any breach of the peace arising from the private event he organises. The Police cannot be providing security for such privately organised events.
5 Although there was no mention of public solicitation of funds in the application, you were quoted as having said at a press conference on 9 Mar 2001 that the event was for the purpose of fund raising. This was confirmed by a posting on the Think Centre website. The licensing officer had advised you that under the House to House and Street Collections Act, it is an offence to appeal for funds in a public place without a licence. In considering any fresh application, assurance must be given that there will not be any public solicitation for funds.
THE HOME TEAM - HERE TO MAKE IT RIGHT
