NHG's employee sceptical of Dr Vivian’s calls for a ‘fair and dignified’ outcome in the 2nd STTA fiasco

Singaporeans sceptical of Dr Vivian’s calls for a ‘fair and dignified’ outcome in the 2nd STTA fiasco

Three weeks after the eruption of the 2nd ping pong controversy which was sparked by STTA President Lee Bee Wah’s remarks about ex-coach Liu Guodong lacking “professionalism and integrity”, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has finally revealed his stance on the matter.

While there were calls for him to intervene to resolve the matter like what happened last year, Dr Vivian ruled out intervention by his ministry. He urged all sides involved to aim for a ‘fair and dignified’ outcome.

The ministry’s Senior Parliamentary Secretary Teo Ser Luck also said he was happy with progress made so far and hoped the dispute would not end in legal action.

The ministry’s half-hearted and lacklustre replies did not come down well with ordinary Singaporeans who continue to clamor for Lee Bee Wah’s resignation.

In less a day, the online petition set up to call for Lee’s removal from STTA saw an increase of almost 200 signatures lampooning Lee as well as Dr Vivian and Teo Ser Luck.

Singaporeans are adamant that Lee Bee Wah apologized to the coach.

Wrote Lim Chai Ju:

Lim Chai Ju

By calling for dignified outcome, does Dr VB mean to ask the Singaporeans be less opposing, compromise and settle somewhere in between, therefore not insisting for an apology from LBW? So that she can continue to flex her wings again in the future?

Tan Kien Tung was sceptical of Dr Vivian’s definition of a “dignified” outcome:

Tan Kien Tung

Dignified could simply mean to settle without asking the STTA president to apologise nor admit anything wrong doing (give chance lah!), then just move on and close the file, this is what is implied. Too simplistic really, you see, Singaporeans are being treated like fools, time and again

Patrick Tong felt it was Lee who treated Liu unfairly in the first place.

Patrick Tong

Doc is urging all sides involved to aim for a “fair and dignified” outcome, so what is fair and dignified? Was here any fairness when LBW made Liu to leave last year, and not nominating him this year, is this so-called fairnss? What has Doc said?

Tan Boon Liong was equally scathing in his remarks:

Tan Boon Liong

What is dignity to STTA? Scheming a concerted effort to push someone off the cliff to satisfy one single person, the power that be?

Yong Siew Look took issue with Teo Ser Luck’s response:

Yong Siew Look

I think Teo SL has different definition of happiness. He said he was happy with the progress, but not sure if he is happy with LBW, actually happy can mean so many things in life, just like some students say they are happy with their test result of 15 marks, fail badly yet happy? May be.

Another netizen lambasted Dr Vivian’s comment that the profile of the sports was raised by the saga:

Profile raised..

” the fact that ppl can be bothered, that ppl are worked up, shows ppl are paying interest and care . …. that reflects the fact that the profile of sport has been raised…” SO are u saying it is good thing afterall …..THAT COACH LGD ’s BEEN FORCED OUT OF SPORE, REPUTATION TARNISHED WHILE LEEBWAH WENT INTO HIDING WHEN CONFRONTED BY LGD?! AND TIS RAISES THE PROFILE OF LITTLE RED DOT? GEE , U SURE HAVE A WEIRD SENSE OF HUMOUR !

From the comments posted on the petition, it appeared that Singaporeans are really peeved off with the way Lee Bee Wah and STTA had conducted themselves.

Despite attempts by the media to play down the dispute and salvage the reputation of the embattled Lee, Singaporeans remained sceptical about the “fair and dignified” outcome hoped for by Dr Vivian.

The public fury shows no signs of abating and to some Singaporeans, nothing less than Lee’s departure will placate them.

Though Lee had now expressed willingness to meet Liu in person, Liu is unable to come to Singapore in the near future due to work committments.

How long more will this fiasco rumble on? Will Singaporeans still remember it after two months? What “deal” will STTA make with Liu Guodong under the table to save the “face” for Lee Bee Wah?

Besides Dr Vivian and Teo, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and ex-STTA President Yeo Guat Kwang had also commented on the saga. Goh felt the matter was not handled properly while Yeo called on STTA to account to the public as soon as possible.

In spite of increasing public pressure for STTA to explain its actions, it has wilfully refused to do so. Perhaps in the eyes of STTA, a “fair and dignified” outcome means ensuring its President get away scot-free for her words without needing to substantiate them while keeping Liu as far away as possible from Singapore and quietly praying that Singaporeans will soon forget about the entire episode altogether.

Regardless of the outcome, Lee Bee Wah has lost all moral authority to remain as President of STTA.

Please sign on the two online petitions if you haven’t done so:

1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong

2. Petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President

Turn up at Hong Lim Park on 6 June 2009 between 5pm to 6.30pm to sign the petition calling for her removal as STTA President.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28588.74

NHG employee's diatribe on Lee Bee Wah getting nowhere

Where is STTA’s “fairness and dignity” when its President made damaging remarks about Liu without substantiating it?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan urged all sides involved in the ongoing dispute between STTA and Liu Guodong to aim for a ‘fair and dignified’ outcome. (read article here)

What “fair and dignified” outcome is Dr Vivian hoping for after all the damage that STTA has inflicted on a coach who brought back Singapore’s first Olympic silver medal in 48 years?

Let me borrow this analogy posted by a netizen on the petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President:

“The tennis game analogy is lame, how about this, I punch you on your face (outburst during Olympics), followed by a round horse slap to the back of your head (not nominating you for the ‘Coach of the year award’), followed by a final kick to your groin (character assault), after that you still struggle to stand up amid great pain, walk up to me and ask why I hit you, I go and hide in one corner. After a while, showing no remorse, I go back to you and ask you, come, let’s have a fair and dignified ending……ARE YOU JOKING OR WHAT? Think about this, if the reverse was carried out by Liu to LBW, will all the relevant leaders still say the same thing, let’s have a fair and dignified outcome?”

Where is the fairness of STTA and Lee Bee Wah when they refuse to nominate Liu Guodong for the “Coach of the year” award without giving any explanations?

Where is their fairness when Lee made a public remark casting aspersions on Liu’s professionalism and integrity without substantiating her allegations?

Where is Lee Bee Wah’s dignity when she went hiding and refused to meet Liu in person after he flew all the way from Beijing to Singapore to seek clarifications for her words?

Where is STTA’s dignity when they sent two officials to meet Liu with the intention of deceiving him to sign an English document which he can’t read or understand to absolve Lee Bee Wah from all legal liabilities?

And does Singaporeans have any dignity left after Lee Bee Wah single-handedly shamed the entire nation with her attitude, conduct and behavior? Where is her PROFESSIONALISM and INTEGRITY???

Teo Ser Luck still got the cheek to say that he is “happy” that “progress” has been made! Is there any “progress” other than the relentless media spin and propaganda to defuse public anger and to obsfuscate the entire matter?

The media is now protraying Liu Guodong as a sore loser who took issue with STTA for not nominating him for the award when it was Lee Bee Wah who started the fiasco with her careless and insensitive words.

Had she been more tactful and diplomatic enough, she would have declined offering her views and instead ask the media to wake for an official statement from STTA.

Now that she had jumped the gun and claimed that Liu Guodong was not nominated for the award due to lack of “professionalism and integrity” on his part, we can never be sure if this was really the reason behind STTA’s refusal to nominate him in the first place.

Straits Times Editor Han Fook Kwang, in the defending his paper from critics that it was biased towards the Aware old guards, wrote:

“Our internal processes, which involve several layers of editing and gate-keeping, ensure that individual reporters do not push their own agendas.” (read article here)

Mr Han, can you please explain how your “internal processes” fail to detect the blatant intellectual dishonesty of your reporters to distort the truth beyond recognition to save the skin of Lee Bee Wah? What agenda are you pushing here?

There can only be one fair and dignified outcome in this matter to prevent it from going to courts: Lee Bee Wah retracts her statements, issue an unreserved public apology to Liu Guodong and resign from STTA to take personal responsiblity for bringing disrepute to STTA.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that Lee Bee Wah is now agreeable to meeting Liu in person. What is the purpose of the meeting? Ask Liu to forget about the matter and leave Singapore for good?

Lee Bee Wah is an adult. As a public figure and MP, she should know how much damage her words can inflict on the reputation of Liu Guodong or anybody else. She is impugning on another person’s character which can be taken to mean that he is are dishonest, untrustworthy, unprincipled, corrupt and unethical.

What did Liu do to deserve such a testimony from his superior? Did he slack on his job, steal money or take advantage of his female players? Till now, Lee Bee Wah still has not quote an example to lend support to her words.

Liu Guodong has been sensible, graceful and magnanimous enough to be amenable to mediation by third parties while emphasizing that he does not want to destroy his relationship with STTA completely.

Had it been MM Lee, a lawyer’s letter will probably be sent to Lee Bee Wah by now and there will be no room for any mediation.

Can STTA please show some sincerity by taking back the words said by its President? Call a press conference and issue a public statement that “there is nothing wrong with Liu Guodong’s professionalism and integrity” and bring the saga to a fair and dignified ending.

It doesn’t even need to provide any explanation for not nominating Liu for the “Coach of the year award” or apologize on behalf of Lee Bee Wah. That’s all Liu had ever wanted - to clear his name.

I can draft the statement for STTA in less than one minute:

“The Singapore Table Tennis Association regrets the misunderstanding which had arisen from media reports about Coach Liu lacking “professionalism and integrity” as reasons for not nominating him for the “Coach of the year” award.

Coach Liu has been exemplary in both his character and professionalism during his stint with STTA. We thank him for his contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Come on, what’s so difficult about giving the man what he wants? That is the least he deserved from STTA after what had transpired. Why must this allow to drag on like an old broken tape recorder? Does STTA really want to wait for Liu’s return to Singapore to resolve the matter?

Just do it now and move on!

Addendum:

Regardless of the outcome, Lee Bee Wah has lost all moral authority to remain as President of STTA.

Please sign on the two online petitions if you haven’t done so:

1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong

2. Petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President

Turn up at Hong Lim Park on 6 June 2009 between 5pm to 6.30pm to sign the petition calling for her removal as STTA President.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.70

NHG's employee desperates to keep Lee Bee Wah issue alive

Lee Bee Wah to meet Liu Guodong; ex-President Yeo urged STTA to account to the public

According to reliable sources, Lee Bee Wah will be meeting Liu Guodong at a later date. Both parties are willing to resolve the matter amicably as soon as possible.

As Liu Guodong is very busy of late, it may need a bit more time to arrange for a suitable date to meet. Liu’s wife will be delivering on 29 June. He is likely to remain in Beijing.

In the meantime, ex-STTA President Yeo Guat Kwang expressed concerns that the Liu Guodong saga has dragged on for too long and urged STTA to settle the matter and give a proper account to the people as soon as possible.

Yeo said that STTA should handle the matter proactively as it arose out of its decision not to nominate Liu for the “Coach of the year” award.

He said that STTA had its own transparent system of settling disputes between the players and coaches and an independent committee can be appointed if necessary to bring the matter to a close.

“Though there is nothing wrong to remain silent at times, STTA should account to the public soon. This matter has dragged on for too long”, Yeo said.

Yeo praised Dr Vivian’s suggestion to seek a third party’s help in mediating to resolve the differences between them. He felt that since matters have come to such a stage, it is no longer a personal matter between the coach and STTA alone. It is time for STTA to come out and account itself to the public.

EDITORS’ NOTE:

We support Mr Yeo’s call for STTA to explain its recent actions to Singaporeans which appeared to lack “professionalism and integrity”.

STTA should call a press interview immediately to answer the following questions:

1. What are the criteria for a coach to qualified for nomination as “Coach of the year”?

2. What are the reasons behind STTA not nominating Liu Guodong for the award?

3. Is it an unanimous decision made by all members of STTA’s exco?

4. Does STTA support its President’s explanation that Liu was not nominated for the award because he lacked professionalism and integrity and if so, can it please substantiante its allegations?

5. Who ordered the two STTA officials to pass the English document to Liu Guodong to sign?

6. Who had been giving Shin Min Daily “insider information” to smear the character of Liu Guodong?

Regardless of the outcome, Lee Bee Wah has lost all moral authority to remain as President of STTA.

Please sign on the two online petitions if you haven’t done so:

1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong

2. Petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President

Turn up at Hong Lim Park on 6 June 2009 between 5pm to 6.30pm to sign the petition calling for her removal as STTA President.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.69

NHG's employee of wayangparty defames Shin Min Daily

CONFIRMED: Shin Min Daily is now the “Jamban” Times

Even when other SPH papers are distancing themselves from Lee Bee Wah, Shin Min Daily has chosen to stick by the woman who had incurred the wrath of the entire nation to the extent of distorting facts and spinning tales to save her skin.

Shin Min is the only paper which published and gave prominent coverage to Lee Bee Wah’s speech in Parliament. It even devoted a space for her on the front page (29 May 2009:

The article which took up almost half of page 6, tried to protray Lee Bee Wah as a kind, compassionate and understanding MP fighting for the rights of elderly workers:

Save your efforts, Shin Min. It is too late for Lee to redeem herself. Had she been gracious enough to meet Liu Guodong and retract her statements made about him, Singaporeans may still consider giving her another chance.

Now that she had retreated behind STTA to continue her slugfest against Liu, she has lost the respect of Singaporeans!

Obviously either the top editors of Shin Min or its journalists have connections with Lee Bee Wah and STTA.

Are they grassroots volunteers in Lee Bee Wah’s Nee Soon South constituency too?

Why are they going out of the way to defend Lee Bee Wah while the other papers seem unwilling to give her any more coverage?

If there is anybody who knows where the missing link is, please email us at wayangparty@hotmail.com

Sign on the two online petitions if you haven’t done so:

1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong

2. Petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President

Turn up at Hong Lim Park on 6 June 2009 between 5pm to 6.30pm to sign the petition calling for her removal as STTA President.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.67

NHG's employee of wayangparty lost the plot of petition to oust Lee Bee Wah

Irresponsible for Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to distance himself from the STTA saga

Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the controversy between the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) and its former head coach is “unfortunate” and he hopes the issue will be resolved amicably.

Amid calls for the government to step in, the Sports Minister said neither his ministry nor the Singapore Sports Council will get involved in the “micro-managing” of awards. This, he said, was best left to the sporting fraternity.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has missed the point altogether. The crux of the entire issue does not lie with STTA not nominating Liu Guodong for the “Coach of the year” award, but in Lee Bee Wah’s blunt remarks insinuating that Liu lacked “professionalism and integrity” which sparked off the controversy in the first place.

Singaporeans are calling Dr Vivian to step in not to “micromanage the awards”, but to resolve the matter by asking Lee Bee Wah to either substantiate her allegations about Liu Guodong or retract her statements and apologize without any reservation.

As he has demonstrated last year by making Lee Bee Wah apologized publicly for her unwarranted outburst in Beijing, Dr Vivian has the power to intervene to put a stop to the protracted tussle which is dragging the entire sporting fraternity into disrepute.

Dr Vivian added that the SNOC and NSAs are governed by their respective constitutions, and the ministry and SSC are not involved in their routine operations or programmes.

If this is indeed so, who appointed Lee Bee Wah to take over from Choo Wei Kiang as STTA President 3 weeks before the team’s departure to Beijing just in time for her to bask in the limelight of the Beijing Olympics?

Was Lee Bee Wah ever voted into her position as STTA President? Since she clearly has no “mandate” to lead the organization, why can’t she be removed from her position and allow a more suitable candidate to take over?

Dr Vivian and his ministry oversees the development of sports in Singapore. STTA is not a private table tennis association. It is funded entirely by taxpayers’ monies. Surely Singaporeans should have a say in how the association is being run?

Of course we do not expect to meddle in the daily modus operandi of STTA, but in this instance, it is pretty clear that STTA has gone completely off tangent under the leadership (if it’s the correct word to use) of Lee Bee Wah.

Is this the proper behavior of a President to cast aspersions on the character of an ex-employer without substantiating her claims and then vanished into thin air when the accused came to seek her for clarifications in person?

Shouldn’t a leader take responsibility for her own words and defend herself instead of using STTA as a shield to protect herself from the legal liabilities?

Lee Bee Wah has betrayed the trust of Singaporeans and hurt our feelings again and again.

During the first ping pong controversy last year, there were already calls for her to step down as STTA President.

In less than a year’s time, she repeated the same mistake again. Her callousness, arrogance and ineptitude are simply too much for us to bear.

Being a national association funded by the public, STTA has to be accountable to the people of Singapore.

Unless STTA is owned by Lee Bee Wah, she has no right to continue clinging onto her position in the face of widespread anger and opposition to her leadership.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, please take note of the sentiments on the ground and take appropriate actions to reverse the damage already done to our image at home and abroad before it is too late. The ball is in your court right now.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.66

End coach spat amicably

May 30, 2009

End coach spat amicably

Minister suggests a role for mediation centre; he rules out intervention by the Government

By Jeremy Au Yong
		Mr Liu headed to China earlier this month after five days of fruitless talks. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

THE dispute between the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) and its former coach is 'unfortunate', but Dr Vivian Balakrishnan urged all sides involved to aim for a 'fair and dignified' outcome.

The Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister indicated that the Singapore Mediation Centre could play a role if need be, and reiterated his hope for a mediated outcome rather than a 'slug fest where only one person walks out of the ring'.

He was responding in Parliament to Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC) who asked for his comments on the table tennis spat.

The dispute started three weeks ago when the STTA refused to nominate former national head coach Liu Guodong for the Singapore Sports Awards - an award many believed Mr Liu was a shoo-in to win. But the STTA said he was not worthy of the accolade.

Angered by what he saw as a slight on his character and integrity, Mr Liu demanded an explanation and flew here from his base in China to discuss the matter. But the matter remains unresolved and Mr Liu has not ruled out legal action.

Dr Balakrishnan ruled out intervention by his ministry: 'Whilst we provide funding to the national sports associations, I think we have, as a matter of discipline, learnt not to micro-manage and not to get involved with the details of operations and in fact even with the details of selection...

'These are decisions best made on the ground by officials, coaches and players and by the people who constitute the sports fraternity for each relevant sport. So I'm very hesitant to say we should go in and second-guess or countermand decisions.'

The primary concern of the ministry and the Singapore Sports Council was in ensuring good governance in the associations.

Dr Balakrishnan, who likened the spat to a disputed line-call in tennis, said it was important not to become 'so distracted or so upset by (it) that you end up losing the match'.

But he told Mr Seah there was a silver lining: 'The fact that people can be bothered, that people are worked up, shows that people are paying interest and care. That reflects the fact that the profile of sport has been raised...It would be much worse if nobody even cared about this award and it didn't even become an issue.'

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.65

NHG employee's wayangparty does not have Straits Times' support

Straits Times twisting facts to save the ass of Lee Bee Wah!!!

Not only did the “Jamban virus” inflict Shin Min Daily, even the Straits Times has fallen victim to it too! In the span of two weeks, the truth about the Liu Guodong fiasco has been distorted beyond recognition by the Singapore state media which is truly deserving of its 141st position on the World Press Freedom Index conducted by international media watchdog Reporters without borders.

In response to a question by MP Seah Kian Peng, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan called on all parties embroiled in the STTA dispute to settle the matter ‘in a dignified and fair manner’

Instead of reporting the case based entirely on facts, the Straits Times felt fit to twist the story in order to leave its chief culprit Lee Bee Wah out of the picture:

Myth#1: STTA had said Liu was not worthy of the award

FACT: Since when did STTA say that? STTA did not issue any official statement on the reasons why Liu Guodong was not nominated for the award. Can the Straits Times please substantiate its claims?

Myth #2: Liu Guodong was unhappy that he was not nominated for the “Coach of the year” award.

FACT: Liu Guodong had stated categorically that winning the award is of little significance to him as long his contributions are recognized by Singaporeans. In a recent interview by Lianhe Wanbao, Liu thanked netizens for starting a petition to SNOC on this matter. He said he is very happy regardless of whether he gets any honor in the end because he did not waste his 3 years stay in Singapore.

Myth #3: Liu Guodong flew to Singapore to demand an explanation from STTA on why he was not nominated for the award.

FACT: Liu Guodong was infuriated by STTA President Lee Bee Wah’s remarks to the media insinuating that he lacked “professionalism and integrity.” He flew to Singapore to seek clarification from Lee Bee Wah in person. Lee did not meet him and despatch two STTA officials to cajole Liu to sign a document in English which he did not understand to absolve her from all liabilities. The saga has nothing to do with STTA in the first place since it had never issued any official statement explaining why Liu was not nominated.

Myth #4: Liu Guodong does not deserve the award as he neglected the men’s team:

FACT: Liu Guodong had to manage both the man and woman’s team. Given the severe constraints he faced, he is perfectly justified to devote more time and resources to the woman team. His decision was vindicated when the woman team won the coveted Olympic silver medal. That was the reason why he was recruited by STTA: to win medals for Singapore. Had he spent equitable time with both teams, Singapore may not be able to win any medals at the Olympics. If STTA disapprove of Liu’s coaching style, why did it bother to renew his contract last year?

The mainstream will be publishing more hogwash in the next few weeks to salvage the battered image of Lee Bee Wah.

Singaporeans must never forget the folllowing facts:

1. Lee Bee Wah was SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for this fracas, not STTA.

2. Lee Bee Wah has DISGRACED Singaporeans with her handling of the fiasco. This is not the manner to treat an Olympic medal winning coach.

3. Lee Bee Wah owed Singaporeans an APOLOGY for the hurt, distress and agony she had caused us regardless of the outcome.

Now it is the time to send a strong and unmistakable message to her.

Sign on the two online petitions if you haven’t done so:

1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong

2. Petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President

Turn up at Hong Lim Park on 6 June 2009 between 5pm to 6.30pm to sign the petition calling for her removal as STTA President.

We will have a reporter on standby to interview you. Tell us why you want Lee Bee Wah to step down from STTA. (we can have your face blurred or simply record your voice). We will compile the video interviews, upload them on youtube and forward it to all the PAP MPs in Parliament.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28588.72

STTA dispute: Settle fairly, move on

May 29, 2009

STTA dispute

Settle fairly, move on

		Liu demanded an explanation and flew to Singapore earlier this month to seek a resolution to the argument. -- ST PHOTO: ALBERT SIM

THE parties embroiled in the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) dispute over the nomination process for the Coach of the Year Award should settle the matter 'in a dignified and fair manner', Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports urged on Friday.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said 'it is unfortunate' that the non-nomination of the former national tennis coach Liu Guodong has evolved into a public dispute between the coach and the STTA.

'As the parties involved are still trying to resolve this issue, I would refrain from passing any comments at this point of time,' he said in Parliament, when responding to a question from MP for Marine Parade GRC, Mr Seah Kian Peng.

'We shouldn't over-react nor should we... raise the level of emotions and generate more heat and light. Right now suffice to say, we would encourage everyone to try and arrive at a fair and dignified outcome, and let's learn to move on.'

Mr Seah had asked the minister to outline the roles and involvement of MCYS with the Singapore Sports Council, Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and the various national sports associations (NSAs). He also wanted to know what are the learning points from the ministry's perspective on the nomination process for the Coach of the Year Award, given the public interest on the issue.

The latest turn of events arose after the association refused to nominate ex-national head coach Liu for this year's Singapore Sports Awards, which many believed he would be a shoo-in to win. STTA had said then that Liu was not worthy of the award.

Angered by what he saw as a slight on his character and integrity, Liu demanded an explanation and flew to Singapore earlier this month to seek a resolution to the argument. However, after two meetings with STTA officials, he left in a huff, saying nothing had been resolved.

Liu, 35, left the association last year after leading the women's table tennis team to a historic silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. But he also made the news for his controversial management style. He was accused of neglecting the men's team and then-Singapore No. 1 Wang Yuegu in the build-up to the Olympics.

In his response on Friday, Dr Balakrishnan said the Singapore Sports Awards is a programme initiated by the SNOC in 1967. The Awards include the Coach of the Year. They are governed by a framework of rules and selection criteria set by the SNOC.

'SNOC would make these rules and selection criteria clear to all parties involved before each round of nominations,' explained the minister. 'The NSAs decide on their nominations for SNOC awards, after taking into account all the relevant factors. MCYS and SSC are not involved in the NSAs' nomination process or the final decision by SNOC.'

He added that the SNOC and NSAs are governed by their respective constitutions, and the ministry and SSC are not involved in their routine operations or programmes.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28588.71

NHG's employee jealous of Lee Bee Wah’s Khakis

2 STTA Deputy Presidents and 1 Vice President are Lee Bee Wah’s Khakis from Nee Soon South!!!

Thanks to a reader’s tip off, we did some background check and found out that almost half of STTA’s top echelon hails from Lee Bee Wah’s grassroots network in Nee Soon South!!

They are:

Jack Soh Tze Churn:

Deputy President, STTA

Chairman, Nee Soon South Citizens Consultative Committee

Ng Ah Hwee:

Deputy President, STTA

Patron, Nee Soon South Citizens Consultative Committee

[Source: Nee Soon South CCC]

Teo Hock Hoe:

Vice President, STTA

Vice-Chairman, Nee Soon South Constituency Sports Club

[Source: Nee Soon South CSC]

Were they all recruited into STTA after Lee Bee Wah became its President? How many Deputy Presidents and Vice Presidents does STTA have before their arrival? Why does a small sports association need 3 Deputy Presidents and 4 Vice Presidents?

The three of them have worked under Lee Bee Wah in Nee Soon South Constituency. Are they paid for their portfolios in STTA or are they serving on a voluntary basis?

How many of the employed staff of STTA recruited by Lee Bee Wah are her subordinates in Nee Soon South? What is the justification for their employment?

As an organization funded entirely by taxpayers’ monies, Singaporeans deserve to know whether STTA is spending the budget allocated to it wisely.

Should more funds be diverted to improve the salaries of the coaches, players and ground staff instead of so many top level administrative staff?

All STTA need is no more than 1 President and 1 Deputy President to cover for the President in his/her absence. The other positions are absolutely redundant and can be done away with.

Are we seeing a form of cronyism in practice here where friends and acquaintances are roped in by a person in power to bolster his/her position instead of based solely on merits and abilities?

STTA offered Liu Guodong a monthly salary of $4,000 only last year which caused him to leave Singapore. Surely STTA can pay him a bit more when it can afford so many Deputy Presidents, Vice Presidents and management committee members!

Is Lee Bee Wah turning STTA into her own personal fiefdom? Who dare to oppose her when she has so many khakis planted in the association? Does that explain why STTA has been making uncharacteristic blunders after blunders in its handling of the fracas with Liu Guodong? Is this the reason why they are standing by her and are even prepared to be sued by Liu collectively though they may disagree with her in private because they cannot afford to jeopardize their political careers by offending her?

Politicians should never be involved in running sports associations. They should be run professionally like in the corporate sector where only the best candidate is selected to lead them.

What attributes does Lee Bee Wah possess to run STTA other than she played a few games of ping pong during her NTU days and the fact that she is a PAP MP?

Are our monies being put into good use? How can we allow the PAP to monopolize everything in this country from the civil service, the police, the media and now even sports?

Can we expect the PAP to check on itself when it is so obsessed with control? You and I know the answer.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.62

NHG's employee unable to remove Lee Bee Wah from STTA

Lee Bee Wah unfazed by public anger against her: “I am still OK!”

According to sources from STTA and Nee Soon South, Lee Bee Wah remained unfazed by the torrent of public criticism against her even after receiving the petition of 4,000 signatures from us:

One reason is that Lee was from a “different generation”. She seldom surfs the internet except to check her emails. Furthermore, she is surrounded by sycophants who dare not reflect the reality on the ground to her.

Lee thinks that the petition is not accurate and is only the work of a “a few troublemakers” to create the erroneous impression that Singaporeans are angry with her. She was greeted by friendly faces everywhere she went during her walkabouts in her constituency and there was no feedback about the saga from the residents.

It seems that Lee Bee Wah does not take Singaporeans seriously. She is trying to ride out the storm in the hope that public unhappiness will soon subside and she will continue running STTA the way as before.

After all, Singaporeans were mad at her unwarranted outburst at the Beijing Olympics last year too, but she still emerged from the episode a victor. While she remained as STTA President, Liu Guodong and Antony Lee were send packing.

Liu will not dare to take legal action against her rashly given his own job committment. As long she remains silent on the matter and pretend nothing has happened, nobody can do anything to her.

Are Singaporeans really that forgetful? Have you forgiven Lee Bee Wah already? Do you want to see her go?

Now it is the time to send a strong and unmistakable message to her.

Sign on the two online petitions if you haven’t done so:

1. Petition to DPM Teo Chee Hean to give special award to Liu Guodong

2. Petition to remove Lee Bee Wah as STTA President

Turn up at Hong Lim Park on 6 June 2009 between 5pm to 6.30pm to sign the petition calling for her removal as STTA President.

We will have a reporter on standby to interview you. Tell us why you want Lee Bee Wah to step down from STTA. (we can have your face blurred or simply record your voice). We will compile the video interviews, upload them on youtube and forward it to all the PAP MPs in Parliament.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.61

NHG's employee envies strong support given by STTA to Lee Bee Wah

STTA Exco standing by Lee Bee Wah: Who is going to foot their legal fees if Liu Guodong decides to sue?

According to the Straits TImes, the Singapore Table Tennis Association’s (STTA) executive committee have reached an agreement on how to handle the ongoing dispute with former national coach Liu Guodong.

The committee members, of whom 3 are grassroots leaders from Lee Bee Wah’s ward, Nee Soon South, are unanimous in their decision to support Lee Bee Wah.

We can’t stop other’s actions, but we will support our president,’ STTA vice-president Han Hgge Juan told Shin Min Daily yesterday. The paper also reported that the association was prepared to face legal action from Liu.

The dispute started three weeks ago, following comments Ms Lee made regarding Liu’s omission from this year’s Singapore Sports Awards.

Liu, who led the women’s team to a historic Olympic silver medal last year, felt that his character had been called into question by her remarks.

He had flown in from China and spent a fruitless five days here trying to resolve the dispute with the STTA over a week ago. Before he left, Liu told reporters that he had not ruled out taking legal action against the association.

Though STTA did not nominate Liu for the award, it did not give its reasons for doing so. It was Lee Bee Wah who made the baseless allegations against Liu which she is still unable to substantiate now.

STTA should have distanced itself from Lee’s remarks in the first place instead of embroiling itself in an unnecessary controversy not to their doing.

As a leader, it is a shame that Lee Bee Wah lacked the decency to take personal responsibility for her words and instead chose to drag a national sports association funded by taxpayers’ monies into the mudslinging.

The case does not need to go to the courts at all.

If Lee Bee Wah felt she has strong evidence to justify her claims that Liu Guodong lacks professionalism and integrity in his work, state so openly in public and let Singaporeans judge for themselves. Singaporeans will surely rally to her side if there are compelling reasons for her to deny Liu the “Coach of the year” award and Liu will have little choice but to back off.

However, if Lee Bee Wah is unable to substantiate her allegations, she should retract her statement and issue an open apology to him in the papers thereby closing the unfortunate episode.

Liu Guodong has already indicated that he only wants to seek redress to clear his name in public and the legal route is only a last resort for him to resolve the impasse if all else fails.

Any reasonable person would not have lent support to Lee Bee Wah’s desperate attempt to hide behind STTA to save her own skin. The entire fiasco was sparked off solely by her and she herself should handle it instead of keeping mum on the matter and pretending nothing has happened.

Now since STTA has stuck its neck out and ratified Lee Bee Wah’s initial statements made about Liu which are deemed potentially defamatory in nature by many lawyers interviewed by the press, the entire executive committee of STTA will be held liable in a defamation suit against Lee Bee Wah (thanks to Zheng Xi for the lead)

In 1995, the entire Workers’ Party CEC was sued for defamation for an article published in the Tamil language “Hammer” allegedly impuging on the integrity of Indian PAP MPs.

More recently in 2006, SDP’s CEC was sued collectively by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for an article in its newsletter Singapore Democrat which compares the modus operandi of the Singapore government unfavorably to the National Kidney Foundation.

The legal repercussions and complicities involved should the matter be hauled up to courts may be a possible reason for the recent departure of STTA’s CEO Chew Soon Sheng and another unverified committee member.

Now should Liu really initiate legal proceedings against STTA either in Singapore or China, who will foot the legal fees of STTA? Will STTA be dipping into its coffers to fight the case? Since every single cent used to fund STTA’s operations come from Singaporeans, STTA should inform us if it is going to use public funds for this purpose.

I sincerely implore the committee members of STTA to review their decisions to support Lee Bee Wah. You are only serving the organization on a voluntary basis. It is not you who made the accusations against Liu Guodong. Why should you take the rap for your president? For the sake of yourself and your family, you should dissociate from Lee’s words and actions.

If you persist in your decision to defend her to the point of going to the courts, then you should be prepared to fork out the legal fees on your own. It will be treason to make misuse public funds for such a frivolous fracas which is entirely preventable in the first place.

I hereby call on the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports, Singapore Sports Council and other relevant authorities to conduct an inquiry into possible mismanagement of STTA by its President Lee Bee Wah which has brought disrepute and shame to the sports fraternity and Singaporeans as a whole.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.63

NHG's employee can only garner 400 signatures for support

Liu Guodong thanked netizens for support; 400 netizens want Lee Bee Wah to step down

Translated from 联合晚报:

Liu Guodong said he will accept the award if Singapore National Olympic Council gave him a special award. Liu Guodong thanked netizens for starting a petition to SNOC on this matter.

He said he is very happy regardless of whether he gets any honor in the end because he did not waste his 3 years stay in Singapore.

He claimed many Singaporeans have expressed their support for him and which means that they recognized his contributions in the Beijing Olympics: “This matter to me more than the recognition I received in China.”

Due to his hectic schedule, he will be unable to attend the petition drive next Saturday.

400 netizens will be attending the event held next Saturday at Hong Lim Park. The petition to SNOC to give a special award to Liu Guodong was started by socio-political blog Wayang Party.

According to an online poll done by the blog, over 70% of 600 netizens who voted indicated that they will turn up at next Saturday’s petition drive to ask Lee Bee Wah to step down as STTA President.

In reality, Wayang Party has already collected more than 4,000 signatures in an online petition calling for the resignation of Lee Bee Wah. The petition has been submitted to her in person.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28588.70

Consensus at the STTA

May 27, 2009

Consensus at the STTA

Exco agree on how to handle Liu and are even prepared to go to court

By Jeanette Wang
		The dispute started three weeks ago, following comments Ms Lee made regarding Liu's (left) omission from this year's Singapore Sports Awards. -- ST FILE PHOTO

THE Singapore Table Tennis Association's (STTA) executive committee have reached an agreement on how to handle the ongoing dispute with former national coach Liu Guodong, sources told The Straits Times on Tuesday.

And while they declined to reveal what those steps may be, they are reportedly prepared to go to court - should the China national decide to take legal action against the association.

The agreement follows two STTA monthly meetings on Monday night - one for the exco, another for the management committee - chaired by STTA president Lee Bee Wah at their Toa Payoh headquarters.

When contacted on Tuesday, outgoing STTA chief executive officer Chew Soo Sheng, who had taken the minutes of the meetings' proceedings, declined comment.

Likewise, Lau Pub Taai, one of four STTA vice-presidents, who was absent from the meeting.

Ms Lee and STTA honorary secretary Soon Min Sin could not be reached for comment.

Chew would only say: 'We have made progress, and now the status remains to be seen.

'We are keen to look for an amicable solution, so we will continue to explore different avenues to reach that.'

When asked what these avenues were, he replied: 'There are always avenues if the attitude is sincere.'

The dispute started three weeks ago, following comments Ms Lee made regarding Liu's omission from this year's Singapore Sports Awards.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.58

NHG employee's wayangparty caught with pants down

Letter to Shin Min Daily demanding a public apology for defamatory article maligning wayangparty.com

[EDITORS' NOTE: We have already consulted a lawyer on this matter and has emailed Shin Min Daily the letter below demanding an open apology for the error in their report on 26 May 2009.]

To the Editors of Shin Min Daily:

On 26 May 2009, Shin Min Daily published an article in page 6 alleging that a local blog had made use of the Liu Guodong fiasco to boost its readership:

Though no name was mentioned explicitly, it is obvious that the article is referring to our blog ”Wayang Party” because:

1. We are the only blog which claimed that it is keeping in touch with Liu Guodong and had published a teleconversation with him on 23 May 2009. (http://wayangparty.com/?p=9702)

2. We have received extensive publicity from the mainstream media on our coverage of the Liu Guodong saga. The Straits Times, Channel News Asia and Lianhe Wanbao have quoted our blog in their reports.

3. Given the size of our readership, our readers reading the article will recognize the identity of the blog immediately.

The article suggested that we did not contact Liu Guodong at all by quoting from Liu who said he did not receive any phone call from us.

We did not receive any emails from your journalists enquiring us on the discrepancy between our article and Liu Guodong’s answer which we will be more than happy to provide a detailed explanation.

Our reporter did not tell Liu Guodong that he is from “Wayang Party”. He introduced himself as a freelance reporter from an online daily. Therefore, Liu Guodong is not aware of the fact that we have been defending him on our site. Neither does he know that we have started a petition drive at Hong Lim Park next Saturday in support of him.

Your irresponsible, unethical and unprofessional reporting contain unsubstantiated allegations maligning us with the insinuation that we have been manufacturing lies to mislead and deceive our readers in order to gain cheap publicity.

An unsuspecting reader reading your article would be led to believe that we are dishonest, untrustworthy, , unprincipled, corrupt and unethical bloggers.

We have five documentary evidence to prove that we have contacted Liu Guodong and the conversation we had with him is real which we are more than happy to reveal in court to clear our name:

1. A photograph of Liu and our reporter taken at the lobby of Meritus Mandarin Hotel on the night of 22 May 2009 before his departure from Singapore.

2. Two photographs of the draft document which STTA asked him to sign.

3. Liu Guodong’s handphone number in Singapore.

4. Liu Guodong’s handphone number in China.

5. The 15 minute conversation our reporter had with Liu Guodong on 23 May 2009 which can be easily retrieved from the telco records.

6. If need be, we will call upon Liu Guodong as a witness to testify in court that he has met our reporter on 22 May 2009 and spoken to him over the phone on 23 May 2009.

Wayang Party is one of the top two socio-political blogs in Singapore with a daily readership of more than 10,000.

Your article has has seriously impugned on our honesty, credibility and integrity by suggesting that we have been manufacturing lies and concocting non-existent tales to deceive, mislead and hoodwink our readers.

As such, we are writing to you to demand that you rectify and apologize for the error in your report immediately without further delay.

You are also required to furnish us with the following information:

1. The name(s) of the journalist(s) who wrote the article. (there were three names on the article)

2. The particulars, contact number and address of the journalist(s) for us to serve legal notice on them.

We will give you a grace period of two weeks beginning from 28 May 2009 to publish a public apology in Shin Min Daily acknowledging the factual inaccuracy in the report, publishing the facts as stated and accepting responsibility for your negligience failing which we will seriously consider commencing legal proceedings against your journalists and paper.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28839.59