Debated in Parliament on 11 Sep 2012.
Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there were breaches of rules and regulations governing outdoor rallies by political parties at the 2001, 2006, 2011 general elections and the 2012 by-election; (b) if so, (i) how many breach(es) were there and what is the nature of the breach(es); (ii) whether any action was taken against the political parties concerned; and (c) what can and will be done to ensure political parties and electoral candidates' strict observance of rules and regulations on outdoor rallies, especially in complying with the end times of the rallies, in the interest of public order and safety.
Page: 722
Mr Speaker, there were 31 breaches of the rules and regulations governing outdoor rallies by contesting parties during the various elections held between 2001 and 2012.
The breaches involved failure to comply with the rally permit conditions. Examples of breaches include not meeting the specifications of barricades, not providing sufficient lighting at rally sites, poor crowd management and exceeding the ending time of the rally. Police has generally issued warnings to the permit holders for these breaches.
The primary concerns for the Police are public order and safety, in view of the crowd size at outdoor rallies. The rules and regulations governing the conduct of outdoor rallies are clearly stated in the Elections Department's Handbook for Candidates and reiterated where possible to candidates, election agents and permit holders.
Page: 723
Police will continue to refine its rules, regulations and penalties to ensure that candidates, agents and/or their permit holders take the permit conditions seriously and adhere strictly with all permit conditions.
For parties or candidates who persist in flouting the permit conditions despite numerous reminders, Police will consider requiring the permit holder to put in place on-site measures to ensure election meetings end on time, for example, automatic timers for the power supply for the audio system, and so on. Police will also consider requiring parties or candidates to provide a deposit which could be forfeited should any breach of permit conditions occur.
Sir, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I am, indeed, very surprised that there have been quite a substantial number of breaches since 2001. My concern in raising this question is I describe it as a banal act of lawlessness, because you can have situations in which parties would compete to see who can push the limits of the conditions governing the permits to the extreme. And I think this would be problematic for crowd control and public safety. I can imagine a situation where you could have a party which pushes it to the limits and the police were forced to intervene. I think that would be a very problematic situation. I certainly hope that the Ministry will take this matter with the necessary urgency. It does not seem like reminders and warnings are of much use.
Currently, Mr Speaker, Police assess the circumstances surrounding each case individually, and will take the appropriate course of action. We believe that we should take a non-escalatory approach at this point in time because as you all know, election periods are times when emotions run high. We want to act on circumstances and evidence, and most of the time, these breaches can be rectified on-site. For example, there are not enough lights or the rostrum is said to be put on one side, and it was actually put on another side. These things can be rectified quite quickly. Those are the kinds of breaches that many of the breaches were like, although the more serious ones where safety and security are compromised, certainly Police would take a very more serious view on that.
I would just like to ask the Minister of State whether the breaches that have been committed in the last few elections were committed by several parties or just one party.
If the Member is asking about breaches by certain political parties – all parties committed these breaches.
Mr Low Thia Khiang, last question.
Page: 724
Sir, I assume the PAP also committed the same breach. Sir, my question is this: whether there had been any public disorder due to the breach of the rules. For instance, not enough lighting or a breach of time limit. Are we assuming that a breach of the regulations or rules necessarily resulted in public disorder?
I think it is prudent for the Police to take a precautionary stance. We do not want any small or even what seems to be a minor breach to be taken lightly. Police orders ought to be taken seriously, no matter how minor the directions are, so that the permit holders, as well as the candidates, can carry out their rallies in an orderly fashion, and then the security and safety of the crowds can be assured. So, no matter how small, how minor, how major, Police will certainly take action on that.
Page: 724
PAPERCUTS