Young PAP to conduct more checks before admitting members
Netizens are questioning the admission checks on new members conducted by the Young People's Action Party (YP) after a racially inflammatory photo was posted on Facebook by one its members.
YP member Jason Neo sparked an uproar online after he had, in February, posted a picture of young Malay schoolchildren on a religious preschool bus with a caption saying, “"Bus filled with young t*******t trainees?”. The posting was made before he joined YP in June.
A Yahoo! user Simon questioned, "If the posting was made before (he) joined YP in June, how can he join YP later? Did YP check?"
Another user Law65lee wrote, "The party should vigorously vet entrants who wish to be members to avoid as little as possible of their personal wrong doings (if any), in affecting it."
YP's chairman Teo Ser Luck told Channel NewsAsia that Neo's resignation from the party sends the right signal to the rest of the party members.
"I think it's important to let them know that our party actually does respect each other's race, religion, and different cultures," said Teo
"Whether it's his moment of folly or it's just something that's unintended, it's already been done. I think it's important for us as YP, or PAP, to take action very quickly, to show that we have no space for such things," added Teo.
In a Facebook note posted earlier by YP vice-chairman Zaqy Mohamad, he said that YP members are brought it through its various branches. Potential members would have demonstrated a certain level of interest and commitment towards the Party before they would be referred by a trusted comrade for membership.
"The reference would largely be experiential; with the referrer’s knowledge based on his practical and personal encounters with the potential member," Zaqy wrote.
Moving forward, Zaqy also told the broadcaster that it's a lesson learnt for YP and in the future, they may have to do a thorough background check on members and these checks will get more stringent as they take up appointments.
"I think it's worthwhile now to ensure that we have a central messaging mechanism to continuous update our members, not just remind them. It's about updating them on new norms or if there are new developments out there that they need to be aware of," he added.
Zaqy also wrote an email to Syed Abd. Rahman Altahir, principal of Huda Kindergarten, that has been posted on YP's Facebook.
In the email, he extended his apologies on hehalf of the YP and said that the entire party "strongly condemns such comments and similar acts which may affect the racial harmony in Singapore."
He added that the YP will "work towards increasing our activists’ awareness and understanding of the Islamic community and education, in particular, with regards to the Islamic kindergartens in Singapore."
A photo of Teo, Zaqy and Syed in a three-way handshake was also posted on YP's Facebook.
