SINGAPORE: The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has refuted insinuations by former party member Daniel Teo that the party has "been infiltrated and funded by foreign sources", it said on Monday (May 4).
Mr Teo, 36, was expelled by the party last Friday after he admitted that he was behind a video clip that claimed 10 PSP members were working with Singapore People’s Party chairman Jose Raymond and historian Thum Ping Tjin.
AdvertisementAdvertisementReports say that some of the people named in the video have made police reports. Mr Ravi Philemon, a PSP member, said in a Facebook post over the weekend that he made a police report and denied allegations of being "a proxy of foreign powers" made on a certain website, without specifying the website he was referring to.
The Straits Times on Sunday reported Mr Teo as saying that he made the video after receiving information from a third party, who was not named. He also said that he sent the video to one person for fact checking but it was leaked and circulated.
"I wanted to make sure these allegations were cleared once and for all. If there's no proof, then we could all move on," he told the newspaper. "I had good intentions. I accept that I got expelled and am not unhappy."
AdvertisementAdvertisementIn response, the party said: "The video content did not point to PSP having received foreign funding and we would like to state categorically that our party's funding is in compliance with the Political Donations Act."
It said that Mr Teo has made this allegation before to certain members of its Central Executive Committee, but no evidence was presented by him.
"Our internal investigations showed no such matters and his allegations were dismissed. We understand that some members of the Party who have been implicated in the video have made their own police reports and have sought legal counsel."
The Political Donations Act seeks to prevent foreigners from interfering in Singapore's domestic politics through funding of candidates and political associations.
Earlier, PSP said it was informed of Mr Teo's involvement in the anonymous video by one of its members.
"Upon the completion of internal investigations, the Progress Singapore Party has decided on the expulsion of this member," a spokesperson said, adding that it was unable to comment any further on the matter until police investigations are completed.
PSP said on Monday that while it "embraces diversity there is no tolerance for saboteurs".
"Moving forward, the party will not hesitate to expel members that fall short of the party rules of accountability. This is in line with the party's stance and long term goal in making Singapore a better place for all," it said.
Mr Teo's expulsion is the second from PSP in recent months. In March, the party expelled a member, Mr Jan Chan, after he made a religiously offensive Facebook post.
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