Ravi Philemon to be lead editor at The Independent Singapore
(From left to right): Mr Howard Lee, Mr Kumaran Pillai and Mr Ravi Philemon. Photo: Damien Teo
SINGAPORE – Sociopolitical website The Independent Singapore (TISG) will formally appoint former Singapore People’s Party election candidate Ravi Philemon as its lead editor from June 1, even as it said on Friday (May 27) it wants to delink from any political affiliations in its articles.
At a press conference where TISG shared details of its operations under a new partnership with social enterprise The Opinion Collaborative Ltd (TOC Ltd), Mr Philemon declined to say if he is still with the opposition party, when asked.
But lawyer Alfred Dodwell, one of TISG’s stakeholders, said: “We want to be independent, not just of the People’s Action Party, but any (other opposition party) ... Even as we interviewed Ravi, we made it clear that we would be independent of all parties, to critique fairly, and not take sides.”
TOC Ltd director Howard Lee, who will contribute as TISG’s opinion editor under the website’s relaunch, said they aim to move away from the traditional perception that online media are slanted towards opposition parties.
Among TISG’s stakeholders are publisher Kumaran Pillai, Workers’ Party member Leon Perera, veteran journalist PN Balji, Epigram publisher Edmund Wee and Mr Dodwell.
TISG will continue to crowd-source for news and opinion pieces, though it stressed that it will “ascertain that the story is accurate and reliable before publishing it”.
TODAY had reported the partnership between TOC Ltd and TISG on Friday, where one aspect would revolve around the use of the social enterprise’s facility to hold discussions and talks. The team hopes to start more conversations about issues such as community and race, on top of politics.
“We want it to be focused on the type of news that people will need ... We’re still trying to evolve and change,” said Mr Philemon.
