Viral video not connected to current elections strategy: SDA
Screenshot of the Singapore Democratic Alliance's online rally during the 2013 Punggol-East by-election.
SINGAPORE — The Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) is taking steps to remove its videos posted on YouTube in 2013, after one that was passed off as a recent party video made its way round the Web.
The 54-second clip was edited from a previous video titled “Why Vote For Desmond Lim?: SDA Punggol East By-Elections Online Rally”. The edited video, posted on National Day, also spelt out words used by SDA chairman Desmond Lim, such as “choi-gers” instead of choices.
In a statement yesterday, the party said the edited video, as well as other videos of Mr Lim’s rally speeches during the 2013 Punggol East by-election, have “no implication or connection” to the SDA’s “current elections strategy”.
“The SDA understands those videos are currently circulating and deemed current content. This is not so,” it stated.
When contacted, Mr Lim said that to prevent such incidents from recurring, the party has contacted YouTube to take down the 2013 SDA videos posted on the website.
This is the second time recently that a reposting has been passed off as new. Last month, an online article about Member of Parliament (Ang Mo Kio GRC) Inderjit Singh’s old speeches claimed he had left the People’s Action Party. This was after Mr Singh announced on Facebook that he will not contest in the coming General Election. But he remains a PAP member and will be assisting the Prime Minister in the PAP’s election campaign in Ang Mo Kio.
In the case of the SDA videos from 2013, the party said: “The SDA has undergone a facelift to up our game, reinvent ourselves and improve what we have to offer.” Although Mr Lim was tight-lipped about the party’s election strategy, saying only that “there’s something new the public can expect”, he shared some details of its candidates for six-member Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, the one constituency it plans to contest. “Very diversified, (their) average age is about 40,” said Mr Lim. Their ages range between the mid-30s and the early 60s, and they include a social worker, a chief executive and those who have worked overseas previously.
“We’re a multi-racial party, we represent all Singaporeans. You’ll see that there are Indian, Malay and Chinese candidates,” Mr Lim added.
The SDA statement also said the party’s aim to “stay relevant at all times” includes tapping new media to reach out to Singaporeans.
When asked about this, Mr Lim said it plans to expand its reach beyond platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and that 10 social media platform owners have agreed to let the party use their platforms to this end. AMANDA LEE
