Political parties on the internet James Gomez sums up a talk on political parties' use of the internet at International IDEA. He argues that the use of the internet by political parties thus far has not been able to make an impact on electoral design. Political parties on the internet James Gomez sums up a talk on political parties' use of the internet at International IDEA. He argues that the use of the internet by political parties thus far has not been able to make an impact on electoral design. Lets Move On For those of you who missed the End of a Saga.. access the video here! SMS from Singapore "I forgot to tell u... the guy from singpost sends u his regards. Apparently he is a WP fan. He spotted me when I was mailing stuff to u in Stockholm."SMS while at the post office in S'pore. Lets Move On For those of you who missed the End of a Saga.. access the video here! SMS from Singapore "I forgot to tell u... the guy from singpost sends u his regards. Apparently he is a WP fan. He spotted me when I was mailing stuff to u in Stockholm." SMS while at the post office in S'pore. "Hentam James Gomez" This extract is from a speech by Chee Soon Juan delivered recently at a National University of Singapore Society forum. Click on the extract for the full speech:Another Singaporean activist was asked by a former ISD officer, or former officer, to hentam (attack) Mr James Gomez. It would be “beneficial” for the activist to attack James Gomez as the government will look kindly upon the action and it would put the activist in the government's “good books". "Hentam James Gomez" This extract is from a speech by Chee Soon Juan delivered recently at a National University of Singapore Society forum. Click on the extract for the full speech: Another Singaporean activist was asked by a former ISD officer, or former officer, to hentam (attack) Mr James Gomez. It would be “beneficial” for the activist to attack James Gomez as the government will look kindly upon the action and Post GE Analysis- A Blog Reader's Perspective Ah James, this is my post GE analysis for you. Just giving my two cents worth.Speech from you is excellent and connects with the people well. It is good that dialects will use minimally. I have always encouraged that. You've stayed focus on the policies and did not allow the now famous "Gomezgate" affect you in anyway. You have made yourself known (for all the wrong reasons though) and is seen by the supporters as the "Dark Horse". Well, every election there is always one maverick around to piss the PAP off and in this GE, you sure did your part. You can now join ranks with F.Seow, JBJ, Tang LH, Chee SJ. Well done!!! I have predicted that your team will win by at least by 55% but it turned out the other way round partly because of the last minute strategy and a desperate one by George Yeo. Another factor would be as you may know by now are the Malay voters. It would appear WP have not develop any strategy in their campaign to reach out to these voters. WP line up of the malay candidates for the next GE should have tie-ups with some malay organisations or alternatively, recruit more malay volunteers to reach out to this people. For that to happen, WP if resources are avaliable is to set up a self help group for them. As the malay issues are sensitive, WP really need somebody from the ground to understand them better. As it is, the party projects a very chinese oriented image. This has got to change. I am sure that you will have no trouble getting yourself known in the next GE. In fact, the people will want to see more of you and what 'stunts' you are going to pull next. It is important to made oneself known through controversy and you know that. Controversy sells. Also take note that some jokers might try to potray you as having a jolly good time in Sweden although you are holding down an international job. So you have to manage this.I can only sum up this much for now as most of the post mortems would have already been done by others. Looking forward to seeing you back in action.Pat Post GE Analysis- A Blog Reader's Perspective Ah James, this is my post GE analysis for you. Just giving my two cents worth. Speech from you is excellent and connects with the people well. It is good that dialects will use minimally. I have always encouraged that. You've stayed focus on the policies and did not allow the now famous "Gomezgate" affect you in anyway. You have made yourself known (for all the wrong reasons though) and is Regional NGOs do not do enough for Singapore’s human rights issues, says media and political activist by Forum-Asia(Bangkok, 17 May 2006) Regional NGOs (non-governmental organisations) lack proper responses to human rights issues in Singapore, said a media and political activist during a discussion held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand on 16 May 2006.James Gomez, who was also an electoral candidate from the opposition Workers’ Party in Singapore, presented his observations and analysis at an informal discussion session in the Bangkok venue. This was attended by representatives from FORUM-ASIA, SEAPA (Southeast Asian Press Alliance), other organisations and journalists.“Regional NGOs need to respond in a coordinated, timely and competent manner, and they need to show more interest,” said Gomez, referring to the recent Singapore parliamentary elections and the case involving himself in its aftermath.Gomez was detained by the Singaporean authorities as he was about to leave the country after the elections, following a complaint by the Elections Department that he had intimidated and threatened some of its staff. This was due to an incident arising from an administrative foul-up in his dealings with the department, which was “blown out of proportion” by Singapore’s mainstream media and made into an election issue by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). Charges were dropped against Gomez after about a week, and he was allowed to leave the country. He spent a few days in Bangkok to hold meetings with several organisations, en-route to Sweden where he works as a researcher.Although a few regional NGOs sent representatives separately to observe and monitor the Singapore elections, the lack of appropriately strong responses from regional NGOs led Gomez to question the efficacy of regional organisations such as human rights and press freedom groups. “What is the human rights focus of these groups and how much of a priority is Singapore for human rights issues in the region?” He asked.He emphasised that there will be a growing “buzz of political party activity” because civil society organisations are weak or almost non-existent in Singapore, so regional NGOs should increase their monitoring of human rights violations committed in particular against individuals from Singapore’s Opposition parties.Ruki Fernando from FORUM-ASIA said that Singapore needs more activists like James Gomez to stir up public and regional interest, as well as more time to develop this interest. Roby Alampay from SEAPA said that his organisation cannot work with the government-dominated traditional media in Singapore, but sees potential with new media, for example bloggers – people who have personal websites on the internet.“We can work with bloggers, but they need to have the courage to come out on their own as well,” said Alampay. “Momentum has to come from Singaporean bloggers, and we also need to see trends and progress.”Lance Woodruff from Thai news agency MCOT said most regional NGOs and civil society organisations do not do much on Singapore not because of a lack of interest or concern. Instead, he said, there is a common perception based on the authorities’ reputation for restrictions: “‘They won’t allow you to do anything anyway, so why bother [to cover Singapore]?’”Singapore has been ruled by the PAP since its independence in 1965. It is considered a “one-party” or “dominant-party” state, and the recent elections returned the PAP to power on the polling day, 6 May 2006. The Opposition retained its previous two out of 84 seats and did not gain any more seats in parliament.Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a membership-based regional human rights organization in Asia and presently, it has 31 member organizations in 13 countries in Asia. It was founded following a consultation among human rights and development NGOs in Asia held in Manila in December 1991. Its regional Secretariat has been located in Bangkok, Thailand since 1994. Regional NGOs do not do enough for Singapore’s human rights issues, says media and political activist by Forum-Asia (Bangkok, 17 May 2006) Regional NGOs (non-governmental organisations) lack proper responses to human rights issues in Singapore, said a media and political activist during a discussion held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand on 16 May 2006. James Gomez, who was also an electoral candidate from the opposition Workers’ Party in Singapore, presented his observations and SBS radio's "Democracy in Singapore, Part 1" Rebecca Henschke, a Producer for the World View programme for SBS Radio, was among the media gathered at the police cantonment complex on that first day, May 7, when Gomez was questioned by the police for 8 hours.Here's an audio of one of the episodes titled Democracy in Singapore, Part 1. Among the individuals she spoke to are J B Jeyaretnam; Gomez & Catherine Lim. SBS radio's "Democracy in Singapore, Part 1" Rebecca Henschke, a Producer for the World View programme for SBS Radio, was among the media gathered at the police cantonment complex on that first day, May 7, when Gomez was questioned by the police for 8 hours. Here's an audio of one of the episodes titled Democracy in Singapore, Part 1. Among the individuals she spoke to are J B Jeyaretnam; Gomez Catherine Lim. Some blog postings on Gomez Gayle Goh, a 17 year old Singaporean girl, has been making waves in the Singapore blogging scene with her postings. Here's one from Gayle on Gomez titled 5 reasons behind the release of James GomezAnd over at this blog, the "BEAST" writes about the Minister Mentor and how the MM seems to be out of touch with reality.A blogger from the Philippines shares an interesting story about his "old friend James Gomez". Some blog postings on Gomez Gayle Goh, a 17 year old Singaporean girl, has been making waves in the Singapore blogging scene with her postings. Here's one from Gayle on Gomez titled 5 reasons behind the release of James Gomez And over at this blog, the "BEAST" writes about the Minister Mentor and how the MM seems to be out of touch with reality. A blogger from the Philippines shares an interesting story about his "old Back to work for Gomez The following press statement was sent to the media today evening:After spending Mother's Day and having lunch with his mother on Sunday 14th May 2006, James Gomez left that evening for Bangkok.He got straight back to work today (Monday, 15th May 2006) with several closed door meetings with various regional organisations in Thailand.James will continue to remain engaged with the Workers' Party and he will focus on two issues.One, he will be monitoring whether the PAP policies to tackle issues of structural unemployment are actually effective.Two, he will review how young Singaporeans are being catered for in the new global economy by PAP policies.He expects his work at the global level to give him wider exposure to international and regional governance mechanisms. Which he hopes to bring back to Singapore.In terms of constitutency focus, James will remain committed to Aljunied GRC, subject to the Workers' Party decision and changes to electoral boundaries.He will leave for Stockholm, Sweden on Wednesday. Upon arrival in Stockholm he has a full workload awaiting. Gomez interview with TNP AFTER the long hours of police interviews, after the dark clouds of possible police charges, there was only one person Mr James Gomez wanted to speak to.by Clarence Chang for The New Paper, 13 May 2006AFTER the long hours of police interviews, after the dark clouds of possible police charges, there was only one person Mr James Gomez wanted to speak to.He called his mum as soon as police told him he was free.'She was very happy and relieved,' Mr James Gomez, 41, told The New Paper, just hours after he was let off with a 'stern warning' following a week-long police investigation into the now infamous Gomezgate saga.'Her first reaction was she's going to cook more food for me!'His mother, Madam Mary Cecily, is a 66-year-old housewife and a widow. Her husband, former unionist Thomas Vincent Gomez, died in 2000.Mr James Gomez also has a younger brother, 37, who works for Neptune Orient Lines.(James Gomez's parents/TNP)Stopped from leavingThe Workers' Party second assistant secretary-general was stopped from leaving Singapore by police last Sunday following a complaint by the Elections Department the day before.The police then began their probe into offences of criminal intimidation, giving false information and using threatening words and behaviour.After three rounds of police interviews - each lasting between three and eight hours - his passport was yesterday returned to him, and the matter, as he put it, is 'closed'.He could have been fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to a year if he had been prosecuted and found guilty.With Mother's Day tomorrow, it was a perfectly timed 'gift' for the family, he said.'From an emotional point of view, the person affected most (by the investigation) was my mum. So I essentially spent as much time as I could with her, having lunch with her and so on.'She's a little elderly, so she gets nervous about these things,' said Mr Gomez.That's why one of the first things he did after leaving the police station was to go home, hug her and have a 'nice meal' with her.'With Mother's Day on Sunday, she couldn't be happier. We'll have a family lunch and our usual dinner, with my brother as well... Basically like all Christian and Catholic families, we're very close.'That's also one of the reasons why I won't be going back to Sweden just yet.'Mr Gomez, a founding member of civil society group the Think Centre, started work as a political analyst at Stockholm-based pro-democracy think-tank International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) just six weeks ago.He said after he told his bosses about the police's all-clear, their message was: Go enjoy your weekend in Singapore first, then fly back to work early next week.He declined to let us interview Madam Cecily.Throughout the election campaign Mr Gomez was spotted with only his party colleagues.What he did say coolly and calmly was, on a personal level, his so-called ordeal the past fortnight hadn't made him any worse for wear.Despite being under such heavy public and media scrutiny, he stressed: 'I was still focused on party matters, dealing with post-electoral administration, meeting helpers and supporters.'I was even able to sign up a new member who might be a likely candidate.'He said he was grateful for all the e-mail wishes and messages of support he'd received from both Singaporeans and foreigners in blogs, chatlines and forums.'I'm touched by their support and generosity. It was overwhelming, certainly a morale booster for me. But otherwise, in keeping with my personal character, I was calm and focused and took things one day at a time.'While he looks forward to Mother's Day tomorrow, he said he would spend today doing his usual 'political work'.Clearly, as an outspoken government critic once labelled by Newsweek magazine as one of Asia's top 10 'rebels and mavericks', Mr Gomez is careful to show that he hasn't lost his drive.Will he pop up again in GE 2011?Will controversy keep tailing him wherever he goes?One thing for sure is that the man himself - both the political and personal side of him - is always full of surprises.Including one for mum tomorrow: 'At some point when the weather's much warmer in Sweden, I'd like to have her over for a couple of weeks. She's never been to Sweden, and I've just got this job. So everything is new.' "I have moved on" James Gomez says he does not intend to sue Minister Mentor, Channel NewsAsia, 13 May 2006, 2220hrs. Photo by JG Blog.Mr James Gomez says he does not plan to sue Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.He said this when contacted for his response to Minister Mentor Lee's statement on Friday.He added that he plans to celebrate Mother's Day with his family on Sunday before returning to Sweden for work early next week.Mr Gomez, Second Assistant Secretary-General, Workers' Party, said: "I've also been brought up with values where my parents told me to be gracious and kind and that's the way I am. And as far as the party is concerned, we're not the suing type. So I don't think l have anything more to add. I have moved on." - CNA/ch Messages of support, relief and congratulations pour in Emails, SMSes, etc expressing support, relief & congratulations have been pouring in since news broke yesterday of Gomez being let off with a warning by the police. Here are some of those messages: Dear James,Thanks to the Divine for answering our prayers for you, you are finally safe. You remain a great person with magnanimity despite character assasination attempts by your political opponents. You manifest political grace in the face of the onslaught by the mighty ruling power. This shows that you are highly effective in your role to speak up for Singaporeans because history has shown that the ruling power always tried to silent those who dare to speak up and have the support of the masses. You are exemplary of the behaviour of politicians in a First World should display. May God bless you.TeckDear GomezI strongly believe that you have put up an excellent fight with honour, integrity and style. In fact the entire Worker’s party members deserve to be applauded!As for your arrest at the airport, I am totally shocked beyond words!I believe in a source far greater than what we have in this nation. I have personally witnessed a miracle in my life when my child went missing. I know what it feels like to be at the receiving end of injustice. My heart goes out to you and to all the opposition members who risk everything to be the people’s voice. I am thankful for all of you and someday wish to be of some other form of help other than the vote that I give you.You have my prayers and support.Best RegardsCKDear JamesGlad to hear that the police have released you with a warning. My kids and I have been praying for you.I am also glad to hear that you have not stooped to same level of those who called you a "liar". If you did, then you would be no better than them. Now these people really look stupid.God Bless! and Majulah Singapura, S.AHi James...Just wanna drop a short note to say CONGRATULATIONS! You have been vindicated! You held your head up high and faced vile and vicious accusations - AND COME OUT ON TOP!We're all EXTREMELY happy for you!Keep the faith and HAMMER ON !AndrewDear Mr GomezReally so relieved for you! God Bless. Thank you for trying to make this abetter place.RgdsCindyHi James,Remember us?.....We are the friends who met up with you and the rest at the coffeeshop in Serangoon Gardens and who gave you the encouragement to fight against the mighty goliath that is showing signs of wobbling knees and pains in the joints. Well, we are glad to hear that they cannot find any case against you as it is gross injustice but merely vindictiveness. On behalf of the group we say..keep it up! Oh by the way, we want to contact either Sylvia or Mr. Low as we want to moot the possibility of forming a committee in Serangoon Gardens to help the WP in disseminate information, sell the Hammer newsletter, etc. Please let us know if this is a good idea as we found from the last GE that you all have supporters over here but they are unable to be reached.Thank YouJohnnyHi GomezMy name is Chwee and just want to say hi to you and happy that you are being released. Wish you all the best and may God bless you and family.Rgds, ChweeHi James,Glad to learn that you’d been let off with a warning. Best Wishes!Regards,Yu K.W.hi James, Sylvia & Mr. Low,please don't ever fall into what I believe - the PAP trap.the police has closed the case & James got his warning. chapter is closed.but the PAP don't want to see this chapter close! & this is actually theirintention from the beginning of the whole saga.MM Lee has sort of brushed aside the police closure & repeat hisname-calling. It is a trap to get James into court.Singapore has voted & they don't care whether Gomez is a liar or not. Let itbe. Nobody is perfect.With 33.4% or almost more than one-third of the whole electoral Singaporeagainst him, do you think PM Lee is telling the sincere truth that he isSATISFIED with the results?Your party has done well in this election. And it is really right in theinterests of your supporters & Singapore that WP moves on from here &continually to move upwards.But the old man will not just go away. And the media is so willing to repeathis call. So my advice is to listen from one end into your ear & purge outthrough the other.Your admirer,LimDear Mr James Gomez,I write to you with a concern after listening to the news about MM Lee's words to the press about the recent issues involving you and the elections committee.Just a point of view from me. As far as I am concerned, you have already done your part to explain and to apologise. So, move on and don't get caught in the same web with anyone.My best regardsTanDear James,I am an ardent supporter of you and your party, we believe in you and continue to do the right thing for Singapore.We desperately need more folks like you.You know you've got a solid following after the recent GE, keep the momentum, spirit and fire going, the tides are changing...the tides are changingContinue to trust in the Lord and seek His Wisdom daily in all you do. Proverbs 3:5,6. and fear not for He is with you.You'll be just fine.My heart goes out to you.Take care brotherAlex "Let's move on....speak up for Singaporeans" The 4th session with the police ended in 10mins. Gomez was given a "stern warning" by the police. He later held a press conference at the food court at Holland Village at 6pm to brief the media. The following report is by Channel News Asia (CNA). Photos by Jacob:WP's Gomez let off with stern warning in run-in with Elections Dept by Valerie Tan, 12 May'06Workers' Party member James Gomez has been let off with a stern warning for threatening an Elections Department officer, ending a three-week-long saga.Police said on Friday that after reviewing the evidence, the Public Prosecutor was satisfied that Mr Gomez had committed the offence of using threatening words towards a public servant.The offence would have been punishable with a fine of up to $5,000, or a jail term of up to one year.But the police decided it would let Mr Gomez go with a warning instead as he had been cooperative and had not committed any criminal offences before.The saga started over Mr Gomez's application for a minority race certificate before the May 6 polls.Mr Gomez, who contested in the General Election, had claimed that he had submitted the application at the Elections Department.But when Elections Department security footage showed that he had instead put those application papers into his bag, Mr Gomez withdrew the claim with an apology.During the hustings, Mr Gomez, then a candidate contesting in Aljunied GRC, was accused of discrediting the Elections Department.The Elections Department filed a complaint against Mr Gomez on May 6.He was then called in by the police for investigations into offences of criminal intimidation.After three rounds of interviews, the police found Mr Gomez guilty of verbally threatening a public servant.Mr Gomez had warned an Elections Department officer of "consequences" when the officer could not find his application for a minority certificate.Under the law, Mr Gomez could have been fined or jailed for the offence. But he was given a stern warning instead."Having considered all the circumstance of the case, Mr Gomez's willingness to cooperate with the police and the absence of any previous criminal record, the public prosecutor has decided that a stern warning be administered to Mr James Gomez for the offence," a police statement said."The matter is now closed....My only signal is to move on, remain focused and get on with the party's work. Speak up for Singaporeans, look at policy issues, I think those have always been my concerns," Mr Gomez said.These concerns, he added, include unemployment and the cost of living.On being called a liar by PAP leaders, Mr Gomez said he would not pursue the matter further."I think this episode signals what it means to contest in an election....Things happen all over the quarters, you have to manage them, remain calm and you have to press on with the agenda. I think that's the lesson I take away from it," Mr Gomez said.When Mr Gomez broke the news to his Workers' Party colleagues, Mr Low Thia Khiang and Ms Sylvia Lim, their immediate reaction was 'Let's move on."That is exactly what Mr Gomez plans to do as well.Despite getting back his passport, Mr Gomez has no plans to leave Singapore immediately.He is planning to spend the long weekend with his family before returning to Sweden for work. - CNA/ir JG to be questioned for the 4th time today James Gomez is to be questioned again by the police for the 4th time today 12 May 2006 (Fri).Gomez was contacted by ASP Christopher Jacob of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and asked to come down at 3.30pm.As with the past 3 sessions with the police, it'll be held at the Police Cantonment Complex at 391 New Bridge Road (near Outram Park MRT station).Related posts:What the Statutes say about the chargesGomez to be questioned for 3rd timeGomez questioned for another 5 hoursPetition in support of James Gomez & Workers' Party What the Statutes say about the charges I did a search on Singapore Statutes Online with regards to the 3 charges in Gomez's case: criminal intimidation; giving false information and lastly, use of threatening words or behaviour. The following was what I was able to dig up.In the Penal Code, section 503, on Criminal Intimidation: Whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat, commits criminal intimidation.Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both.Also from the Penal Code, section 203, Giving false information respecting an offence committed: Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, gives any information respecting that offence which he knows or believes to be false, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both.Lastly, from the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act on the use of threatening words or behaviour: 13D. —(1) Any person who in a public place or in a private place — (a) uses any indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards a public servant in the execution of his duty as such public servant; or (b) distributes or displays to a public servant in the execution of his duty as such public servant any writing, sign or other visible representation which is indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.Gomez has already been questioned 3 times by the police for a total of about 16 hours on May 7, 9 and 10. They have not contacted him today.He is still waiting for answers from the police on the 3 questions he had asked them on May 9: When will his passport be returned to him; How long will the investigation last and whether retaining his passport and the investigation are inter-related. On May 10, he was told that his questions have been forwarded to higher management and awaiting reply.Meanwhile, the online petition in support of Gomez has been gathering pace with close to 2000 signatures at the time of writing. Gomez Rally Speeches I would like to thank sgrally06 for this video recording of James Gomez's powerful and memorable speech during the Workers' Party rally in Ang Mo Kio on May 4 2006.Video recordings of Gomez's other rally speeches:Serangoon Stadium and Aljunied rally speech: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and final part.I would like to thank these "citizen journalists" for doing a wonderful job of recording these speeches for everybody to see and listen for themselves. Gomez to be questioned today for 3rd time James Gomez is currently at the Police Cantonment Complex waiting to be questioned again by the police today, May 10.This will be the third time. On May 7, he was detained at the airport, brought to the Police Cantonment Complex and questioned for 8 hours. On May 9, he was again questioned at the same location for another 5 hours. On both these occassions he was questioned by ASP Christopher Jacob of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).Update: Gomez went to the complex about 6.30pm. After a little over 3 hours he emerged from this 3rd round of questioning about 9.45pm.He has collectively answered about more then 100 questions so far in these 3 sessions with the police with regards to their investigations into 3 charges: criminal intimidation; giving false information; and finally, use of threatening words or behaviour.At the end of his second interview on 9 May, he had asked the police 3 questions: When will his passport be returned to him?; How long will the investigation last? and Whether retaining his passport and the investigation is inter-related? Today he was told his questions have been forwarded to higher management and is awaiting reply. Gomez questioned for another 5 hours The following release was sent out to the media today:James Gomez was again questioned by the police today, May 9, for 5 hours from after 9.30am by ASP Christopher Jacob. This is in addition to the 8 hours he was questioned by the police on May 7. Gomez was also given a letter which he requested to provide to his employer. (see below)At the end of the interview, Gomez put three questions to ASP Jacob: When will his passport be returned to him? How long will the investigation last? And whether retaining his passport and the investigation is inter-related? Gomez was told by ASP Jacob that he couldn't give Gomez a time-frame on the investigation at the moment. However, the ASP told him he will follow-up on Gomez's questions.Gomez also brought to the ASP's attention his concerns with regards to financial and work obligations. Since he was stopped at the airport on 7 May 2006 and brought to the Police Cantonment Complex, he was unable to return to work. His transit trip via Bangkok to Sweden was thus affected and it would not be possible for any refund from the airlines.Since he is unable to return to work, he faces loss of income as he still has to pay rent charges, utilities bills, etc for his accomodation in Sweden.James Gomez says he remains committed to giving his fullest co-operation to the investigations and hopes the authorities take into consideration his concerns on financial and work obligations and his need to return to work in Sweden.This is a second release to the media about 6.20pm: Also in the course of the 5 hour interview today, the police had requested from Gomez a copy of his minority certificate. Gomez gave them a copy along with a letter of authorisation and submission.9 May 2006Dear Mr James GomezASSISTANCE REQUIRED IN POLICE INVESTIGATIONPlease be informed that Police is presently conducting an investigation into a case reported on 6 May 2006. As the investigations are ongoing, your continued assistance is required.We acknowledge receipt of your passport which you have voluntarily provided to the Police on 7 May 2006 at 11.30pm.Should you require any clarification, please contact me at tel: 6XXX-XXXX.Thank youYours sincerelyASP Christopher JacobCriminal Investigation Department "james gomez" is among Top 10 at Technorati For those who aren't familiar with Technorati, its an "authority on what's going on in the world of weblogs" and "a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere — the world of weblogs".Technorati currently tracks 38.6 million sites and 2.4 billion links...and keeps growing everyday.Currently, "james gomez" is among Technorati's Top 10 searches. At the time of writing, its at Number 9. Petition in Support of James & Workers' Party (Photo by Vivek Prakash/Reuters)An online petition has been doing its rounds on the Internet. Click the above photo to go to the "Petition In Support of Mr James Gomez and the Workers' Party".Related news report by AFP: Opposition politician freed but barred from leaving Singapore Hang in there! Hi James,I just wanted to let you know that I'm appalled that you have been detained for questioning by the Elections Dept and the police. I feel that it is really unfair to you as you had already made a public apology. Moreover, you did not make a fuss over the issue of the missing form, neither did you use criminal intimidation. I think this is just a way of silencing you and getting you out of politics, and I'm sad to say, they are making you into a scapegoat now that they've gotten rid of Chee and JBJ. But as I see it, the people of Singapore are NOT stupid and we can see through their petty and high handed tactics. You must be a real threat to them if they are going out of their way to discredit you. So all I can say is: keep up the good work! :)Just to let you know that you have a lot of support on the ground. Hang in there and I really hope nothing bad happens to you.Sandra JG Campaign Trail 2006: Day 8 - Hope for the future: Youth By Roderick ChiaDay 8 rally @ Serangoon Stadium - the last event of the JG Campaign Trail. James' speech at the rally was the most important one for him personally, about how the youth of Singapore are "one of the most important hopes for Singapore's future".He talked about how there is a rising dislocation among the youth of the country and an "idealism gap" between what the young want and what the PAP wants to deliver, and that the young have begun to awaken from their political apathy.There is a need not just to win votes, but to win hearts as well.For more information or to place comments, please email Roderick at rick_162@lycos.com.Roderick Chia graduated with a Communications Studies degree, majoring in Journalism from the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He is currently working as an information and communications coordinator in a regional non-governmental organisation. He is a registered voter in Potong Pasir constituency.