James Gomez
Encyclopedia
Dr. James Gomez is an academic
from Singapore
and he manages an online consultancy – The GOMEZ Centre. A prominent public intellectual in the country, he is currently the Executive Director of Singaporeans for Democracy
(a non-governmental organisation
) and a member of the Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP).
Gomez studied at the National University of Singapore
(NUS) from 1988–92, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Honours)
degree in Political Science
. He then completed a Master of Arts
degree in Politics and Human Rights at the University of Essex
in 1994.
Gomez was appointed as a Visiting Associate at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore in 1995, and was as a Visiting Researcher at the National Institute of Education
Centre for Research in 1997–98. He taught a course on the NUS Southeast Asian Studies programme in 1997, and on the University of Leeds
distance learning
Master's degree
programme in Asia-Pacific Studies from 1997–2000. He occasionally contributed book reviews that appeared in The Straits Times
and other local publications. He also wrote opinion pieces on culture and identity that appeared in various local magazines.
Gomez began working for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Asia in 1996. He also continued his interest in academia through several research organisations and tertiary institutions. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Media and Communications Department at the Hong Kong Baptist University
in 2002, and also presented guest seminars at the University of Hong Kong. From 2002–04, he co-ordinated and guest lectured on a course on International Ethics and Human Rights at Thammasat University
in Thailand
, and was also an Adjunct Lecturer on the Human Rights Programme at Thailand's Mahidol University
.
In 2004, Gomez began studying for a Ph.D.
at the Monash Asia Institute of Monash University in Australia. While he was there, he co-ordinated a publication project entitled the Singapore Studies Workshop Series, which resulted in three special issue journals (two in print and 1 online). They include SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia
vol 20/2 (October 2005) as a special focus issue entitled "Democracy and Civil Society: NGO Politics in Singapore"; Asia Rights (online journal) issue 5 (December 2005) "Human Rights Spotlight: Singapore"; and the Copenhagen Journal of Asia Studies vol 23 (July 2006) "Stability, Risks and Opposition in Singapore".
Gomez also worked as a Programme Officer at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
in Sweden
from 2006 to 2008. From 2008–09, Gomez was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Political Science at Keio University
in Japan
. In between May 2009 to end May 2011 Gomez was the Deputy Associate Dean (International) and Head of Public Relations at the School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences at Monash University
in Australia
.
Gomez presently serves on the editorial board of Asia Rights, an online journal of human rights produced by the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
(RSPAS) at the Australian National University
.
(GRC) they were intending to contest had not been written down on the form.
evidence showed that he had placed the form in his briefcase. He stood as a member of the Workers' Party's team in the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency
at the election, ultimately losing to the team of the governing People's Action Party
(PAP) in the constituency by 43.9% of the votes to 56.1%.
The "James Gomez Saga" attracted considerable media attention during the 2006 general election. It began after Gomez claimed that he had submitted his minority-race candidate's application form during a visit to the Elections Department with Workers' Party Chairman
Sylvia Lim on 24 April. (As teams of candidates in GRCs must include a minority-race candidate, a candidate from each party's team in a GRC must make such an application before the election.) Two days later, Gomez called in at the Elections Department to enquire about the status of the form. He was indignant when he was told that they had not received his form, and he told an officer from the department that there would be "consequences" if it had been misplaced. The following day, the Elections Department confirmed that their CCTV footage had revealed that Gomez had in fact put the form in his bag and left the building without submitting it.
On 29 April 29, Gomez admitted that he had not filed his application, contrary to his earlier claims. He explained that he had been distracted by his busy schedule. (His failure to submit the form did not prevent the Workers' Party team from running in Aljunied GRC because they had a second minority candidate on their team, Mohammed Rahizan bin Yaacob, who had submitted the required paperwork.)
PAP candidate Inderjit Singh speculated that Gomez's non-submission of the form may have been an intentional ploy to try and gain publicity and cause confusion. Gomez responded by insisting that he had made a genuine mistake and called for others to "move on" from the issue. On the eve of polling day, the Workers' Party leader, Low Thia Khiang
, backed Gomez and stated that "the incident was merely an unintentional omission, a mistake made while busy". However Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng
said that the facts showed that Gomez had lied.
On polling day, Gomez and his Workers' Party colleagues in Aljunied GRC lost to the PAP's team by 56,593 votes (43.9%) to 74,843 (56.1%). This was the highest percentage of the vote garnered by any opposition losing candidates, and was therefore enough to secure one of the team's members (Party Chairman Sylvia Lim) a seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
(NCMP).
Immediately after the election, the Elections Department filed a complaint about Gomez threatening a member of their staff by saying there would be "consquences" if his form has been lost.
On 8 May, two days after the election, Gomez was stopped by police at Changi Airport and prevented from boarding a flight to Stockholm
(where he worked at the time for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance). He was held for questioning over whether he had committed criminal intimidation in his dealings with the Elections Department. Gomez and other members of the Workers' Party, including Low Thia Kiang and Sylvia Lim, were questioned regarding the issue. On 9 May, Gomez was questioned for a second time for five hours, and for a third time on 10 May for three hours. Meanwhile, Low assured police that there would be full co-operation with the police on the matter.
In the end, Gomez was let off with a "stern warning" regarding the incident. The police maintained that there had been "several serious inconsistencies" in the account of events that Gomez had given. However the public prosecutor
stated that the willingness of Gomez to co-operate with the police and his lack of a previous criminal record led to the decision. Following this, former Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
said that the decision not to prosecute did not make Gomez any less dishonest and called him a "bad egg".
As a result of the saga, "James Gomez" became the most searched term on Technorati
in May 2006.
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and he manages an online consultancy – The GOMEZ Centre. A prominent public intellectual in the country, he is currently the Executive Director of Singaporeans for Democracy
Singaporeans for Democracy
Singaporeans for Democracy is a Singapore based Human Rights and political Non-governmental organization formed in 2010 by activist-academic Dr James Gomez and several seasoned socio-political activists...
(a non-governmental organisation
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
) and a member of the Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...
(SDP).
Biography
Gomez was born in 1965. His father, Thomas Vincent Gomez, was a founder and prominent member of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Worker's Union (SMMWU).Gomez studied at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
(NUS) from 1988–92, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Honours)
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. He then completed a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in Politics and Human Rights at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
in 1994.
Gomez was appointed as a Visiting Associate at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore in 1995, and was as a Visiting Researcher at the National Institute of Education
National Institute of Education
The is an institute of the , Singapore.NIE, Singapore, provides all levels of teacher education, from programmes to for in-service teachers and executive for Principals, Departmental Heads and other school leaders. NIE also administers postgraduate programmes that lead to the award of in...
Centre for Research in 1997–98. He taught a course on the NUS Southeast Asian Studies programme in 1997, and on the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
distance learning
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
programme in Asia-Pacific Studies from 1997–2000. He occasionally contributed book reviews that appeared in The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
and other local publications. He also wrote opinion pieces on culture and identity that appeared in various local magazines.
Gomez began working for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Asia in 1996. He also continued his interest in academia through several research organisations and tertiary institutions. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Media and Communications Department at the Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University is a publicly-funded tertiary institution with a Christian education heritage. It is the sole surviving institution of 13 major Christian universities that once operated on the Chinese mainland,...
in 2002, and also presented guest seminars at the University of Hong Kong. From 2002–04, he co-ordinated and guest lectured on a course on International Ethics and Human Rights at Thammasat University
Thammasat University
Thammasat University , or in brief TU , is Thailand's second oldest university. Officially established on 27 June 1934, the university was originally named by founder Pridi Banomyong, University of Moral Science and Politics , reflecting the political fervor of the time...
in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and was also an Adjunct Lecturer on the Human Rights Programme at Thailand's Mahidol University
Mahidol University
Mahidol University is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. Established back in 1888 as School of Medical Practitioners, Siriraj Hospital and reorganized in 1943 as University of Medical Sciences . The university originally focused on Health Sciences but also expanded to other...
.
In 2004, Gomez began studying for a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
at the Monash Asia Institute of Monash University in Australia. While he was there, he co-ordinated a publication project entitled the Singapore Studies Workshop Series, which resulted in three special issue journals (two in print and 1 online). They include SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia
Sojourn (journal)
Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia is a leading interdisciplinary journal devoted to the study of social and cultural issues in Southeast Asia. It publishes empirical and theoretical research articles with a view to promoting and disseminating scholarship in and on the region...
vol 20/2 (October 2005) as a special focus issue entitled "Democracy and Civil Society: NGO Politics in Singapore"; Asia Rights (online journal) issue 5 (December 2005) "Human Rights Spotlight: Singapore"; and the Copenhagen Journal of Asia Studies vol 23 (July 2006) "Stability, Risks and Opposition in Singapore".
Gomez also worked as a Programme Officer at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance is an international organization based in Stockholm. Its task is to support democracy around the world.- Aims :...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
from 2006 to 2008. From 2008–09, Gomez was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Political Science at Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In between May 2009 to end May 2011 Gomez was the Deputy Associate Dean (International) and Head of Public Relations at the School of Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Gomez presently serves on the editorial board of Asia Rights, an online journal of human rights produced by the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies was founded in 1946 as an institute of advanced study at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.-History:...
(RSPAS) at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
.
2001 General Election
Gomez joined the Workers' Party in 2001. He was a member of the Workers' Party team which attempted to contest the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency at the 2001 general election, but were disqualified because their nomination papers were incomplete. The name of the Group Representation ConstituencyGroup Representation Constituency
A Group Representation Constituency is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore, the Members of Parliament of which are voted into Parliament as a group...
(GRC) they were intending to contest had not been written down on the form.
2006 General Election
Gomez came to national attention in Singapore during the 2006 general election campaign following an incident in which he accused the Elections Department of losing his minority-race candidate's application form, but was later forced to apologise when closed-circuit televisionClosed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
evidence showed that he had placed the form in his briefcase. He stood as a member of the Workers' Party's team in the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency
Aljunied Group Representation Constituency
Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency in the north-eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of a large part of Hougang, Serangoon Gardens, a portion of Bedok and Aljunied...
at the election, ultimately losing to the team of the governing People's Action Party
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....
(PAP) in the constituency by 43.9% of the votes to 56.1%.
Run-up to the election
The "James Gomez Saga" attracted considerable media attention during the 2006 general election. It began after Gomez claimed that he had submitted his minority-race candidate's application form during a visit to the Elections Department with Workers' Party Chairman
Party Chair
In politics, a party chair is the presiding officer of a political party....
Sylvia Lim on 24 April. (As teams of candidates in GRCs must include a minority-race candidate, a candidate from each party's team in a GRC must make such an application before the election.) Two days later, Gomez called in at the Elections Department to enquire about the status of the form. He was indignant when he was told that they had not received his form, and he told an officer from the department that there would be "consequences" if it had been misplaced. The following day, the Elections Department confirmed that their CCTV footage had revealed that Gomez had in fact put the form in his bag and left the building without submitting it.
On 29 April 29, Gomez admitted that he had not filed his application, contrary to his earlier claims. He explained that he had been distracted by his busy schedule. (His failure to submit the form did not prevent the Workers' Party team from running in Aljunied GRC because they had a second minority candidate on their team, Mohammed Rahizan bin Yaacob, who had submitted the required paperwork.)
PAP candidate Inderjit Singh speculated that Gomez's non-submission of the form may have been an intentional ploy to try and gain publicity and cause confusion. Gomez responded by insisting that he had made a genuine mistake and called for others to "move on" from the issue. On the eve of polling day, the Workers' Party leader, Low Thia Khiang
Low Thia Khiang
Low Thia Khiang is a politician and businessman from Singapore. He is currently the leader of the opposition Workers' Party, and since 1991 has been a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Hougang until 2011 where he contested and won in Aljunied GRC. He is in charge of the Bedok...
, backed Gomez and stated that "the incident was merely an unintentional omission, a mistake made while busy". However Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he served as the country's Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2011...
said that the facts showed that Gomez had lied.
Election results
On polling day, Gomez and his Workers' Party colleagues in Aljunied GRC lost to the PAP's team by 56,593 votes (43.9%) to 74,843 (56.1%). This was the highest percentage of the vote garnered by any opposition losing candidates, and was therefore enough to secure one of the team's members (Party Chairman Sylvia Lim) a seat as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
Non-Constituency Member of Parliament
Non-Constituency Members of Parliament are members of the opposition parties who are appointed as members of the Parliament of Singapore even though they had lost in the parliamentary election....
(NCMP).
After polling day
Immediately after the election, the Elections Department filed a complaint about Gomez threatening a member of their staff by saying there would be "consquences" if his form has been lost.
On 8 May, two days after the election, Gomez was stopped by police at Changi Airport and prevented from boarding a flight to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(where he worked at the time for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance). He was held for questioning over whether he had committed criminal intimidation in his dealings with the Elections Department. Gomez and other members of the Workers' Party, including Low Thia Kiang and Sylvia Lim, were questioned regarding the issue. On 9 May, Gomez was questioned for a second time for five hours, and for a third time on 10 May for three hours. Meanwhile, Low assured police that there would be full co-operation with the police on the matter.
In the end, Gomez was let off with a "stern warning" regarding the incident. The police maintained that there had been "several serious inconsistencies" in the account of events that Gomez had given. However the public prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
stated that the willingness of Gomez to co-operate with the police and his lack of a previous criminal record led to the decision. Following this, former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
said that the decision not to prosecute did not make Gomez any less dishonest and called him a "bad egg".
As a result of the saga, "James Gomez" became the most searched term on Technorati
Technorati
Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs. By June 2008, Technorati was indexing 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media...
in May 2006.