'Wah Piow Campaign'

Britain has granted a student visa to Tan Wah Piow "as he qualifies under the Immigration Rules to remain here as a student", a letter from the Home Office said. "His stay has been extended for 12 months and it will be open to him to request a further extension at the end of this period."

When some Labour M.Ps met Merlyn Rees, the Home Secretary, on 11 th January, they were told that granting political asylum would only be a last resort.

The decision not to grant political asylum to Wah Piow did not come as a surprise considering British economic and political interest in Singapore and Malaysia. But to the extent that the Home Office considers it unsafe for Wah Piow to travel on his own passport, to that extent Britain recognises political persecution in Singapore.

The Singapore Government's response to the campaign is both naive and comical. It was first brought up in Singapore Parliament on 24th Nov that the authorities had informed the British of the 'forgery' of Wah Piow's passport, and "if the British decide to overlook this offence and we decide to ask for Tan's extradition, we shall request British co-operation." This threat fizzled into thin air when in January the British turned its back against Lee Kuan Yew by not only disregarding the allegation, but also endorsing Wah Piow's passport, thus certifying the authenticity of the document.

In fury, the Singapore Foreign Minister, Ra-jaratnam, accused the British supporters of the Wah Piow campaign as the "New Left" and told a public meeting that "the New Left says that they would not send him back. If he is a big asset, they can keep him."

Rajaratnam kept harping on Wah Piow's passport being forged and complained that not only the British Home Office extended his visa, but Bradford University had accepted him as a postgraduate student. In his outburst, Rajaratnam also chided the British press for giving "a lot of publicity to Tan" devoting only a few lines to the Singapore election.