A letter from Mr Chiang Ging Seng, published in the Forum page of The Straits Times on 1 May 2008.
"A shame...Tell us why we're not part of the flame run
I AM very proud that Singapore has achieved much and were chosen to host the Youth Olympics. But sadly, Singaporeans must travel to Kuala Lumpur to welcome the Olympic torch.
What a shame. Can the Singapore National Olympic Council explain why the torch is travelling from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur and on to Indonesia, bypassing Singapore?"
"Why Singapore not on Olympic torch route
This is in reply to Mr Khoo Lih-Han's comment last Saturday, and Mr Chiang Ging Seng's yesterday, on the Olympic Games torch not stopping over in Singapore.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay is a prelude to the Beijing Olympic Games 2008, and therefore all rights to the torch relay belong to the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
In planning the route for the torch relay, the committee decides on its theme, duration and distance, as well as the cities through which the torch will pass. The route was finalised and announced by the committee on April 26 last year.
It is understandable that Singaporeans would have liked to have the honour of having the torch relay pass through Singapore. We have long been strong supporters of the Olympic movement, its principles and values. However, we all know we must respect the integrity of the planning process and the decisions made by the Beijing Organising Committee."
Reading the reply, I wondered why the council even bothered to reply, since they are not saying anything at all. I mean, we all know that the route was selected by the Beijing council. So? What was the criteria that the Beijing council used? And why didn't we meet the selection criteria? Aren't these the things that we should find out, so that we increase our chances of being part of the flame run in future Olympics?
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