Mr Khaw joins other ministers and MPs like Foreign Minister George Yeo and Senior Parliamentary Secretary Teo Ser Luck who have started blogging to engage the public in a more personal way. He said he wants to use such online platforms to share the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) plans, get feedback and suggestions and ‘forge consensus’. He added: ‘I hope to anchor in this platform a large constituency of Singaporeans who are interested in health matters, whom we can directly engage through this medium.’

Source: ST

Mr Khaw said he hoped to be open with the workings of the ministry through the blog, which was set up earlier this month and is not a personal one. ‘Every health policy should be based on sound arguments and we do not monopolise wisdom,’ he wrote. ‘If our policy is flawed and can be enhanced, we welcome comments and will adopt practical suggestions.’

If it’s not a personal blog, I suppose Mr Khaw will not be giving his personal take on policies and responding to public comments. Something which he may have learnt from Mr Yeo’s experience with Mr Chee Soon Juan perhaps? So what is the value of this MOH blog? Mr Khaw wants to share the MOH’s plans, get feedback and suggestions and ‘forge consensus’. Can’t this be done via MOH’s website? Perhaps the Minister doesn’t really understand the concept of blogging.

This lame effort by MOH to connect with the online citizenry is evidence of the PAP’s continuing failure to understand new media. This is their achilles’ heel, one which opposition parties should take full advantage of during the next general elections.

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