The opposition has not dismissed the idea of using the internet to reach out to the voters on the “cooling-off” day which will be introduced in the next general election. Under the new law, the minimum campaign period will be extended from nine to ten days. All forms of mass rallies, home visits and public display of party symbols will be banned on the eve of polling day to enable voters to reflect “calmly” on their choice.

Source: The Temasek Review

Though PM Lee acknowledged that it would be difficult to enforce the law in cyberspace, he hoped the spirit and principle of the “cooling-off” period would be upheld by Internet users without elaborating on the topics they should refrain from writing or discussing.

“I can’t control several million videos on YouTube. But your website, what you are putting out in your own name, I think that should end on the day before cooling-off day,” PM Lee added.

Well, I can almost be certain that bloggers will continue to write about the campaigning and the controversies that arose in the past days.  Should the PAP refrain from using the Internet then, it will be a gross miscalculation on their part as net chatter could determine the decisions of the fence-sitters.

The web is too huge to be policed and the political costs are too huge for the PAP.  I think this ‘cooling-off day’ will benefit Singapore alright, but not as how Lee Hsien Loong intended.  It allows Singaporeans a day to consume free and adulterated information via political bloggers so that they can make the right choice in the polling booth.

We help ourselves. Don’t expect others to help

Tom Wright painted a bleak picture of Singapore’s property sector going forward at The Wall Street Journal. His article ended with the following:
“I’m yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel [for Singapore],” says Mr. Tan, the high-end broker.
We would expect people to continue to dig the dirt and tell it to [...]



Our skin isn’t as thick as it should be

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) organised a seminar on March 4 to discuss Singapore’s political blogosphere.  Tan Tarn How, Senior Research Fellow and Research Assistant Tan Simin presented their paper on trends observed in the blogosphere.  As reported in the TOC, the researchers identified the following limitations:

The online-offline firewall, while somewhat alleviated by offline [...]



Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew – The answer to the African problem?

Recently, I followed a thread “Democracy and Economic Growth” which started in PoliticsForum.org.   Apparently, members there often question the role of democracy in a developing nation. “During the wave of democratization in Africa during the 90s, many people had renewed hope for the continent, immediately equating newly established democracies to economic growth. Are these democracies [...]



Tell Singapore government: Ask them a question or give a suggestion

We informed people about the “Tell Singapore Government” subsite and have received some interesting reaction at some forums.
See: 3in1 Kopitiam, Sam’s Alfresco Coffee, Singapore Kopitiam, SgForums
Our responses to some of the comments are listed below. If we are not answering some other specific questions, that is because we do not know how.
 

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To observe, analyse, present our position, and call for action. Read our articles, give your views, and learn together with us.