1984 marked the official demise of a free and independent press in Singapore though the nail was hit into its coffin way back in 1975 with the introduction of the Newspaper and Printing Act to control the ownership of news printing firms.

SPH is the biggest stumbling block to the emergence of a credible alternative party in Singapore to check on the PAP. In almost every general elections, the SPH spin doctors were called upon to demolish the opposition when they should be focusing on critical issues of national importance.

Source: Wayang Party

Again, we say, thank you Internet.

As reported in ST, the Nanyang Technological University professor who was stabbed by a final year student earlier this month has broken his silence to respond to vicious talk on the Internet.  Prof Chan was “bewildered by nasty speculation over his character and sexual inclination” in the aftermath of the stabbing attack by Indonesian student David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, who later fell to his death on that shocking March 2 morning.

Prof Chan, who is married with two young children, told TNP: ‘My goodness, there’s no such thing. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet, because people can write whatever they want.  ‘I never read these Internet forums because the postings can’t be taken seriously – anyone can write anything.’

It’s true, people can write anything they want in forums and of course in blogs too.  It’s precisely this quality that ‘poison pen victims’ can use to rebut allegations.  However, it is difficult to refute claims if the latter is grounded on facts.  As Civic Advocators, we have a responsibility to base our analyses on facts and not hearsay.  This makes our positions stronger and more credible.  That is not the end; but the means to attract and sustain the support of individuals who support our cause.

To: eveyap@sph.com.sg
From: Civic Advocator

Dear Eve

We came across your article titled “Twittering about nothing” on Digital Life today. Although not many will care about people’s mundane update, some of the kei po (inquisitive) types might have nothing to do and like to go around checking what others are telling the world.

In any case, we are certainly not on any “world stage”, but we use Twitter quite a lot and have integrated Twitter into our blog site. We learn this after watching how people like Mr Brown uses Twitter.

Read more

In an earlier commentary published at SGPolitics.net titled “Dr Chee’s response leaves CJ, AG and Law Minister in the dust“, Ng E-Jay suggested that sometimes, civil disobedience is the only option for activists.

Given that the mainstream media is controlled by the ruling party, which has complete dominance of Parliament, and that the few Opposition MPs in Parliament are frequently reluctant to speak up vociferously on the pressing issues of the day or stand firm when they are challenged by the ruling elite, it should not come as a surprise that sometimes, the only way for activists to make their voices heard loud and clear is to peacefully engage in civil disobedience and non-violent action.

Read more

Gerald Gaim wrote this on his blog:

I got into an interesting exchange with one of my readers in my last post, regarding whether Singapore bloggers should blog anonymously or use their real names.
The reader and fellow blogger thought I was criticising bloggers who don’t use their real names on their blogs, and argued that some bloggers (like himself/herself) choose to use a pseudonym, but not out of fear. I clarified that it is a blogger’s right to use a pseudonym, and that it’s better to use a pseudonym and speak out than to remain silent.

Read more

To: clare@sph.com.sg, jeremyau@sph.com.sg
We are sending you the following letter on behalf of one of us. Thank you.

Civic Advocator

 
Dear Clarissa & Jeremy

I just read your Insight article titled ‘Moderate so Govt can de-regulate.’

Here are a few things that I would like to point out to you guys.

You talked about how the freewheeling world of online speech can be moderated according to “offline standards of decency and civility”.

I am sure you know that the offline, ie the real world has a lot of people who are not decent or civil. I had dealt with many clients who screamed, “WHAT THE F*** happened to that service/product that you promised to deliver but is late/defective/not up to my standard??”

Read more

AS FAR as the Singaporean social-media consumer is concerned, blogs are just as important as traditional forms of media like television, radio and newspapers.

In fact, Google’s “Blogger” system, which lets people create blogs for free, has shot up to fifth among the top 100 most-visited sites in Singapore.  In a recent study conducted, by marketing agency OgilvyOne Asia Pacific, more than one in two Singaporeans said they trust blogs as much as newspapers or TV news bulletins.

Commenting on the findings, Ms Debbie Swee, a market analyst with information-technology research firm IDC, told my paper that bloggers here have some influence over their readers.

Source: My Paper, 17 Feb 2009

The Government will have to take online discourse seriously, and not sweep it aside as irresponsible or insignificant chatter.   It is clear that local bloggers impact opinions of both the public and the media.  This is of no surprise as the quality of analyses in local blogs can be exceptional.  Some draw on historical data and facts to buttress their points, while others rely on common sense and passion.  

With this great power to influence hearts and minds comes great responsibility to blog wisely and responsibly.   And this is what we endeavour to do here in this blog.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcqjz7c8_88c6r88qf9

Challenges facing the alternative/ opposition parties
Forum organised by Singapore Democratic Party

I wish to thank the organisers for inviting me to speak at this forum. I am not associated with any political party. so I accept this invitation as a civil society leader.

Thirty years ago, many people were proud to be Singaporeans. They identified with the country, elected leaders and the shared national goals. I belonged to that generation.

In recent years, there has been a widening gulf between government leaders and the people. This is reflected in the large number of protest votes at each general election and the increasing number of people migrating to other countries.

The alternative parties have benefited from the protest votes against the ruling party. However, this is not sufficient. They have not been able to attract the middle ground, i.e. people who wish to see a viable alternative to run Singapore.

Questions
These people ask the following questions:

a) Can we see a higher calibre of candidates in the alternative parties?
b) What do the alternative parties stand for?
c) Can they play an effective role in Parliament?
d) Can they form an alternative Government?

The alternative parties face a big challenge in responding to these questions. They are not able to draw on the support of the wider population. Many ordinary citizens do not wish to be associated with any alternative political party, as they are afraid of being discriminated in their job or business. Hence, the alternative parties are able to attract only a small handful of active members.

It is difficult for any political party to do much, if they do not have financial and people resources and if ordinary citizens are afraid of being involved.

Educate the people
Given this challenge, I suggest that the alternative parties should focus on an educational effort – to educate the Singaporeans about their roles, rights and responsibilities as citizens. This educational effort is more neutral, and does not require the participants to be aligned to any political party.

The political parties can do the following:

a) Educate the public about their the values and goals of their party
b) Show the public what alternative policies can do for Singapore and the people.
c) Communicate actively

Use of internet
One effective means of communication is through the internet, blogs and websites. It is a low cost and pervasive way to reach out and educate large numbers of people, i.e. their members, supporters and the general public. In turn, these people can help to spread the message, through word of mouth, to the other people who are not able to access the internet.

There is a fear among the political parties of being sued if their published articles are deemed to be defamatory. This fear has to be overcome. The party leaders can be careful, but not excessively cautious. You can adopt a positive approach. You do not need to give negative views about other people. You only need to give positive views about your alternative approach. You can be right, without showing somebody else to be wrong.

Even if you make a genuine mistake and your statements are alleged to be defamatory, you have the chance to retract and apologise. There is nothing to be ashamed of admitting a mistake. If you overcome this fear, you can use the internet website actively.

Find writers
How about finding the people to write? You do not need to rely on your party members only. You can invite civil society leaders to write and give their views. These writers do not need to be associated with your party. Your party can state its views in support of these writers.

You can encourage your active members to express their views in popular websites, such as The Online Citizen and other blogs. These active members should state that they belong to your party, but are expressing their views in their personal capacity. It will help your party to be better recognised.

Unite the alternative parties
There is a call for the alternative parties to be more united. The general public perceive the alternative parties to be more disunited, than united. This is true. In the past, there were more occasions for the alternative parties to disagree, than to agree.

I suggest the following approach to achieve unity. Each party should state its values, goals and views. This allows the other parties to identify and focus on the areas that they share in common, such as goals and ideology. In the absence of shared goals, it is the tendency for people to focus on their differences. Give them a chance to agree on the shared goals and work under a common platform.

Values
I suggest that alternative policies can be focused on certain values:
a) Honesty, accountability
b) Justice and fairness
c) Work for the good of the people
d) Positive and constructive

Summary
a) State your values and goals
b) Communicate actively
c) Focus on education
d) Invite people to write, and not require them to be associated with your party
e) Use the internet to communicate with your people and the wider public.

Tan Kin Lian

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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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Our Singapore

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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.