The MOH blog casts the spotlight on the Government’s cyberspace journey and what may lie ahead. While new media has been used previously, for purposes such as party recruitment or personal sharing with the electorate, this latest new media push has centred on healthcare issues and policies.  But despite the positive experience – and the 1,530 MOH Facebook users so far – it looks like Mr Khaw and MOH could remain the lone ministry voices in the blogosphere in the near future.

Source: TODAY

No one really takes the local press seriously.  When it states that the public views something positively, it is very likely that that is how the government thinks it should be viewed by the public.  Hence, MOH’s “positive experience” could be a self-alluded one.

Anyway, a MediaCorp check with six Government ministries found the majority have little intention to follow in MOH’s footsteps just yet.  The Education Ministry, for example, “has no plans to start a corporate blog”. The National Development Ministry, which is “reviewing” its online outreach and engagement efforts, also does “not have plans to blog currently”. 

A certain academic posits that new media may not work well for every Minister or Ministry. “This practice (blogging) may not be suitable for all the Ministers, perhaps because of the sensitive or strategic nature of their portfolio, their personal image and style, or other factors,” he added.

Personal image and style?  Hmmm.  Let’s not forget that ministers are politicians who need to reach out to the constituents, to listen, to emphathise and to help.  The web, in effect, is an extension of that outreach.  If a minister really cannot connect with the ground because of image issues or stylistics, he shouldn’t be a politician in the first place.

Comments

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.
 
1. If you want [...]

Petitions

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I don’t know

Our Singapore

As seen by people

• 
  

• Purpose

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