Regulation of political commentary on the Internet in Singapore
A virtual space with endless boundaries, the Internet is definitely a powerful free-for-all tool which can be used to spread news, be it truth or rumours. An authoritarian democratic city, Singapore has been imposing regulations specifically for internet content since 1996, but in this decade or so, the government has been applying this law with a ‘light touch’, evident from the little or no instances of censorship of political content online. Despite regulations such as the ban of political podcasting during election periods, Singapore is still an open society, as claimed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in response to the Ministry of Information, Communications and Arts’ handling of an incident where the government was criticised. Is this totally true, or are these words just used to protect the stand of the government? Talkingcock.com and Mr Brown are two examples famous for making political commentary on the Internet in Singapore.
Talkingcock.com is a satirical humour website which engages in social commentary, including political issues. It has been labelled as a political website, but Talkingcock argues for the otherwise and claims that the definition of ‘political site’ has been over broaden to which any site which features local politics is considered as a political site. This website writes articles which mock at the unique features of Singaporeans, politics being one of them, and eventually its aim is to ‘build a community of Singaporeans with a sense of humour and who enjoy life in all its complexity’. In my opinion, I believe that Talkingcock.com and perhaps other satirical sites which have been alleged as ‘political sites’ should not be regulated, as these sites merely relieve tension by poking fun at Singapore issues and I doubt these sites mean any harm or attempt to mislead the citizens of Singapore by affecting their opinions on different parties. Furthermore, it is much less possible that the articles are defamatory as Talkingcock.com has stressed that the contents are purely fictitious and should not be relied on. The regulation of political commentary on the Internet hinders our freedom of speech, and we are not given the space to engage in dynamic and creative thinking which is improper of a global, 21st century open society.
Another name which most of you would be familiar with is Mr Brown, whose real name is Lee Kin Mun. Known by many as Singapore’s ‘Blogfather’, Mr Brown is a Singaporean blogger, well known for his social and political commentary despite Singapore’s regulations, whose podcasts attract several thousands of downloads per day. In his satirical blog posts and podcasts, Mr Brown openly highlights the ironies in government policies and also injects humour into his discussion of the behaviour of Singaporeans. However, he has been seen as a ‘partisan player’ who distorts truth by criticising the government. From my perspective, Mr Brown is a groundbreaker himself as he opens up the use of new media in Singapore, thus pushing the boundaries of freedom of expression of us Singaporeans, and by touching upon issues regarding politics, this encourages the citizens to be aware of the current affairs.
Overall, I feel that although the reputation of the government should not be smeared by mere rumours spreading over the Internet, the public’s freedom of speech should not be compromised too. Therefore, regulation of political commentary on the Internet should be in place, but to a minimal. Talkingcock.com and Mr Brown are merely poking harmless fun to provide entertainment with their satirical articles on political issues, yet they are often considered as ‘partisan players’ who try to change the viewers’ attitudes based on their ‘biased’ content. On the other hand, there should be regulations to control irresponsible political commentaries which sole purpose is to create tension among the citizens. Certainly, there is a need to define the line between constructive political commentary and those that are full of meaningless criticisms.
Talkingcock.com is a satirical humour website which engages in social commentary, including political issues. It has been labelled as a political website, but Talkingcock argues for the otherwise and claims that the definition of ‘political site’ has been over broaden to which any site which features local politics is considered as a political site. This website writes articles which mock at the unique features of Singaporeans, politics being one of them, and eventually its aim is to ‘build a community of Singaporeans with a sense of humour and who enjoy life in all its complexity’. In my opinion, I believe that Talkingcock.com and perhaps other satirical sites which have been alleged as ‘political sites’ should not be regulated, as these sites merely relieve tension by poking fun at Singapore issues and I doubt these sites mean any harm or attempt to mislead the citizens of Singapore by affecting their opinions on different parties. Furthermore, it is much less possible that the articles are defamatory as Talkingcock.com has stressed that the contents are purely fictitious and should not be relied on. The regulation of political commentary on the Internet hinders our freedom of speech, and we are not given the space to engage in dynamic and creative thinking which is improper of a global, 21st century open society.
Another name which most of you would be familiar with is Mr Brown, whose real name is Lee Kin Mun. Known by many as Singapore’s ‘Blogfather’, Mr Brown is a Singaporean blogger, well known for his social and political commentary despite Singapore’s regulations, whose podcasts attract several thousands of downloads per day. In his satirical blog posts and podcasts, Mr Brown openly highlights the ironies in government policies and also injects humour into his discussion of the behaviour of Singaporeans. However, he has been seen as a ‘partisan player’ who distorts truth by criticising the government. From my perspective, Mr Brown is a groundbreaker himself as he opens up the use of new media in Singapore, thus pushing the boundaries of freedom of expression of us Singaporeans, and by touching upon issues regarding politics, this encourages the citizens to be aware of the current affairs.
Overall, I feel that although the reputation of the government should not be smeared by mere rumours spreading over the Internet, the public’s freedom of speech should not be compromised too. Therefore, regulation of political commentary on the Internet should be in place, but to a minimal. Talkingcock.com and Mr Brown are merely poking harmless fun to provide entertainment with their satirical articles on political issues, yet they are often considered as ‘partisan players’ who try to change the viewers’ attitudes based on their ‘biased’ content. On the other hand, there should be regulations to control irresponsible political commentaries which sole purpose is to create tension among the citizens. Certainly, there is a need to define the line between constructive political commentary and those that are full of meaningless criticisms.
posted by Qin Jiang at
10:06 AM
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