Review - The politics of Singapore’s new media in 2006
December 31, 2006
by Gerald Giam
The year 2006 was a landmark year for the new media and citizen journalism in Singapore. The government’s “light touch” approach to regulating the Internet was probably one of the factors that emboldened many Singaporeans to step up and push the political boundaries through their blogs, podcasts (online sound clips) and vodcasts (online video clips).
There were too many developments in the new media in Singapore in the past year to capture in one article. Nevertheless, this piece will highlight just a few of the more significant happenings in Singapore fuelled by this phenomenon.
Election podcasting and vodcasting
In the weeks leading up to the General Election in May, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan announced a ban on “explicitly political” podcasting and vodcasting during the hustings. This move was ostensibly in response to the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) plans to circumvent the government-controlled mainstream media by reaching out to the electorate using sound and video clips on its website. After the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) informed political parties of this regulation, the parties had no choice but to comply. The SDP reluctantly removed the podcasts from their website, but not without protest.
Review - GE 2006 & The Internet
December 30, 2006
By Charissa.
Once again, we are at the dawn of a new year. It is that time of the year for some reflections. 2006 has been an eventful year for Singapore and us Singaporeans.
So many things happened that I find it impossible to cover them all. Thus I would be focusing on only a few key issues; GE 2006, the rise of the new media, the inclusiveness of society. The last issue would be covered in an upcoming article.
One important question to bear in mind is, “Would the New Year would be a dawn of a new chapter in Singapore?”
Jurong Island Theft: 100kg of Jet fuel additive stolen.
December 30, 2006
By Bernard
I was shocked to see this piece of news in The New Paper and in TODAY (29th December 2006). It is reported that thieves had made off with 100kg of Stadis 450, a jet fuel additive. Stadis 450 is classified as a flammable liquid and hazardous material.
The New paper understands that the jet fuel additive was left in six sealed pails which later went missing. I was even more surprised to read that the jet fuel additive has been missing since 4th December 2006. The police was subsequently informed of the theft two days later, on the 6th.
According to the Phillipine Daily Inquirer, the incident was serious enough for the
Singapore authorities to alert a bomb data centre in the Philippines.
Singaporean students to be re-valued monthly
December 29, 2006
By The Kentang
Singapore students will now be ranked according to their monetary value each month
Keeping in line with Singapore’s goal to extract maximum value from every Singaporean Student, the Ministry of Emulation has drafted a new scheme that is remarkable for its innovativeness in the number of buzzwords it manages to employ. The Kentang interviewed Mr. Vivobioluptous Hopkins Fan, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Emulation.
“Basically, we have to value our students in a new way, one that is free from colonial concepts such as ‘marks’ and grades’; a mindset that will better address our multi-cultural, Asian-valued, Uniquely Singaporean paradigm while still allowing us access to the developing global economy,” began Mr. Fan.
Landmark decision for ‘free speech’
December 28, 2006
This article is taken from the BBC.
A judgement in Britain’s highest court has been hailed as a “landmark decision on free speech” and a major boost for investigative journalism in this country.
Lawyers say the ruling brings English libel law more into line with that in the United States, where the media have traditionally had greater freedom to write about public figures.
Five judges in the House of Lords overturned two judgments in lower courts requiring the Wall Street Journal Europe to pay £40,000 in libel damages to a billionaire Saudi businessman.
Mohammad Jameel, whose family owns a car dealership in Oxford, had sued the paper over a report that his bank account was being monitored by the Saudi authorities.
The story said he was one of several prominent Saudis whose financial affairs were being examined at the request of United States agencies, to ensure no money was channelled - intentionally or unknowingly - to support terrorists.
“Homing instinct” requires fundamental shift in mentality
December 26, 2006
by Bernard
In a speech at the 50th Anniversary of Tanjong Katong Secondary School, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said:
“The Government is partly to blame for this state of affairs. The leaders did not believe in glorifying their place in history. They did not name streets, MRT stations, buildings, stadiums and parks after their colleagues who had departed. I think we should do so from now on so that Singaporeans can remember the pioneers, philanthropists, social workers, leaders and others who had made a difference to the lives of Singaporeans. This will make the history of our nation alive for Singaporeans.”
Are we seeing a dawn of new street names like Kuan Yew Road, Keng Swee Street or Chin Chye Avenue?
I can’t help but disagree with SM Goh that our leaders are not glorifying themselves. Indeed, I see it as a flawed statement made by our senior minister.
Give a simple gift this christmas
December 24, 2006
As we celebrate Christmas - the time of peace, love and giving - let us spare a thought for the less fortunate in our society and in our world.
Lets take it upon ourselves to say a nice word, express a smile or even give a simple gift to those around us who are less fortunate - the poor, homeless, sick, depressed, lonely.
Let this Christmas be the one where we all give a little bit more of ourselves.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Regards,
theonlinecitizen
A stranger, my friend.
December 21, 2006
By zyberzitizen
He sleeps there every night – rain or shine. Everytime I get home from work, I see him there. Sometimes, he stares into space while drawing on a cigarette. Other times, he is already sleeping.
A cat nearby keeps him company, sometimes laying above his head as he sleeps quietly, oblivious to the cold or the warmth. The void deck has been his home for a while now. Actually, for as long as I can remember seeing him there. What he has for blanket is a thin towel which hardly covers him, and a pillow so dirty none of us would ever use.
The concrete bench is his bed.
The Geopolitics of Asian Cyberspace
December 21, 2006
This article is taken from FEER.
By Ronald Deibert
What happens to your request when you click on a link to a website or send an email? For most surfers, the internet experience begins and ends with what happens on the computer screen in front of them.
However, if you follow that email or web request as it leaves your computer and passes down the fiber-optic cable to the servers and routers of your local Internet Service Provider (ISP), through the Internet Exchange Points (IXPS), international gateway, and on to the undersea trunk cables of telecommunications companies, you will find a complex and largely hidden infrastructure of filters and choke points.
Read the full article here.
Income gap tears at Singapore social fabric
December 18, 2006
SINGAPORE, Dec 18 (Reuters) - When Wee Shu Min, the teenage daughter of a Singapore member of parliament stumbled across the blog of a Singaporean who wrote that he was worried about losing his job, she thought she’d give him a piece of her mind.
She called him “one of many wretched, undermotivated, overassuming leeches in our country” on her own blog and signed off with “please, get out of my elite uncaring face“.
Wee was flamed by hundreds of fellow bloggers, but when her father Wee Siew Kim — an MP in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s constituency — told a Singapore newspaper that “her basic point is reasonable“, the row moved well beyond the blogosphere.
The episode highlighted a deep rift in Singapore society and was an embarrassment for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and prime minister Lee, who has made the reduction of the income gap one of the priorities of his new government.
“Coming from an MP in the prime minister’s constituency, these comments really were political dynamite,” political commentator Seah Chiang Nee told Reuters.
