~by: Ng E-Jay

The Prime Minister of Malaysia has announced that the annual renewal of press and publication permits would be abolished, and all press licenses will now remain valid indefinitely unless they are revoked. The obvious question now is why the Singapore government fails to heed repeated calls for media liberalization, and in fact, continues to justify existing laws even in the face of the changes happening across the causeway.

Malaysia’s Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), enacted in 1984, has been used to censure newspapers on a very wide range of issues, some of it justified, but much of it not. While this degree of control has allowed the Malaysian government to censor inflammatory speech, it has on a multitude of occasions also been used to silence legitimate and peaceful dissent, curb freedom of expression, and instil fear.

The same can be said of Singapore’s laws relating to the press and publications. But the Singapore government, over the years, has made numerous refinements and calibrations to existing laws and policies, so that the government continues to have very flexible tools at its disposal to stifle or intimidate as it sees fit.

Singapore’s equivalent of Malaysia’s PPPA is the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA), which continues to require annual renewal of press licenses. Our law also allows the government to gazette foreign publications and restrict their circulation here, in a manner that is completely unaccountable to the electorate. But this law is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) is the monopoly of the mainstream press in Singapore, and this company has been run by government bureaucrats and government intelligence officers for all of its existence. It is an unwritten policy of the government never to allow SPH’s monopoly to be compromised.

The corporate structure of SPH also features management shares, which have greater voting rights than ordinary shares. Management shares can only be awarded to entities or individuals approved by the Singapore government. Over the years, via pre-approved directorships and board appointees, as well as management shares, the government has retained firm control of SPH, and by extension, enormous influence over what it can report, and the manner in which it can report.

As media academic Cherian George explained recently: “Putting management shares in the hands of pro-stability stakeholders like banks is the main way that the law transformed the Singapore press into an establishment institution. Licensing is no longer as relevant, even though it’s still in the law.

Despite the rapid changes taking place across the causeway, our government has refused to acknowledge that times have changed and people aspire to greater heights, not greater controls.

The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) has publicly defended our laws, saying that the media operating in Singapore play a responsible role and that publishers are accountable for the content they publish. Mica also states that these safeguards prevent local newspapers from being manipulated by foreign interests which can have a divisive effect on social cohesion.

However, the government has far too much administrative leeway and discretion, with little accountability and transparency in the way it censures or restricts both local and foreign media. The law is no doubt crafted under the ambit of responsible reporting. However, the government has betrayed this good intention and abused the law to serve its own ends instead.

It is time for the Singapore mainstream press to be liberalized, and for the government to stop hiding behind its policy of calibrated coercion as a means of stifling legitimate dissent, criticism, and political opposition.


This article first appeared in Sgpolitics.net. TOC thanks Sgpolitics.net for allowing us to reproduce it in full here.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

越南如何保持“零死亡”记录? 专家称诚实、迅速防控疫情蔓延

在疫情肆虐全球之际,各国都忙于压平疫情曲线(flatten the curve),甚至要保持“零死亡”更是难上加难。然而,越南却“奇迹般”做到了。目前仍保持在不到300确诊病例,并尚无死亡病例。到底越南在防疫控制中做了什么,让它们可以持续保持“零死亡”的记录。 《澳洲广播公司新闻频道》(ABC news)于本月13日发表相关文章揭露越南在冠状病毒19的防控工作。文章指出,如今越南的确诊病例仅达249例,尚无死亡病例,与其他东南亚国家包括马来西亚和新加坡比较起来,显得出类拔萃,更是许多国家望尘莫及的防控结果。 维多利亚州墨尔本伯内特(Burnet)医学研究院教授迈克图尔(Mike Toole)向澳洲广播公司新闻频道表示,“澳洲确实相当关注新加坡的情况,但新加坡目前是世界最大的败笔之一。” 越南“零死亡”秘诀:当局诚实让人们能够获得具体充足的信息 而这均归功于越南当局对冠状病毒的诚实,让越南人民获得具体充足的有关疫情及其防控措施的信息。 文章也援引维多利亚州墨尔本伯内特(Burnet)医学研究院教授迈克图尔(Mike Toole)的话,“从1月初开始,政府便意识到国内临床资源有限,稍有疏失,越南可能将无法控制疫情的爆发。因此他们并没有将病毒包装成普通流感,而是描述了症状,并提供他们检测讯息。” 尽管越南是一党专制国家,在信息透露上是出了名的严谨,但在防疫工作上,大部分专家仍倾向相信越南政府所公开的数据皆为真实。…

PAP leaflets a “cheap attempt to frighten voters” : WP

From the Workers’ Party website [picture TOC’s]. The PAP has circulated a…

【冠状病毒19】马国首相忧疫情再袭 或强制民众公共场合戴口罩

马来西亚的单日冠状病毒19病例重回双位数,马国首相慕尤丁通过电视直播指出,政府考虑强制民众在公共场所戴口罩。 马国当前正在进行复原行管令(PKPP)期间。慕尤丁指出,目前发现许多入境马国人士感染冠病,该国或加强入境管制。凡冠病症状入境或确诊者,都将直接送院,其余入境者也须居家隔离14天。 如有必要,该国政府计划让从国外入境国民,集中送往隔离区观察。 他指出,虽然马国疫情受到控制,但是新增13个感染群的情况,仍然令人担忧,包括在本月7日,由入境病例所引起的四个新增感染群。当天的入境病例分别有三起发生在砂拉越、五起在马六甲、吉隆坡两起及登嘉楼三起。 “此外,确诊病例也在数天前重新回到两位数了,更让我担忧。” 他呼吁民众不要对此掉以轻心,而且若确诊病例暴增,马国政府再度实施行动管制令,那么将影响马国经济和百万人民的收入。“若事情真的发生,那么包括2021年预计的国内生产总值也无法实现。” “我们必须继续疫情所带来的新生活习惯。不要因为国内确诊病例减少了,在公众场合就不戴口罩。” 他促请各领域的雇主或业者都遵守并做好标准作业程序等安全措施,校方和父母们也必须将孩子的健康安全照顾好,而各社区领袖必须照顾地区人民,到市区内如早市或巴刹进行巡逻,提醒人们保持安全社交距离、戴口罩等。“每个人都应该视自己做前线人员。” 他指出,马国民众在政府获准跨州后,已经有很多人回乡或在国内旅游了,两酒店的预订也增加了。“这是个好现象,目前经济领域都在复苏,若这种情况持续,国家经济复苏会很快。” 他补充,马国政府也已经采取各种行动,以帮助国家各阶层人士,包括拨款111.4亿令吉的国家关怀援助金(Bantuan Prihatin Nasional),让1040万人受惠;140万电召车通行证(E-Hailing)持有者获得一次性的500令吉补贴,总值达340万;44万7000名德士司机、旅车司机和把事实及则获得一次性600令吉的补助金等。…