As we understand, censorship is now closing in on all those who criticise. Breakfast Network, and perhaps TRS soon. These are platforms which ordinary people use to discuss, vent, oppose or suggest views. Free speech is useful to prevent views from going underground and used subversively by a brewing mass of dissension. Even Australia allows the freedom of political speech. After all, most political parties want to know what the ordinary citizen is thinking. What you see on TRS is not any worse than forums on hardwarezone or Sammyboy forums. So after TRS, will they start shutting down HWZ or Sammyboy? Then how would our politicians know that people are unhappy? Are they trying to shut it all down to create an image of paradise city or a Utopia which many do know – is not existent.
Instead of shutting down these outlets, a shrewd strategist would look upon these ‘opposing’ views as a tool for policy making. It is a given that there might be exaggerations or pro/anti government articles. Do what statisticians do, adjust – look at the average view instead of the outlying ones. These are after all vents for the unhappy masses. Use it to examine policies instead of using a top-down approach. Stay in touch with the grassroots. Or at least create the illusion of doing so. Rather than antagonise those unhappy masses by removing the few vents which blows off their steam of frustration at life in a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker with no way of venting will explode. The result will be catastrophic and we can see the casualties to the ruling party: Aljunied GRC.
How many more will go? Another point, if the point of censorship is to make the ruling party look like efficient leaders, then there will be no improvement in policy making because everything is A-OK to the ivory towers. The case of the 2.50 nasi padang case Mr Baey bought is bad enough. Today it is 3.70 – made worse when the grassroots have to pay 6 dollars. Frankly, Mr Baey cannot be blamed for thinking costs are not increasing. It is the people around him who makes him think so. This is in itself a lapse in communications between the grassroots and the ivory tower.
Political Yes men are the bane of any political party because they separate the leaders from the grassroots. They are the foundations of the ivory tower and as the number of yes-men increases , the stability of the ivory tower decreases towards the leaning tower of Pisa which no one understands why until it collapses. These political Yes-men are the very trolls of the internet – not TRS, or Temasek Times.
They assist in isolating the leaders in the ivory towers which are built by saying yes. In saying yes, they are effectively silencing the voices of the suffering masses by talking down to them. How many leaders in history have toppled because they have too many yes-men or enjoy the voice of approval and adulation without finding out that there is a riot about to happen? Marie Antoinette comes to mind. So in fact, platforms like TRS may be perceived as an enemy but in actual fact, the best friend agreeing with everything the leader said, is the worst enemy of the political party.
All common Singaporeans would like to know what they said have been heard. Not drowned out by voices of Yes-men. Can we really blame these platforms making all these articles when statistics given are nowhere near the standards of most developed nations? People are no doubt making guesses because they have no clear data to research and analyse. For example, looking at SingStat – the information is nowhere near the statistical authorities of Australia, UK or USA. Even certain statistics in Yunnan released by China PRC can be more informative than what I can find in Singapore.
You cannot even compare properly in-depth other than trying to get information out of authorities or using OECD data (which sometimes have its hiccups). If there is transparency with data, I doubt that many Singaporeans would not be confused by subversive platforms. A great point of being transparent and open – you can sue any person without fear of being labelled a dictator. Why? Because data is out there and no one can say that they were not aware of it when they wrote their political essay.
I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. -- James A. Baldwin
I love Singapore more than any other country in this world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually -- Anonymous Singaporean
Gabrielle Yung
TRS Contributor