Dear TRS,
I came across this article in Yahoo! Singapore by Kirsten Han titled 'World Press Freedom Day: Free the mainstream media'. She makes some good points but she is also clearly against websites such as TRS.
She says that Singapore's Press Freedom ranking is terrible and I agree with her that this has caused Singaporeans to be unable to discuss difficult topics such as those controversial topics to do with religion, race, sexuality and freedoms.
But I can't help but feel angry whenever I read articles like Kirsten's which reek of elitism.
She makes a point that the government is doing the wrong thing by trying to regulate online websites such as with the new MDA rules, but her issue with it seems to be that it cripples "proper" websites that are "responsible" and "established" while allowing 'troll' websites to continue operating.
While she seems to be advocating free media, clearly she isn't supportive of truly free media, as she made a point about "irresponsible, anonymously run" websites and how they are bad.
In Singapore, the reason why there are anonymously run websites is because the government goes after those who want to expose real issues in our country. All Singaporeans should be familiar with the legal lawsuits that the PAP has brought against opposition members and citizens who dare to speak up.
When this is the reality, why shouldn't people be afraid to say who they are?
Without anonymous websites like TRS, there would be heaps of issues that would not have been uncovered. Do you think the AIM Saga, the Brompton Bike Saga, or more recently other issues such as the NEA charging tissue paper sellers $120 each year would have come to light?
There is also a lot of discussion that occurs on anonymous websites about civil liberties and issues that need change. How often do you hear in depth discussion about LGBT issues or questions about the death penalty, in mainstream media?
We have to recognise that Singaporeans suffer from fear of the government due to their treatment of citizens in the past.
Without anonymous websites for us to voice out our concerns with confidence, a lot of these issues would not appear at all and would never be discussed.
How can we hope to be able to have good discussions about important issues in Singapore if the citizens are crippled by fear?
Kirsten Han, a wanna be pro journalist at Yahoo, seems to think that the right to discuss these issues should be reserved for elites who get published in "responsible" platforms.
I guess you can't really expect much more from someone who has spent a lot of time studying journalism and media. Maybe she has also lost touch with the rest of society, or maybe she thinks that because she's spent so much time studying about journalism that her opinions deserve to be heard more than us lesser educated Singaporeans who can only turn to places like TRS to get our views heard.
Without anonymous websites like TRS, I don't think I would ever be heard and a lot of important issues would never be discussed.
I think you guys are doing a great job and you should keep doing what you are doing. Without websites like TRS, it'd take much longer to break down the climate of fear and promote healthy discussion.
A lot of people pretend to be pro free media, but actually they are also no better than the PAP themselves.
TRS Supporter and True Singaporean