TR EMERITUS

By Darkness, Guest Columnist I just have 15 minutes to spare before I gear off for a spot of cycling – so we’ve going dive in straight into the deep end on this one – Question: Is it reasonable to even expect the internet to be credible?   You know what? I have absolutely no idea. Though judging from the way policy makers seem to go on and on like a broken record about the subject of online credibility – they seem to be almost single minded in reminding us that we must be responsible for what we write and present online – its hard to know who believes what these days, but no matter; lets not sweat the small stuff and just go with the flow on this one.   Have you ever considered; what’s really behind this obsession about online credibility? Why should policy makers even feel the overwhelming need to insist that online discourse should be credible?   One clue accounting for this oddly naïve insistence that the internet should conform to some acceptable form and structure stems largely from an acute anxiety on the part of policy makers; the internet may be some sort of mysterious wonder weapon like the ark of the covenant – for one can be weaponized with remarkable ease even by monkeys – and its effects can even be far reaching spewing out digital death rays in every direction with impunity.   It’s easy to buy into this sense of urgency when the internet is hung in the rogues gallery besides Dante’s seventh level of hell; and to some extent; myth even manages to eclipses reason; when one considers how the internet was often touted as the l’enfant terrible that dealt the ruling Barisan Nasional the proverbial kiss of death in the last Malaysian general elections, reducing the Malay elite to a bunch of shambolic mumblers; though I suspect what may have actually tilted the balance in favor of the opposition may also have been good olde fashion slip shod governance, slow mail, sms, petrol vouchers and the ubiquitous underwater sound quality DVD porno – my point is simply this; despite the ongoing preoccupation with the latent powers of the internet, a lot of it still remains the stuff of princesses kissing croaking frogs, alchemy and black magic – how much impact the internet may have on the politics of the day, or to wonder what conditions must first be obtained if they it is to have an impact; still remains a question of endless speculation – and even if the experts disagree on many things; all remain unanimous how the dystopian net may win the day is still a matter of considerable debate.   The hubris of having to deal with an “unknown quantity” is what I suspect to be at the bedrock of anxiety – and this is manifested in why policy makers continue to insist no end the internet should at least have the decency to conform to some semblance of understandable order – the dissertates range from Ah Liu’s recent condemnation of the netizens and how none of us could muster enough heart to avail Ah Seng – to the ongoing game of you-must-behave-yourself-otherwise-I-don’t-fren you strategy that is currently pursued. In every single case the underpinnings are clear: the internet is the nail that sticks out; it must be hammered down! Its precisely that departmental attitude towards the internet that’s a source of pain to most thinking folk; and its exacerbated recently when the custodians are increasingly speaking a language of panic and treating online credibility not as one of many competing values but as the one value that trumps all others.   The problem is this diffusion of nervous energy is missing one vital ingredient; a genuinely alarmed public. Truth remains most netizens care about credibility mainly in the abstract whenever they blog. I am not saying everyone is terminally ambivalent about coming across as sane, mature and worth reading in cyberspace; only most netizens don’t really see the need to buy into the idea of credibility anymore than people who have real hair need to buy a wig. I’m no exception – and that’s one reason why when I hear toe curling commentaries about how the government should only respond to “credible” voices online – I find that not only does it put my character in a false light but a kind of appropriation of self is even going on; one where I even have to consider self censoring my thoughts should I wish to be taken seriously; but what if I don’t wish to assume that mantle; what if blogging isn’t a way to change the world as it remains a reliable way to preserve something valuable; and that thing being preserve could well be memories of my averagely miserable childhood to perhaps something more important like a critical way of viewing life as it unfolds – I am reminded when people blog; a sort of alchemy is going on in their heads; a man may be Christian, heterosexual, drive a Japanese car, Manchester united supporter, stir his coffee anti clockwise – but which one of these wins over the rest when he decides to hack away at his keyboard? People are complicated; and my feel is it doesn’t pay to expect them to conform to a set of ideals; not if all it does is level the field of possibilities further by forwarding the binary view one is either switched on or off, successful or a failure; scholar or peasant; chosen on or damned, credible or just plain rubbish and not worth engaging – how might that sort of reductionism serve the greater imperative of building a diverse and vibrant net? Well it cannot.   My point is simply this; government may simply have to reconcile themselves with the idea if the goal is build a better net; then instead of trying to funnel the online community into a way of thinking – what they may need to do is to simply let go. I know the idea sounds incredulous and even a trifle dangerous – but that logic isn’t so different from how the big cities of this world manage to consistently winnow the real winners from the losers; for one none of them subscribe to the ideal of zoo keeping as reliable way of seeding the good and driving out the bad.   In fact, the paradox of big cities like New York, Tokyo and Paris isn’t so different from the social landscape that makes up our internet; though its often fingered for its rudeness, its arrogance and along with its moral turpitude – resentment may yet be the highest form of compliment a city can receive; and it precisely because of this mish mash between good and bad as it tries to work its way out – that its serves as lightning rod to attract the brightest and smartest; who even see feral and even brutish city life as the best way to reinvent oneself – only don’t ever buy into the belief for one moment, New York can be New York – Paris can be Paris; if no one ever bothered with the wisdom of tolerating the bad, in the great hope the good would somehow be able to win the day – that is really the linchpin of this essay – the tao of letting things be; instead of thinking you’re Mr Know it all.   It worries me therefore that what seems to be playing out these days (look closely and you will see it) is something that I can only describe as a sorry state of sovietization – the idea as LSL recently lay on in prosaic terms as:   “But even in the Internet, there are places which are more considered, more moderated where people put their names down and identify themselves. And there is a debate which goes on and a give and take, which is not so rambunctious but perhaps more thoughtful. That is another range.” Lee.S.L Feb 2009     Despite my best efforts to find something redeeming about this whole idea – I cannot, only because when one boils down these statements to crud; its not so different from the idea of scrubbing streets clean and making sure all the picket fences are ram-rod straight and everyone can be counted to sip and not slurp their soup – for one it smacks of zoo keeping; one that even suggest if there was ever such city that was ever so sanitized and gutted out to make everything just right for the government to dip its porcelain feet into – it never even once existed in real life except perhaps in the deepest firmament of some fairytale; not even Disneyland despite its zing and panache for the surreal can gut out the human condition these days; when the average internet savvy kid these days knows only too well the evil decepticons has vaporized snow white and as for the seven dwarfs –they’re probably languishing in some virtual salt mines eking out make belief gold for the triads in China – as I said, it doesn’t pay to buy into the illusion of a credible net, not if it comes at the cost of reducing everything to binary logic.   Life doesn’t work that way; never did and never will – and it may be wiser for government to just take the net for what it is, to paraphrase, this is as good as it will ever get.   The perverse effect of this great diffusion of energy to build an online Pyongyang by instill the necessary quotient of credibility online – by behaving as if it’s an urgent matter to understand who though what and to award them good and bad marks for their ideas; may yet yield the opposite result; instead of online engagement which is of a deep spirited kind where issues may be brought to light with the force of reason; what’s likely to be played out is a rendition of more of the same - where despite the best efforts of government to come connect with the online community – all they would have done is recreate the very sameness that once provoked so many to migrate online in search of something that doesn’t cause pain to thinking folk – its suggestive it may even sharpen the already acute sense of estrangement further as one can really only bear so much perfidiously happy faced hear only the good stuff without puking over the cat.   Now you don’t an excuse to say; no one told you; as all that came from a citizen of the internet.   Darkness 2009      Read More →

CHANNEL 8 NEWS   Contractors have been engaged to repair the Singapore Merlion after it was struck by lightning on Saturday. For now, the public is not allowed access to the 36-year-old tourism icon at the mouth of the Singapore River. Temporary barricades have been erected for safety reasons. Despite this, tourists and locals are still eagerly snapping pictures from afar. Read rest of article here  Read More →

By Eugene Yeo It appears that Workers' Party Organizing Secretary Yaw Shin Leong still hasn't learnt his lesson from the furore he stirred last year when he proclaimed proudly on his blog that he voted for PAP MP Teo Ho Pin during the last elections whom he described as a "good MP." His post was circulated around in the internet chatrooms and was subsequently picked up by the print media which as expected, add a spin to it to make the PAP look good. This time round, Yaw has fired an early salvo of WP's emerging clout as the "Big Brother" of the opposition by warning the Singapore Democratic Alliance led by respected veteran politician Chiam See Tong to stay off WP's "turf." Yaw was writing in response to a TODAY article written by Loh Chee Kong in which he suggested that Mr Chiam may lead a team to contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the next election. Hey wait, it didn't come from Mr Chiam or SDA. It is merely a suggestion mooted by the TODAY reporter himself. But PAP wannabe aka WP "big shot" Yaw Shin Leong will have none of it. He has got his M16 ready, cocked and take aim at his supposedly fellow opposition, never mind if the target is appropriate or not. Thumping on his chest with all sound and fury, Yaw expressed his "disappointment" at SDA's purported move to compete with WP to contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh: "Organizationally, I’m slightly disappointed. This is because quiet grassroots cultivation efforts have been put in by dedicated members of WP Central Area Committee over the past 20 months." Hello, Mr Yaw, what is the BIG DEAL about WP ??? Are you insinuating that only "dedicated WP members" are allowed to work the ground at Bishan-Toa Payoh and not any other parties ??? So what if WP members have put in "efforts" to cultivate the grassroots ? It is their own business and they have no right to tell others what to do ! As a political leader, Yaw should be aware of the significance and repercussions of what he post on his personal blog. I have surfed the personal blogs of Malaysian opposition MPs Tony Pua, Lim Kit Siang and Jeff Ooi and have yet to come across such an audacious post ! All Yaw does is to attract cheap media publicity to himself and giving the spin doctors at SPH free ammunition to shoot at the opposition again. What is Yaw ranting at when there was no official announcements from SDA that it will contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC ? Just based on an unsubstantiated speculation made by TODAY reporter ? Furthermore, the elections hasn't even been called yet ! The Workers' Party should be working hard on the ground in most, if not all constituencies to raise their national profile and understand the concerns of ordinary Singaporeans instead of restricting their grassroots activities only to those they have interest to contest it. Lastly, should there be any discussion between WP and SDA, it should be called only at the behest of the party leaders, Low Thia Kiang and Chiam See Tong and not Yaw. Can Yaw make such a major decision on his own without going through his party bigwigs ? It is very rare nowadays to hear a WP leader making a squeak when they are mute most of the time. Unfortunately, if Yaw is going to bark up at the wrong tree, he better shut up and say nothing. Why is he not making noise at the PAP for losing our reserves ??? Yaw Shin Leong should remove his offensive blog post immediately and issue an unreserved public apology to SDA and to Mr Chiam in person. Seriously, I doubt he has the guille to go far in his political career. The next time he speaks at an election rally asking Singaporeans to vote for him, many will be wondering if he will vote for PAP again at the back of their minds. Since WP already has a ruling in place forbidding CEC members to post in internet forums using their own names, perhaps Mr Low can consider gagging his erstwhile protege to send all his blog posts for vetting before publication to prevent another PR disaster from happening. You wouldn't want to spend time doing fire-fighting in your backyard when you should be slaughtering the enemy on the battlefield instead.  Read More →