TR EMERITUS

By Fang Zhi Yuan and Lim Siow Kuan In a recent article by Agence France-Presse - "Malaysiakini at vanguard of media revolution" (read article here), political analyst James Chin from the Kuala Lumpur campus of Australia’s Monash University, said Malaysiakini could only have existed in places like Malaysia, Singapore or Burma, simply because the mainstream press have no credibility. While it is true that Malaysiakini was able to establish itself as a credible alternative to the mainstream media precisely because of the latter's overt pro-government stance, the same reasoning cannot be ascribed to Singapore where the mainstream media still retains a sizeable audience from both the intelligentsia and masses. Both Singapore and Malaysia have similiar draconian laws governing the printing press. Singapore introduced the Newspaper and Printing Act in 1975 to control the ownership of news printing firms while Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad introduced a law in 1984 requiring print and broadcast journalists to obtain, and annually renew, government. In Singapore, all the print media in the four languages of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are under the ownership of one single government-linked company - the Singapore Press Holdings whose Chairman is almost always an ex-PAP minister (Its current Chairman is ex-DPM Dr Tony Tan). The circulation of foreign papers is severely restricted and those who went afoul of the government's censorship like FEER and Wall Street Journal were subjected to heavy fines and subsequently banned from Singapore altogether. Singaporeans, especially those born after independence have grown up knowing only the pro-government state press which explains why they are seldom able to distinguish between truths and spins inherent in the reports unlike an astute reader from a developed country like U.S or U.K. Though the major dailies like Utusan Melayu and New Straits Times are controlled by the Malaysian government, the newspapers with a smaller circulation especially the Chinese tabloids like Sin Chew Jit Poh still retains a certain degree of independence and flair to provide contrarian views to the government's mouthpiece. Malaysians who have long been sceptical of the mainstream media's coverage of political affairs take an instant liking to Malaysiakini's independent streak almost immediately, facilitating its eventual ascension to the pinnacle of Malaysian journalism. Though the initial years were challenging, Malaysiakini was able to survive largely because of the low operating costs and wages in Malaysia. A fresh graduate journalist commands a monthly pay of only RM$1,500 in contrast to Singapore which ranges from S$2,800 to S$3,500. Malaysiakini is able to attain such national prominence in the journalistic landscape of Malaysia partly because Malaysia is able to provide it with a large readership in the first place. Its daily readership of 100,000 unique visitors amounts to only 0.37% of Malaysia's population of 27 million people. Applying the same percentage to Singapore's 4.7 million people will only yield 17,390 readers a day. Malaysiakini is founded by Steven Gan, an ex-journalist with The Sun for 3 years. Being a professional journalist himself with the relevant knowledge and experience, he is able to form a team and build up a credible online news daily in a short period of time. Steven is also willing to risk his livelihood and personal freedom to write the truth - he was jailed for a few weeks in 1995 for reporting on the situation in East Timor. On the other hand, Singapore journalists have too much to lose by going against the wishes of the government. Junior journalists are subjected to close supervision and frequent assessments before they are allowed to write on political matters. Senior editors are too well-paid to allow any lapses of judgement to occur which may break their rice bowls. The political bureau is run by journalists with links to the ISD. Is there little wonder that we have not seen a Steven Gan emerging from the Singapore journalistic circles yet ? Are Singapore journalists devoid of ideas and passion for their profession ? Why are they contented to be the government's 'reporters' and not a real journalist to seek out and report the truth fearlessly ? 'Liberals' within the profession like Cherian George and P N Balji have left the profession to focus on academic research.Young promising journalists like Melanie Lee have opted to ply their trade with foreign news agencies like Reuters rather than to betray their own conscience by working for SPH. Is there a need Singapore to have its own "Malaysiakini" to serve as an alternative to the print media ? Judging from the rising readership of news blogs like The Online Citizen, Singapore Enquirer and Wayang Party Club run entirely by self-funded part-time amateurs, it does appear that there is a sizable group of readers out there who are tired of the government-friendly mainstream media and are early seeking alternative news sources. For a 'Singaporekini' to establish itself as a credible online news daily like its counterpart across the causeway, it should be helmed by a team of full-time journalists with the relevant training and experience in journalism. There must also be an external agency which is willing to fund the project for a foreseeable future till it takes off. We have seen how Malaysiakini and subsequently other influential online dailies like Malaysia Today and The Malaysian Insider have served as agents of change in ending 50 years of unbroken one-party hegemony in Malaysia. There can be no free elections without a free press. Perhaps this yet to be founded "Singaporekini" will be our sole hope of freeing ourselves eventually from the shackles of one-party rule.  Read More →

EDITORS' NOTE: Abhisit is only half right. Singapore is not just a one-party system, it is fast becoming a ONE-FAMILY system if not already one ! A one-party system is DETRIMENTAL to Singapore in the long run because it is completely devoid of any internal checks and balances. All we need is a nutcase like Hitler to turn Singapore into a fascist state. Even now, we see ordinary Singaporeans being subjugated to the will and power of the one-party state. We have no voice in Parliament, no bargaining rights as citizens and no power to change our destiny. We have become serfs in our own land of birth, toiling hard not to better our lives but to merely to sustain our physical bodies so that we may continue to contribute to the state funds. It is IMPOSSIBLE in a real democracy to have one party being returned to power repeatedly for 50 continuous years ! Singapore has one of the best education system in the world. Almost 50% of our population has some sort of tertiary education, be it a degree or diploma. There are more than enough talented Singaporeans to form not only one, two, but multiple political parties to challenge the incumbent. Only when there is a healthy competition for ideas can there be better refinement of policies to suit the real needs of the people on the ground. Then why aren't Singaporeans stepping forward ? Because they are afraid of the ruling party. They have seen capable men who dare to oppose them and end up being sued, bankrupted and ruined for life. They have no choice but to shut up and being herded around like sheep to safeguard themselves and their families. For those who refused to allow their basic rights to be trampled upon like shit, they pack up and leave for greener pastures overseas where they can live as free men without fear or apprehension. A one-party state can bring about social stability and economic prosperity for a short period of time only for as long as there are capable and benevolent leaders at its helm. Once these leaders pass on and if corrupted politicians were to take over, there will be NO EXTERNAL bodies or entities in place to remove them. And no citizens in the world will want to make such a fascist state as their homes. The United States is home to so many migrants from all over the world who stay on and become its citizens for life. Ask any PRC and Indian foreign workers here if they are willing to retire in Singapore and the answer is likely a "no." Singapore is too small and fragile a nation to be dominated and ruled by only a small clique of people. We need to have more heads and hands to govern it and more voices to contribute to to the nation-building process. It may slow down the speed and efficacy of policy implementation, but it will surely benefit a larger segment of the population in the long run with a fairer and more equitable distribution of wealth.  "Few years ago when former Prime Minister (Thaksin) said that he wanted the Thai political system to emulate the Singaporean system, I made a very clear statement on my part that I don't believe that a one-party system will benefit Thailand, even if that party were to be the Democrat Party. So I hope to see competition in politics which is the essence of democracy and so I have throughout my career and I will continue to make sure there will be healthy political competition and that minority rights are protected." -  Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand  Read More →

By Fang Zhi Yuan, Senior writer It was supposedly an innocuous travelogue about his family holiday in Paris, France. When Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Mr Tan Yong Soon accepted the Straits Times' invitation to write about his experiences at the prestigious french cooking school, 'Le Cordon Bleu', he probably did not anticipate the backlash from Singapore's vociferous blogging community in the aftermath of his article's publication. Mr Tan's article titled "Cooking up the holiday spirit" was published in an inconspicuous subsection of the national English daily dedicated to trivial and insignificant news pertaining to lifestyle and recreation - The Straits Times' "Life". (read Mr Tan's essay here) on 6 January 2009. The 3 week lesson costs S$15,500 per head and in total S$46,500 for Mr Tan, his wife and son, not including air tickets and living expenses in France. It would have raised few eyebrows if not for a scathing commentary written by blogger Eugene Yeo of influential socio-political blog, Wayangparty Club barely 2 hours later on the same day (read Eugene's article here) lampooning Mr Tan for his apparent lack of empathy and sensitivity in flaunting his wealth during an economic recession which has seen many ordinary Singaporean struggling to make ends meet. Like a wild bush fire, the article about Mr Tan's expensive holiday soon make its way around internet forums and chatrooms with a dozen blogs writing about the matter thereafter, most of them critical of Mr Tan. The focus was initially on the protagonist, but soon snowballed to engulf other contentious issues such as the high salaries and perks enjoyed by civil servants and ministers. In an online poll posted on the same blog, 76% of 683 netizens polled expressed dismay and outrage at Mr Tan's excesses. The local press did not carry any reports on the furore at first till the international media agency, Reuters got wind of the news and reported it (read the Reuters report here) a week later. The Straits Times reported the fiasco only 2 weeks later when the issue was brought up in Parliament by NMP Siew Kum Hong who  who described the article as being ‘unnecessarily provocative and unimaginably insensitive’  (read Straits Times report here). The minister in charge of civil service, Mr Teo Chee Hean expressed his disappointment at Mr Tan's writing and has asked him to "take note of the feedback and learn from this episode." (The New Paper carried a mild critique of Mr Tan on the same day here) What lessons does Mr Tan's personal misfortunate hold for both the government and blogosphere ? The government has always been reluctant to engage annonymous netizens in a public discourse. This fiasco has shown that it can no longer afford to ignore what it used to denigrate as "internet ramblings" anymore. Public opinion must now envelop online discussions which will continue to grow in importance as more and more Singaporeans utilize the New Media as an alternative source of news. When incongruity occurs between what was reported on the print and the online media, questions will inevitably be asked about the accuracy, credibility and objectivity of the latter. Prominent socio-political blogs such as Wayangparty Club, The Online Citizen, Yawning Bread, Mr Wang and Sgpolitics have a combined readership rivaling the online editions of the print media and their opinions will carry some weight amongst netizens especially those who have always harbored skepticism about the state media's agenda. As for bloggers, the eventual capitulation of the government to acknowledge the folly of a top civil servant due to criticisms emanating from blogs and internet forums can be savored as a small victory for them. They can take heart at the fact that despite the government's persistent refusal to engage them, their existence is not completely forgotten either. The question now is how far bloggers are willing to go to translate their online activism to politics in real life like Malaysian bloggers Tony Pua, Jeff Ooi and Elizabeth Wong who won a seat in the Federal Parliament in their very election and if they are able to make a real difference in the current political landscape. A decade ago, such an open reprimand of a top civil servant in Parliament by a minister would be almost unimaginable. Will we see more of such castigation of under-performing civil servants, MPs and even ministers themselves in Parliament ? Will a Raja Petra emerge in Singapore to "harrass" and "torture" the nation's top leaders like what the Malaysian namesake did to the country's Prime Minister-Elect, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak over his alleged involvement in the murder of a Mongolian model ? The government has always been slow and cautious in its approach to engage citizens in public discourse by opting for traditional channels like feedback sessions, print media and its official online portal REACH. A year in cyberspace is like an eternality. Going by the rapid rate at which the new media has evolved over the last few years, the government may have not much time left to keep pace with it. It needs to find ways to engage this growing segment of voters in cyberspace soon before it gets unnerved by a similar political tsunami which hit our neighbors' shore not too long ago.  Read More →