Regulation of political commentary on the Internet in Singapore

      Online videos, audios, pictures, podcasts… This is only the tip of the iceberg of what technology has in store for us on the World Wide Web. Despite their astonishing large array, each and everyone is uniquely influential in their own way. Technology has simplified most every aspect of media, with just a push of a button and an e-article can be published. However, this convenience has caused an outburst of public opinions all over the globe. Topics of all sorts: living, eating, dressing, most anything! You name it and there is bound to be a couple of threads. 

      The spotlight today, however, belongs to the rampancy of political podcasts. This rise in Singaporeans airing their views on political topics online has attracted attention from the government, hence the setting up of policies against such podcasts. Though political podcasts are not banned in Singapore, but such podcasts can only be displayed and not downloadable by users, thus preventing us, the general public, to keep the videos and spread it to others. However, I believe that this regulation is rather redundant as people can simply access the sites themselves if they wish to view these videos. On the other hand, completely banning political podcasts would be an infringement of people's freedom of speech. 

      This freedom, however, has been abused by many. People start small by poking fun at political events, expression of discontent with the sudden increment in ERP prices and other unreasonable policies. This act of harmless fun eventually evolves into a routine of criticising the government. This might garner the podcaster a bunch of avid reader but it may also receive a jail term, credits to the strict regulations set by the government. Though, it is agreeably natural that the government would not tolerate public shaming on the internet or even stir up anti-government feelings within the people. 

     One other point about the regulations that I do not agree to would be the one about banning all political podcasts during elections. Websites such as the talkingcock.com merely make jokes about such political events, and mean no harm towards the candidates of the elections. Furthermore, candidates should know better than to take such sites seriously. Thus I believe that this policy is not exactly necessary because they really are merely just for laughs. 

      However, if we view this from another way, the government should in fact welcome such comments. Podcasters being the voices of the general public should not be stifled by the government. Instead members of the public should be encouraged to voice their opinions, like an online version of the speaker’s corner. The government will thus be able to gain knowledge of view points from the public, government officials might even join in the discussion. 

      This brings us back to the point on online political podcast regulations. Having such stringent regulations not only keeps podcasters in place, but it may likely deter people from posting online. People are afraid of being marked by the government and thus would hesitate when posting about their feelings. One famous example would Mr Brown.

      Mr Brown is a Singaporean blogger well known for his social and political commentary amidst Singapore's tight media restrictions. Affectionately known by many as Singapore's "Blogfather", Mr Brown is one of the more notable bloggers in the Singaporean blogosphere.
On 30 June 2006, Mr Brown wrote an article, titled "S'poreans are fed, up with progress!", for his weekly opinion column in Today newspaper concerning the rising costs of living in Singapore. Three days later, on 3 July, an official from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) published a response letter on the same newspaper calling Mr Brown a "partisan player" whose views "distort the truth". On July 6, the newspaper suspended his column. Mr Miyagi subsequently resigned from his column.

      Being an avid fan of “The Mr Brown Show”, I noticed a significant decrease in the degree of humour within his posts after the above incident. It is surprising how such a small incident could affect Mr Brown so much. 

      If Singapore really wants to live up to its name as a democratic society, I suggest that the government lighten up on these regulations and let we the people of Singapore have a say!