Global Voices » Connie Veneracion

Podcast ban and regulation of blogs in Singapore

Connie Veneracion — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 11:50:51 +0000

Back in August, 2005 when Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), first talked of his political platform in a podcast, the Atypical Singaporean commented in his blog:

There is possibly zero chance for Opposition Parties to be heard on local radio and TV, and Podcasting (and Blogging) is possibly the best way for any person/organization wanting to be heard.

Clearly, the opposition is aware of that fact and it has been utilizing alternative media to do what it cannot in mainstream media. Just recently, Singabloodypore confirmed Chemical Generation Singapore’s speculations that one of Singabloodypore’s bloggers is, in fact, the President of the Young Democrats in the Singapore Democratic Party.

The government is not unaware of the power of alternative media either. When documentary filmmaker Martyn See produced Singapore Rebel, a 26-minute movie about Chee Soon Juan's acts of civil disobedience, it was banned from the 2005 Singapore International Film Festival and See was placed under investigation for violation of the Films Act for knowingly distributing or exhibiting a “party political film”–and it was not even election season.

Political videocasts have been previously banned. Now, there's the podcast ban and the regulation of political content on blogs.

When Channel News Asia published a report with Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan saying that podcasts were excluded from the “positive list” of allowable election advertising, reactions varied. Asiapundit declared it wasn't exactly a repression of free speech because private citizens could still give their political speeches in the free speech zone. Kevin of Theory.IsTheReason and Bob of Politics in the Zeroes both observe that only the SDP has been using podcasts for political reasons. Singapore Election Watch published a statement of SDP's Chee Jooj Juan saying that the opposition feels it is the only real target of the ban.

Other bloggers do not view the situation as one merely affecting oppositionist political parties. The vague generalizations can be problematic. Mr. Brown is not sure what “explicitly political content” means. Yawning Bread says with the broad definition of “election advertising” under the Parliamentary Elections Act, “there's not a lot that we are allowed to say.”

Deadpoet's Cave reacts to Dr. Balaji's statement that “individual bloggers can discuss politics, but have to register with the Media Development Authority if they persistently promote political views.” He says:

If it is election advertising that is to be specifically (or should I say broadly?) restricted, shouldn’t this be rephrased as promoting political parties?

After all, people have many political views regarding a range of topics. Some views may fall in line with the ruling party. Some views may be more in line with contrary opinion. Some may even be totally off-tangent: original views and analysis which have not been aired anywhere else. Opinionated posts about almost anything could be construed as promoting a political view.

What are bloggers to do? All register?

That would seem so based on Darkholme's observation that Dr. Balaji's statement makes it clear that “people… should not hide behind the anonymity of the internet, to manipulate public opinion.” But the anonymity issue is challenged by Mr. Wang who says “the true identities of Singapore's prominent bloggers are hardly ever a secret anyway”. Avalon poses and even bigger challenge by saying there is no such thing as anonymity in Singapore to begin with becuase “Singaporeans are at most three-degrees apart from every other stranger, our paw prints are all over the Singaporean cyberspace…”

Some bloggers respond with action. IZReloaded defies the Singapore government and puts up a link to his own podcast. Cloudywind does the same. But the Solitaire Joker sums up the situation as a dilemma.

But realistically, what would you choose?

The right to shoot your mouth off about virtually anything in Singapore politics?

Or the peace of mind that you get from knowing that you will be undisturbed taking a downtown stroll in Singapore at extremely late hours?

Choose. And choose wisely.

Choosing a credit card

Connie Veneracion — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 08:12:42 +0000

Ryan Wong discovered and recommends an e-commerce site where one can compare the various credit cards available in Singapore. Ryan's blog entry comes with a warning that financial discipline is a must for credit card holders.

Conversation between prisoners

Connie Veneracion — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:39:23 +0000

James Wong Wing On of Freedom in Solidarity has an excerpt from the memoirs of Sybil Kartigasu, a member of the resistance movement during the WW II Japanese occupation. The excerpt is a prison conversation between Kartigasu and another resistance fighter, Toh Lung San, who was tortured and later beheaded at the age of 21.

Opposition to Indonesian Playboy magazine

Connie Veneracion — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:38:34 +0000

Yosef Ardi of Indonesia Today calls the first issue of the Indonesian edition of Playboy magazine a “smashing success” despite insistence by some quarters that it is pornographic because it is Playboy. Indonesia Matters agrees that the opposition from “predictable quarters” is not necessarily because of the magazine's content (no nudity) but because of prevailing perception. Andry S Huzain says, “Playboy Indonesia IS Playboy. It is just a series of parade of big boops blonde-naked women with IQ not over fifteen.” A. Fatih Syuhud says, “If you agree with it, buy it. If you dont, just leave it.”

Blogging success

Connie Veneracion — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 20:37:06 +0000

When asked what makes Yugatech click–high traffic, high comment rate, and good ranks from Google and Technorati, blog owner Yuga says he doesn't even use “tools” like wordtracker, database of keyword lists, ebay directories, adsense accelerator and the like. He says it's all about writing what genuinely interests you, “the same topics I would talk about whenever I’m with friends, chatting over a cup of coffee or a bottle of beer.”

Pedicab

Connie Veneracion — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:06:51 +0000

A pedicab is a bicycle with a sidecar. It is a popular public transport in many Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia. Sarapan Ekonomi has a photo.

House of worship law

Connie Veneracion — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:02:15 +0000

Per the latest revisions in the law, for purposes of establishing a house of worship, religious congregations are now required to have a minimum of 90 members. They must also secure the prior approval of the government and the residents of the area where the house of worship is to be erected. Indonesia Matters republished an interview of a Philosophy professor who says the new rules violate the Constitutional right to freedom of religious worship.

Malacañang's response to the NY Times editorial

Connie Veneracion — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:01:18 +0000

Piercing Pens links to a New York Times editorial that talks of President Gloria Arroyo's “increasingly authoritarian tendencies”. PCIJ reproduces the statement delivered by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye who says the editorial shows that “the opposition’s irresponsible political efforts are impacting international perceptions”.

Beer

Connie Veneracion — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:58:25 +0000

Over at The Man-Blog, Emerson Bañez has the rundown on different kinds of beer–their colors, flavors, aroma and alcohol content.

Singabloodypore confirms, challenges Chemical Generation Singapore

Connie Veneracion — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:57:16 +0000

Soci of Singabloodypore confirms Chemical Generation Singapore's speculations that one of Singabloodypore's bloggers is, in fact, the President of the Young Democrats in the Singapore Democratic Party. However, Soci challenges Chemical Generation's allegation that Singabloodypore is just another SDP tool for political propaganda by presenting the public profiles of all its bloggers.

High cost of health

Connie Veneracion — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:03:23 +0000

Dr. Emer, a practising physician, observes that in the Philippines, the high price of medicine can be fatal to your health. In Cambodia, “medical corruption punishes the poorest of the poor” by depriving them access to basic health care.

Man-made eggs

Connie Veneracion — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:02:48 +0000

At Talkin' Tech, BernieJ has photos of unique eggs from China. They almost look like chicken eggs but they are a hundred per cent man-made.

Podcast ban is politcally motivated

Connie Veneracion — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:01:48 +0000

Relative to the prohibition against using podcasts for political campaigns, Singapore Election Watch reproduces a statement from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Secretary-General that says this is not the first time that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has arbitrarily thwarted its efforts– the PAP banned videos in 1996 when the SAP produced a video to present its platform.

An artist to watch

Connie Veneracion — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:01:09 +0000

Diacritic has added Daniel Hyun Lim in his list of artists to watch.

Kids in the kitchen

Connie Veneracion — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:00:21 +0000

Children’s kitchen, cooking by children!, the 8th edition of Lasang Pinoy, a monthly project of Filipino food bloggers from all over the world, culminates with the round-up of participating blogs by Beijing-based Iska Montero. It is the first time that some of the participants posted videos in lieu of text entries in their blogs.