http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62054304,00.htm?scid=rss_z_nw
ZDNet Asia, 22 May 2009, Eileen Yu
S'pore govt needs holistic
Web approach
The Singapore government will
need to adopt a whole new mindset and holistic strategy, in its
efforts to engage its citizens via the Internet and other new media
platforms, say industry watchers.
The local government has in recent months indicated a desire to
engage Singaporeans on a new level, in cyber space, to be in sync
with an increasingly tech-savvy population.
Raphael Phang, vice president of IDC's Government Insights
Asia-Pacific, said Web 2.0 and other new media tools are at the
forefront of the transformation of how governments interact with
their people.
Citing U.S. President Barack Obama's use of new media during last
year's U.S. presidential elections and YouTube videos showing G20
meetings in the United Kingdom, Phang said such forms of engagement
are already evident across the globe. The IDC analyst added that
politicians in the region, including Malaysia, Singapore and
Australia, have also started blogs.
More recently, the U.S. White House held an online town hall
meeting and accepted questions submitted via the Web. The Obama
administration received over 104,000 questions sent by 90,000
people.
Phang said in an e-mail interview: "One key lesson that can be learnt from these
examples is that the Internet and new media can, and is having, a
significant impact on the way citizens view their
government--whether the government participates, or does not
participate in its usage."
The general population is already
embracing new media, regardless of whether governments do
likewise, he said. Given the adoption and impact of
such platforms, he noted that it
is important that governments become proactive users as
well.
During his National Day address in August 2008, Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong, spoke at length about new media and its
impact on the island-state. Over 80 percent of households in the
country have broadband, and there are some 6 million mobile phones
in a population of 4.5 million.
"The young people are totally immersed in this [new] medium," Lee
said in his speech. "People are writing their own content, sharing
it with others, organizing interest groups... All this has changed
the way the government works." He added that his administration is
communicating and engaging with Singaporeans online.
And at the forefront of such efforts is Reach, he said, referring
to the government portal set up in October 2006, as a platform for
citizens to submit feedback and discuss government policies
online.
Holistic approach, new skills needed
Steve Hodgkinson, research director for public sector at Ovum, said
in an e-mail: "Use of the
Internet as a one- and two-way communications channel is now pretty
much expected of democratic governments, so Singapore is playing
catch-up on this one. The
government will need to be mindful of the fact that new media is
more about participation than it is about managing or
controlling."
As such, ministers and senior government officials will need to
acquire new skills, as well as adopt a new culture and mindset,
Hodgkinson said. Participating in new media using "old
media skills" will not produce the results the Singapore government
seeks. For instance, putting a ban on online
content will only serve to attract attention to it, he said.
The challenge is that it takes time and experience to learn these
new skills, and participate effectively in the new media
environment, he noted. On top of that, mistakes are very public, he
added.
"The government will need to work out ways to proceed in a measured
manner while it gains these skills to avoid embarrassing mistakes
that could lead to a reversal of enthusiasms for more open
communication," Hodgkinson said. "It would be wise to engage some
advisors who are very experienced in the use of social media in the
public sector context."
The Singapore government needs to recognize that the younger
generation is very different from previous generations, said Ang
Peng Hwa, a professor at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and
Information, Nanyang Technological University.
The tone and method of communication
that worked during the era of the country's former prime minister
and founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, is unlikely to work
today, Ang told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail.
"This generation wants to engage with government and politics on
their own terms--on issues they care about," he said. And in terms
of the quality of inputs and diversity of views, he noted that the
results of this engagement may also not be what government
officials want.
There are also costs involved in managing Web 2.0 communications if
the government intends to be responsive, he added. Users expect a
24-hour turnaround and these new communication platforms need to be
attended by two people, on a work shift, even during holidays, he
said.
Regardless, Ang said these forms of engagement are necessary and
governments will need to deploy whichever new channels of
communication the populace is moving toward. These include SMS,
Twitter and instant messaging, he said.
Phang explained: "Unlike traditional media, blogs and other Web 2.0
technologies represent a more accessible medium that citizens can
use to interact with the government, and with other citizens.
"It is also important to remember that because new generations of
citizens are educated in the Internet-enabled age, they will expect
to operate in a similar environment that they have been used to
when they enter the workforce. The same can be said for those
joining the civil service as government officials," he noted.
Governments then need to understand each media platform and the
objectives of using that channel of communication, he said. They
should approach this in the same way they do with traditional media
such as newspapers, television and radio.
Online media, Hodgkinson said, are typically more relaxed and
"uncontrolled" with regard to the types of topics discussed and
views expressed. He added that it is up to any
democratically-elected government to decide what it deems
appropriate, and not appropriate, especially in dealing with
sensitive issues such as religion and race, which can be socially
divisive.
While the Internet is intrinsically more open and participative,
enabling greater freedom of expression and transparency,
governments can still decide how much freedom and transparency they
to allow, he said.
"The hope is, over time, the
transparency of the Internet will become a force for more open and
transparent government generally. But, of
course, this is a pretty simple and naïve view given the
complexities of politics."
High-level official blogging
Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo was the first,
and one of the few, ministers in the country to blog. The Cabinet
minister began blogging in 2006 and co-hosts two blogs, covering a
wide range of issues including his memories of Star Trek, Singapore
President S. R. Nathan's recent visit to Japan's Hiroshima Peace
Memorial, and last month's ministerial evacuation at the Asean
Summit in Pattaya, Thailand. His blog also features photos of the
minister making official visits to Washington D.C., for example,
where he met U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to respond
to questions on whether Yeo is provided a set of guidelines on
issues he blogs about, as well as how he manages his online
profile.
According to Siew Kum Hong, currently employed as a legal counsel
at a tech company, most--if not all--major companies today have
codes of conduct for employees who blog or have online profiles.
However, the Singapore-based lawyer is not aware of similar codes
established specifically for government officials in the
island-state.
Siew is also one of the country's Nominated Members of Parliament
(NMPs), who are unelected MPs first introduced in 1990 as an avenue
to allow citizens with no political party affiliation to
participate in Singapore's parliamentary debates.
"I doubt if the Instruction Manual covers blogging," he said in an
e-mail interview, referring to the administrative handbook all
local government officers refer to as a guideline for their daily
operations and duties. "In terms of legal boundaries, the only
significant difference between government and companies would be
that the former is covered by the Official Secrets Act. Otherwise,
the usual laws will apply to both equally."
According to Ang, Yeo strikes an appropriate balance between his
role as a Cabinet minister and online personality. Government
officials including ministers, have to "toe the official line" even
if they personally disagree with it, he noted.
As a minister, Yeo does this well in his blog, while at the same
time reflecting views and insights that are personal, Ang
said.
He added that new, Web-based form of engagement with the public
should be embraced by government officials, though there are some
caveats and cautions. "But, such engagement is necessary. Singapore
is now among the leading pack in its use of IT, and we should aim
to continue to be among the leaders," he said. "Such forms of
engagement will teach us to be more inclusive of groups and
views."
Yeo had been quoted in local news reports to say that his
participation in new media platforms, which also includes a
Facebook account, keeps him in touch with the younger
generation.
He had referred to Obama's use of new media as an important vehicle
behind his victory in last year's presidential elections, reaching
pockets of Americans who might otherwise have stayed away from the
mainstream process.
Ultimately, Siew said, the Internet is just another platform and
avenue for the Singapore government to reach out and engage
citizens. Improving its interaction with the population will
require a fundamental review of "its philosophical approach to
engagement", he said. For example, the proposal by the AIMS to
allow civil servants to comment on government policies was
rejected, in line with an overarching government policy that
applies both online and offline.
The AIMS was an advisory council, established in April 2007, to
assess how new media is impacting the local society and recommend
ways the government can address such impact.
The government accepted, and rejected, some of the council's
recommendations. For instance, it now allows individuals to
participate in online advertising for elections by blogging or
posting election materials, though some safeguards will be
implemented to ensure accountability. However, it dismissed the
AIMS' recommendation to allow civil servants to voice personal
opinions on government policies, noting that this would "compromise
the performance of their duty".
Siew said: "Once the government develops a philosophy and strategy,
then Internet-specific measures can be implemented to execute that
strategy."
Engagement requires some guidelines
Phang cautioned that blogs, unlike official press statements that
are vetted, are typically more informal. However, citizens will not
view such information any differently, he said, adding that blogs
written by government officials should be managed sensibly.
"The content will be no different from what is put out in other
media, and the guidelines governing this information is the same as
any made public, where there is the element of taking
responsibility for what you say," he noted. "The Internet can be
viewed as a vast open network in which information can quickly be
turned into dis-information."
Hodgkinson said: "Government officials and ministers should
definitely not be encouraged to blog or set up an online profile
without knowing what they are getting themselves into, or without
being trained in how to blog, being supported by appropriate
guidelines and support teams, and having 'disaster' plans in place
to deal with undesirable events--without just resorting to turning
a blog off in a panic."
The Ovum analyst suggested that a clear distinction must be made
between political blogs that reflect a minister's personal views on
policy issues, and blogs used by the government to communicate
policies and related issues. The latter should avoid any political
discussions, he said.
Politicians and government officials who do blog should do so on a
government-hosted, rather than public, platform to ensure posts are
authentic, Hodgkinson said. Content should not be overly sanitized
or politically correct or the blogger will lose credibility, he
added.
"Be open to debate and criticism, and deal with it transparently
with facts and logic, rather than rhetoric," he said.
Some Singapore government
officials, however, seem unprepared for negative comments that may
emerge from the blogosphere.
Earlier this year, now-Acting Minister for
Information, Communications and the Arts, Lui Tuck Yew, described
the Internet as an ineffective self-regulated
environment. He noted that the online
community did not do enough to quell "unkind" remarks made by local
bloggers, that were targeted at a local politician. Lui, as quoted
in local news reports, said: "Many of those responses were not
rebutted nor answered, And, I think it is not healthy for some of
those to remain on the Net unchallenged, unquestioned, and
unanswered."
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