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The dissenting civil servant and the online media
By Kelvin Teo ⋅ April 16, 2009
SINGAPORE – It is not uncommon for the
citizenry to express dissenting views of the establishment. Even
those within the establishment may harbor such views. The question
is – are they able to express such views without fear of backlash
from the establishment?
Readers may recall that some time before the General Elections
of 2006, the authorities had to come out and reassure the public
that their votes are secret despite the presence of a serial number
on the voting slip. According to the authorities, the serial number
is present as a measure to ensure that the voting slip is
authentic. However, the fact remains that not all Singaporeans are
convinced of the authority’s reassurance. One would not be
surprised to find civil servants among such a group of unconvinced
Singaporeans. Thus, there is this niggling fear for their job
prospects that go through their heads should they decide to vote
for the opposition. Serious attention should be paid to this group
of voters in reassuring them the secrecy of their votes. It would
be a pity if this fear factor interferes with the actual voting
decisions because it is not a sin for a civil servant to express
his dissenting opinion at the ballot box.
Casting votes aside, civil servants working in certain
government ministries are not allowed to publicly express
dissenting opinions on the establishment. Doing so will result in
serious repercussions such as dismissal. Chua Beng Huat, currently
Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore is
one such example. Taking up a Director of Research post at the
Housing and Development Board, he wrote critical pieces on
Singapore politics which subsequently earned him the sack.
And even if the civil servant wishes to express dissenting views
in the mainstream media, for instance by writing letters to forums,
would their writings ever see the daylight? Our mainstream media is
known for its pro-establishment stance, and it doesn’t come as a
surprise that many articles critical of the establishment are
locked away in the cold storage.
Thus, it is imperative that the online media must step up to
fill the void. Of course, those responsible for the running of the
online publications should exercise discretion, and advise
dissenting civil servants to abstain from revealing their true
identities in a bid to protect them from repercussions.
Until the General Elections of 2006, citizenship journalism
wasn’t in vogue. Singapore Review was perhaps the only prominent
entity that came closest to citizenship journalism. Until then,
online forums was the common source for Singaporeans to vent their
anger and pent up frustrations. The General Elections of 2006 could
be seen as a fire of baptism for citizenship journalism in
Singapore. Independent citizen reporters recorded the proceedings
of various political rallies, and posted the videos on their
websites, and appended their own reports.
The growth of citizenship journalism continued its momentum with
the establishment of alternative media sites like The Online
Citizen and others. Singapore’s high Internet penetration rate will
only play to the advantage of such online media entities.
Whistle-blowing by civil servants alleging wrongdoings or
irregular practices within government bodies is virtually unheard
of. However, that could change with the proliferation of online
media. The mainstream media with its pro-establishment stance is
least likely to feature whistle-blowing reports that reflect badly
on the establishment. It is likely that online alternative media
entities will pick up the baton and cast the spotlight on the
alleged government bodies. Of course, the onus is on these online
media entities to protect the whistle-blowers.
Thus, it becomes increasingly likely that dissenting civil
servants may resort to the online media as a platform to air their
views.
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