Press Secretary of MICA response to Mr Brown article

last SG · 2006-07-06T11:13:55+00:00

The blogosphere defends one of their own. The inutility of speaking truth unto power- the government took a blogger to task for "sarcasm"

TooFree SG

Constructive criticism ought to come with a solution package if not it will be treated as inciting/flaming as what Mr Brown had done. Wink

LazerLordz SG

That's a very elitist point of view. Singapore has to get rid of such mindsets, or else we will be left with only academics who will discuss matters relating to the everyman, and you and I, well, sucking thumb gets bored after a while you know.

Opinions are opinions, we as everymen, have an opinion and we have to sound out if we feel something is wrong.

TooFree SG

Oh. You would rather all of Singaporeans get engulf into politic-tussle and risk dividing the social fabric with the forming of two or more party armed camp among its supporters. The next time you and I will no longer be Singaporeans sharing the same identity. We will be rival. You sure you want that to happen? Rolling Eyes

gentlerock SG

We're probably one of the few countries left which is close to micro-managing daily behaviour of its citizens. We're also one of the few countries left where uniformed personnel are supposed to be blindly respected - no questions asked.

I live in Bedok, Singapore, province of North Korea.

LazerLordz SG

Armed camp? I think you are overtly imaginative.

I'm for peaceful debates, the lack of a solution does not equate to a presence of armed fighters beating each other silly. We are not ruffians, nor are we sheep or little children.We are citizens who by and large, are affected by national issues. Who are they to tell us that we cannot discuss issues unless we are experts in that field?That's simply preposterous.

It's like telling a Chinese he cannot discuss matters relating to the CCP because he is not a political scientist or a member of the Politburo or National People's Congress.

What is a Singaporean identity? My vision is of a Singapore that is one nation which embraces all individuals regardless of beliefs and opinions. The nation is growing, this is an unavoidable fact.

As long as we keep the racial harmony and respect religion, who's to say we cannot achieve a melting pot? When we are inclusive, there is an outlet for differences to be raised. Not worth kidding ourselves that putting a lid on things, will cause fundamental differences of opinion to vanish.

Wink

LazerLordz SG

Respect has to be earned, aren't we supposed to be meritocratic? Where success and respect are earned through hard work, and not blind obedience..

YI SG

if there are no probable solution/alternative, what good will it do by promulgating to the general public? raise public awareness? the question is can they handle it? those who are capable and most willingly had already found themselves the perfect medium to further their cause. those standing by the sideline such as you and me will know the ugly truth in due course.

YI SG

loyalty/discipline/obedience has been highly regarded since ancient time but unquestionable loyalty/obedience? it's up to individuals.

edit: obedience added after reading lazerlordz post.

YI SG

my sentiments. i have always been gracious. i am giving lhl and his team time to overhaul the continuous unpopular practices in which i doubt will change. i do hope to be proven wrong. this government had brought us far.. but enough is enough.

gentlerock SG

Aiyoh.....our society ah? We were programmed this way from young mah.

Don't you remember that in all your years in school, you were always forced to stand up and formally greet your teachers (although like robots..."Ready? 1, 2, 3, Goooood Morneeng Teecher" ) whenever they walked into the classroom? You didn't have to mean it, you didn't even have to like the guy, but you had to do it.

Yes, yes.....through those kinds of light daily brainwashing, we have been trained to be blindly respectful of certain parties (seniors, authorities, etc).

Not saying that authorities should not be respected, but just like credit, respect should be given where deserved.

YI SG

i believe we have sounded out enough over recent years to capture their attention. they too have acknowledged during the last election that a faction of the public are fed up with their overkill tactic. but is it enough for them to warrant a change? with their capability of swinging multi-millions carrots, and the unspoken fear of government retaliation amongst others on their side of the table.. it seems that we are still in need of some serious amplifiers.

YI SG

meritocractic? elitistic you mean. this is a society where scholars call the shot.

gentlerock SG

Thats only half right, pal. You left out in that sometimes, their wives/relatives call the shots too.

Ok, Ok....granted, the scholars call the shots to let their wives call the shots. Laughing

laurence82 SG

From yahoo

Sunday July 9, 5:08 PM
Supporters of suspended Singaporean blogger hold silent protest

Supporters of a Singaporean blogger have gathered at a busy subway station for a silent protest at the suspension of his weekly newspaper column after the government criticised his latest satirical piece about high living costs.

At least 30 supporters turned up at City Hall station at 2:00 pm dressed in brown attire in support of the blogger, who goes by the moniker Mr Brown.

"I think most of us feel that it is very important to have an independent voice in the print media," said a 25-year-old man who declined to be named.

He said he was told of the planned protest via a SMS text message on Saturday evening, like many of the others.

"For them to suspend the column is ridiculous," said a 19-year-old Canadian student who only wants to be known as Bronwyn. She was at the subway station with her sister and mother to take part in the silent protest.

The 36-year-old blogger, whose real name is Lee Kin Mun, is aware of the 30-minute silent protest but friends say he is not the organiser.

"We are aware of it but we did not organise it. We are touched by the gesture and we hope that nobody gets into trouble because of us," the blogger's friend Edmund Tan told AFP.

In Singapore any public protest of at least five people without a police permit is illegal. A few policemen patrolled the subway station but no arrests were made.

The Today newspaper's publisher MediaCorp confirmed Thursday it has suspended Mr Brown's weekly column from July 7 but gave no reason.

His latest satirical piece entitled "S'poreans are fed, up with progress!" drew a strong rebuttal from the government who said the writer was distorting the truth.

Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF or Reporters Without Borders) has described the government's condemnation of Mr Brown's column as "disturbing" in light of its already strict curbs on the media.

In April RSF condemned Singapore's restrictions on political discussions in blogs and websites ahead of general elections in May.

Last year the group ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its annual press freedom index.

Sagara SG

Well.. his column, at least to me, is alot more 'tame' than wad i see posted here.. Laughing

Hmm.. how about inviting him to post here ?

Mr. Green

LazerLordz SG

Good to hear that people are willing to step forward to show their support in a peaceful way.

Let's leave it at that.We are a educated and peaceful bunch.

adven7 SG

Isn't it a fact that Utilities is up, Taxi fare going up, Public transport also going up. If Mr. Brown is highlighting the deepest sentiments from the heartlanders, shouldn't the "pay and pay" or "highest pay officials" be grateful to him for sounding the alarm of something big is stirring in the communities? Instead of ignoring the problem and burying their heads in the sand or worse shoot the messenger. The world highest paid ministers even have the guts to ask him to shutup or provide the solution to the problems.

Shouldn't it be the jobs of the minister to address the people concerns and address their problem?

LazerLordz SG

Now then you know? This has been a tiresome issue for ages.

It's the mindset.You know, if we groom our youth today to be responsible people who are willing to stand up for their rights, it might have an effect.

fudgester SG

It's supposed to be their job to do so.

But of course, they don't quite share the same sentiments.

Take MP Denise Phua, for instance. When she came across so much anti-PAP rhetoric on the Internet, what did she do? Far from trying to address the issues raised by the netizens, she called for the Internet to be regulated. Rolling Eyes

TooFree SG

Pros and Cons. Activistism may served its purpose strictly from a society well-being prospective but it is certainly detriment to the nation economic point of view.

Preventing an imposition on price will only see the profits of private corporate eroded away and subsquently investments and jobs for our citizens. In this circumstance, it is more advisable to diverse a win-win policy for both private industries and the welfarism of our citizens is through a special group appointed by the government to overlook the pricing policy. Neutral

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