Will our jounalists interview MM Lee like Sebastian of BBC?
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(Posted by VoiceOfreason at www.findsingapore.net/forum])
Mr Sebastian: "How serious are you in changing the kind of boarding school rules that have persisted for so long in Singapore? Fines for not flushing toilets, fines for selling chewing gums - that sort of thing. How important is it to change those kind of nanny rules?"
Mr Goh: "You've got to understand the objective - it is to have a cleaner city and the fines are necessary so long as they are necessary. In other words, I would change the rules, I would drop the signs when Singaporeans are able to do things on their own without the threat of fines."
Mr Sebastian: "So you have very little trust in your own people, do you?"
Mr Goh: "Certain habits take a long time to change."
Mr Sebastian: "Very little trust then?"
Mr Goh: "No. I think certain habits... for example, spitting, it's an old Asian culture, you just spit as you like. And they will throw things out of the window and even if they live in high-rise flats, they will still throw things out. So you require education, threat of fines to stop the habit."
Mr Sebastian: "But this is governmental intolerance, isn't it?"
Mr Goh: "For certain issues, we're intolerant."
Mr Sebastian: "You're intolerant of free speech from time to time, aren't you?"
Mr Goh: "No, not at all."
Mr Sebastian: "Geoffrey Robertson points out that he acted a few years ago for some women playwrights who were detained without trial for two years on a charge of singing progressive songs and performing plays which exaggerated the plight of the poor and the inadequacies of the system. Is it right that people should be charged?"
Mr Goh: "Who is this? Jolt my memory on this."
Mr Sebastian: "It's Geoffrey Robertson, he is talking about some women playwrights who were detained without trial for two years. You have no recollection of this case?"
Mr Goh: "Which one is that?"
Mr Sebastian: "He didn't mention the names of them."
Mr Goh: "I would not speculate because I cannot pin this thing down."
Mr Sebastian: "But you know that these charges are made against people and have been made from time to time? This isn't foreign territory for you, is it, Prime Minister?"
Mr Goh: "No. If it's against the law and security, we will detain. We have never made a secret of that. "
Mr Sebastian: "It is ironic that people should have been charged for highlighting the inadequacies of a system that you now want to bring forward and correct?"
Mr Goh: "I would not worry about that. But I do not at this stage remember exactly what this case is."
Mr Sebastian: "I come back to the point that you need to trust your people, don't you, if you expect them to trust you. Don't you need to trust them with more information about what is going on?"
Mr Goh: "Not a problem, not a problem. I agree with the point. You have to trust the people for them to trust you because trust has got to be mutual. So that's not a problem but if you're talking aboutÂ…"
Mr Sebastian: "Who's the servant here, who's the servant and who's the master?"
Mr Goh: "We have no servants and have no masters, we work together."
Mr Sebastian: "No, no, in a democracy, the government is supposed to be the servant. This is public service you're in, isn't it? You don't own the country."
Mr Goh: "No, we work on the basis that we are equal. We don't own the country, I agree. I regard myself as a trustee of the people. So..."
Mr Sebastian: "So, you're the servant, then?"
Mr Goh: "If you want to put it that way, but I prefer the word trustee."
Quote:
The above is an excerpt of the transcript of then Singapore's PM GCT's interview with Tim Sebastian of the BBC dated September 2003. Would be interesting to see if anyone has the balls to ask questions like these in Singapore or would they be condemed as "rude" laugh -
SO RUDE!!! UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!! NO MANNERS!! IGNORANT YOUTH!!
never. even if someone is brave enough sure will kana slam by the people he was trying to help. look at the 10 youths, best example to shut up, and obey. -
We do not know who slammed the journalists for being rude because the press selectively published the forum letters it receives. It is up to the press to decide which forum letters received will be published. Internal policy of the press depends in turn who was put in charge.Originally posted by Ito_^:SO RUDE!!! UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!! NO MANNERS!! IGNORANT YOUTH!!
never. even if someone is brave enough sure will kana slam by the people he was trying to help. look at the 10 youths, best example to shut up, and obey. -
I love that interview. Really whack GCT until he left speechless. You should post the whole transcript for everyone to see, especially the part about not giving of permits for public gatherings.
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icic. u're right.Originally posted by robertteh:We do not know who slammed the journalists for being rude because the press selectively published the forum letters it receives. It is up to the press to decide which forum letters received will be published. Internal policy of the press depends in turn who was put in charge.
anyways i oso see hwz the thread like alot of ppl flame em oso..
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it would have been interesting to see some 'real journalist' interview MM Lee.
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scarly first question ask, "why don't you go and die?"Originally posted by gill_hfc:it would have been interesting to see some 'real journalist' interview MM Lee. -
From an Asean's prospective, I find the Sebastian extremely rude and a bad example to follow for the media in Asia pacific context. Respect is a virtue and I truly hope that Asian journalists uphold that strength they have, showing the world what is true and responsible reporting.
To sniff out top news, journalists need not neccessarily employed what Sebastian had resort to his interviewee using hard tactics, cornering his guest and interrogate them like court room affair. To achieve similar result, 'Soft technique' works equally fine, if not better. Who knows one may get further invitation back for another round of interview, because of the such professionalism one's display.
Sebastian's guest is of respectable figure and should be accord with due respect not a 'criminal before the mighty judge'. May I ask, what stake had Sebastian placed to question our nation's policy, he is not even a Singaporean. He is no political leader, he is just a journalist.
Media do not set agenda for a nation, instead, their role is impartial. To deliver a responsible and neutral point of view to the public. -
It is precisely why Asia is caught in a rut while EU moved on miles ahead of us.Originally posted by TooFree:From an Asean's prospective, I find the Sebastian extremely rude and a bad example to follow for the media in Asia pacific context. Respect is a virtue and I truly hope that Asian journalists uphold that strength they have, showing the world what is true and responsible reporting.
To sniff out top news, journalists need not neccessarily employed what Sebastian had resort to his interviewee using hard tactics, cornering his guest and interrogate them like court room affair. To achieve similar result, 'Soft technique' works equally fine, if not better. Who knows one may get further invitation back for another round of interview, because of the such professionalism one's display.
Sebastian's guest is of respectable figure and should be accord with due respect not a 'criminal before the mighty judge'. May I ask, what stake had Sebastian placed to question our nation's policy, he is not even a Singaporean. He is no political leader, he is just a journalist.
Media do not set agenda for a nation, instead, their role is impartial. To deliver a responsible and neutral point of view to the public. 
Civil libertarianism should be the way to go. The nation belongs to the commoners, not the government. -
Actually whether an questioner in any interview is or is not rude is a matter of perception. What some perceive as rude may be perceived by others as being objective and accountable.Originally posted by TooFree:From an Asean's prospective, I find the Sebastian extremely rude and a bad example to follow for the media in Asia pacific context. Respect is a virtue and I truly hope that Asian journalists uphold that strength they have, showing the world what is true and responsible reporting.
As you can read of the views of others here, Sebastian is not rude at all but is asking good question of leaders who proclaimed to achieve success to let the people see whether or not they do in fact have that certain achievements of abilities.
So Journalists like Sebastian do show the ability to be good journalists who could keep the public well informed of truths as they dare to pose difficult questions which in our Asian conservative society are often wrongly interpreted as rude. They are just being objective and accountable to the public and they know how to get to the truths and spread news and information to benefit the public not the government.
Government has the whole government machinery, parliament and its information system to take care of its own propagandas and views and what it wants the public to read and believe. So the press does not owe the government any particular duty to provide news and information to please the government as often implicitly assumed by MM Lee to be the case. He was over-sensitive to the reporting of the press and has often tried to control the press to want it to work to his interpretation of good reporting.
The press needs not owe any special duty to the government to be objective and accurate in reporting news or government information or performance. It does owe the public a duty to report on efficiencies or correctness of government's policies or services and in doing so it needs not ensure the press's reporting will be accurate.
The government has its own machinery and information system to correct any inaccurate news or reports of the press. The government also has a duty to the people to inform them of their performance accurately and objectively with accountability and transparency.
This state of good corporate governance has not yet been achieved owing to the autocracy of the past. The new government under PM Lee should open up and be less constrained and be more ready to free up the press freedom to provide accountable and accurate information to the public through an independent press and media. The western Europe has made tremendous progress in every sphere of society because of the special role the free press has played which is not constrained by our Asian conservatism which has impeded opening up competitiveness of ideas and progress.
Let us hope the press here will be able to report news and informations freely without curtailing the role of the press by the government in due course.To sniff out top news, journalists need not neccessarily employed what Sebastian had resort to his interviewee using hard tactics, cornering his guest and interrogate them like court room affair. To achieve similar result, 'Soft technique' works equally fine, if not better. Who knows one may get further invitation back for another round of interview, because of the such professionalism one's display.
Courtesy is two way and should generally be earned and not enforced. Any enforced courtesy will lead to compromises of the accountability of government which should be subjected close and detailed scrutiny by citizens, NGO, Ombudsman, parliament, MPs and active citizens and men in the street. Just be natural in the interview and do not try to give an impression that leaders must be regarded with an aura of respectability which may become rather contrived and hypocritic. True courtesy or respect is from the heart and not from any form of compulsion. If it is compelled it will lead to abuse.Sebastian's guest is of respectable figure and should be accord with due respect not a 'criminal before the mighty judge'. May I ask, what stake had Sebastian placed to question our nation's policy, he is not even a Singaporean. He is no political leader, he is just a journalist.
Any guest is respectable only when that guest is objective, effective, accountable and transparent and can answer difficult questions posed with natural ability and facts. The leader has to comprehend the questions and why he is being asked those question and not perceive the questions or journalists in such an unnatural manner and call them names like confrontational or rude.
Media do not set agenda for a nation, instead, their role is impartial. To deliver a responsible and neutral point of view to the public. [/b]
The leaders who could overcome such Sebastian questions and emerge as winners in fair ring side contest will be good leaders.
Good leaders would understand all the journalist and press role without resort to contriteness or look-good presentation or justifications which could not solve problems. -
One day someday, singaporean are going to be so fed up with the govt that some big change will happen. In fact with each election, we are questioning the govt more n more.
Last time in 70s 80s who gives a damn.
Damn education..