Singapore ranks low in press freedom index
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Singapore has again received dismal marks for press freedom in an annual survey, placing it 140th out of 167 countries due to the "complete absence" of independent media in the city-state.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its World Press Freedom Index for 2005 issued late Wednesday, ranked prosperous Singapore below countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Russia, Sudan and Yemen.
But it was an improvement on Singapore's 147th place in the 2004 edition of RSF's index, which officials here dismiss as a biased Western ranking that favours adversarial media regardless of domestic circumstances.
In the 2005 RSF index, the top place was shared by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. The bottom position went, as it did in 2004, to hardline communist state North Korea.
"Singapores low ranking was due to the complete absence of independent newspapers, radio stations and TV stations, the application of prison sentences for press offences, media self-censorship and the oppositions lack of access to the state media," the RSF said in a report accompanying the index.
The RSF report coincided with campaigning for Saturday's general election in which the People's Action Party (PAP), which has been in power since 1959, is seeking to retain its almost total control of parliament.
The PAP is credited with turning Singapore into one of Asia's richest and most modern societies, but condemned by critics for restrictions on dissent.
Foreign publications have paid heavy damages or suffered circulation restrictions after publishing articles critical of Singapore's leaders.
In a forum with foreign correspondents last week, Singapore's founding leader Lee Kuan Yew defended the country's record.
"We're not going to allow foreign correspondents or foreign journalists or anybody else to tell us what to do," said the 82-year-old former prime minister, who won a new five-year term as an MP after running unopposed.
His son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is leading the PAP into an election for the first time after inheriting the job from Goh Chok Tong almost two years ago under a pre-arranged succession scheme.
Media watchdog RSF said Singapore has exercised a "very sophisticated strategy for silencing Singaporean and foreign journalists ... the threat of heavy fines or distribution bans have sufficed to bring press groups to heel."
"Singaporeans have ample access to foreign media, but the two large national press groups, Singapore Press Holdings and Mediacorp, are run by ruling party allies. Their journalists censor themselves on domestic issues although the quality of their international coverage is good."
The RSF earlier condemned Singapore's restrictions on political discussions in blogs and websites ahead of the election.
Videocasts and podcasts -- recorded messages that can be downloaded over the Internet -- cannot be used for campaign purposes.
All political party websites and overtly political blog sites have to be registered with a media regulator. -
I was with Glenda this afternoon doing our house to house visits in Sengkang, which is part of AMK GRC. We were going about the usual thing..climbing stairs, knocking on doors, distributing our party newsletter, etc...
We came across this house which was pretty dark. Since the door was opened, Glenda asked if anyone was home, and saying , "We're from the Workers' Party..." in mandarin.
This man - 50+ - came to the door, bare-bodied. Glenda greeted him and explained what and why we were there. A short time later, the man's wife came to the door as well. She seemed to have been cooking or something.
The moment she heard we were from the Workers' Party, she began to tell us her story. She began to talk about her children. She said, "Now everything has gone up. How am I suppose to take care of my children? They (the PAP) asked us to vote for them the last time but see what has happened? How am I suppose to pay for my house?"
At this point I could see that she was getting very emotional and obviously she had kept these feelings inside for a long time. She continued to explain why she was having such a hard time. Her husband needed to see the doctor but she could hardly afford it and her kids needed to go to school. She had to work and yet put up wioth the rising cost of living.
At this point, her eyes began to turn red and she took off her spectacles to wipe her eyes. After she finished, I could see tears on her face.
It was truly heartwrenching for me to see this - up close and personal govt policies which affect these people.
Her husband then said that his whole family was going to vote for the WP this time. I asked his wife if she knew the Workers' Party. She said, "Of course. Mr Low thia Kiang... and the hammer.."
Throughout this time, Glenda and I just kept silent and listened to her. We could onyl offer words of comfort which does not do much. We then said our goodbyes.
The strange thing is that after we left, Glenda and I kept silent. I didn't ask Glenda about her feelings cos I think she was quite overwhelmed - like me.
This incident has really left a mark on me. I will never forget this.
This is also why I am truly truly disgusted that the PAP would spend so much time and effort trying to discredit James Gomez over a non-issue AND NOT ENGAGING THE WP ON MORE IMPORTANT ISSUES WHICH AFFECT PEOPLE LIKE THE HUSBAND AND WIFE WE MET!
So please, everyone.... please help us pass the word around. We who are more educated and sitting in our comfortable homes, please.... have a heart. Let us do something for the people who cannot speak and who have to hold back tears in order to struggle for their families.
Please............................. -
Old news liao.
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how old?Originally posted by SexyChin:Old news liao. -
"Sek Wen Mei, Fan Wen Tae" -
eat a bowl of noodles...turn upsidedown the bowl..Originally posted by king108:"Sek Wen Mei, Fan Wen Tae" -
every country has its advantages and strengths.......personally i won;t be too bothered with these small little insects making such comments..........but however if attacked on this issue time and time over again........you know just how vicious i can be...........
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You sounded like a reporters..Originally posted by gohkatkat: will no one blamed you for doing your jobs..
"Shi Jun Zi Ru, Zhong Jun Zi Shi" Yeh -
The moment she heard we were from the Workers' Party, she began to tell us her story. She began to talk about her children. She said, "Now everything has gone up. How am I suppose to take care of my children? They (the PAP) asked us to vote for them the last time but see what has happened? How am I suppose to pay for my house?"
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I will not say how good or what great things the opposition will do for us, but here I am going to say what you will get when you vote the PXP into power again...
Vote for PXP means:
1) You accept their system of government, a system of trampling on the basic civil rights of the citizens. You have no right to free speech, and that means criticisms will be censored, or worse, interpreted as defamatory and be charged. Even when you criticize court cases or its sentencing, you will be treated as contmpt of court, and be fined or jailed. In other countries, when their govt deliver poor performance or overtax their citizens, they are allowed to demonstrate and protest. Not in this system we have - you talk and you will be in trouble.
2) You accept a system of stiff fiscal penalties, from paying ERP and COE, to buying and maintaining a public flat - either for reasons of "limited resource" to "market pricing" excuses. You will be so broke and in debt that in later life, retirement is something no longer availble to you. You will work until you drop dead.
3) You accept a system of totalitarian rule, with laws to tell you how many children you should have based on your academic attainment, to freezing your CPF money based on your inability to manage your own retirement.
4) You accept a system of state controlled media propaganda where only one side of the story is promoted, and television that shows monologues between the leaders and their citizens. Anything else will be censored.
5) You accept a system of non-functioning parliament - Members of Parliament, which you are going to elect as your voice in government, are not allowed to speak nor vote on your interest or welfare. No matter what the their party candidates promises you of "adding value in parliament" or to "help the poor and sick", they are prevented from doing so in parliament, for if they try to speak and vote on the peoples' behalf (that's their job, really) they will face party disciplinary action for not supporting all policy or law put forward by their party leader. What is the big deal, you ask. Well, it means in plain language, your voices are gagged in parliament, the nation's highest decision making assembly. It means you had been silenced by the government.
6) You accept a system of non accountability to the people - from absense of tansparency of the country's reserve, to details of how many citizens lost their jobs or were downgraded in salary or rank. Nor is there independent audited figures to tell us how many foreigners we let in took away mid- to senior positions from citizen workers. You may sacrifice your years doing National Service, but this govt system do not protect your jobs, do not really subsidize your healthcare or govt built homes, and leave you out in the cold with media silence and parliamentary gag. They can grab numbers from thin air and publish them for public consumption, and with transparency lacking, you never know if the govt took you for a ride.
7) You accept a system of unmoderated and excessive elitism in this govt system, where you get top posts from paper certificates and no measurement of their proficiency nor performance. In fact, these "elites" (some called them scholars) can get into parilament without a contest, get top public office positions without any relevant background, and continue to hold their posts without delivering any improvement to the public. Not only uou will be burdened with their generous financial rewards, you will also have to put up with their frequent cost increases that you, the public has to pay for.
You elect a govt who when it comes to writing laws, or finalizing policies, do not have the obligation to ask the people, even if such laws and policies affect every citizens' lives. You elect a big-brother-knows-all govt who speaks of public feedbacks but never take them into consideration nor acted on them. Faulty policies and unfair laws were passed and who will suffer? It's YOU. Not the govt, not the elites who makes the decisions. Did they listen to you? Acted for your interest? Or did they put you in debt by squeezing your hard earned money by way of taxes, levies, penalties, HDB flats, CPF distortions, and fines?
9) You accept a Party lacking in integrity - when the leader push his son into office, put his relative to manage our national reserves, put his buddies to administer the laws, use public money for their party interests, punish and prevent free speech and criticisms, disallow their MPs to speak and act for the citizens, maintains an army of mercenaries, allows citizen to be incarcerated into a mental institution at the president's pleasure, sue opposition leaders into bankruptcies, character assassinate political opponents, pretending to be whiter-than-white rascals, and remove any contest to the presidency election.
This is all I can compile impromptu in just under 30 minutes - more if you care to think. The best part is that we have saw, in real life, of a govt who remove their peoples' right to free speech, free press, and free and peaceful assembly, and reduced to colonial subjects AND SLAVES, yet they will vote theIR oppressors into govt. How media propaganda repeated ad nauseum can confuse the average mind, making them into fools, is really amazing!
Get rid of the dictatorship. -
All I can say is the press in overseas are much more interesting, they address their own peoples distress and shame their gahmen shd they not address issues properly. Also shame them if they give half past six replies to some citizens requesting help with solid reasons for their problems.
Singapore. Say gahmen a bit bit, kenna lawyer letter, the reporter force to resign lah, later he will be sued until bankrupt lah...
Sg deserve that ranking for press freedom -
But too bad, many people will still vote for the PXP...
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By the way, i like glenda from WP, she look cute and pretty to me.
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Is glenda the one that owns a pub
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A lot of people here talk about giving the opposition a chance. Not only in this forum, but everywhere around me, people say, Wah, Opposition must have voices in the Parliament, keep PAP in check. Yet, in the end, its just say say nia. In the end most people vote for the PAP because they know deep down, all the political freedom, the multi-party system in Parliament we want, is secondary. Whichever party can help maintain our way of life, can keep the country trouble free from terrorism or bird flu etc, will rule the government.Originally posted by Anti-RuleSS:But too bad, many people will still vote for the PXP...
PAP has that track record. If all of us sincerely thinks that the opposition can do it, we would have voted them in long ago. Obviously, most singaporeans don't think that way, otherwise, ur Chee Soon Juan, Chiam See Tong and Low Thia Khiang would have been big shots and MP in the parliament liao -
nanren4ever,Originally posted by nanren4ever:A lot of people here talk about giving the opposition a chance. Not only in this forum, but everywhere around me, people say, Wah, Opposition must have voices in the Parliament, keep PAP in check. Yet, in the end, its just say say nia. In the end most people vote for the PAP because they know deep down, all the political freedom, the multi-party system in Parliament we want, is secondary. Whichever party can help maintain our way of life, can keep the country trouble free from terrorism or bird flu etc, will rule the government.
PAP has that track record. If all of us sincerely thinks that the opposition can do it, we would have voted them in long ago. Obviously, most singaporeans don't think that way, otherwise, ur Chee Soon Juan, Chiam See Tong and Low Thia Khiang would have been big shots and MP in the parliament liao
I wouldn't make such a hasty generalization. PAP *thinks* its track record is what gets it voted into power. well, I guess that would be true for some voters. For others, it might be fear, as much as the PAP would want to deny it. ANd besides, 1m ppl in Singapore are still not voting in this election, which is quite an interesting figure, since their constituencies hold half the seats in parliament. hmmm .... 50% of Parliamentary seats serve 20-25% of Singaporeans, interesting hey??
And FYI, CST and LTK are big shots among the people, if u would talk to commoners, especially those in Hougang and Potong Pasir. CSJ spoilt his own and the SDP's chances; he's a freak.
the (unassuming) pikamaster