I have read the coverage on PM Lee interview on Channel News Asia
recently. What caught my eyes was naturally about the "next General
Election". Nope. It is not about any speculations on whether there will
be a General Election this year but rather how our Prime Minister made
his statement here.
The very first sentence read "The Government will leverage on new media in the next General Election,
Prime Minister Lee Hisen Loong has said". I am not very sure whether
the Prime Minister has actually uttered that SPECIFIC wordings because
I do not have the chance to watch the whole interview but it seems to
me that it must be a "Government" stand on new media during "General Election".
First of all, the GOVERNMENT,
which is filled with civil servants, has nothing to do with General
Election apart from making sure that the election is carried out in a
FAIR and JUST way.
During General Elections, the Cabinet will only be a care-taker government. Political parties and members SHOULD NOT utilize public resources for their political campaigns. How close PAP
has observed such democratic rules is up to anyone's guess.
But
if the CNA report is "presenting trusted, unbiased and informed
opinions" as what the Prime Minister has proclaimed, I guess it just
demonstrates that CNA, its reporters and editors have actually thought
that there is absolutely NOTHING WRONG FOR A POLITICAL PARTY, even
though it is the ruling party, TO UTILIZE GOVERNMENT RESOURCES DURING
GENERAL ELECTIONS!
If CNA is, as proclaimed, a TRUSTED NEWS
PROVIDER, then the Prime Minister must have uttered the very specific
words that the GOVERNMENT is actually CAMPAIGNING by LEVERAGING on New
Media DURING GENERAL ELECTIONS! So who is the GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGNING
FOR during GENERAL ELECTIONS? This is a very FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION that
citizens of any DEMOCRATIC country should ask the ruling party.
I
am really beginning to doubt whether the ruling party takes DEMOCRACY
SERIOUSLY or not! Or is it just WAYANGING about being Democratic while
deep down its heart, it just takes for granted that PAP=GOVERNMENT and
GOVERNMENT=PAP? And that PAP could utilize all the GOVERNMENT resources
for its political interests?
Well, maybe I am still very naive
after witnessing the pork barrel politicking of PAP in using GOVERNMENT
HDB upgrading, GRC and Electoral Boundary redrawing as political tools
to attain political interests for itself, I still hold the belief that
Democracy still exists in Singapore with the basic fundamental
principles intact. I must be wrong in believing that PAP still believes
in Democracy. It is just basically a DICTATORIAL political party which
only WAYANG about Democracy by having some elections with all the rules
skewed heavily to their political advantages.
From this little
report here, I must say that I am more convinced that Democracy is
already dead in Singapore, in principle. People from the Prime Minister
to the reporters and editors of local media no longer believe in the
basic fundamental principles of Democracy any more. Unless there are
enough brave souls that could stand up to such absurdity in the system,
win a few GRCs via that totally skewed and impossible odds against the
PAP + Government machineries + Media, I do not see how Singapore could
evolve and progress democratically.
I would actually urge the
PAP to do away with such a pain of going through the motion of General
Elections where they themselves do not respect the fundamental
principles of Democracy and declare Singapore a dictatorship once and
for all.
If PAP does not even respect the fundamental principles of
Democracy, why do they need to try to Wayang about General Elections?
If they could not even differentiate what is PAP as a political party
and what is the role of government, then just equate
PAP=Government=Singapore. It will really save us a lot of time and
trouble in playing such Wayang game.
Goh Meng Seng
CNA - THE Government will leverage on new media in the next General Election, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.
In an interview with Channel News Asia to be aired on Tuesday night, he noted the growing influence of the Internet on politics, citing the recent United States presidential election as an example and said Singapore would go the same way.
President Barack Obama's campaign, for instance, used new media to put out their messages, organise and even raise money. But PM Lee said the change here will not be an an easy one.
'We are still learning. It is not easy to make this transition. It is like going from sea to land or vice versa, you are changing your medium and you need to get comfortable with it. But we are working hard at it.'
He also said the party was on the lookout for more MPs comfortable with new media. His remarks are the latest sign of the Government's changing mindset towards new media.
Last month, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang said that the Government is 'fully into' e-engagement, when responding to suggestions made by the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society.
Since then, Government agencies have also begun responding to forum letters posted on The Straits Times website. PM Lee stressed, however, that traditional media will always have a place in presenting trusted, unbiased and informed opinions. But he didn't dismiss online views outright.
'Well, there is a place called the Wild West and there are other places which are not so wild. And the new media - some of it are Wild West and anything goes and people can say anything they want. And tomorrow take a completely contrary view and well, that is just the way the medium is,' he said.
'But even in the Internet, there are places which are more considered, more moderated where people put their names down and identify themselves. And there is a debate which goes on and a give and take, which is not so rambunctious but perhaps more thoughtful. That is another range.'
The interview on the evolving media landscape was in conjunction with Channel News Asia's 10th anniversary in March.