Alternative views of Politics in Singapore in the Virtual World is grabbing the attention of the empty brains of Singapore News Reporters.
While they have no clue as to how to support such alternative views, or support the critical views about the Government in Singapore, they can write quite a fair bit of such web sites in the Virtual World.
Are these Singapore News Reporters also Part Time Government Informers ?
OCT 4Virtual coffee shop talk, or a force to be reckoned with? Tan Tarn HowTHINKING ALOUD UNDERGROUND political websites that have emerged recently, such as The Optical and The Void Deck, throw up this question:
What will happen when the next General Election comes around?
Providing alternative, usually anti-government news and views from anonymous editors, the websites are likely to create a headache for enforcers of the anti-electioneering laws put in place just before the 2001 polls.
The two-year-old rules try to control the kind of content allowed online during an election, that is between the time the writ of election is issued and the close of the last polling station on Polling Day.
First, when an election comes round, websites not belonging to political parties must stop carrying 'electioneering material', that is, advertisements and articles which promote the success of parties or candidates.
Material of this type which has been put up before the poll period must be removed once the writ of election is issued.
During an election, the websites are also barred from sending out electioneering materials via SMS or e-mail.
The Government argued that the rules are needed to enable the Internet to be used properly for political campaigning, so that Singaporeans can know what each political party or candidate stands for and make a considered vote.
Critics charged that they muzzle free speech and undermine people's ability to make informed choices.
In the end, the rules succeeded in silencing political sites such as that of the Think Centre during the last election.
But the formation this year of The Optical, The Void Deck and others like Singapore Review challenges the assumption that the Internet can continue to be reined in this way.
First, these sites are anonymous.
Secondly, some of these websites inhabit a nebulous region of cyberspace without a fixed location.
The Optical, for example, is both a website and a news group, that is, an online e-mail community.
As a mailing list, it has no real 'address'.
The Government cannot block these lists by putting them on the 'symbolic' blacklist of the 100 or so porn sites that Singaporeans are prevented from visiting.
It can, however, try to do two things.
First, it can go after the underground editors, for it remains to be seen how effective the cover provided by the Internet's anonymity is.
Would a government intent on cracking down on these dissident ventures employ high-tech snooping and real-world investigation to find out the editors' real identities?
The second measure is to filter the e-mail from everyone's mailbox. This, even if technologically possible, would be an extreme and unprecedented measure.
Such enforcement would require the Government to depart from its carefully crafted position of wanting to regulate and to be seen to regulate the Internet with a 'light touch'.
And, even if it is intent on throwing the book at violators of the electioneering rules, there is no guarantee that it will be able to hit the target, especially if the individuals are operating overseas.
The anti-electioneering laws in the end may well be an exercise in futility.
As the overseas-based editor of Singapore Review said in an e-mail message to me: 'Attempting to control the Internet is like trying to control the incoming tide or the orbit of the planets.'
Instead of snuffing out online political activity come the next election, the rules are merely driving it underground.
The other question is whether these sites will have a big impact on voter behaviour. This depends on their content and their reach.
Older sites such as the New Sintercom and Sammyboy were mostly discussion groups offering little more than the virtual equivalent of coffee shop talk.
There was scant original content such as articles written by the editors and contributors which shows evidence of research or analytical thinking.
But, increasingly, the new sites, which range from the feisty anti-People's Action Party Optical and Singapore Review to the more neutral - some would say 'schizophrenic' - The Void Deck, are focusing on information and comment rather than chit-chat or gossip.
Issues covered include the so-called 'Lee Dynasty', Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's image problem and the Sars apology by Environment Minister Lim Swee Say. There are points of view that cannot be found in other media.
Some of the points made are ludicrous, but many are also intelligent and serious, evidently not just the musings of bored undergraduate geeks with no social life but people who seem to know what they are talking about.
The Void Deck, for instance, examined the ban on Royston Tan's acclaimed movie 15, and argued cogently why it made no sense in the light of other films Singaporeans could already watch.
The websites are becoming like Malaysiakini, Aliran and others across the Causeway, which have become the main vehicle for political opposition and dissident viewpoints.
The difference is in their reach: The Optical has under 2,000 subscribers and Singapore Review 2,100 members, while Malaysiakini boasts 150,000 hits a day.
Part of the reason for this is that the Singapore websites are guerilla-style set-ups, run by a few part-timers. On the other hand, the Malaysian sites are really online newspapers with teams of full-time reporters, and are thus able to provide a lot of content.
The need for the Singapore editors to remain anonymous will probably mean that they will be limited to their present roles.
Perhaps they will crank up their output when the next election approaches, in an effort to attract more subscribers.
They may encourage more people to sign up. If so, these sites may become a force to be reckoned with. And they will be one that the authorities can do little to stop.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/columnist/0,1886,274-212963,00.html?The OPTICAL
http://www.geocities.com/theoptical/The Void Deck
http://www.thevoiddeck.org/