COMMENT I would like to devote my weekly column for this week to the Singapore blog The Online Citizen (TOC).
I have been a columnist for TOC since it started in December 2006, and have written over 300 articles. Recently the Singapore government has emailed TOC to inform them that it will be gazetted a as political association.
That means TOC is now required to declare its owners, editorial team, administrators, and designate a president, treasurer and secretary in accordance with the regulations.
The move also means the website will be barred from receiving funds from foreign donors and from allowing foreigners to participate in its events.
What does this mean for my regular ‘Uniquely Singapore’ column on TOC?
Well, for starters, under the rules for a political association, I will not be able to write, report, analyse or comment about the elections, when the next election expected to take place this year comes.
Since there is a prohibition on affiliating with any political party or supporting any political candidate, does it mean that I cannot write about a political party’s manifesto, or interview a political candidate, etc?
A world’s first
Since TOC is also required to be registered with the Media Development Authority (MDA), does it mean that I will be subject to censorship under the MDA’s rules, and just like say RTM, be wary of putting up ‘undesirable’ content?
TOC has sent an appeal to Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong to reconsider the gazetting.
Singaporeans, Singaporean bloggers, and perhaps their counterparts and proponents of freedom of expression all over the world may be holding their breath, as this saga continues.
Will history be made, as a group of citizen bloggers who are all volunteers – with not a single full-time staff member, and no funding – become the first blogging website in the world to be gazetted by a government as a political association? The deadline given to TOC to comply is Jan 24.
As it turns out, TOC‘s appeal to the prime minister has been rejected. The appeal letter is reproduced below.
Jan 14, 2011
Re: PMO’s Intention to Gazette The Online Citizen
Dear Prime Minister Lee,
We refer to the letter of Jan 11, 2011 from Mr Lee Seng Lup of the Prime Minister’s Office (“the Letter”). The Letter informed us that “The Prime Minister intends to declare the owners, editorial team, and administrators of The Online Citizen (TOC), by order in the Gazette, to be a political association for the purposes of the Political Donations Act”.
TOC is familiar to many Singaporeans: we are a website that provides regular Singaporeans with a platform to share their opinions about all aspects of life in Singapore, and we aspire to be the medium through which those neglected by society find their voice. Accordingly, we have run articles about homelessness in Singapore, the widening income gap, migrant workers, civil society, political issues and even have a regular column dispensing sexual advice.
In short, we are a place where Singaporeans can come and talk about what is foremost on their minds. We do not engage in partisan politics, and we have no interest in engaging in partisan politics. TOC is political to the extent and in the exact same way that all ordinary Singaporeans are political: by being interested in, and talking about, political issues that impact us and our country.
We therefore disagree with the intent to gazette TOC as a “political association”, and the determination that TOC is “an organisation whose objects or activities relate wholly or mainly to politics in Singapore”. The determination is unreasonable, arbitrary and incorrect. Accordingly, we request that you reconsider the matter and reverse that determination and the decision to gazette TOC, failing which we trust that you will set out the grounds upon which that determination and the decision to gazette TOC were made.
Mr Prime Minister, TOC has operated without issue for the last four years. We have never accepted foreign donations, nor do we expect or intend to do so in the future. We do not fear the consequences of being gazetted as a political association. But we write this letter because we disagree with the decision to gazette us, and we firmly believe that it will have significant chilling effects on free expression in Singapore.
The vast majority of our contributors write under their actual names and all have chosen to volunteer their time and effort despite being students, professionals, blue collar workers or retirees. None of us do this for money or profit.
All of us, in one way or another, believed your promise of a more open society when you said in your first National Day Rally speech as Prime Minister: “Engage your ideals, your ideas, your energies, build a new generation, build tomorrow’s Singapore … We’ve got to support Singaporeans being spontaneous, being unconventional. We should not put obstacles in their way. We should help them to succeed.”
The TOC team and contributors came forward to play our part in building tomorrow’s Singapore. You may disagree with our views, but you cannot doubt our sincerity and patriotism. This unprecedented attempt to gazette a blog as a “political association”, likely just months before the next general election, is a disappointing retreat from your inspirational words all those years ago.
Mr Prime Minister, if you truly believe in the importance of developing a vibrant Singapore and a concerned citizenry, then please reverse your decision. Otherwise, our nation-building efforts will be set back by years.
Yours sincerely,
Joshua Chiang, Acting Chief Editor
Choo Zheng Xi, Co-founder
Andrew Loh, Co-founder
