By Andrew Loh
In the last one year following the general elections, the issue of free speech has been in the news. While it may not have been reported as such, still the question of how far one should go - or be allowed to go - in expressing oneself, especially online, has been the topic of discourse since last May.
What is of particular note is that the issue only apparently became a matter of concern after the general elections. Prior to that, online discourse - which is mostly anti-establishment - was largely ignored by the authorities, save a few scathing and condescending remarks by ministers who chose to dismiss such online sentiments. But the elections showed the potential influence of online social media, as information and news (generated by ordinary citizens and bloggers) flew fast and furious during those 9 days in May, and subsequently during the presidential elections and the Hougang by-election.
It is thus no surprise that the government has since taken online discourse and engagement more seriously. The prime minister himself, for example, decided to wet his feet by setting up his Facebook page and engage with his followers. So too did DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Still, the nature of online discourse is a matter of concern to the authorities, even if practitioners themselves see nothing to worry about. The Minister for Communications and Information (MCI), Yaacob Ibrahim, has been calling, the past one year, for a code of conduct for online behaviour. He wants such a code to be devised by bloggers themselves, so that it has some street cred. But bloggers have mostly given the idea a thumbs down. Yaacob is not deterred and has gone ahead and set up a 21-member Media Literacy Council (MLC) headed by senior counsel Tan Cheng Han.
Ostentatiously, the MLC is to look into a broad range of concerns about online behaviour and the dangers of cyber world. However, it is no secret that a code of conduct is one of its main aims, even as the MLC seeks to play down concerns about this. Indeed, Mr Tan had said that such a code "is within the realm of possibilities" when asked in August if the MLC might eventually recommend such a code to the government.
What has been left unsaid, to a large part, is what actually are the concerns which the authorities have. There have been little exposition of this and one is left to guess what actually the code is suppose to address. It has led to the perception that the code of conduct idea is just an excuse for the authorities to rein in bloggers and "netizens” or to subtly coerce self-censorship by practitioners (bloggers and netizens).
The minister seems to only want to insist on a code to regulate behaviour without explaining himself, or to engage bloggers in a meaningful discussion. Indeed, the minister seems to prefer to keep his distance. The government seems to be reacting, in a rather knee-jerk fashion, to what transpired online during the 3 elections in the past year.
And what about the issue of free speech itself, which is a matter of particular concern as there are few other avenues for Singaporeans to express themselves freely, away from the control of the government? Singapore's mainstream media, for example, is still very much within the sphere of influence of the authorities.
The free space online for Singaporeans to speak openly, candidly and even to express themselves vehemently, should be cherished and it should not be surrendered to the authorities to curb as it will without good reasons.
Having said all that, free speech does not automatically mean a free-for-all either. Whether one accepts it or not, all of us do not live in a vacuum. What we do and what we say do affect others. They may even cause hurt or harm. This of course does not mean that we shy away from speaking our minds. What perhaps is needed is a deeper discourse on what constitutes free speech, its limitations and yes, its necessity and benefits too.
What is needed is perhaps a clearer idea of the legal implications of our words and actions online, and the means to traverse this landscape which seems to concern the authorities and some others.
The National Solidarity Party (NSP), in collaboration with publichouse.sg, seeks to shed some light on this at a forum on Saturday, 10 November. (Please see details below.)
It is a timely (free) forum which everyone should attend – to understand the online space, the legal limitations to speech or expression, and how to maneuver in or navigate this space safely.
It is imperative that we who use this online space ourselves understand the pitfalls and the potential of social media to influence, whether negatively or positively, in order to make full use of this space for the common good.
