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The dissenting civil servant and the online media
By Kelvin Teo â‹… April 16, 2009
SINGAPORE - It is not uncommon for the citizenry to express dissenting views of the establishment. Even those within the establishment may harbor such views. The question is - are they able to express such views without fear of backlash from the establishment?
Readers may recall that some time before the General Elections of 2006, the authorities had to come out and reassure the public that their votes are secret despite the presence of a serial number on the voting slip. According to the authorities, the serial number is present as a measure to ensure that the voting slip is authentic. However, the fact remains that not all Singaporeans are convinced of the authority’s reassurance. One would not be surprised to find civil servants among such a group of unconvinced Singaporeans. Thus, there is this niggling fear for their job prospects that go through their heads should they decide to vote for the opposition. Serious attention should be paid to this group of voters in reassuring them the secrecy of their votes. It would be a pity if this fear factor interferes with the actual voting decisions because it is not a sin for a civil servant to express his dissenting opinion at the ballot box.
Casting votes aside, civil servants working in certain government ministries are not allowed to publicly express dissenting opinions on the establishment. Doing so will result in serious repercussions such as dismissal. Chua Beng Huat, currently Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore is one such example. Taking up a Director of Research post at the Housing and Development Board, he wrote critical pieces on Singapore politics which subsequently earned him the sack.
And even if the civil servant wishes to express dissenting views in the mainstream media, for instance by writing letters to forums, would their writings ever see the daylight? Our mainstream media is known for its pro-establishment stance, and it doesn’t come as a surprise that many articles critical of the establishment are locked away in the cold storage.
Thus, it is imperative that the online media must step up to fill the void. Of course, those responsible for the running of the online publications should exercise discretion, and advise dissenting civil servants to abstain from revealing their true identities in a bid to protect them from repercussions.
Until the General Elections of 2006, citizenship journalism wasn’t in vogue. Singapore Review was perhaps the only prominent entity that came closest to citizenship journalism. Until then, online forums was the common source for Singaporeans to vent their anger and pent up frustrations. The General Elections of 2006 could be seen as a fire of baptism for citizenship journalism in Singapore. Independent citizen reporters recorded the proceedings of various political rallies, and posted the videos on their websites, and appended their own reports.
The growth of citizenship journalism continued its momentum with the establishment of alternative media sites like The Online Citizen and others. Singapore’s high Internet penetration rate will only play to the advantage of such online media entities.
Whistle-blowing by civil servants alleging wrongdoings or irregular practices within government bodies is virtually unheard of. However, that could change with the proliferation of online media. The mainstream media with its pro-establishment stance is least likely to feature whistle-blowing reports that reflect badly on the establishment. It is likely that online alternative media entities will pick up the baton and cast the spotlight on the alleged government bodies. Of course, the onus is on these online media entities to protect the whistle-blowers.
Thus, it becomes increasingly likely that dissenting civil servants may resort to the online media as a platform to air their views.
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