http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/03/14/sdp-pap-getting-cold-feet-over-the-new-media/
Written by Our Correspondent
The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has taken a jibe at the proposed changes to the election rules announced in Parliament lately as a sign that the ruling PAP is getting “nervous” over the New Media.
In a statement published on its website, SDP Assistant Secretary-General John Tan claimed that the changes are “just another ploy by the PAP to instill fear in the people.”
Under the new election rules, political websites will have to register with the Media Development Authority and they are banned from doing any sorts of election advertising for parties and candidates on cooling off and polling days.
Offenders will be liable to be fined up to $1,000 or jailed for up to 12 months. Of particular concern is that the offences are now made seizable which means that the police can arrest bloggers who run afoul of the law without any warrant of arrest.
As the PAP controls 82 out of 84 seats in Parliament, it can amend the Singapore Constitution as and when it likes to serve its own partisan interests without any opposition or interference from anybody.
John felt that the “advertising guidelines introduced is clear indication that the PAP is running scared of the New Media and how it is a leveler of information flow.”
“The ruling party also knows that because of its control of the traditional media, more and more Singaporeans are turning to the Internet for information. The overwhelming sentiment in cyberspace is for the opposition and against the PAP. The Government is thus desperately trying to regulate cyberspace during the elections even though it knows that it is near impossible to do so given the nature of the beast,” he added.
The New Media is becoming an important battleground in public opinion with the proliferation of a dozen new socio-political sites since the 2006 elections, one of which already has a readership higher than that of some news sites belonging to the mainstream media.
Of all the political parties in Singapore, only the SDP has established a presence in cyberspace with the others lagging far behind. Efforts by the PAP to engage the online community have faltered so far. A website set up by its young MPs in 2006 is now effectively defunct after the MPs quitted blog, citing lack of time to contribute articles on it.
The YPAP, which is tasked with reaching out to the young IT-savvy voters has also failed miserably with its latest PR disaster over the “Eric How” saga making its members a laughing stock among Singapore netizens.
The fast rising anti-establishment sentiment in cyberspace is a cause of concern for the PAP as it may trigger a political tsunami similar to Malaysia’s in 2008 where young voters abandoned the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and voted for the opposition in droves.
A Facebook started by a 22 year old project engineer to vote the PAP out has garnered more than 4,000 members in less than 3 months, the majority of whom are Singaporeans in their 20s and 30s, a clear sign that the PAP is losing ground among the younger generation of voters.
For party used to winning nearly 100 percent of the seats and garnering more than two-thirds of the popular vote, the loss of a few more seats including a GRC and an expected drop in the percentage of votes to less than 60 percent will be considered a disastrous performance thereby destroying both its legitimacy and credibility as the only party with the “mandate” to govern Singapore.
John ended his article by calling on Singaporeans to vote for the opposition in numbers “that will surpass the 50 percent mark”. The PAP must be denied its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament to prevent it from changing the Constitution repeatedly at its whims and fancies and to push unpopular policies down the throats of Singaporeans again without proper planning and deliberation.
The next election represents the last chance for Singaporeans to reclaim ownership of their nation after which they will be swarmed by the hordes of foreigners brought in by the PAP to shore up its flagging support base.
Read SDP’s full press release here
If the statistics of the young being politically awakened are true, they will represent the lost generation from the 1950s - who formed the core group of political activists in the fightt for independence from British Colonial Rule, and whose contribution to further Singapore's political development was harshly interrupted.
The 1950 generation of young people were mostly tertiary students from the University of Malaya at Bukit Timah campus in Singapore - and called themselves the ‘Fajar Generation’
They formed the foundation of political activists that dared to publish political thoughts that questioned the authority of the British Colonial Government after their defeat by the Japanese in WW2 - and exposed all the exploitation of the hard working locals by the Colonial System.
Their constant publication of newsletters carrying incisive political thinking resulted in sedition charges being made by the Coloniall Government at the Editorial Board - who were arrested by the British ISD.
Ironically, a young LKY had assisted a UK Queen's Counsel to win their release - and made LKY popular amongst the university students.
It was this core group of student activists that helped to organise and formed the early PAP.
These young university students even went canvassing for votes in the 1957 election that saw LKY winning the election.
Sadly, as LKY had his own ambitious ideas in pushing a false referendum to rush into a merger with Malaya - in an enlarged Malaysia - history saw all of these political activists being arrested in Operation Cold Store.
In this Twenty-first Century - and after 53 years - the future of Singapore is once again in the hands of a younger generation
Lets hope that the strong fearless spirit of the 1950 generation will prevail in the present young Singaporeans - with new media as a tool.
haiz! again history...we hate history, please talk about the future, what is install for us in the future...stop all these fajar and rojak crabs
Atobe, that seems to be an example of the oppressed become the oppressors.
Originally posted by angel7030:haiz! again history...we hate history, please talk about the future, what is install for us in the future...stop all these fajar and rojak crabs
With your CBM fitted transplanted with your ‘Labia Majora’ and ‘Labia Minora’ - do we need to be surprised with your complete indulgence with irrelevant idiocy ?
Obviously your hopeless brain is no bigger then the size of your ‘clitoris’ - do we need to know your inability to absorb any other knowledge except for your indulgence with pure stupidity ?
Originally posted by RoyFang:Atobe, that seems to be an example of the oppressed become the oppressors.
If you review the speeches of LKY in the 1957 - as an Opposition MP - and compared with his speeches in the 1960s and through the years to this date - it is not even that of an oppressor but an Omnipotent Autocrat.
Clearly power corrupts completely.
Uncle, time change, environment change and the landscape also change, if you repeat what you do in 1957 into 1960s, or till now, i think u must be damn weird.
Especially now, in this era, thing changed faster than expected, last time it changed by years, today is by months...that is why LKy have to keep up with the trend and be on his toes. Politicans are dirty, that is my definition of them, if they are not dirty, they are not politicians, those olden days barisan socialist politicians are just not dirtier enuf to match him. So who to blame??? blame they themselve for their downfall.
Originally posted by angel7030:Uncle, time change, environment change and the landscape also change, if you repeat what you do in 1957 into 1960s, or till now, i think u must be damn weird.
Especially now, in this era, thing changed faster than expected, last time it changed by years, today is by months...that is why LKy have to keep up with the trend and be on his toes. Politicans are dirty, that is my definition of them, if they are not dirty, they are not politicians, those olden days barisan socialist politicians are just not dirtier enuf to match him. So who to blame??? blame they themselve for their downfall.
Do we need to teach a foreigner about ourselves ?
We surely do not need a foreign Taiwanese 'hum' to teach any Singaporean how to look into the future.
The irrelevance of the Taiwanese 'hum' is at its best when it exercises its CBM that is transplanted from the parts of the ‘Labia Majora’ and ‘Labia Minora’ - which it will flap daily in rapturous idiocy.
With a brain that is no bigger then the size of a ‘clitoris’ - can anything of relevance be expected from the Taiwanese 'hum' ?
Cyberspace will hit PAP real bad.
both ways
Never underestimate the power of things like youtube, twitter,blogs ect..
both ways...depend on which part of the world you are in...
Originally posted by angel7030:both ways...depend on which part of the world you are in...
Which part of your CBM are you now using - the outer ‘Labia Majora’ or the inner ‘Labia Minora’ ?
Do we need to indulge you with your irrelevant idiocy that flows from your hopeless brain that is no bigger then the size of your ‘clitoris’ ?
The mark of the Beast.
Originally posted by pearlie27:The new media has proven its power in Msia, U.S., China and in fact everywhere. PAP is definitely scared to the core!
Under the new election rules, political websites will have to register with the Media Development Authority and they are banned from doing any sorts of election advertising for parties and candidates on cooling off and polling days.
What is cooling off and polling days? Does it mean that websites like temasekreview will have to close down?
