A controversial topic relating to blogsites and the unspoken political rules that govern them surfaced again recently. The Online Citizen (http://theonlinecitizen.com/), a socio-economic blog in Singapore, was forced to register as a political association in January 2011. Besides being restricted from receiving funding only from foreign sources, this gazetting also required the owners, editorial team and administrators of TOC to be revealed, and a committee of president, treasurer and secretary had to be designated.
Discussions on the government’s decision ensued almost immediately. From the group of taxi drivers I overheard at a coffeeshop, laments about Singapore being a “nanny state” and the government being “too strict” were frequently heard.
When it was revealed that a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) was one of the four volunteers at TOC, some people insinuated that he had become an NMP as an “attention-gathering exercise” and a stepping stone to entering partisan politics.
As usual, this gazetting was a hot topic in the community and led to many renewed criticisms of the incumbent Singapore PAP government.
References
Siew, K, H, The Oneline Citizen, For the last time, TOC is not a political party!, viewed 8 February 2011, <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/02/for-the-last-time-toc-is-not-a-political-party/>
References
Siew, K, H, The Oneline Citizen, For the last time, TOC is not a political party!, viewed 8 February 2011, <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/02/for-the-last-time-toc-is-not-a-political-party/>
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