Malaysian news said SG Protest Boleh?
Cum lets protest against Israel at Speakers Corner?!
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/12/focus/6455622&sec=focus
Going public with grievances
Insight Down South by SEAH CHIANG NEE
Singaporeans are resorting to stronger displays of dissatisfaction over issues by assembling on the Internet or at Speakers Corner to protest instead of meekly complying as they used to.
WITH the city easing up on protests, more people are going public with their grievances – the latest being thousands of football fans.
Singaporeans, young and old, are increasingly assembling on the Internet or at Speakers Corner to protest and galvanise support for a wide variety of causes.
It is no revolution, though. The scale pales in comparison to other countries where peaceful protests have long become a way of life. For Singapore, it marks a bit of a benchmark.
The perimeters drawn up by Lee Kuan Yew’s People’s Action Party are slowly being pushed back. They are far short of what liberal Singaporeans want to see, but a long way from Lee’s early days.
The latest are thousands of unhappy soccer enthusiasts, who are revolting against higher cable TV charges for screening of the 2010 World Cup tournament, which has just kicked off.
Football has won a wide following among Singaporeans, and many fans feel that the S$90 charge (RM210) (without GST) for viewing all 64 matches an act of profiteering.
Even the earlier promotion offer of S$70 (RM164), was seven times higher than the fee four years ago.
A decade ago, Singaporeans would probably have swallowed their anger, grumbled and paid up, but this is 2010.
Nowadays with the help of the Internet, Singaporeans are taking their complaints public to seek a solution, especially if they think the government is the cause.
A Facebook campaign calling for a World Cup subscription boycott was said to have attracted 27.500 members.
And a week before kick-off, 200 disgruntled fans – the type that once made up the Kallang Roar – last week staged a demonstration at the Speakers’ Corner.
The TV providers say they are just breaking even and blame the rise on FIFA’s higher demand.
Many fans disagree. They say that that many countries, like England, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, were also subjected to the same negotiations but their fans do not have to pay a cent more.
The conflict is not just about football.
Both the TV providers, Starhub and Singtel, are government controlled and this raises the question whether the public would be better served if private enterprise were allowed to operate TV.
As a result of the high costs, many poorer fans may be sidelined.
Coincidently, the Speakers Corner is marking its 10th year of existence. Despite the restrictions it faces, the Hong Lim Park has seen more weekend rallies in the wake of greater financial hardship.
In the same week, thousands of people supporting gay rights had gathered.
It had also been the venue for people who want to see an end to maid abuse or to recover unpaid wages or get back money invested in toxic financial investments, allegedly due to misleading selling.
Since 2000, the Hong Lim Park has been the only venue where Singaporeans - not foreigners - are allowed to hold peaceful demonstrations under strict regulations.
Speakers must register their names, subjects and times in advance with the park administration.
Banners are allowed, but hailers are forbidden. Talk on race and religion is banned.
These rules, especially the banning of loudspeakers, are significantly limiting the impact of public protests in Singapore and effectively ensuring the crowd remains small.
For a wider reach, Singaporeans with a message are turning more to the Net. Online petitions are becoming a way of life that may eventually leave its mark on society.
Activists have petitioned for a boycott of a bakery-and-food chain following remarks allegedly made by an executive that it was employing Malaysians, not locals (mainly for costs), for a position.
That and other allegations of job discrimination have led to yet another campaign: “Employ Singaporeans First.”
In separate events, thousands wanted a cut in bus fares as well as cabinet ministers’ pay.
In an unprecedented case, a 15-year-old student recently started a petition to get Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to apologise to Singaporeans for making ‘disparaging’ remarks against them.
(Lee had remarked that people here had lost their drive, and it was good to bring in foreign workers to act as spurs to force them to strive harder.)
Society has become more diverse; a buzz is around where there was none before.
Singaporeans have protested against whale killing, advocated animal rights or campaigned to save a 100-year-old Boddhi tree from the axe.
One group pressurised a credit card company to stop financing Singaporeans getting mail order brides from Vietnam, while another – supported by a Catholic priest – petitioned against marital rape.
Most of issues are, however, not about politics (not directly, anyway).
They are related to bread-and-butter issues, such as jobs, wages, cost of living and the public housing squeeze. Even on politics, not everything is against the government.
Recently, a former Singaporean, now an American citizen came under attacks from all sides when he posted a hoax on the web that Lee, Singapore’s founding leader, had suffered a heart attack.
Gopalan Nair, a lawyer, stirred outrage even from staunch Lee critics, who called it a sick idea and in ‘very bad taste.”
No one believes all this will herald in a new era of unfettered politics in Singapore.
The average Singaporean is more concerned about getting a degree and a good job than he is about political reforms.
A commentator said, “Can political issues engage their hearts and minds, when their stomachs are kept well-fed and the standard of living remains high?”
That does not mean, however, that public protests against bad policies will not continue to grow. It’s human nature that even compliant Singaporeans have.
