In an email interview with Chinese paper Shin Min Daily, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed that he penned every entry on his blog “Health Minister says” started in September this year.
The interview was conducted to find out more about MOH’s initiative to invite online views on Health Budget 2010 through its Facebook.
Mr Khaw was asked if he read through every comment posted on MOH’s facebook to which he replied:
“I read every comment in our Facebook. I do not reply personally to every comment, but where my personal reply is needed, I will. And yes, I write my own blog, not some ghost-writers doing it on my behalf!”
Besides Foreign Minister George Yeo, Mr Khaw is the only other minister who blogs and possesses and Facebook account.
Since his blog was launched in September, it has seen a surge in its readership and MOH’s Facebook now has over 1,300 fans.
Mr Khaw said he intended the MOH Facebook to be a “channel over which patients can share their experiences, whether positive or negative” and for providers to explain why they do certain things.”
He is hopeful that it will benefit Singapore’s public healthcare in the long run.
“Over time, I think it can be a contents-rich platform for meaningful discussions or simply friendly chats. That will be good for our healthcare system,” he added.
Besides his blog and MOH’s Facebook, Mr Khaw also solicits for feedback on the ground from his regular visits to the hospitals, private clinics as well as homes of patients.
On how to encourage Singaporeans to voice out their comments and suggestions, Mr Khaw said:
“Be at ease. Facebook has the advantage of being more informal, more chatty, more like a coffeeshop, than in parliament. So join in and let us have your views: so long as a feedback is genuine, based on a personal belief, and not some make-belief or frivolous rumours, or purely mischievous remarks to attack some individuals, let me have them. They may just make a policy better.”
MOH is finalizing its budget for next year and Mr Khaw promised he will share these preliminary ideas with Singaporeans online so that the ministry will benefit from their inputs.
It appears that Mr Khaw is the most successful PAP blogger so far. His blog is updated three to four times a week and he interacts directly with his readers on Facebook.
The last PAP blog, p65.sg by the post-65er MPs floundered due to lack of interest and readers.
After an initial period of activity, the MPs stopped blogging and the blog was soon taken over by a team of young PAP members.
At last check, Mr Khaw’s blog has attained a respectable Alexa traffic ranking of 11,217 compared to the P65’s 49,274.
YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck was supposed to spearhead the PAP’s drive to embrace the new media. Like many of his fellow MPs, he does not blog too.
Perhaps Mr Teo should learn a trick or two from Mr Khaw on how to make use of the new media to reach out to Singaporeans.
The interview was conducted to find out more about MOH’s initiative to invite online views on Health Budget 2010 through its Facebook.
Mr Khaw was asked if he read through every comment posted on MOH’s facebook to which he replied:
“I read every comment in our Facebook. I do not reply personally to every comment, but where my personal reply is needed, I will. And yes, I write my own blog, not some ghost-writers doing it on my behalf!”
Besides Foreign Minister George Yeo, Mr Khaw is the only other minister who blogs and possesses and Facebook account.
Since his blog was launched in September, it has seen a surge in its readership and MOH’s Facebook now has over 1,300 fans.
Mr Khaw said he intended the MOH Facebook to be a “channel over which patients can share their experiences, whether positive or negative” and for providers to explain why they do certain things.”
He is hopeful that it will benefit Singapore’s public healthcare in the long run.
“Over time, I think it can be a contents-rich platform for meaningful discussions or simply friendly chats. That will be good for our healthcare system,” he added.
Besides his blog and MOH’s Facebook, Mr Khaw also solicits for feedback on the ground from his regular visits to the hospitals, private clinics as well as homes of patients.
On how to encourage Singaporeans to voice out their comments and suggestions, Mr Khaw said:
“Be at ease. Facebook has the advantage of being more informal, more chatty, more like a coffeeshop, than in parliament. So join in and let us have your views: so long as a feedback is genuine, based on a personal belief, and not some make-belief or frivolous rumours, or purely mischievous remarks to attack some individuals, let me have them. They may just make a policy better.”
MOH is finalizing its budget for next year and Mr Khaw promised he will share these preliminary ideas with Singaporeans online so that the ministry will benefit from their inputs.
It appears that Mr Khaw is the most successful PAP blogger so far. His blog is updated three to four times a week and he interacts directly with his readers on Facebook.
The last PAP blog, p65.sg by the post-65er MPs floundered due to lack of interest and readers.
After an initial period of activity, the MPs stopped blogging and the blog was soon taken over by a team of young PAP members.
At last check, Mr Khaw’s blog has attained a respectable Alexa traffic ranking of 11,217 compared to the P65’s 49,274.
YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck was supposed to spearhead the PAP’s drive to embrace the new media. Like many of his fellow MPs, he does not blog too.
Perhaps Mr Teo should learn a trick or two from Mr Khaw on how to make use of the new media to reach out to Singaporeans.
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