MEDIA CENSORSHIP
ISSUE
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To fully understand the detrimental effects of censorship on a democratic nation, we must first examine one of the very basic tenets of democracy – participatory citizenship. The key role of any citizen in a democratic nation includes the ability to be informed on public issues, to monitor the actions of political parties and figures and have the freedom to express their own opinions. Participatory citizenship also leads to the right to vote in elections and debate on political issues. Thus, it would only make sense to argue that the facilitation of participatory citizenship would require a bias-free media outlet and the freedom for all citizens to access information at their own will freely in a peaceful and harmless manner.
However, in a country like Singapore, that claims to be democratic in its governance, does participatory citizenship exist? Not necessarily. In fact, the persistence of low level press freedom, restrictions on civil liberties and political rights have haunted our nation since its independence in 1965. From the banning of political films such as Singapore Rebel by Martyn See in 2005 to strategic lawsuits against freedom of speech by isolated advocates or journalists, Singapore is no stranger to a remote type of “democracy” that is practiced in the country. Media outlets are also state-owned – providing a perfect platform for the long-ruling government to cherry-pick content that they wish to present to the public. Such exemplifications of strong media censorship contradict the functioning of a democratic nation – obstructing the dissemination of information to the public, thus causing Singaporeans to be unable to attain a fuller image of social and global issues in order to make better informed decisions on national policies and discern claims and political viewpoints made by different individuals other than the ruling party.
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CAMPAIGN PROMISE
The 21st Century Democrats strives to advocate for freedom of expressions and media in our nation, eroding the former stronghold on censorship policies and hegemonic control. We believe in cultivating well-informed, independent and free citizens such that the people have the right to access a variety of information to expand their worldview, possess the necessary knowledge and freedom to make informed decisions to express their viewpoints on various online and offline platforms. A government can never be complete without its citizens; we believe in acknowledging different political viewpoints to constantly take in new considerations for improving and reviewing national policies to build a better country for our people to live in. Through free media and expression, the nation will then possess a wide diversity of political and cultural viewpoints from the citizens – contributing to the existing pool of information that will be made accessible to the public, thus nurturing a future generation of more Singaporeans with a wider worldview and the ability to compete effectively in a global setting.
If elected into Parliament, The 21st Century Democrats seeks to review existing censorship regulations on media outlets such as films, television and art. Our party will also revive the former initiative of Global City for the Arts (GCA), which was promised by the current ruling party – People’s Action Party in 1991 but not followed through thoroughly. The GCA initiative was set in place to advance cultural and artistic developments in Singapore, building a more fertile ground for attracting talents and propelling the nation to a global city status. The initiative involves amendment on censorship policies and shifting of artistic climate to a more liberal tone. Despite the initiative, the current ruling party has intervened on several occasions to ban works and expressions that threaten their power, withdrawing funding for local theatres that do not comply with their standards, hence abusing their authority as regulators of the media to compel to public to civil obedience. The ruling party’s failure to consider the forbidden fruit effect on such censorship and the growing technology penetration rate over the years have indicated a clear stagnation in the progress of the nation. Therefore, our party is willing to acknowledge growing concerns of a new generation of citizens who desires for more cosmopolitan polity and liberalization – public funding and grants will be initiated to publishers, theatres and art institutions to encourage local initiatives and correct the implementation of the previous GCA initiative to see to the full realization of its potential. Legislations for media, literature, arts and communication will be reviewed thoroughly to loosen the previous hegemonic influence on censorship issues and close regulation will also be administered minimally to ensure that freedom of speech and expressions on online and offline platforms does not intervene with social harmony or breach public morality.
