To Online Citizen, Change your blog’s name to Singaporekini and you’ll see the difference! It will rattle a lot of nervous people and the paranoids!

What is Singaporekini all about? Singaporeans in bikini?

singaporeans are too pragmatic to be idealistic.
mission impossibola.

Does this not mean , in ways more than 1, Malaysia is more Boleh than the so-called 1st world stedi bom bi bi?

What is the mystery? There are just too many snakes on the plane for the idea to take off.

SD

Don’t call it Singaporekini la, too copycat. How about something that includes ‘Singapore’, but keeps the idea of online citizenry? :)

There are even sites in our blogoshpere taking their cue from coca-cola, “its the real thing,” when they are infact nothing better than fakes. See for yourself:

http://singaporedaily.net/2009/11/20/daily-sg-20-nov-2009/#comment-6860

So how can the idea even take off? Its uphill all the way.

SD

“Singaporekini” has been suppressed, repressed and depressed by a dictatorial, despotic communistic regime under the thin veil of a democratic rule of the Westminister model, using the cunning rule by law expounded as rule of law.

Malaysia is at least a freer country, despite the emphasis on Bumi status and privileges. She is not only more open, mature and democratic but its corruption is at least open and corrupt officials can at least be brought to task if there is sufficient evidence to convict them.

But Singapore’s legalised corruption deprived citizens of the right to bring corrupt officials to court and its new laws prohibit investigators from investigating on the ministers and their families. With these kind of laws, if it is not a dictatorial, despotic, communistic regime, what is?

And under such an environment, will a Singaporekini ever survive even if it were to sprout? Even the Singapore Journalism site is self-tamed like a lap dog without teeth and paws.

The article by GC is not only an exercise in futility but an insult unto its own website.

Even if there is Singaporekini, will it make any difference, like in elections?

PAP will still have at least 98% of the seats at every election.

So why bother?

Maybe just change theonlinecitizen to thesingaporecitizen to sound more relevant.

To me , MY has a more Matured Democracy.
MY indeed Boleh , at least in this aspect.

Malaysia, truely Democratic.

Do malaysians in singapore visit Malaysiakini during the time leading up to Opposition’s victory?

If so, when they convert to citizen , are they still active and contribute to blogs like TOC?

Signaporeans generally prefer to be ignorant of political issues by not willing to analyze deeper the political issues.

This can be achieved by telling themselves not to think,talk,read,comment,discuss,analyze etc about politics.

Some have perfected this art.

They choose to be ignorant.

Ignorant is as Ignorant does.

Don’t forget Maersk also run to join Malaysia port because Singapore govt were too stubborn at the negotiating desk. I don’t even need to explain why the old OUB didn’t want to merge with DBS bank because the latter is just too arrogant in their advertisement campaign prior to the merger. How is how people percieved PAP and thus overseas people look down on this cuntry.

Is this a coincidence? The triumph of Malaysiakini and the resurgence of the Malaysian Opposition at the polls came about after the retirement of that tough old guy called Mahathir who, to all intents and purposes, ruled with an iron fist.
In Singapore, we still have our old man who continues to rule with an iron fist and brooks no critical appraisal of the PAP.
Tangling with LKY has seen the downfall of many seasoned Western journalists. Our journalists are generally an emasculated lot — they know better than to rock the boat.
And things will remain that way as long as our MSM continue to champion the interests of whoever is in power in the name of positive journalism and the like.

Salute the malaysians for their desire to change and not be pressed by the MY government. In this aspect, Singaporeans should learn from them. 50 years of tyrant-rule-country, thats too long to endure in SG

Nice. I’ve recently been thinking about this issue because of a media law class I’m taking. So this article is timely!

I think having something like TOC is great and I like for it to flourish and carry on. Sounds strange to ask on TOC when TOC thinks it’ll be clamped down, but, I wonder sometimes when the govt will start moving in on TOC’s case. I’m not sure if I’m missing information here, but to me, TOC appears to not just have (increasing?) influence in terms of readership but also increasingly organization– more akin to a news agency of sorts that a ‘group blog’ or something.

Or perhaps the other question is Why the govt hasn’t/ isn’t moving in on TOC yet. Is this a prospect they actually welcome? Are they just watching out for developments? Or do they simply not think much of this as a force to be reckoned with?

I’ve been baffled for quite a while over TOC’s situation. Sometimes I think there is hope that news media in Singapore will open up. While we have been slow in developing vibrant news media culture in Singapore, perhaps, things are not so bad after all, because TOC and its likes sprouted up and are still in existent today, and this very article, posting and comments thread is evidence of a growing independent/ alternative/ grassroots media in sg

This reminds me of the story about the LKY and Mahathir fishing on the two sides of the Johor Straits. Mahathir was catching lots of fish but LKY caught none. So LKY asked why… and Mahathir said: “Over here, they are not afraid to open their mouths!”

The real scenario is not the name of the website, it is whether the PaPies will be so liberal to let us citizens have our ways to voice issues and cause damage to their
hidden agenda. This couple of years showed their anxieties. PM Lee seems so much aged than the old man. Tremendous undercurrent !!

I am really really amazed the TOC is still running strong with so many negative bombardments to our despotic government. Well, they are ‘weighing the scales.’

Do we really have that much freedom in Singapore? The various curtailment of speech, free press, assembly and ‘after election speech sueing of oppositions’,
father and son’s happy-trigger fingers to empower the courts in numerous cases
of so called “defamation” suits, shows the sad state of affair of our judicial system.

Can we be more vocal in our deliberations? Yes! the internet has revolutionised news media to another level with international appeal rather than our local MSM
under the purview of the ruling government.

The only change that can come about is a gradual overhaul of the system of government of PaP by voting more oppositions into parliament.

Then again the very foundation, strategies and psychological indocrination over the
years to simple-minded Singaporeans, leave a dented mark for the oppositions to smoothen out the damage and win back the electoral votes.

There are so many website of dissents, nothing more powerful than their very own Reach portal with Amy Khor in charge and gathering feedbacks (as an open spy unit to gauge the sentiments on the ground), though many are singing joyous tune to this government portal.

We must push on for more true democracy !!

On a serious note. TOC may do well to consider getting the intellectuals on their side if they are really serious abt getting the machine that will change the world to fire up.

I dont think Cherian’s write up quite hits the spot as I dont see the relationship between the alternative media and mainstream to be particular decisive. The ST is already so close to Pravda; any move closer to officialdom can only serve as a reaffirmation to what we all already suspect; as for covert oneline sites such as Temasek Review, they may try to ride on the oppositional bent; they may even succeed to fool some for while; but since they are really just wolves in sheeps jumpsuits – most readers will eventually make the necessary mental note and begin to tune off, people will still read them like I still read the ST, but their power to influence is almost nil only let us be clear readers do so for every reason except to ekk out the truth; so the intellectuals will never go there.

So we are back to square one – to really effect transformational change you need the intellectuals on your side, as they are really the movers and shakers of thoughtware.

If you look at the history of Malaysiakini, it did not go anywhere for a very long time, it was only in the late 80’s when Mahatir begun to alienated the intellectuals en masse with his grandiose corrosive policies that they begun to disassociate themselves from UMNO, the straw that finally broke the camels back came when Mahatir thought he was God and put Anwar in jail by using the ISA – from that point onwards, Malaysiakini took off like a rocket and as the Americans say the rest is history.

By intellectual, I do not mean someone who is a scholar, that to me is just a robot with a colorful piece of paper, It was Edward Said who once said a intellectual is someone who dares to speak the truth and to see his thoughts through without fear or favor. Such a person does not have to be someone with a string of degrees. He simply needs to be comfortable with his own skin.

The problem is they are all talking in private rooms.

SD

*fractured political elite, strong opposition parties and energetic civil society organisations. These diverse forces ensure that the supply side of political news never runs dry. Their unrestrained, unpredictable contests make political news as gripping as the tautest thriller and as melodramatic as a soap opera.*

Is this good? Anyone likes a good opera, and a lot of the partying candidates will have their glory under the sun [are they seeking only candidacy for glory?] but what comes out of it may not be so much productive, realistic and long-term policies, but rather a lot of bickering and quick promises to last until the next election.

Hi Singaporedaddy, Thanks for your response and the chance to elaborate:

1. You say you “dont see the relationship between the alternative media and mainstream to be particular decisive”. I’d have to contradict you. In my interviews with the Malaysiakini guys over several years, they have told me quite categorically that the Malaysian mainstream media’s failure is their own key success factor. After all, Malaysiakini has far fewer resources. If the mainstream media were allowed to compete head-on with credible political reporting, they would crush Malaysiakini. Malaysiakini’s worst period was when things were quieter politically and the mainstream media’s inadequacies weren’t so salient. Conversely, it’s in times of crisis and uncertainty that the screws get tightened on the mainstream media and Malaysiakini shines.

2. Your history of Malaysiakini is inaccurate: you say “it did not go anywhere for a very long time” and it was “only in the late 80’s” because of the Anwar debacle that “Malaysiakini took off like a rocket”. Actually, Malaysiakini only started in late 1989 (hence its 10th anniversary celebrations this month), which was after the Anwar protests. I think you’ve conflated the history of Malaysiakini with the history of online dissent more generally: what you say is true of Malaysian cyber protest in general, but not true of Malaysiakini, which (like Harakah Daily, a relative latecomer). But the broader point you make is correct: political media thrive in political crises.

The truth is many Singaporeans are jaded that they just want to make enough money to get out of this hellhole. Those who stay are those that benefit from the system (e.g. the super rich) and those who are stuck here. For the later, they only have time to struggle from day to day to make ends meet and really are helpless to do anything.

Dear Singaporean opposition supporters/anti-PAP alliance members,
Let me tell you that Malaysians who support Malaysiakini are also supports PAP and wants transparent and corruption-free Malaysia just like PAP-ruled Singapore now, which automatically means that Malaysiakini is pro-PAP alternative media so no there is no need of Singaporekini.

#3 “singaporeans are too pragmatic to be idealistic.”

We have only ourselves to blame….we’re so gutless, so devoid of idealism that we accept the indoctrination that PAP has been handing out year after year.

We’re so afraid to dream, to aspire, to chase after our ideals. We’d rather vote for the same government at every election, knowing full well we’ll be unhappy with the policies they mete out. We whinge about the government but never fail to vote them in at every election – and the cycle repeats again and again.

Either we’re sadists or hamsters running on the same spot over and over again. I suppose we’re content doing just that.

No wonder the governments of Burma and China come here to study from our government how they can improve control over their citizens.

#22 Cherian,

“Malaysian mainstream media’s failure is their own key success factor. ”

Bravo! The biggest Strength can become the Archiles Tendon. But i shall not elaborate for my personal salvation.

“On a serious note. TOC may do well to consider getting the intellectuals on their side if they are really serious abt getting the machine that will change the world to fire up.”. sd.

There is danger to such advice. We must not forget that TOC started off as a meeting of idea between two acquaintances. The idea was to tell the other side of the untold Singapore story. It was the telling of these stories that brought about the community of Singaporeans that it now has.

Having a community of Singaporeans on one platform means a sharing of ideas among Singaporeans from whatever political or social affiliations. However, this has not been the case, and, TOC’s popularity owes very much to the dissenting voices of those who dare speak up in a language that is not very often heard from our MSM. Supporters of the MSM are too proud and arrogant to want to be caught in a line of exchange in such a place.

Do I think TOC will continue to enjoy such liberties when things continue to be so one-sided and damaging to the PAP? I think not. I think there will come a time when the <i.authorities will find some way to get its hold on such proliferation of non-mainstream news and views that are damaging to its sovereign rein on power, especially when that power begins to show concrete sign of dwindling.

Of course, many would think that the direct way to do this is to wield its power and force it to close down. But when you are losing a grip on power, doing this will only hasten it. What then is the better way? Simple, infiltrate it, and take control of it.

This is the danger I am speaking about. TOC is a very open platform where I don’t think it has the intellectual capacity to screen its contributors. All the PAP need to do is to send a few of its cyber warriors, disguise as friends of the disgruntled voices, win their trust, and then buy their conversion.

Once the credibility of TOC is shaken, just like the Wayang Party; then the ordinary Singaporean like you and I, will have to find another place to start all over again. Of course I am not saying that we are the hardcore deaf ones who would not buy anything the PAP sells. It’s just that we too have ideas to sell which the PAP does not seem to want to buy. It’s simple – Respect has to be mutual.

So, Cherian, your question on why there isn’t a Singaporekini is a question only the supporters of the PAP would be asking. None of us, who have grouses with the PAP will ever ask such a question. The more important question you should have asked is whether we will be better off with a Singaporekini – by whatever name.

Form the looks of things, yes, we will be better off – but please – don’t tell it to the PAP.

A Singaporekiasi is more likely…

[i] All the PAP need to do is to send a few of its cyber warriors, disguise as friends of the disgruntled voices, win their trust, and then buy their conversion.[/i]

decade ago under the leaderships of maotsetung…opps gohchoktongue…
many many wutees of the RC special branch infiltrate amon the many forums of pacnet/sgforum/blahblahblah….
act as friends amon the regulars..goes out with them for meals and drinks..
@ first it was difficult to filter out the wutees..till their WEAKNESS show their spot in leopard skin…
as usual they are GREEDY and kiasu/kiasee..1 by 1 they tumbled and fall beside bein MARKED and disgraced as ruinnin DOGs….
today? they wouldn’t/couldn’t be bothered as it was a LOST cause….

22) cherian on November 29th, 2009 2.32 pm, I dont wish to come across as a nosey parker, but I could help overhearing your conversation with the Liaison officer. I think what he really meant was simply this. We should all take Malaysiakini’s origins with a pitch of salt especially if the account comes from the founders, there is a possibility they could have mythologized their own beginnings. I am sure the liaison officer is not saying they are outright liars, only what he is trying to convey here in his usual subtle manner may well be. If the objective is to get at the truth, then it might be better to get an objective outlook by asking someone other than the founders themselves, otherwise, we will just end up with something like the singapore story written by you know who for you know what etc etc.

Sporeans have 5Ks. Kini is not one of it.
Kilini Koffee they like. Not Kini.

Malaysiakini makes me feel ashamed that singapore does not have a singaporekini. Malaysia maybe is still a developing nation (but to me it is a developed nation) but singapre is a 1st world. Which 1st world does not have its own Malaysiakini?

But we should not let the international community be aware of this else we mahloo. Lets hope people cannot find this blog using the internet.

#27 Gemami is has many valid points there.
This platform is totally open for any tom dick or harry to mess it up.

“if The Straits Times were forced to stoop as low as The New Straits Times.”

The Straits Times HAVE stooped as low and even lower than The New Straits Times. Case in point: “Marxist Conspiracy”.

The point that the liaison officer may be trying to make is this, there may already be a Malaysiakini in Singapore. This is hard to imagine. However, how many ppl do you think get their news from sites like this? I get it here, but I discuss it elsewhere in at least 6 sites that all have an average readership of only 30 to 40 per day, multiply that and you get a rough feel of how big this community actually is. Or shall I say diaspora.

I digress. I have alot of respect for Steven Gan as I happen to know him very well, but would he have got to where he is today without the likes of Dr Chandra, Erzam, Harun (free the judiciary movement) and at least 15 other major thinkers who first laid the foundation of free speech in Mlysia?

You speak of Harakah, Dr Cherian, but did you know that its influence is only confined to the rice belt of Kedah, Kelantan and Terrenganu? Why not talk about Aliran? Or for that matter the kebebasan peguaman (free the judiciary movement that once went head on with Dato M / So do not be so quick to say, the assesment of the liaison officer is incorrect or to even suggest he conflated the account, he was merely stating the chronological facts that accounted for the popularity of Malaysiakini. He was simply underscoring the many other factors along with the other people who had laid the capstone that made such a movement possible, without them, it would matter very little whether we had a Malaysiakini or not, it would be a still born movement.

You on the other assert the claim everything seems to be predicated on only two elements,

(a) The degree to which the press is willing to be complicit with the govt of the day, but how much more can it go when we all know the ST is nothing more than the apparatus of the state? So hasnt it already gone down to the bottom of the barrel? What is a few more inches?

(b) The political scene in Malaysia seems to be more fruity and this makes for a good hay especially for the likes of Malaysiakini. That is certainly true in part, but the last time I checked your GIC and Temasek lost billions! And still there is nothing as so much of a pip squek. Why dont you pull that stunt in KL and see what happens?

As for the Liaison officers take on TR, I have known abt it all along. When this site first came in it smelt fishy from the very start, so this only serves to confirm what I have always suspected. The trust was never there in the first place, so what is there to lose? On the liaison’s take, he seems to have too much faith in intellectuals. I dont believe they are such a force. But as I shared in this write up, they may be crucial if sites like Malaysiakini is to rise, I got to know about this TR story by fax believe it or not! And another friend of mine got it in SMS that linked him to a thread based somewhere in Albania in a blog selling second hand cars!

Keep up the good work toc

“Singaporekiasi” – love it! Should quickly book the domain name and copyright it etc.

On the point about media credibility, which several commentators have touched on, I’ve offered a response as a postscript on my own website:
http://journalism.sg/2009/11/26/malaysiakini-turns-10/.

#24) DAP member
‘Let me tell you that Malaysians who support Malaysiakini are also supports PAP and wants transparent and corruption-free Malaysia just like PAP-ruled Singapore now,……………………’
……………………………………………………………………………

If and when you achieve your aim like us, you would lose your press and political freedom and democracy. Many years ago, a ST reporter interviewed a popular politician in Manila whether they should follow LKY’s methods to develop their country, he replied, ‘NO! We want our freedom and democracy.

“35) cherian on November 30th, 2009 7.22 pm
“Singaporekiasi” – love it! Should quickly book the domain name and copyright it etc. ”

I am shocked to hear such a reply from someone who have gone through a journalistic career before if not still doing so.

you need to check if ’singapore’ is copyrightable and can be used by anyone or is it for restricted use only.

quite disappointing. You never even mention this.

“A Singaporekiasi is more likely… ”

How about http://www.sg3k.com

kkk – kiasu, kiasi & kiabor (scared of wife).

or perhaps one more

http://www.sg4k.com

4k – kiasu, kiasi,kiabor (scared of wife), kiakia (scared of kids) .

The trap against us speaking up has been laid long ago, in our climb of the education & work life ladder.

You go to school, study, pass exams (good grades from A-list school prefered). No $$, then study loan lor (Debt trap #1)

Then you work, and have SDU forced down your throat. Hoping that you get hiched and get married. (Debt trap #2)

If you get married, HDB will provide you will “subsidized” new flats. Of course, the larger the loan commitment, the better. (Debt trap #3)

Poor me, has to wait till 35 yrs old before even filliping the papers for HDB resale. Thats being marked as “no hope” case, or worse, a gay (where same-sex marriage is not recongized or acceptable). If I am desperate, there is always the private developer’s choices, abiet a 3-5X price difference vis a vis HDB of similar sizes.

Then you should have kids, with some baby bouns carrot in front you & wifey.
Then the expenses will pile up. Of course, you will have to have a car to zip the family around (read: COE, road tax & PARF value, a.k.a Debt Trap #4)

Ah hah. Then you are well extended, financially and time wise. You cannot go without a job, the both of you, as you need the $$$$. Job must give stable income. Or at least 1 of the 2 partner must be. You don’t really see married couples that are real estate agents, insurance agents, or full time MLM agents.

Stable job that is a result of a stable or growing economy.
So that you can pay your bills.

Whose idea leh ?
Where you hear this often leh ?

Yes – during election time.

Dare I not vote the ruling party ?

Now that the scheme works well for a few decades and the population is greying. Opps, the citizen is asset rich cash poor. Yeah, so what if your (upgraded to) EC / condo is worth almost S$1m. Your bank account is lacking several zeros behind the comma.

Your investment asset – your kids, are facing the same cycle as you are once upon a time and they are looking at higher prices. They cannot afford to take care of you leh. How ah ?

Got CPF minimum sum right ? Yeah, but is the cash really there – waiting for you ?

Sell your house and downgrade to a cheaper stuido/3/4/5 room HDB ? Yes, but you need to wait 2.5 years and lost of face (for a few that I know).

Then panic buttons are pressed. We are not a welfare state hor. Hence the CPF Life and all the schemes to retain your $$$ within the walls of the CPF treasury.

Oh, all these is assuming that life is smooth sailing and that you did not lose your job, take a few months/years of sabbatical holidays, full-time studies of that Masters/PhD or that certificate that you always had been eyeing on. (opps back to the school thingy).

with all the above. Where got time to enjoy life, like the Canadians or Australians did ?

Unless Singaporeans stop shopping and start thinking, no SIngaporekini is possible.

Patience and time is what most of us have, unless you are 80 yrs ++

The odds are in favour of Singaporekini when one old fart sudah mati.
Does anyone doubt this ?

By then it does not matter what you call it……”Singaporekini”, ‘Singaporekiasi”,
‘Singaporesakit_hati”, “Singaporeada_biji”, “Singaporespine”…………….

Oh by the way, I don’t think Cherian has married into the famiLee, not if I go by one old fart’s rule book…….LOL

Patience and time is what most of us have, unless you are 80 yrs ++

The odds are in favour of Singaporekini when one old fart sudah mati.
Does anyone doubt this ?

By then it does not matter what you call it……”Singaporekini”, ‘Singaporekiasi”,
‘Singaporesakit_hati”, “Singaporeada_biji”, “Singaporespine”…………….

Wow..this is getting better and better. TOC is showing its true colors.

If the Singaporean could eliminate their baseless fear, if they stop listen to LKY’s propaganda that “if SDP or any Oppostition replaced PAP, someday they would bring back Singapore into Malaysia.”, then a Singaporekini will become reality instead of dream.

Only an older people can be fooled by “remerger with Malaysia” crap, but not us, enlightened young Singaporean. LKY and cronies, face that!!!

Cherian, you aspire to be NMP or not?
ok lah, just curious can or not?

” At critical moments in Malaysia, government control did not just strain press credibility, it tore it up, crushed it underfoot and set it on fire for all to see, causing a mass exodus to alternative media.”

Cherian George is saying S’pore government is not as bad as Malaysia.

PAP sympathisers always compare Singapore with Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. Since LKY boasted that S’pore is in the 1st world, comparison should be made with those in the West.

Singapore has one of the tightest of control of the media. The PAP government through the SPH controls 100% of the newspapers, also has full control of the radio and TV.

There is no credibility at all in Singapore’s main stream media.

Come on, why would Mr George, a player in Singapore’s mainstream media downplay his own industry?

For the record, I am voting SINGAPOREAN OPPOSITION.

The Online Citizen should not pretend to be an “online media outlet” like Malaysiakini which does not publish nothing BUT POLITICAL OPINIONS critical of the Malaysian government and very little muted criticism of DAP in contrast with other component parties PKR and PAS.

I personally have no problems with TOC’s and its founders’ social agenda; I can agree or agree to disagree. I have a problem when some people are so intellectually dishonest so as to portray themselves as “unbiased” news organizations when they are anything but.

“Let me tell you that Malaysians who support Malaysiakini are also supports PAP and wants transparent and corruption-free Malaysia just like PAP-ruled Singapore now”

translates into:

Freedom and democracy for PAP and gang only. All the rest need not apply.

Front headline on Malaysiakini 05/12/2009 (from http://www.malaysiakini.com):

“‘Stomach burst’ outburst merely an analogy
Jimadie Shah Othman | Dec 5, 09 1:54PM
The remark was never directed at any one person, and anyway God has his own way of punishing offenders, says Kelantan MB Nik Aziz’s political secretary.”

Mr George has a funny idea about “journalism”.

“transparent and corruption-free” = paying ministers and entourage millions per person for non performance.

I would love it if Malaysia would invite our Ministers a la Thaksin to help with their economy after they have been booted out.

In other words, s’porean journalists or writers are not brave enough to really write opposing views.

Really? How many opposing articles have been published? Wow you are really being very offensive.

Malaysiakini is only focused on scoring political points, slamming BN as racist without ever looking in the mirror, when one of their own is facing execution, not a single word is even mentioned. Fair enough, it would not win DAP votes but a simple mention or aggregate the news from ST would do.

Instead Mr Yong’s fate has been buried by gripping news like a Malay transsexual facing punishment after deportation from the UK, propogandizing from a government agency (irony coming from a propaganda website).

It just shows that the Malaysian opposition is just as morally bankrupt as they paint the Malaysian government out to be.