Comments on: Conflicting signals from government

By: John Harding

John Harding — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:08:46 +0000

Everything on the Yeo Cheow Tong website is pretty well documented, as it is in http://www.escapefromparadise.com. Yes, there is some humor, but it is obviously just that – much like political cartoons. The photo of Goh Chok Tong spanking his wife is a good example of a political cartoon. By the way, that photo has become extremely popular on the Internet.

By: CelluloidReality(s)

CelluloidReality(s) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 02:28:59 +0000

Agreed.

As for China’s case, for every firewall that pops up, there will be people who dedicate their time to break through that “Great Wall” to secure a free flow of information.

The Internet is not a beast to be shackled, it is bigger than any single nation. This is the reality all governments have to live with. Either you leverage and work with it, or you sink.

Philip Yeo’s recent activity on the blogosphere have actually improved many people’s perception that civil servants are hard to engage with. It’s a positive step forward.

By: Paul Chan

Paul Chan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 19:00:14 +0000

Ahh… I misunderstood your question. In my opinon, Aaron, the government should not shackle the beast.
A very clear example here was Mr. Philip Yeo’s accessibility through the comments section of your blog. Through his answering of rationally and politely placed questions, we were all able to better see from where he stands. And, we all understood better his humanity in all of this.
Similarly, if the government continues to shackle (For lack of a better term) this beast, it will continue to breed distrust.

I feel it would be better to be open about the whole thing.

By: Paul Chan

Paul Chan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 18:54:15 +0000

Aaron,
It would be impossible to shackle the beast. They know it. But figuratively speaking, they will still want to find out the best way to manage it.
They tried to in the May elections last year, attempting to stop political podcasts, and blogs from covering politics. Wanted all such blogs to register itself, if you remember. After some questioning in Parliament, they rescinded and said no need to. Only blogs or websites who persistently promoted political views had to register with the MDA.
China also has such censorship. In one of my jobs, I have seen how traffic from China were severely curtailed due to firewall rules. The Chinese have tons of money and lots of human resources to do this. But, it is not sustainable.

By: Aaron Ng

Aaron Ng — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:15:20 +0000

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the thoughtful comment. My question to you now would be whether it is necessary to “shackle” the beast.

By: Paul Chan

Paul Chan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:59:00 +0000

Aaron,
The Internet, the fluid and constantly transforming blogosphere is causing the government ALOT of consternation. They must be watching the development of the Malaysian blogosphere and its influence of its citizens over Malaysian politics very closely.
As it is, because this is really completely new terrain, they are feeling their way about. At the end of the day, you will find policies issued and rescinded many times over as the government works to find the best way to shackle this beast.

By: bond

bond — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 06:59:49 +0000

My heart broke long ago.
______________
CelluloidReality(s) SINGAPORE // Mar 26, 2007 at 11:24 pm

â€œ`If you care too much about Singapore, first itâ€™ll break your spirit, and finally it will break your heart` Alfian Bin Saâ€™atâ€

By: CelluloidReality(s)

CelluloidReality(s) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:24:49 +0000

OT slightly..

“`If you care too much about Singapore, first it’ll break your spirit, and finally it will break your heart` Alfian Bin Sa’at”

I wish it would not be true, I do think it applies more to the “gahmen” than Singapore the nation in the sociological notion of the word.

By: James

James — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 12:52:11 +0000

Aaron
Pse dun contemplate politics, that does not mean tat you cannot be a politician since men are political animals, ahem, beings rather.

Just stay clear, focused n be fundamentally consistent

By: serve you right

serve you right — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 23:01:11 +0000

So what if there are conflicting signals from the government? Do you act
on their signals like a trained dog responding to a dog whistle? That’s
the problem with you people — you don’t have a mind of your own. No
wonder the despot can enslave you people for so long.