Clouds over Singapore's blogosphere
By Lin Quan Zhong
SINGAPORE - When Lee Hsien Loong four years ago followed in his father's
footsteps as Singapore's prime minister, many hoped he would break with Lee
Kuan Yew's authoritarian tendencies when the younger man encouraged citizens to
"feel free to express diverse views, pursue unconventional ideas, or simply be
different".
It's now apparent that hopes the younger Lee's government would take a more
relaxed approach to political criticism and open debate were set too high.
While Singapore's restrictions on the mainstream media are nothing new, legal
action recently taken against a foreign blogger who criticized the island
state's justice system has raised fears that those tight controls are now being
applied in cyberspace.
On June 2, US blogger and former Singapore citizen Gopalan Nair was the first
online writer to be arrested and charged with "threatening, abusing or
insulting a public servant", in his particular case a high court judge. His
trial started on Friday and is being closely watched by the country's scores of
critical on-line writers and commentators.
Writing about testimony given by the older and younger Lee in connection with a
defamation suit they brought against opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, Nair
accused Judge Belinda Ang of being an order-taking "employee" of Lee Kuan Yew
and his son. He presented no concrete evidence to back those claims on his
blog.
Nair, who runs the blog "Singapore Dissident", which may be accessed at
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com, also questioned in strong language the
judge's impartiality in deciding the case. Trained as a lawyer, Nair openly
challenged the courtroom statements of Lee Kwan Yew - who now holds the
position of Minister Mentor - and provided details of his own identity and the
location of his blog.
Nair was an active member of the opposition Workers' Party and stood for
elections in 1988 and 1991 before moving to California, where he practiced law.
He recently returned to Singapore to support opposition leader Chee and his
sister, who are in the midst of a high-profile defamation court hearing that
could land both political activists in prison.
How Nair's case plays out in court is being closely watched throughout the
region, including in neighboring Malaysia, where Internet-based media and blogs
have likewise developed a strong following through critical reporting and
editorials. Over the past decade, the Internet has provided space for
alternative media to discuss news and views not carried in the
government-controlled mainstream media in Singapore.
Until now, controversial views expressed over the Internet have not come under
the same scrutiny as reporters who have tried to report critically for
traditional media, including print, television or radio. "Nair's arrest is a
confirmation that Singaporeans do not have the supposed privilege of being safe
on the Internet," Supinya Klangnarong, vice-chair of the Bangkok-based Campaign
for Popular Media Reform, a press freedom advocacy group.
Singapore ranked at 141 out of 169 countries in the 2007 Worldwide Press
Freedom Index released by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. In recent
years, Singapore has acquired a global reputation for using punitive civil
lawsuits to silence political opponents of Lee's ruling party. In some cases
the accused have faced bankruptcy due to the high costs of the legal
proceedings and the amount of damages sought.
(Chee and his sister, fellow activist and co-defendant in the defamation case
Chee Siok Chin, last week opted to go to jail after being sentenced to 12 days
and 10 days respectively for contempt of court during the Lee trial, AFP
reported. Chee Siok Chin told AFP on Wednesday that they were unable to pay the
S$2,000 (US$1,470 US) in court fees required to file their appeals against the
contempt finding. The Chees had defied the judge's admonitions about the way
they grilled the two Lees, the AFP report said.)
Singaporeans were glued to the three-day defamation court hearing in May in
which the Lees' had filed against the Chees, whose Singapore Democratic Party
newsletter was charged with defaming both elder and junior Lee in their
capacities as government figures. The publication in February 2006 compared a
controversy over financial opacity at the non-profit National Kidney Foundation
(NKF) with how the People's Action Party (PAP) manages Singapore's national
accounts.
The court proceedings provided plenty of quotable fodder for bloggers. In reply
to a question posed by an SDP lawyer on the first day of the defamation
hearing, prime minister Lee was quoted in the local media saying: "I do
consider Dr Chee as a liar, as a cheat, somebody who has brought discredit to
the opposition in Singapore, but I do not hate him."
At the same time, Singaporeans have also followed closely on-line reporting of
the May 19 raid of the private screening in a Singapore hotel of the
anti-government documentary "One Nation Under Lee". Created by political
activists, the 45-minute video chronicles and criticizes Lee Kuan Yew's rise to
power and his sustained crackdown on political dissidents. Although government
authorities stopped the film's screening, it is still available over the
Internet.
Coverage of recent events in the mainstream media, including the
English-language daily Straits Times, has underscored its pro-government bias.
News of Nair's arrest focused mainly on his political background and referred
to him variously as either a "former Singaporean" or "former [opposition]
Workers' Party member" rather than a trained US lawyer.
Popular blogger Kengho Yap noted that the free daily newspaper Today had two
conflicting versions of Nair's arrest, apparently underscoring the government's
indecision on how to couch the news. Yap posted photos of two different
versions of the pro-government paper on his blog, with the first version
carrying the headline "American Jailed for Insults", and the second one, which
was actually published, under the headline "Man Threatened Judge".
"They had first wanted public perception of Mr Gopalan Nair to be American,"
Yap wrote on his blog, "News Release by Uncle Yap". Cyberspace reactions to
Nair's blog postings and views on Chee's trial have also varied widely. "I
think he went too far," said Singaporean blogger Havok in an interview. "After
reading some of his older posts, I can only say that he is looking for
trouble."
Nair's actions and disclosure of his personal details and location in
Singapore, which were perceived by many as an open challenge to the government,
were probably "the most daring or foolish act ever in the history of the
blogosphere", wrote the writer of the blog I Z Reloaded.
In the blog Sheep City (http://aidilomar.com/), Aidil Omar wrote that the real
lesson in the Nair case is that “we common sheep are not allowed to air our
disgust and frustrations towards the incorruptible and infallible members of
the ruling government.”
Meanwhile Nair's lawyer, Chia Ti Lik, was more circumspect in his blog
(http://chiatilik.wordpress.com). "Perhaps the case concerned Mr Gopalan Nair.
Perhaps the case centered on Gopalan Nair's support for Chee Soon Juan and Chee
Siok Chin. Perhaps it was because Gopalan had the audacity to insult/threaten a
High Court judge," he wrote. "Perhaps it was because of Gopalan's open
challenges to the Minister Mentor in his blog."
Nair was released on June 5 on S$5,000 bail and had his passport confiscated.
Lawyer Chia wrote in his blog that sedition charges are also expected to be
filed by the government against his client. As such, expect more critical blog
entries in Singapore's blogosphere in the weeks and months ahead.
(Inter Press Service with editing and additions by Asia Times Online.)
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