Press Freedom in Singapore

Press Freedom –
Don’t Have OR Don’t Care?
 Reporters sans Frontieres
• RSF – reflects the degree of freedom that
journalists and news organisation enjoy in
each country, and the efforts made by the
authorities to respect for this freedom.
• Singapore’s ranking; 141 out of 169
countries
 RSF VS Singapore
“In the developed world, the norms and tone are led by the
practices and standards of the US. There, the press has a
dominant role as the fourth estate in the body politic. It has
an untrammelled right to criticise, even unjustly, and publish
whatever newspaper editors and TV producers think fit. The
press not only markets ideas, but also exerts influence. It
wields raw power.”

- BG Lee Hsien Loong

When the Press Misinforms,
The 40th World Congress of Newspaper Publishers, 26 May 1987
 RSF VS Singapore
• Singapore’s press not considered a 4th estate.
• Government & the press work together to
contribute to nation building.
 RSF VS Singapore
“The Western idea of the press as the fourth
estate of the realm, as an adversarial watch-
dog of government, goes against our goal of
consensus politics, of getting Singaporeans to
row as a team.”
- PM Goh Chok Tong,
The Straits Times 150th Anniversary Gala Dinner, 15 July 1995
Bloody History
 4 Main Reasons For Censorship
• Preserve our traditional Asian values such as importance
of the family, respect for elders & filial piety.

• Maintain racial harmony & religious tolerance amongst

our people.

• Protect our social fabric & ensure social cohesion

• Protect children & young adults from corruption by

undesirable materials.
 Government & The Press
• Internal Security Act
• Sedition Act
• Official Secrets Act
• All of which enables detention without
trial and other discretionary powers
 Government & The Press
“Control of substantial shareholdings in
newspaper companies
11. —(1) No person shall, on or after 2nd
September 2002*, become a substantial
shareholder of a newspaper company
without first obtaining the approval of the
Minister.”
 Government & The Press
• A blend of coercion and consent
• Self-censorship
• Willing partners of the state
• Press accept its subordinate role in society
(eg; tone of stories must be respectful
towards country’s leaders)
• Press to report news accurately and
objectively to Singaporeans.
Press Freedom vs. Social Stability

• TODAY newspaper: Poll (11 th

December 2007)
– Most Singaporeans are basically satisfied with
the level of government accountability
– Social harmony and peace is more important
to fair society
• Freedom of Press
Press Freedom vs. Social Stability
• BBC World Service Poll (2007)
– Freedom of the press to report the news truthfully is
very important to ensure we live in a fair society,
even if it sometimes leads to unpleasant debates or
social unrest. [i.e. Press Freedom is IMPORTANT]

– While freedom of the press to report news truthfully

is important, social harmony and peace are more
important which sometimes means controlling what
is reported for the greater good.
[i.e. Social stability is MORE IMPORTANT]
Press Freedom vs. Social Stability

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/10_12_07_worldservicepoll.pdf
 Why Social & Political Stability
over Press Freedom?
• Local environment shapes the perspectives
of Singaporeans
– Government propaganda
– Legal action against non-conformists
– Lack of media choices
 Government Propaganda
• One- Party System
– People’s Action Party
– Governed the state since mid-1969
– Dedicated to the service of the state and to the
advancement of the well-being of people
– The need for political stability to strengthen
national security so as to bring economic
prosperity and foreign investment in
Singapore.
 Government Propaganda

“You are not going to teach us how we should run the country
... We are not so stupid, we know what our interests are and we
try to preserve them”.

-Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew

Response to Singapore’s very low position in RSF 2004
 Government Propaganda
“... The people are more interested in what is good
Government than having an Opposition”.
- S. Rajaratnam
Director of the PAP’s Political Bureau and Foreign Minister in the PAP government,
on accepting the proposition that the existence of an opposition party could
provide a basis for healthy parliamentary democracy

“...our media has to be sensitive to our national interests

such as the need to ensure racial and religious harmony and to
promote our shared values as a society.”

Dr Lee Boon Yang

Response from the Minister for Information,
Communications and the Arts
 Government Propaganda

• Education
– Racial Harmony Day in schools to promote
social cohesion and racial harmony.
– Social Studies in primary and secondary
levels.
• Reflects the government’s primary outlook
on nation- building.
 Legal Actions against
Non- Conformist
• Far Eastern Economic Review’s publishing of the critical
interview with Chee Soon Juan
– Banned and defamation charges were filed against it

• The Economist’s critical references to Ho Ching’s

appointment as top management of Temasek Holdings
– Made an apology and damages worth US$230,000 in a
Singaporean court to the Lees

• Persecution of Journalists
– Internal Security Act on Said Zahari
Lack of choice (Media Monopoly)
• Dominance of Singapore Press Holding
(SPH)
– Major newspapers are owned by SPH
– Partially owned by Temasek Holdings, the
Singapore government’s investment arm.
• MediaCorp
– Owned by Temasek Holdings
– Owns major broadcast news programmes.
 Why Social & Political Stability
over Press Freedom?
• Alternatives VIA Internet
– Increase participation in the exchange of news
and information
• eg: Blogs, Internet News, Forums, Yahoo, Google,
MSN-News, etc
 Conclusion
• Mainstream media’s role to provide:
– the most accurate and the most unbiased information for
all Singaporeans without any risk of intimidation by our
government to prevent our journalists from writing about
sensitive or potentially damaging issues.

• Our journalists should not to take on an

investigative role but instead adopt self-
censorship
 Conclusion
• Nation building/social stability over press
freedom
• Ultimately our press is journalism not
propaganda
• “Free press is not responsible press”
• Mentioned by Catherine Lim
– we do see our press as liberal
 Conclusion
• In order for our mainstream media to
remain objective, it must be able to:
– Legitimately criticize the government
– Inform the public in the most complete and
responsible manner.
... Thank You …