MDA’s clarification on new regulation

After Yaacob and Chuan Jin’s clarifications the MDA’s position on the new regulation has been sieved and some concerns are slightly clearer though not conclusive. Both have stated that the regulation is meant more specifically for news sites or sites that report regularly on Singapore news. Blogs are not the concerns of the new regime and bloggers are encouraged to keep on doing what they have been doing, writing commentaries about Singapore affairs.

Both are taking a kinder and conciliatory approach towards bloggers and were in a way telling the bloggers to keep commenting on local affairs and express their opinions. The Govt’s position, presumably they are expressing the real Govt’s position, is that bloggers or citizens have the right to discuss and comment on local affairs.

This is actually a new situation as it takes a more positive turn from the past when anyone commenting on local affairs was frown upon and may be visited by Sue. There was this over aching fear that something untowards could happen any time. The invisible hand of the dark side is always around the corner waiting to lash out at the most unsuspecting moment.

The lighter touch and the more accommodating posture of the Govt is noted and welcomed. Let’s hope this will stay and citizens are encouraged to participate in the affairs of the country and not seen as enemies of the Govt when they hold contrarian views or are critical of Govt policies. This departure is a little progress towards a more liberal and inclusive society.

Another point that was acknowledged by Yaacob and Chuan Jin is that the internet is not easy to regulate and a lot of works need to be done if the Govt ever intends to take on the big international news providers. So who is the Govt going after other than Yahoo Singapore? TRE and TOC have been cleared as not the target news sites, and they are not news sites at least for the time being. Both have exceeded the two criteria of reporting on Singapore news and the 50,000 IPs by more than a mile. Having confirmed the fate of two of the biggest local aggregators, these two sites would now be the barometer for other bloggers to gauge themselves if they have crossed the line vis a vis the new regime.

Some of the doubts and worries of the bloggers and internet community have been explained and the fear allayed. But more assurance is needed from the MOM to include provisions in the new regulation to exclude the bloggers if they are to sleep in peace. Would there be amendments directly on this regulation or would MOM wait till the major review of the Broadcasting Act next year as mentioned by Chuan Jin? Before the ink is dry, before anyone breathes a sigh of relief, anything can still happen. This new regulation is encompassing as cyberspace.