media blackout in Singapore
I read with amusement of the recent ODEX protest, where 8 courageous young men and women who hit the streets with their anime toys stood out to voice their frustrations and anger by doing this in Youth Park:
READ everything here.
http://yipingotakuworld.wordpress.com/20
http://textfiend.net/zerohero/?p=454
Once again, it is a complete pin drop silence in our media. In the immediate days after protest I went through several local papers. They were still on the Odex saga but nothing was mentioned about the protest. Given that ST gives a generous amount of space to mostly non-newsworthy STOMP articles, it puzzles me an event of such proportion received scant attention from our state media.
Why the silence?
When a group of Burmese marched on Singapore streets last month to protest steep increases in fuel prices, individuals flipping any newspapers would have read about it. But there was a complete silence on the Odex protest as far as I know. It seems as someone up there does not want Singaporeans to know that a group of normal, Singaporean with no political affiliation, actually carried out the thing that LKY and his regime has been so eager to stamp out after Singapore's independence. Neither do they want people to know that the police actually exemplified the typical Singapore kiasu-ism by dispatching 4 riot squad vehicles to disarm gun-wielding toys.
What the police don't want people to see:
VS
Pictures courtesy of the above-mentioned blogs.
What is happening to this country?
In recent years, the government has stepped up its effort to persecute opposition politicians. Bankruptcy, exile and jail threatens anyone with crosses the boundaries that the PAP and the police draw and redraw -for oppositions and citizens alike- using the state vehicle for carrying out such actions, the LAW. Singapore law (under the Citizens-gathering-are-threat-to-state-s
Opposition parties have come a long way. In the days before independence, political parties' rivalry was fiercely fought, and when PAP took power, they won it by a narrow margin. Today, the sad fact is that the only way for Singapore's opposition figures to remain 'opposing' the ruling party is to be docile and non-threatening to the ruling party, as the current state of political affair clearly shows.
These days, people only come to know of the political term "rally" every 5 years, whereas during pre-independence, anyone may set up shop anywhere to rally. Rallies are allowed to be legally carried out for a good 9 days just before election. Thereafter in event of any outdoor events organised by opposition parties, they would have to obtain a permit from the police (which is usually rejected). Even in this century, such archaic laws exist to ensure that opposition parties never get the coverage they need to boost support. In Hongkong or Taiwan where our economy is most competitive and commonly compared with in Asia, such a law put in place by a ruling party would certainly be vehemently opposed by its people and opposition alike.
It is indeed a sad state for Singaporeans when we have slowly arrived at this pitiful state where it is now, where freedom of speech is nowhere to be found and speaking up is not encouraged in school. It is indeed refreshing to see that, Singaporeans have not been restraint by laws that were created by the ruling party to curb this very basic human right of freedom of assembly.
Enough of unjust laws
Increasingly, young people like me cannot see the validity of such laws (4 people assembling in a group, or max 2 if you're standing in front of Parliament House), or how it can be applied in this age, this century. The ODEX protest should by now have made a point to the Government, that such laws mean little to young Singaporeans like the ODEX protesters. Young Singaporeans like me cannot see the difference between walking down Orchard Road with a bunch of buddies, or walking down Orchard Road for a victim of the state mechanism. It simply serves to propel the feeling of disconnect that young Singaporeans have toward the country.
Stop attacking citizenry
Question: What can possibly be more ridiculous than seeing political parties being denied the right to hold outdoor events while PAP holds one come every religious holidays or festivals? Answer: Seeing the riot squad come down hard and fast on the ODEX protesters. Imagine the furore that would erupt from these pictures if they came out in the media. To prevent itself from looking like a complete fool, (eg riot buses vs anime toys), it is only prudent that the government MAKES SURE there is no coverage of the event in the media (as opposed to another protest by Burmese nationals just a day before). This explains why the media has to be controlled: if such pictures were to be circulated in a free press, what kind of image it would send to Singaporeans about this government, which is currently in the talks with ASEAN members over a human rights commission. Ha!
This violation on active citizenry can only be seen in one way: that the Singapore government does not promote citizenry, nor does it encourage the natural development of civil society. It would make the government very happy if every anime fans kept their discussions on internet boards. Go ahead, they say. You may even air your frustrations in our papers, they add. But don't try anything funny with the anime figurines... my police and riot vehicles are watching.
The extravagant riot-squad presence to stamp out these toys begs the question: what are they afraid of?
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