Silence
easiest option at Speakers' Corner
South China Morning Post.
April 26, 2000
BARRY PORTER in Singapore
SINGAPOREANS will have their own Speakers' Corner within
months - but they will not be as free to speak their minds as with the
London model.
The Home Ministry announced yesterday the move towards freer speech would be ready by the end of August.
But there will be restrictions, although they are minimal by Singapore standards. Speakers must be Singaporean, pre-register with police, not say anything that might stir religious or racial hatred and amplification equipment such as loud-hailers will not be allowed.
Singapore's libel laws and Penal Code will apply to prevent any breach of the peace or rioting. Government intelligence officers may also be listening in.
Approval to speak will be automatic and instant with no need for orators to inform the authorities of the content of their intended speech.
At Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park, speakers can talk about religion, but not stir up racial hatred. They also don't have to register and any nationality can speak in any language. However, Britain's laws on slander and libel - which are not as restrictive as those in Singapore - apply.
Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament: "Police will take a minimalist, hands-off approach."
Loud-hailers would not be allowed to "reduce noise pollution and ensure that no one speaker drowns out the other speakers".
"Some ground rules will ensure that speakers and audience use the Speakers' Corner without creating a fracas, or law and order problems," he said.
Even so, this remains an historic and symbolic step for a government long criticised for inhibiting free speech.
Until now, all outdoor political speaking has been routinely banned, except during official election campaigns.
Dr Chee Soon Juan, leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party, tested the system by not applying for a licence for street speaking last year and ended up in jail.
Dr Chee cited two main complaints about the rules for Speakers' Corner, which will be located in Hong Lim Park, close to the city-state's central business district.
He said Singaporeans would be hesitant about speaking on certain subjects if they must first give the police their names.
Secondly, he said: "If you are talking about trying to speak out
. . . and if you are not going to have an independent free media, you are
only going to be able to reach a maximum of 200 to 300 people if you cannot
use a microphone or loud speaker."
An AFP report Apr 25 said:
Local political scientist James Gomez, who has authored a book on the self-censoring nature of Singaporeans, expressed doubts that the corner would flourish as a genuine platform for free speech.
"My concern is we do not have a culture of speaking," he told AFP, adding that it may end up "contrived" if quasi-state agencies or grassroots organizations used it as a venue to "celebrate openness or speaking up" in Singapore.
The ban on use of audio devices to amplify one's speech would diminish the size of the audience the speaker could reach and make him appear "comical," he added.
However, he welcomed the government's move as a step forward.
Despite the limits set by the government on the use of the Speakers' Corner, "this should not prevent people from celebrating this rather cautious and very Singaporean approach to opening up," he said.
The corner, to be set up in Hong Lim Park close to the business district and bustling Chinatown, will be open seven days a week all year from 7 am to 7 pm.
Opposition MP J.B. Jeyaretnam, secretary-general of the Workers' Party, criticized the requirement to register one's intent to speak, and branded as "nonsensical" the government's claim that London had only one such corner, despite its bigger population and area.
In Britain, people "can speak up anywhere else and not only just in London but in any other parts of the country," he said.
He sought an assurance that details of the speaker will not be sent to the Internal Security Department.
Jeyaretnam has lost defamation suits filed by leaders of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore since 1959.
Wong replied saying the Internal Security Department "has a lot of better things to do" than monitor the movements of the speakers.
The Singapore police studied how Britain managed the Hyde Park Speakers' Corner, and will adopt "many features" of it in the free speech corner here, Wong said.
"The police will adopt a minimalist, hands-off approach towards the Speakers' Corner," but would take "firm action" if rioting occurred, he said.