With many of the outspoken youths struggling to find, or keep, their jobs and the whole society trying to find its feet, the entire political scene has been rather restrained in recent times.

Reflecting the quieter mood is the Internet, a traditional platform for virulent attacks on the government. Today the chat-sites are less combative than before.

There are continuing complaints of price increases and “poor” public services, but it is done with less rhetoric and more serious discussion.

And Speakers’ Corner, the regulated Hong Lim Park area launched nearly three years ago for Singaporeans to “speak freely” on government policies, appears to be dying a slow death.

The number of speakers has dwindled to about four a week from 30 when it started in September 2000. Ironically, the decline in public debate is said to be due to the preoccupation of young Singaporeans who are besieged by historical unemployment.

In most societies suffering from severe hardship, political agitation usually becomes shriller but in Singapore it is the opposite.

The reason is that Singapore has no safety net for the jobless. That means politics becomes a luxury they can’t afford. From day one, they have to look for others ways to survive.

That is not the entire truth, though.

Another is a widespread belief that political debate in Singapore is dangerous and useless because the government won’t listen and nothing is changed.

Chandra Mohan, a lawyer and politician who had pushed for the opening of Speakers' Corner, said its failure “shows that Singaporeans are just a resigned lot who feel that nothing can be done.”

Besides, The Corner is also crippled by tough restrictions, including a ban on the use of microphones and music and a requirement for speakers to register in advance and inform the police of their intended topic.

But winds of change are blowing.

A government-appointed committee has just recommended that Singapore relax its strict rules on political debate, censorship, public meetings and the arts.

It called for the authorities to show a “light and transparent touch.”

This is part of an effort to “remake Singapore” – to transform itself into a global city to attract top talent so that it can prosper in a changed world.

To achieve that, loosening of control is deemed necessary.

“It is timely to calibrate the government's approach towards public expression to promote a more creative and innovative society and culture,” the committee recommended.

However, it emphasised that law and order concerns remained valid.

“We need to find a new balance that maintains law and order and yet not stifle the creativity of our people,” it added.

Headed by Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen, the group focused on social safety nets, personal expression, censorship and promoting arts and sports.

The committee said the government should relax rules on the granting of licences for public activities.

It suggested a “green lane” for events that would be given automatic licensing and a “red lane” for those that needed greater scrutiny.

“This is a significant shift from the current approach, which is perceived as lacking in transparency, to one that specifies explicitly what is not allowed and those not specified are deemed permissible,” it said.

With many Singaporean youths feeling disenchanted by a restricted life, this proposed revision is crucial to the city’s future.

It goes beyond economics or an international role. A growing number of better-educated Singaporeans are emigrating for a freer lifestyle.

The government wants to loosen its control on society but also fears that if it is done too quickly, things will go awry. So it wants to make haste slowly.

Take the issue of “out-of-bounds” (OB) markers, an imaginary line that forbids certain subjects for public discussions.

Few Singaporeans understand the government forbids sensitive religious and racial debate – but do not know what the political constraints are before they get into trouble.

Ten years ago, noted novelist Catherine Lim was openly chastised by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong for saying, among other things, there is a growing rift between the ruling party and the people.

Panel chief Raymond Lim, one of the new leaders in the People’s Action Party, said his group felt that as Singaporeans gained a greater sense of “who we are,” there should be a re-balancing of the relationship between state and citizen.

“The ingenuity of the OB markers is their ambiguity,” said Lim, who was once a critic of the PAP. “Because they are too ambiguous, they have a dampening effect on public discourse.”

His committee wants this undefined line to be marked so that people do not remain silent for fear of getting into trouble.

“The scale should be tilted a bit more now towards giving people more space for expression and participation,” said the committee.

“Any discussion on politics now could be read by the leadership as “engagement in politics.”

The political leaders should agree that “engagement in politics” means only action and speech that directly engage in electioneering and party politics.

On censorship of movies and the arts, the committee called for the designation of “spaces” where artists can perform without needing a public entertainment licence.

In this area, the authorities should no longer need to vet all play scripts before they are staged.

Currently, public events ranging from political rallies to art exhibits cannot be held without a public entertainment licence from the police.

Clear guidelines on what is objectionable should be spelled out rather than having the scripts vetted beforehand.

Censorship rules are likely to be eased for television, the movies – and what people read.

A reporter, quoting sources, said the committee would say “yes” to Cosmopolitan and Sex And The City (both banned for promoting permissiveness) and “no” to Playboy.

There may be greater leeway for racier shows on late-night television after children have gone to bed.

Sale of books and lifestyle magazines that are considered sensitive will be allowed, but with warning labels.

In general, censorship will be guided by how fast and how far Singaporeans are ready to go.

o Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com (e-mail: cnseah2000@ littlespeck.com )

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