What you don't see on the news

What you never see on the news
Originally uploaded by Yun-shan.

So, Singapore just completed its general elections. And as usual the incumbent (and omnipotent?) ruling party, the People's Action Party, was ushered back into power. This is nothing new. What is new though is the rising public interest in the opposition parties that have contested in this elections. I have not seen such large crowds (see pic) at political rallies in Singapore before. Perhaps it is because we were encouraged to be apolitical when growing up and that getting involved in politics meant 'rocking the boat". I am rather surprised at my fellow countrymen's willingness to be present and make apparent their intentions to get involved in this year's elections. It was heartening to hear that, despite the brusque dismissiveness of the citizenry by the powers that be, the opposition parties made a strong showing. This diversity in politics, I believe, is something that will stand the country in good stead in the years to come.

On a work-related note, I have been using various blogs and discussion sites to keep track of what's happening during the elections. The mainstream media(MSM) back home is completely useless for any sort of objective reporting. Take a look at the following comment that I came across on the blog of a fellow singaporean in the US:

A friend, Ivy League graduate and scholar, and now a journalist with the national tabloid, wrote an email to her friends a few days ago. She signed off with the following words:

"…help spread the word that a lot of us in the Straits Times are sorry that we can’t do the job we want to. It may not mean a lot to you, but it sucks for us that with every day that passes, and with every pro-PAP election story that we write, people’s opinions of the Straits Times are falling. Many of us in the election team are putting our names on stories that we don’t want to write, on views that we don’t believe in, and on headlines that make us want to throw up.”

The government back in Singapore has traditionally been very insecure about the media and has sought to stringently control the various outlets for expression and opinions. In fact, during the elections there was a blanket ban on podcasts of a political nature. However, despite the ban, the great number of individuals have resorted to using the internet to disseminate news, pictures and opinions that you will not see in the MSM. And I think that this alternative source of information on the internet is making its effect felt during the elections. You know that this is the case when the ruling party is calling for a review of new media like blogs and podcasts and their effects on the views of the citizens. Channelnewsasia reports the following:

Impact of Internet on General Election likely to be studied after polls

SINGAPORE : The impact of the Internet at this General Election is likely to be looked at by the relevant ministry after the polls.

Information Communications and the Arts Minister Dr Lee Boon Yang said this is to assess the scale at which the new media, like blogs and podcasts, were used to influence views and shape opinions.

Dr Lee said this after his Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team toured Queen's Street market as part of their campaigning on Friday.

The People's Action Party (PAP) team said it was looking forward to good support from voters, because of its track record over the past five years.

It's going to be interesting to see what the conclusions of this review will be. Maybe there'll be a job for me back home after all...

Notable blogs to read about the elections:
Mr Wang Bakes Good Karma
Talk Rock
Air-conditioned Nation
SG Rally