Tag Archives: censorship

Donald Low’s apology to Singapore’s Law Minister K Shanmugam is another setback for freedom of expression and will reinforce self-censorship. In a facebook post last month, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public policy academic criticized the Minister’s remarks, reported in Today, that penalties for crime need to reflect public opinion. Networks of power are so far reaching and deeply entrenched in Singapore it is easy for any politician of the PAP, especially a senior one to wield his influence.

Human rights activist Han Hui Hui has successfully petitioned Facebook to restore her posting about the inhumane treatment of prisoners in Singapore prisons, which was deleted because of IBs who reported her post without reason. Facebook had banned her from posting for 12 hours because of their incessant reporting of her account and post.

According to a Media Development Authority Singapore (MDA) spokesperson, MDA said it was lifting the ban on the film as it could now be classified as permissible under today's R21 rating.

“Smile,” a journalist encouraged as he interviewed Cheng whose minders sat just out of camera range. “Place your hands on the armrest”, “Cross your legs”, “Relax your shoulders”, “Look happy.” Several takes were necessary to capture the right mood for the cameras. The following day, state media headlines screamed: "I CONFESS" But it is The Real Singapore website that is engaging in irresponsible reporting and shut down.

It wasn’t always this way. The media in Singapore wasn’t always state-controlled. We didn’t always have the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA). Our newspapers were not always run by a behemoth, monopolistic publisher whose key senior appointments are government-approved people and the biggest stakeholders are government-linked.

The FreeMyInternet group expresses our complete and utter disappointment at the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) action in censoring The Real Singapore (TRS), call for this arbitrary and unsubstantiated action to be revoked immediately, and for MDA to come clean on its processes and standards as a regulatory body. While not all of us might necessarily agree with TRS’s editorial direction or content, what TRS is alleged to have done is no reason for MDA to force a shutdown on the site.

I just tried to watch Amos Yee's crazy video against Lee Kuan Yew and Christians and surprise surprise, YouTube has terminated his account after online netizens reported it constantly. For all Amos's ramblings about freedom of speech, liberalism and western democracy, YouTube, a product of Western Democracy has answered the calls of Singaporeans and took down his silly YouTube channel and denied him the attention he desired.

Freedom is being able to walk on the streets unmolested in the wee hours in the morning, to be able to leave one's door open and not fear that one would be burgled. Freedom is the woman who can ride buses and trains alone; freedom is not having to avoid certain subway stations after night falls.

I am thousands of miles away but even so, I can sense the grief. The immense sadness over the passing of what is no doubt, a remarkable man. But what I cannot comprehend is the condemnation that greets anyone who dares say anything negative about his rule. But why? Why should those who believe they’ve benefitted from his actions think they have right to silence those who feel they’ve suffered? Is gratitude the only emotion allowed at his passing? What about the people he jailed, bankrupted, persecuted, destroyed? Are they to deny themselves feelings of relief, anger, perhaps even glee?

Malaysia's Film Censorship Board (LPF) has banned the movie, "Fifty Shades of Grey" for being "more porn than movie", according to The Star today, 4 February. Mr Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid, the chairman of the board, has reportedly said the portrayal of certain sex scenes in the movie, such as acts of sado-masochism and bondage, was "not of natural sexual content".