Regulation of political commentary on the Internet in Singapore- Refer to TalkingCock.com/ Mr Brown

There have been many things that are brought up on the issue of freedom of speech. Nowadays, more and more of these kinds of commentaries can be seen on the internet, especially since technology had advanced together with time, for example, talkingcock.com and Mr Brown that had gained fame from being commentaries. However in Singapore, some topics of criticism could land you in trouble.

I think that what the government had been doing is right and these political commentaries should continue to be regulated. What I think is that these commentaries can indirectly change people's opinion on the government. Singapore is seen as a authoritarian country with limited liberty given to the people, but it is precisely this fact that made Singapore a politically stable country that it is now. There had not been any serious riots and strikes that could cripple Singapore growth since its independence. These strict regulations that the government post to the people have helped to maintain peace and harmony among Singapore citizens, between races and religions. Hence, this policy should also be applied to politics to prevent an unnecessary uprising.

There are many users browsing these on-line commentaries nowadays, especially the younger generations. It is important that these commentaries, sometimes biased towards one side, will not influence them. The public could make the decision and see for themselves if there's something wrong that the government did without the interference from the commentaries, hence they are not really necessary. For people that wish to express their discontent at the government, they do not need to do it that openly. Instead of criticising/complaining, one could suggest for improvements instead. Our job as citizens of a country is to help it progress, not to make it break down by our own comments.

There may be some companies or even political groups out there that pay these people to create such commentaries. In this kind of situations, it will be entirely up to the viewers to decide on whether what they read is correct and reliable as the impact that internet creates is really too big. If they decided that something wrong is in fact right, then this could hinder the country's progress. Regulations on political commentaries are useful in these times to stop the people from being influenced by the source. This is especially important during election periods, every comment on a certain political group, biased or not, is going to influence the public's opinion. This will be extremely unfair to others and if not stopped, may cause the country's future to be ruined.

However, we must also note that these political commentaries are not always harmful but actually healthy in various ways, though we must always keep in mind that we have the responsibilities to ensure that nothing abusive is done. Sometimes, these commentaries will also provide entertainment to the public viewing it and in a way help the society progress. We cannot deny that with these comments and criticism out there, Singapore manages to progress to its present state.