Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Full Disclosure

Freedom House ranks each country with a scoring system based on a scale of 0 to 100, a combined score of 0-30=Free, 31-60=Partly Free, 61-100=Not Free. Their studies are premised on Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.

According to the findings of "Freedom of the Press 2012: A Global Survey of Media Independence", the latest edition of an annual index published by Freedom House since 1980, Singapore is ranked 150. Of the 197 countries and territories assessed during 2011, including the new country of South Sudan, a total of 66 (33.5 percent) were rated Free, 72 (36.5 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 59 (30 percent) were rated Not Free.

Singapore is grouped in the last category. Our neighbours fared better: Malaysia /Cambodia (144), Thailand (132), Indonesia (97), and Hongkong (70). Countries with "Free" rating include United Kingdom/ Australia (31), USA (22), and Germany (16).

It is reported that press freedom continued to face obstacles and reversals in many parts of the world. China, reputedly the country with the world’s most sophisticated system of media repression, stepped up its drive to control both old and new sources of news and information through arrests and censorship. Other authoritarian powers—such as Russia, Iran, and Venezuela—resorted to a variety of techniques to maintain a tight grip on the media, detaining some press critics, closing down media outlets and blogs, and bringing libel or defamation suits against journalists. Been there, done that. The brass knuckles tactics used in our own country are well documented in Francis Seow's book, "The Media Enthralled: Singapore Revisited". For a recent reminder of the bad old days, author James Minchin was turned away at the Changi Airport on arrival. It is no coincidence that China is sending a team to study our methods of governance. Speaking at the Communist Party’s Central Party School in September, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the two governments had “shared experiences on managing the social media.”

Straits Times (ST)'s surprise disclosure about Alvin Tan being stripped of his scholarship - he did not have to pay a single cent, and he wasn't expelled - went against the flow of Education Minister Heng Swee Keat's stubborn support of the university management's "need to respect its policy of confidentiality." Quoting an anonymous source, the gutsy ST revelation must have been a desperate attempt to improve its World Press Freedom Index rating, which used to be 141 before dropping to 144 in 2008.

15 comments:

  1. Can we ask our PAP leaders what the fuck have you all done to result in such a sorry state of affairs for Singaporeans?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I interpret Shit Times "revelations" as the unofficial policy announcement to all Aliens that Singapore continues to welcome Foreign Talents.
    - You waste our money, no problem.
    - Don't worry, no need to pay back

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But will the Pro Alien Traitors be so forgiving towards Singaporeans?

      What do you think?

      Delete
    2. A Foreign Talent can call all the Chinese in the Singapore government "Chinese fuxxking animals"?
      No problem?

      Singaporeans can do the same or not?
      What do you think, DPM Teo?
      Are you Chinese?

      Delete
    3. Aiyah, the french cap is referring to Teo as the fcking animal lah.

      Delete
    4. What about Grace Fu and Tony Tan?
      Are they also "Chinese fuxxking animals"?

      What do you think?

      Delete
  3. Wow...I think it can keep helping itself by dropping to 197 eventually, along with North Korea....give it another 3 years by 2016. It's 2/3 on its ways to becoming toilet paper usage. Pity the trees we keep killing just to print those thrash that are littered all over our island, and 60% of homes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Better not believe what Shit Times said if source is unknown.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I think of full disclosure, I think of full disclosure of assets owned by our Minister, MPs and Senior Civil servants. This is one way I can be sure that our leaders are working for the people rather for themselves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It will never happen because they are in fact working for themselves.

      Delete
    2. How about full disclosure of our alleged 'reserves".
      56 man years from Ong Teng Cheong's time (1st Sep 1999).

      If we still don't have a list of our reserves, then what is our President watching over?
      The Olympic Games?

      Delete
  6. The earth is round
    Sun rises in the east sets in the west
    if the above are facts

    ST is shitty is also a fact

    ReplyDelete
  7. ST "gutsy"?
    Pse read the minister's comments in parliament again, he said exactly what the ST reporetd today: Alvin Tan is not fit to be a scholar, so ST reported he was "stripped", no more no less than what Heng said. Unless ST meant "stripped" as in taking off all the clothes? Maybe... you might be correct.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Incidentally, had ST ever reported the rankings all these years?
    That would be a revelation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ST have set up their own ranking system.
      Very busy giving awards to themselves.

      Delete