From 1st of September 2008, Singaporeans can protest and demonstrate without a permit at Speakers' Corner. Placards, banners and loud hailers will be allowed. The National Parks Board had even declared that work is underway to build a mould so that speakers do not have to bring their soapboxes to speak and be seen. Whatever you do, just do not damage the plants. Simple.
Ohh and yes, topics cannot touch on race and religion and content that promotes violence will not be permitted as well. Fair enough.
Great.
Whatever.
Just don't start telling me smugly that our government is opening up and making efforts to become more democractic. Look, what is the point in allocating one miserable corner to allow citizens to voice out their displeasure about issues, global and/ or local? All of the abovementioned allowances should have been made with the establishment of the Speakers' Corner in 1 September 2000 in the first place. For 8 years, it has been pretty much a white elephant and for 8 years, it has been a symbol of political hypocrisy. It is only now, amidst much criticism and civil disobedience, that the government finally decides to grant Speakers' Corner its rightful function. Personally I feel that this move has been made 8 years too late.
What makes the government think that we will all rejoice at such a change? Activists do not just want a space to make some "noise" and most local activists do not protest for no good reasons at all or without a cause. The main purpose of all protests and demonstrations is to get particular messages across and in order to do so, the whole protest and demonstration itself has to be seen and heard in a significant and symbollic manner. What good can making "noise" on an allocated platform at an allocated park be, if passerbys can simply walk past and dismiss the protestors as "dogs barking at their allocated spot again"?
This is not a sign of the government opening up as far as I see it. More of getting us cornered up whether they mean to or otherwise.
Don't know about you but I am not going to pop a champagne over this anytime soon. I will most probably do that in celebration the day the government declare this whole island as protest friendly!
We do not need a specific zone for free speech at all, if the rest of the island is a huge zone of self censorship in itself.
