The answer, according to the news portal, can be found in the number of members who belong to a Facebook group called ‘Singapore Sucks’ – which has 375 members at the time of writing. And was created by a Singaporean (so it has been reported).
Under Basic Info, the Facebook group says: “While Singapore has enjoyed stable economic growth for decades now, its people and culture have not progressed forward. Prolonged periods of tight government control on all aspects of life have created an atmosphere of workaholism because there is simply nothing else to do.”“The purposes of this group are to raise awareness for people from everywhere in the world about the current state of Singapore and for members to vent their frustration.
And it goes on to say that “Singapore needs a liberal government... and for that to happen Singaporeans have to change and have to start asking for a change.”
The page goes on to list a number of “facts” which supposedly highlight Singapore’s backwardness in a number of areas and mentions everything from its rankings in the Reporters Without Borders’ Worldwide Press Freedom Index, to accusations the nation is supporting the Burmese military junta.
To be honest I am surprised the Facebook is group still active (it gained nearly 50 more members since the article in the news portal was published) especially now that mainstream media has turned its attention to it.
But what do you guys think? Will it get shutdown – does it deserve to be? And if the Group gets shutdown now does it not prove the point of its creator about Singapore’s media laws?
If something similar were to happen here with an anti-Malaysia Facebook group being discovered - what would the media’s reaction and government’s reaction to it be?
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4 comments:
I don't know if the group should be shut down or not.
Suppose it's in line with the Freedom of View and Freedom of Speech but if such a group opened against Malaysia and it wouldn't surprise me if it already is, it would not get that much media attention.
There's far too much else happening for a menial, petty FB group to take notice of the media.
That's my opinion about the media. And the government - can't say if the new minister will take note of these things.
However, the government in Malaysia seems to react to things that are pointed out BY the media.
So we'll wait to see if: 1) the group exists, or is established ; 2) the local media picks it up and 3) if the government does anything about it because I think the nation kinda agrees there's a lot of work to be done on the ground more than on FB
And shit must taste good - Millions of flies cannot be wrong.
I am always amazed that people can write so much about something that they dispise. If you hate something so much, why do you have to read, learn and know everything about it?
Certainly, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I rather much prefer a real balanced and informed opinion.
In this case, there are loads of people that acutally love Singapore. Just seems that they appreciate the place in silence, rather than trying to get attention with a little rant.
Good point. There's far too much else happening here for such a FB group to be taken notice of by the media and government -- at least you would hope that was the case.
Should it be shut down is a rather odd question to pose. Like that's an option if you believe in freedom of speech? Anyway, I don't get what the kafuffle is about. The fate of Singapore doesn't exactly hang in the balance. I thnk the powers that be should just take it in their stride and accept that they can't control the informatin flow like they used to. As for what reception a similar enterprise would get here in Malaysia. Uh, have you been reading people's blogs about the Malaysian PM and other goings-ons here? This kind of thing would be considered trivial.
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