I did an interview with Ken Kwek of the Straits Times towards the end of last year I believe, which was meant to be used for one of the Friday People & Politics sections. Ken e-mailed me yesterday to tell me that editorial decisions had left the article out, citing space constraints. He also enclosed the article within the e-mail and graciously permitted it to be published here as well.
In my personal capacity I can only speculate as to why it had been left out -- time constraints perhaps, but also perhaps because it was too racy. Those of you who read about my experience with Rea! Talk will know my reservations on the issue. I originally swore off talking with the media when I found out that some of my comments I found to be most important had been sliced off the show due to 'time constraints' (they involved the lack of protection of citizens' privacy from the state). Evidently, I changed my mind. This was due to a promise made to me by the BlogTV crew that very little would be cut and spliced, and that the format of the show would be more freestyle conversational than anything, leaving little room for censorship or misrepresentation (a promise they did live up to for the earlier episode, we'll see what happens tonight). More than that as well, from reading my last post you will note that when I re-thought the issue carefully, I figured there was no sense in declining these chances. The best scenario: views are aired, questions are asked, the public learns and benefits, and the debate is taken some steps further. The worst scenario: they don't use the material...and I publish it on this blog! Hee.
Here it is, read it and reach your own conclusions:
In my personal capacity I can only speculate as to why it had been left out -- time constraints perhaps, but also perhaps because it was too racy. Those of you who read about my experience with Rea! Talk will know my reservations on the issue. I originally swore off talking with the media when I found out that some of my comments I found to be most important had been sliced off the show due to 'time constraints' (they involved the lack of protection of citizens' privacy from the state). Evidently, I changed my mind. This was due to a promise made to me by the BlogTV crew that very little would be cut and spliced, and that the format of the show would be more freestyle conversational than anything, leaving little room for censorship or misrepresentation (a promise they did live up to for the earlier episode, we'll see what happens tonight). More than that as well, from reading my last post you will note that when I re-thought the issue carefully, I figured there was no sense in declining these chances. The best scenario: views are aired, questions are asked, the public learns and benefits, and the debate is taken some steps further. The worst scenario: they don't use the material...and I publish it on this blog! Hee.
Here it is, read it and reach your own conclusions:
Hd: Blogger's New Year wish: Govt should loosen up
by Ken Kwek
BLOGGER Gayle Goh has a passion for politics that the typical apathetic Singapore teen would find incomprehensible, if not downright weird.
The 18-year-old, who is waiting for her A-level examination results, writes extensively on national policy issues, from immigration and foreign workers to the impending hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The former Anglo-Chinese Junior College student shot to prominence last May (2006) following a fiesty [sic] exchange with Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, over a talk he gave at her school on Singapore's foreign policy.
She also traded views on national education with Minister of State (Education) Lui Tuck Yew in a forum discussion with students organised by The Straits Times in September, and was an outspoken forum panellist at the 2006 Singapore Theatre Festival that staged several political dramas and satires.
Sipping a cold soda at a Marina Square diner, she said that other than the A-Level exams, the biggest event in her life last year (2006) was the May General Election.
She hopes the political fervour she sensed among Singaporeans then will continue to prevail this year (2007).
"I hope to see political parties engaging people constantly throughout the intervening years, laying the groundwork, working harder," she adds. The next General Election is due by 2011.
She is well-acquainted with current issues, especially education-related topics, such as impending changes to the English syllabus. But unlike many, Gayle follows national issues closely as well and is not reticent in giving her views on them.
For instance, she feels the immigration debate, on whether foreign workers and immigrants are desirable for Singapore, has stalled.
"What we need now is to move beyond the debate of whether to keep immigrants in or out, and focus on what to do with them once they are in, because they're coming in anyway because of globalisation," she added.
Another pet issue is the authorities' threshold of tolerance for alternative views and political humour.
Some of the reactions are "knee-jerk", she said, citing the Government's criticism of blogger mr brown's column in Today newspaper. The column was later suspended by the paper.
While politics is weighty business, she says politicians should learn to laugh at themselves more, to "close one eye" at political satire and see it as a way of making politics interesting.
The People's Action Party (PAP) comes across as too serious, she adds, and having younger MPs do a hip-hop performance at the Chingay festival will not change that impression.
She adds: "The Government and MPs need to loosen up a bit, and I don't mean go dancing!"
by Ken Kwek
BLOGGER Gayle Goh has a passion for politics that the typical apathetic Singapore teen would find incomprehensible, if not downright weird.
The 18-year-old, who is waiting for her A-level examination results, writes extensively on national policy issues, from immigration and foreign workers to the impending hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The former Anglo-Chinese Junior College student shot to prominence last May (2006) following a fiesty [sic] exchange with Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, over a talk he gave at her school on Singapore's foreign policy.
She also traded views on national education with Minister of State (Education) Lui Tuck Yew in a forum discussion with students organised by The Straits Times in September, and was an outspoken forum panellist at the 2006 Singapore Theatre Festival that staged several political dramas and satires.
Sipping a cold soda at a Marina Square diner, she said that other than the A-Level exams, the biggest event in her life last year (2006) was the May General Election.
She hopes the political fervour she sensed among Singaporeans then will continue to prevail this year (2007).
"I hope to see political parties engaging people constantly throughout the intervening years, laying the groundwork, working harder," she adds. The next General Election is due by 2011.
She is well-acquainted with current issues, especially education-related topics, such as impending changes to the English syllabus. But unlike many, Gayle follows national issues closely as well and is not reticent in giving her views on them.
For instance, she feels the immigration debate, on whether foreign workers and immigrants are desirable for Singapore, has stalled.
"What we need now is to move beyond the debate of whether to keep immigrants in or out, and focus on what to do with them once they are in, because they're coming in anyway because of globalisation," she added.
Another pet issue is the authorities' threshold of tolerance for alternative views and political humour.
Some of the reactions are "knee-jerk", she said, citing the Government's criticism of blogger mr brown's column in Today newspaper. The column was later suspended by the paper.
While politics is weighty business, she says politicians should learn to laugh at themselves more, to "close one eye" at political satire and see it as a way of making politics interesting.
The People's Action Party (PAP) comes across as too serious, she adds, and having younger MPs do a hip-hop performance at the Chingay festival will not change that impression.
She adds: "The Government and MPs need to loosen up a bit, and I don't mean go dancing!"
