It is known that the Singapore system is totally difference from the world. It is neither so call the communism nor Democracy as what people look it from the outset. From the surface, it is following the British democracy & having the English as the most commonly prefered language in the Business world & government establishments. The Educations system also have naturely due to the colonial educations system influence those day, the Baby bloomer's parents who have foresight naturally had send their Kids to the so call English Stream School. So as to warrant their kids have a brighter future.
In order for their baby bloomers generations.. so in the 70-90's there is no more so call the difference between English School or Chinese School. It is either English as 1st Language or ...
In the 1960's - 1970's there are still a big populations from so call Chinese School. Therefore, Chinese News paper are still selling well. After Singapore independent from Malaysia - 1965. Lee Kuan Yew then the Prime Minister have ordered the integration of Press & also foreclosed those so call the Chinese school's as the secret police reported that the high tendency of Communist influence & insurgency are actually from those people with the Chinese education background.
On the other hand, those western correspondance have written articles, that deem to be not of the interest of Singapore are expelled. The one & only Chinese Unviversity is also closed. Many of the Graduate from the Chinese University, if they don't improve on their command of English.. there may landed in some job not better then those just have the Junior college qualification of USA.
Lee as the father of Singapore. He did alots of Bad but he did alots of Good things as well.. To understand his Power & Politics in Governing Singapore, you can always read the 1st book "The Singapore Way", Also the news Paper Archives & interviews of his advisor a Dutch national by origin - Alex Jose.
Now looking into the figure Head of State; the President of Singapore, a few Singapore past preesident's are either Juornalist or Senior Executives of the Press, be it the malay or The Straits Times (Which is the Government control/ influence company from the British colony). That includes, Yusof Ishak, Devan Nair, Wee Kim Hui! Even the Minister's there are numbers of them are from the press. You see that his cabinet, Minister in the cabinet such as Ek Jun Tong, Rahim Ishak ( Brother of the 1st President), Lim Kim San....
Singapore system is Lee KY Creation & is very Unique, therefore, Leeism, it is not the British system nor the Chinese system. So if anyone observe, attempt to equate Singapore pre-dominant Chinese population culture with the China Culture would be totally wrong...Read More..
Agents of the Police State
Recommended Article: Climate Control in the Singapore Press (Kudos to Steven, who added an extension regarding the criteria of being an elite in Singapore)
Although I was quite well-aware some former intelligence officers worked in the national press, I had no idea of their prevalence.
"Cheong, 57, has been with the paper since 1963. He's proud of the paper and its contribution to modern Singapore. And he's proud, too, of the former intelligence operatives in his newsroom.
There's Chua Lee Hoong, the ST's most prominent political columnist. She might be Singapore's Maureen Dowd, except The New York Times's Dowd didn't work with the secret police for nine years. There's Irene Ho on the foreign desk. She was also an "analyst" with Singapore's intelligence services. So, says Cheong, was Susan Sim, his Jakarta correspondent.
And there's Cheong's boss, Tjong Yik Min. From 1986 to 1993, Tjong was Singapore's most senior secret policeman, running the much feared Internal Security Department, a relic of colonial Britain's insecurities about communism in its Asian empire. Now Tjong is a media mogul, the executive president of SPH, Singapore's virtual print media giant, which controls all but one of the country's newspapers."
There is also of course the juicy bit, that describes how efficient they are in framing the national ideology and boundaries of debate and issues.
"But Chua is not coy. "I'm not ashamed about [being ex-ISD]."
Chua is a classic example of the system working for Singaporeans, and Singaporeans paying it back. The Government sent her to Oxford University for a degree in politics, philosophy and economics. Her pro-government columns are perceived by analysts as insights into official thinking. "Is the ST a government mouthpiece?" she asks, then answers herself: "Yes . . . and no".
It's not China's People's Daily, Chua insists. "The key editors are not government appointees or necessarily [the ruling] People's Action Party members but they are loyalists in a general sense. It's true of every major institution in Singapore."
Chua admits Singaporean journalists self-censor – "they do everywhere," she says – but "editorial interference" is too strong a term to describe the input of authorities. "It's much more subtle than that. I would say we are sometimes, but not often these days, reminded to be mindful of the boundaries."
Chua brings to her commentary "certain basic assumptions" about Singapore's national interest. It so happens they often accord with the Government and its over-arching demands of its people.
The Police State: Agents of the Police State
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