Shutting down dissent is not partnering citizens in policymaking

While there are a lot of talks about government engaging Citizens in their feedback channels, there is also little proof that it is working.

I know many friends who will agree that “black face” is something that is not acceptable today, and when you point it out in a mock video to mock at the ad, it creates a lot of awareness and immediately gets into trouble with the government.

When Sonny Liew published a comic about Singapore in his opinions in a graphic novel, because the topics were a little sensitive, his funding was cut althogh the comic book went on to win multiple awards.

When Soi Rui Yung gave his feedback about the experience, he is now banned from joining the SEA games contigent even though he is the fastest Marathon runner in Singapore.

When Roy Ngerng, a blogger, talked about the CPF and other economic policies, he lost his job and got into trouble.

When Amos Yee, a 16 year old kid at that time talked about Lee Kuan Yew, everything was thrown at him, and he was even sent to IMH.

When Jolovan Wham… The long lists goes on… and Singapore still has a draconic ISA that is and can be used to arrest people without trail, where many outspoken individual had experienced it in Operation Spectrum and…