Internet Politics in Singapore.

1. Internet Politics in Singapore
CS2002
Yeo Han Zhong
U1130838E
T3

2. Singapore’s General Elections in May 2011 has received
the epithet of being its “First Internet Election”.
“There is no doubt that new media played a significant role in the way political
parties and candidates communicated with voters, and the way citizens
communicated with one another” (IPS, 2011).
Discuss the pros and cons of Internet politics and
whether this has necessarily been a good thing.

3. Defining an “Internet Election”
An Internet election can be defined as one in which the
Internet played a significant role in the election process
and outcome.
Key Characteristics
The Internet is expected to be:
1. A key channel for voters to communicate and exchange
views and opinions.
2. A key channel for political parties and candidates to
engage and move voters, thereby influencing the voters’
views and the voting results.

4. Background of 2011 General Elections
For the first time in Singapore, political parties were
allowed to use social media to reach out to voters.
Political parties and most candidates had their
official Facebook and Twitter pages.
-> Ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), Workers’ Party (WP), Singapore
Democratic Party (SDP) etc.
-> George Yeo, Nicole Seah, Chen Shou Mao etc.
Election news updates were readily updated on
these pages.

5. Background of 2011 General Elections
Facebook and Twitter pages of political parties &
candidates:

6. Background of 2011 General Elections
Two-ways engagement and communication:
Social media
1. Became major platforms for the dissemination of
information and engagement of voters by the various
political parties and candidates.
2. Provided voters with the option of accessing social
media platforms for sources of information as well as to
exchange their opinions and feedback.
Online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
blogs and forums became important and alternate
sources of information for many voters.

7. Background of 2011 General Elections
Key Impact of Internet Politics on 2011 GE:
Enhanced prominence of the new media in the last
General Elections had facilitated not just a two-way
communication between voters and political parties or
candidates, but also enhanced inter-communication
between voters.

8. Pros of Internet Politics
Rise of Internet politics via the new media:
1. Provides greater visibility for marginalised political
parties and sub-groups.
2. Facilitates enhanced coordination and collaboration
within and between political parties.
3. Grants greater freedom for discussion of Singapore
politics.
4. Enables society to engage with politics on a higher
level.

9. 1. Greater Visibility for Marginalised
Political Parties and Sub-groups
In Singapore, the mainstream media:
-> Has often been regarded to be dominated by the
ruling PAP party.
-> Is perceived to represent and portray more of the
ruling party’s views and opinions, granting them much
more visibility.
Negative Consequence:
-> Marginalised opposition parties often get either less
coverage or less positive coverage in the mainstream
media.

10. 1. Greater Visibility for Marginalised
Political Parties and Sub-groups
With new media:
Marginalised opposition parties can directly engage
the public by sharing their views and opinions on
their social media pages.
-> This grants them enhanced visibility to the public
and allows for a more objective evaluation of their
views and opinions.

11. 2. Enhanced Coordination and
Collaboration Within and Between Parties
With new media:
Political parties have greater flexibility in making
changes to their political manifesto as well as to
their internal structures.
With just a few clicks and a little bit of typing, key
announcements and updates can be made through
the parties’ official websites or their social media
pages on Facebook and Twitter.
-> Gives them not just more flexibility but also allows
for a more timely dissemination of information.

12. 2. Enhanced Coordination and
Collaboration Within and Between Parties
New media provides:
A platform and opportunity to cultivate consensus
between different political parties.
With information so readily available on the online
pages of the different political parties:
-> Ideas and viewpoints can be more easily shared
and exchanged among these parties.

13. 3. Greater Freedom for Political
Discussion
New Media:
Allows political websites to be hosted and based
overseas.
Eg. Socio-political website Temasek Review Emeritus
-> Greater freedom for discussion of Singapore
politics without legislative restrictions in Singapore.
-> Beneficial for development of the opposition voice
in Singapore, which would otherwise be restricted by
strict laws governing freedom of expression.

14. 3. Greater Freedom for Political
Discussion
Temasek Review Emeritus:

15. 4. Higher Level of Political Engagement
for Society
With new media:
Society is able to engage with politics on a higher level.
Increased political outreach:
-> Ease of access to first hand information disseminated by
political parties and candidates on their respective online
pages increases political outreach to the general public.
Engagement of Wider Audience:
-> Use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter
which have a massive outreach to the younger
generations allows political parties and candidates to
engage not just a greater audience but also a wider
audience.

16. 4. Higher Level of Political Engagement
for Society
All these are vital in building political awareness and
encouraging greater participation from a wide
audience.
Two-way engagement between political parties and
voters as well as the freedom of discussion and
debate among voters can better fulfill the principles of
democracy and bring about a higher level of political
engagement in our society.

17. Cons of Internet Politics
Rise of Internet politics via the new media:
1. Increases the possibility that news and information
from the new media may be more lop-sided in favour
of marginalised parties.
2. Leads to the likelihood of a clash between official
and non-official information.
3. Results in a likely abuse of the new media.

18. 1. Lop-sided News and Information
News and information from the new media may be
more lop-sided in favour of marginalised parties.
-> Due to different extent of interest and preference for
new media use among different parties.

19. 1. Lop-sided News and Information
Likely that prominent ruling party has less interest to use
new media while marginalised parties are more
interested to use new media.
Prominent ruling party: Dominates mainstream media
-> Already has high visibility and therefore has lesser
reliance on new media to disseminate news and
information.
Marginalised parties: Less coverage in mainstream
media
-> Less visibility and therefore more reliant on new media
to disseminate news and information.

20. 1. Lop-sided News and Information
As a result, news and information from the new media
may carry more of the marginalised parties’
perspectives.
-> New media may not be a neutral platform for news
and information.

21. 2. Clash Between Official and Non-Official
Information
With the ease of posting information on new media:
-> There may be a clash between official information and
non-official information.
With the abundant information available on new media:
-> It may be difficult to distinguish between facts or
opinions.
-> This reduces the credibility of new media as a reliable
source of information.

22. 2. Clash Between Official and Non-Official
Information
Socio-political website Temasek Review Emeritus has
mostly anonymous editors and contributors.
-> Less inclined to be emphasise accuracy of information
posted as they do not have to be accountable to the
public.
News and information posted often carry strongly
critical and sometimes sarcastic opinions.
-> Temasek Review Emeritus called “Singapore’s top
rumour website”.
-> Not only misleads the public but also reduces the
credibility of news and information posted.

23. 3. Abuse of New Media
New media use may be abused by both ruling party and
marginalised political sub-groups.
Ruling party:
New media may be used as a monitoring tool, to monitor
negative opinions or dissent against the government.
-> May involve the monitoring of political websites which
are known to be critical of the government (e.g. The Online Citizen,
Yawning Bread, Temasek Review Emeritus).
Marginalised parties or sub-groups:
The ease of posting information and opinions on new
media may result in irresponsible and defamatory
postings.

24. 3. Abuse of New Media
Case Example:
Recently, the editor of Temasek Review Emeritus, Richard
Wan, was dealt a legal warning by Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong, for a defamatory post which questioned the
legitimacy of his wife Ho Ching’s position in Temasek
Holdings.

25. 3. Abuse of New Media
Therefore, it can be seen that abuse of the new
media works both ways.
-> Ruling party may use it as a monitoring tool while
marginalised subgroups may use it irresponsibly to
post unverified information that may constitute
slander.

26. Conclusion: Effects of Internet Politics
Has it necessarily been a good thing for Singapore?
Positive Effect (is limited):
Even though the rise of Internet politics via the new
media has a key impact on transforming the election
experience process by facilitating a two-way
engagement between political parties and voters,
-> It merely expands the dimensions for the
discussion and exchange of information and opinions.

27. Conclusion: Effects of Internet Politics
Extent of influence and effectiveness of Internet
politics for Singapore was largely limited.
According to a survey by the Institute of Policy Studies
(IPS) in relation to the 2011 General Elections:
-> Only 30% of respondents relied mainly on new
media platforms such as Facebook and blogs for
election news and information.
-> It is interesting to note that of this 30%, 95.5% also
consumed mainstream media for election content at
the same time.

28. Conclusion: Effects of Internet Politics
New Media
Mainstream Media
Choice of Media
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Only 30% of respondents relied mainly on new media platforms such as
Facebook and blogs for election news and information.
New Media & Mainstream Media
Mew Media Only
Choice of Media
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Of this 30%, 95.5% also consumed mainstream media for election content at the
same time.

29. Conclusion: Effects of Internet Politics
Analysis of Survey Results:
It can be seen that new media and mainstream media’s
are not mutually exclusive categories and the extent of
influence each has are not measurable separately.
It is not realistic to assume that people form their political
opinions directly from the kind of media they consume.
-> Voters are still most likely to vote based on their
interests and be influenced by the bread-and-butter
issues.
-> Voters’ decision unlikely to be shaped by type of
media consumption.

30. Conclusion: Effects of Internet Politics
Further Limitations of Internet Politics in Singapore:
The ruling party’s power and control over the media
system in Singapore extends to both mainstream media
and new media.
-> Limits the extent of evolvement and development of
Internet politics in Singapore.

31. Conclusion: Internet Politics in Singapore
Has it necessarily been a good thing for Singapore?
Internet politics in the context of Singapore last’s
General Election:
Opinions, information and feedback may be shared
and attitudes and perceptions may be changed, but
ultimately:
These merely marks the beginning of a new era of
political engagement and not a concrete
transformation of the overall political landscape in
Singapore.