The concept of sub judice contempt for ongoing court cases is an important one; it is in place to ensure that proceedings can be as objective as possible, rather than swayed by the court of public opinion. Yet in Singapore, "contempt of court" might have other implications.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has issued a warning of contempt of court to filmmaker Lynn Lee for having published two interviews she’d carried out with He Junling and Liu Xiangying, two of the ex-SMRT bus drivers who had been involved in last year’s strike.

Lee had interviewed the two bus drivers as part of research for a potential documentary. In the course of her interviews with them, both He and Liu separately alleged that they had been abused by police officers during interrogation.

She then published the videos on her blog, saying, “These are serious allegations that need to be addressed urgently and I have written to the Singapore Prison Service and Ministry of Home Affairs. They have yet to reply, but I

COMMENT

More than 2 weeks since the announcement of new Internet regulations, the public is still none the wiser.

Even foreigners and foreign organisations which might be affected by the new rules are still trying to understand the licensing regime. The government indicated that it will amend the Broadcasting Act to include foreign websites in the regulations next year.

The attempts at communicating and explaining the licensing framework are even more perplexing. The sequence of events since the announcements shows how ill-prepared the Ministry for Communications and Information (MCI) and the Media Development Authority (MDA) are in engaging the public.

From the inadequate explanation of the new regulations, to the rather unceremonious withdrawal of the MDA chief executive officer from a TV programme at the last minute to be replaced by Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin to provide – unconvincingly - “a non-MCI perspective” on the matter; from the (Freudian) slip of the tongue by MCI

Bindi Irwin, Australia Zoo wildlife warrior, with mum Terri and brother Robert at the Singapore Zoo. (Photo credit: Discovery Kids)

Bindi Irwin, wildlife warrior on a whirlwind journey to spread the message of living with a conscience, is a world-changer, evolutionary, old soul – all this, at the ripe old age of 14.

She may be only in her teens, but there is no mistaking her presence. Whether she is talking about the importance of giving a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves, or living well and with regard for the environment, her message is strong and not to be dismissed.

Blue-eyed, blonde and with a smile that lights up the room, she could just as easily be your girl-next-door out with friends, talking about fashion and eschewing boys with cooties. But somehow, in person, you see that while she has a childlike quality about her still, she is also older than her years. This comes across when she speaks about the causes closest to her heart.

Caring for animals and the environment – that is her bag, in a nutshell. Aside from being your average teen, she is clearly leading the pack when it comes to taking the

Artist SKL0 is serious about her art, and ready for the next step, she says. (Photo credit: Samantha Lo personal collection)

Samantha Lo, Sam Lo, SKL0 – you have heard all three monikers for the same personality by this time. But she is probably best known – for now at least – as “Sticker Lady”. This is for the unexpected infamy that arose when Lo placed stickers as well as spray-painted roads with messages that sparked a national debate here and beyond.

The actions of the artist was all a part of her bid to get Singaporeans talking about what she sees as an existing apathy and a lack of real dialogue on what it means to be a Singaporean, at every level. But in the process of giving voice to her message, Lo was termed a "vandal" and even arrested.

Pleading guilty to seven counts of mischief (artist Antz, who helped Lo, was also charged and pleaded guilty to a lesser number of charges), she was recently sentenced to 240 hours of community service. After a court case that took almost a year to resolve, Lo spoke with Yahoo! about the at-times strident journey and seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

One thing

I’m sure you know that if you want to own a vehicle in Singapore, you need a Certificate of Entitlement (COE).

In this article, however, I want to talk about a different kind of COE.

Certificate of Entitlement to a comfortable life?

I’m going to discuss why some Singaporeans believe they have a COE of life.

These people behave as if they’re entitled to a comfortable life, because the world owes it to them.

Through my work, I get to meet people from all walks of life. From the thousands and thousands of people I’ve interacted with, I realize that this sense of entitlement pervades Singaporean society.

(I’m not immune either, so writing this article is a good reminder for me not to have an entitlement mentality!)

Fighting off the entitlement mentality

Some people feel they’re entitled to…

• Go on vacation at least once a year
• Lead a life that isn’t too stressful
• Have a stable job that pays well
• Own a car
• Have their needs (and sometimes wants, too) taken care of by the government
• Eat at a nice restaurant

Activists, bloggers call on MDA to withddraw licensing scheme. (AFP)

The drama that has unfolded over Singapore’s Media Development Authority’s decision to license some news websites in Singapore is tragic.

On the one hand, we have a government completely bewildered over the reaction towards what they see as a minor update to its regulatory laws.

On the other hand, we have freedom-of-the-internet advocates going apoplectic over what it sees as a major policy decision that amounts to curtailment of free-speech and the death-knell of alternative news websites in Singapore.

The two positions and the reactions are so far apart and so irreconcilable that the call for dialogue seems futile.

One reason for the divide is the difference in time frame from which the two parties view the decision: the government is looking at the situation now, and its opponents, the possible impact in the future.

Scheme's rationale

The government’s decision is actually made on very simple logic.

Current print newspapers at the moment are owned by only two media groups: Singapore Press

Andrew Loh questions MP Baey Yam Keng whether MCI was consulted on the MDA regulations before they were announced. (Yahoo! screengrab)

As I wrote in an earlier article, after the Media Development Authority (MDA) announced the new set of Internet regulations, the government continues to lose touch with the common man and woman.

The reaction following the announcements of the new laws last Tuesday has been sharp, deeply critical and continues even after six days.

There are two main points to the whole sorry saga of a out-of-touch government flailing to impose control through regulatory fiat, instead of open and transparent consultation and dialogue with stakeholders.

Mostly silence from MPs

One is the entirely abhorrent manner not only in how the regulations were sprung on the public, but also the government’s – and its MPs’ – behaviour following the MDA statement last week.

Ministers and PAP MPs suddenly became totally silent online – except for Baey Yam Keng who gave brief comments to the media. The collective silence is deafening indeed and does not speak well of elected MPs who are supposed to not only be

The all-too-familiar story

Go to school. Study hard. Get good grades. Get a good diploma or degree. Get a good job at a good company (or become a lawyer, doctor, accountant or engineer).

Sound familiar?

This is the kind of story you probably heard when you were growing up. It’s also the kind of story we continue to tell young people today.

Golden ticket to a comfortable life?

This idea that educational qualifications are the golden ticket to a comfortable life—it’s become accepted as a universal truth.

We no longer just pursue educational qualifications; we worship them.

The story goes that the more certificates you accumulate, the more you’ll receive in the future in terms of wealth, happiness, and—of course—favourable remarks from relatives during family gatherings.

The religion of education

The religion of education preaches that no matter how much academic success you've achieved, it’s never enough. This explains our obsession, as a nation, with tuition classes.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s