Can the PAP govt win over the public online?
By Andrew Loh
One of the "reforms" the government is undoubtedly looking into is the way it engages the online community. It is new territory for the government as a whole, although some of its Members of Parliament have made forays into it previously, most notably former Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo.
The ill-fated P65 blog, which was the People's Action Party's (PAP's) post-1965 MPs' endeavour onto the online landscape, met its frigid death not long after its birth, only to be revived later with a new set of faces. The government's other attempts at establishing a foothold in cyberspace have also not been very successful.
So, how exactly can the government succeed in this?
There is no magic bullet, really. No blue pill to take. No simple wave of the wand to conjure success. And indeed success should not be the aim. I would argue that it is the process itself which should be the goal. As it is, and as can be seen from the recent elections, the PAP's engagement process needs lots of upgrading.
But before we get to that, there needs to be a recognition that social media and the online community are worth engaging. Why? Because Singapore is one of the most wired nations on earth, and the way its people communicate has changed forever. Thus, any government which wants to rule effectively in Singapore must realise and accept that the way this is done also needs to change. Singaporeans online are still Singaporeans.
And social media (and new media) will play an increasingly important role in this new-generation way of communication going forward.
I would recommend that the government be ready to face or do the following:
Accept that the end-goal is a moving target. There is no "final destination" where an online utopia can be reached, as far as the government is concerned. There will always be critics of the government, no matter what it does.
Be more courageous in engaging the online community. The government should shed its mindset of wanting some sort of guarantee — that it will not be slammed or flamed — before it wages into cyberspace. What some PAP members are currently doing is to be encouraged. Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Mr Yeo and BG Tan Chuan Jin all are showing how a little courage can win them friends.
Don't restrict engagement to cyberspace. The government should entwine its online engagement with real-life, face-to-face ones as well. There really is nothing holding the government back from inviting bloggers or its "fans" on Facebook to dialogue sessions. I am sure not a few netizens would welcome this.
Understand that most netizens are very opinionated people who will speak their minds no matter what. But most of the time these opinions are formed out of limited insights or available information. The government's job, therefore, is to fill in the gaps. By doing so (without being condescending) the government would not only be engaging these netizens, it will also bring a certain reality to the discourse.
Even if the government does all of the above and more, however, there will still be detractors. This should not bother it too much. I believe there are more sensible and rational Internet inhabitants than those who are irrationally vocal. What the government wants to pay attention to are the silent readers and participants of discourse on the Net. One group which would be of particular importance are the opinion leaders of cyberspace. Thus, the government only needs to engage these few — for a start — and not try to win over the entire battlefield, which it will never be able to do anyway.
The truth is that netizens are so critical of the government for basically two reasons:
That they are dismissed, ignored or seen as irrelevant by the government, that they are an insignificant group
That the government is not being accountable to them, the people
All other expressions of anger or unhappiness arise from these two sentiments. So, it would seem that it is quite simple for the government if it wants to get a foothold online — don't ignore or dismiss netizens, and be patient in taking time to explain its positions on issues.
Pragmatically, going about doing these will take some effort, of course. Ministers are very busy people, for example, and it is not fair to expect them to spend hours online typing out individual responses to queries and criticisms.
What I would suggest is that ministries engage those whom it feels are reasonable and sensible. Surely, out of the hundreds (or even thousands) of bloggers and Facebook fans, there are a few whom the government finds not so repulsive? Start with these and work from there.
So, the starting point is to sieve out those who will never be open to being engaged and who thus will continue to be vehemently opposed to whatever the government does, and those who are sincere in wanting to see changes for the better of the country.
Believe it or not, there are quite a few people in the latter category, even if the government does not think so. They may be on the other side of the fence, from the government's perspective, but whichever side one is on, it will be old fashioned sincerity, honesty, openness and courage which will win their hearts and minds. Yes, even in this cyber age.
Andrew is the co-founder of a socio-political website and writes frequently on issues which are close to his heart, particularly those affecting the less fortunate and on Singapore politics.
