05:55 AM Jan 12, 2011
by Tanya Fong and Leong Wee Keat
SINGAPORE - The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) intends to gazette blog site The Online Citizen (TOC) as a political association, four years after the website was set up and the first time bloggers are being given this classification.
The Registry of Political Donations sent a letter on Monday, informing TOC it has 14 days to reveal the identities of its team.
This was followed up yesterday with an email from the Media Development Authority (MDA), requiring TOC to register with it as a political site, the first time a website is being required to do so in a decade.
When contacted, the TOC team said it will issue a statement by the end of this week.
According to the PMO, being gazetted as a political association means that TOC cannot accept money from "impermissible or foreign sources" under the Political Donations Act. TOC will be able to receive funds from Singaporeans and companies here but must report large donations - $10,000 or more within a calendar year.
To be registered with the MDA, a website must provide particulars of its team, in connection with the provision of its service.
"Registration does not mean that the discussion of political topics is disallowed. TOC can still do so. Registration also does not entail more stringent conditions," MDA's development policy deputy director (licensing policy) Yuvarani Thangavelu told the media.
In 2001, the founder of Sintercom chose to shut down his site when asked to register.
MDA's Ms Thangavelu said it had assessed that TOC engages in the "propagation, promotion and discussion of political issues" and its decision was not based on "other factors".
"Registration is to emphasise to Internet content providers to be responsible and accountable for what they say online. This is important, given that Singapore is a multi-racial, multi-religious society," she added.
TOC will become the fifth to be gazetted as a political association. The others include Think Centre, Open Singapore Centre and Singaporeans for Democracy.
Responding to media queries, the PMO said that TOC "has the potential to influence the opinions of their readership and shape political outcomes in Singapore", as it provided "coverage and analysis of political issues".
"It has been gazetted to ensure that it isn't funded by foreign elements or sources. Apart from this, TOC is entirely free to continue with its normal, lawful operations."
Singapore Management University assistant professor of law Eugene Tan noted that the authorities' decision "can be seen as administrative housekeeping ... in the lead-up to the hustings".
"After all, the content of TOC is as political as those of the political parties in Singapore, and it's likely to be active in stories relating to the elections."
Meanwhile, MediaCorp has learnt that the last group to be gazetted as a political association, the human rights non-governmental organisation Maruah, had appealed soon after the PMO's decision was announced in November. But the appeal was rejected, said Maruah chairperson Braema Mathi, who declined to say more.
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110112-0000213/Boundaries-drawn-for-political-blog
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