An opposition member of parliament Oct. 20 called on the government to introduce a freedom of information, but his suggestion was not well received by the ruling party.
The recommendation came from Pritam Singh of the Workers’ Party and reiterates previous suggestions from the Workers’ Party made in its 2006 and 2011 election manifestos.
His remarks are reported in Straits Times, Business Times and other media outlets.
In a speech to parliament, Singh said that the government should “consider how far the explosive popularity of the new media is partly a function of the People’s Action Party (PAP) Government’s politics of indirect control” over the mainstream media, according to account by Todayonline.
His remarks “sparked vigorous rebuttals from PAP MPs, including a 13-minute exchange with Law Minister K Shanmugam,” according to the report.
Singh also suggested the automatic release and disclosure of official information at fixed intervals of 30 years or so to, creation of an office of the Ombudsman to investigate allegations of maladministration, and passage of a whistle-blowing law to protect corporate whistle-blowers.
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