Small
number,
BIG
VOICE
V
BIG NUMBER,
small voice
Speak up to be heard, or risk having your
life decided by a small group of vocal people
Reports by KOH
HUI THENG
Speak up, silent majority, so people know what matters
to you.
Or risk getting policies and laws "shaped" by a very loud and
noisy minority," said Dr Beh Swan Gin, permanent secretary at the
Law Ministry.
But Nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Faizah
Jamal said that might be difficult because we don't really have a
culture of expressing our views. She said it's about educating
people on speaking up and speaking out rather than pitting a silent
majority against the vocal minority.
Dr Beh had also encouraged public sector colleagues
to seek views from a more involved citizenry during the
Administrative Service's annual dinner and promotion ceremony last
month.
How to do it? Three parliamentarians offer
suggestions on feeling the pulse of society.
CAST THE NET FAR AND WIDE
Concern raised on social media typically include freedom of
speech and social welfare. Offline, groups like the lower-income
tend to prioritise bread-and-butter issues, said MP Zaqy
Mohamad.
"So it's crucial to have a range of feedback
mechanisms rather than, take (views) from just one platform," said
the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for
Communications and Information.
He said government feedback arm Reach (see report
on facing page), the grassroots and various ministries also
organise their own oureach activities.
CREATE COMFORTABLE SPACE FOR
ALL
"Sometimes people think their views don't matter," Ms Faizah
said.
Encouraging them to express their concerns when
attending events is one way of tapping into the psyche of those not
active on social media.
Nominated MP Eugene Tan said that if policymakers
pay attention to all views, it would assure different segments that
their view is "judged based on its merit", rather than the
speaker's prominence or popularity.
NOTHING BEATS FACE-TO-FACE
INTERACTION
Mr Zaqy enjoys breakfast dialogues and house visits to "get a
better sense of residents' background, interests, concerns and
issues".
The activities offer opportunities for people to
discuss the thinking behind a specific policy, something that
"social media is not so effective" at.
"Simply putting something online for consultation
doesn't mean there's inter-activity," he said.
"Sometimes there's no context given online and the
issue becomes black and white, you're either for or against
it."
That's where focus groups can come in, to give a
better sense of the likely impact so the policy message can be
fine-tuned when needed.
"If not, people will misunderstand, like what
happened with the Population White Paper," Mr Zaqy said.
NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO SPEAK
UP
Even during dialogues, only about a fifth of attendees air their
views. "The majority is content to listen," Mr Zaqy said.
And when it comes to hot-button issues like Section
377A (which criminalises sex between men), the middle ground tends
to keep mum.
Said Mr Tan, who is also a Singapore Management
University law professor: "You hear only the strident ones...
That's not the solution since we still have to manage the whole
community, including the side that 'loses' in the end."
Added Mr Zaqy: "People tend to (give) feedback when
an issue is given some airing. That's how it is: A smaller group
debates and a larger group reacts."
HOW ONE ORGANISATION DOES
IT
CEO of the World Wide Fund For Nature
Singapore (WWF Singapore) Elaine Tan tells The New Paper how the
group makes itself head:
• Work with other
environmental organisations
They are not the competition.
Ms Tan says: "The more the number of votes, the
better it is for the cause and the greater the chances of public
and private engagement."
• Collaborate with
key government agencies and policy-makers
• Have own experts
participate in panel discussions and forums
• Crowdsource
feedback and public opinion to escalate green issues to the
Government or relevant authorities
That includes making social media the mainstay for
all WWF-Singapore campaigns, be it engaging fans on Facebook,
updating Twitter or Instagram with pictures and events.
• Gather signatures
for pledges/campaigns
This is to show the degree of public awareness for
a specific cause and steer the Government towards areas that civil
society is talking about.
Says Ms Tan: "(We're quite clear that) in
Singapore, there's no known instance of a signature campaign
(changing government) policy."
"When the public sympathises with legitimate
causes, then civil servants are also (aware of) the ground
(sentiments). At the end of the day, final action rests in the
hands of the Government."
MORE FEEDBACK SESSIONS
Activities that government feedback unit
Reach organised:
2013
40 face-to-face conversations, dialogues, forums and focus group
discussions involving close to 6,000 Singaporeans
2012
17 dialogues involving 2,000 Singaporeans
2011
10 dialogues involving 900 Singaporeans
News, The New Paper, Tuesday, April 8 2014, Pg 12-13