Party Politcal films unbanning?

All right,! what a step!

Dec 3, 2008
Party political films: Ease ban gradually
Panel is for repealing Section 33 of Films Act but in stages
By Li Xueying
SINGAPOREANS can get to watch films about local politicians and their parties, as film-makers look set to enjoy more freedom to make them.

But such party political films still have to clear one hurdle before they can be screened. An independent panel of experts will first have to decide if the film had set out to mislead the public.

If so, it would be banned.

All this hinges on the Government accepting this recommendation from a council it appointed to study the impact of new media and advise the Government on its policies accordingly.

Yesterday, the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (Aims) released its recommendations in a 224-page report.

Currently, all party political films are banned under Section 33 of the Films Act.

The council wants it repealed - but in stages, with the new panel as a transition.

This middle-of-the-road suggestion is one of three it had made in an earlier consultation paper. The other two are: Repeal it totally, and narrow its scope.

The Government will announce its position in six weeks, said the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) in a statement yesterday.

Earlier, at a news conference, Aims chairman Cheong Yip Seng explained the need for the change. He said the law had to be liberalised to keep up with technology and also to meet the aspirations of Singaporeans who want more political space.

But at the same time, some Singaporeans, in their feedback to Aims, are worried about unfettered online debate.

For instance, there could be films that 'mislead the public, arouse emotions unnecessarily, muddy the waters when you debate a certain political issue', he said.

The council received 87 e-mail messages and SMSes during a six-week public consultation process, after it released a paper. It also spoke to diverse groups, including the Law Society and bloggers.

In producing the report, Aims sought to find a balance between those who wanted a free-for-all regime, and others who were more cautious.

The result of nearly two years' of work, the report included three other areas: engaging citizens online; protecting minors online; and protecting websites that carry content from the public, from defamation suits.It also wants the Government to lift the rule requiring the registration of political party websites. Minister Lee Boon Yang thanked the 13-member council, saying it faced an 'enormous, difficult and challenging task'.

To date, two films have been prohibited under Section 33. One is Singapore Rebel in 2005, on Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan. The other was A Vision Of Persistence, a 2002 documentary on the late J.B. Jeyaretnam.

To decide whether such political films 'distort facts and mislead the viewer' would be an 'onerous' job for the suggested panel, acknowledged Mr Cheong.

'Many are likely to fall in the grey area,' he said. Therefore, it was important the panel enjoys public credibility as an independent body, he added.

There is another safeguard, said Aims deputy chairman Tan Cheng Han. The panel's reasons for its decisions have to be made public, he added.

The council declined to set a timeline for the repeal. But three factors will determine the pace, said Mr Cheong. These are: technology, social conditions, and the panel's experience. 'If its experience shows quite clearly it doesn't really make sense to go through this transition, then repeal is the obvious answer,' he said.

Aims also wants the panel to take on an additional role: advise the Mica Minister before he bans any film 'against the public interest' - a power given under Section 35 of the same Act.

Again, it recommended that the reasons for the ban be made public.

Ultimately, would these measures be toothless, given that film-makers can upload their films on YouTube?

There is no perfect solution, said Mr Cheong. But the sum total of the report 'is going to mean broader political space for Singaporeans'.

'And if the Government warmly embraces what we suggest...I think it would lead to greater diversity of opinion, more choice, more space for Singaporeans to discuss issues that affect all our futures.'

xueying@sph.com.sg