In malaysia..the one who reports about someone making a racist remark gets the ISA instead...

I have a pretty urgent need to know the answers to a few questions. I am not commenting about the incident of the two bloggers, but I want someone with a bit of knowledge about the law in Singapore to tell me what exactly could transpire after the below mentioned incident. I know a person (A), who very recently in a high pressure circumstance, scolded a number of individuals who are of the same racial origins. Let's call this party (B). "A" did not use any racial terms but did use a few filthy words, such as the famous "F" one. Party "B" has threatened to tell the police and probably will, they said they would report it as a racist issue, and say that he used racist terms. This is however a falsification. Unfortunately "A" was alone with party B and so there are no neutral witnesses, and I am sure that party "B" would stand as one, and lie. Does party "B" have strong grounds upon which to take "A" to courts, let alone win a trial? Because it would be truly unfair and a terrible way to twist the upright laws against racism.

Trackback from Trompe L'oeil:

How is it then, that so many authors I read do not worry about first doing the right thing, but rather appear hell-bent on pushing the boundaries for reasons I can only generalise at this point in time to be 70% fame-motivated, and 30% self-expression....

I find it weird that whilst the 3 guys are getting charged under Sedition Act for posting malicious and racist remarks, what are we doing about miss XiaXue?

..... polite, our food is clean, there is internet access, no stepping on chewing gum, our water can be drunk from the tap, and our govt, although highly controlling... ARE DOING THEIR JOB instead of getting sodomized.

While the Singapore govt may be more efficient in doing their job, she's lucky she's not in Malaysia, anyone posting such remark in Malaysia would definitely land in jail.

And calling people "Malay F*cker and ti ko" and dissing Arab women dressing in her blog during her recent trip to KL isn't enough to land her behind bars? Her blog is full of derogatory comments, be it whether it's relating to religion or not. And in one of her latest post a few days ago, she shows just how her immaturity got the better of her:

so what man, big deal ... they can convict me for that stupid statement? it is ridiculous! .... i dont think i sounded racist, it was obviously only against that particular person, not the entire race what! DUH, even an idiot can see that.

Trackback from SINGAPORE BLOG BUST:

I am an ex-Singapore resident who first learned how to use the Internet in Singapore. Prior to that, I had no idea what it was. I was a denizen of Singapore’s first Internet cafes...

Trackback from Anne-naa's Style:

My cousin made a report about it and the police tracked him down and all and they are doing investigations now. The commander actually sent her a report about the things that they are investigating....

Trackback from Anne-naa's Style:

My cousin made a report about it and the police tracked him down and all and they are doing investigations now. The commander actually sent her a report about the things that they are investigating....

It's amazing how some bloggers try to change their blogs to make it seem non-racist, but end up highlighting their racist sentiments:

http://www.ediot.com/2005/09/indians_11.html

haiz.

He should start wiping his ass clean.

Trackback from Third person charged with sedition for racist remarks on blog site - Yahoo! News:

SINGAPORE : A third person has been charged under the Sedition Act with promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races of Singapore....

Seventeen! How old do you need to be in order to use the net? This is like, when 2 fifteen yr olds have sex, you're charging the guy for statutory rape.

Trackback from TODAYonline:

Under the regulatory framework, Internet content providers, including web authors, are automatically licensed under the Broadcasting Act and must comply with the terms and conditions of the licence or they will not be able to broadcast online....

Trackback from My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}:

In between having to work, I thought idly about why the prosecutors chose to charge the two bloggers/forummers under the Sedition Act. One of the first thoughts that came to mind was ‘what about the Religious Harmony Act’? (The other thoug......

depending on the flavor of the month...molehills can be turned into an about to erupt volcano mountain. one day regular pet lover, next day villian.very the stress living here leh

Trackback from Wannabe Lawyer:

In the spirit of the recent anti-racist rhetoric, let me post up the wise words of Monty Python. Vive la Sedition Act!

Never be rude to an Arab, An Israeli, or Saudi, or Jew, Never be rude to an Irishman, No matter what you do. Never poke fun ......

Singaporeans are generally an educated lot especically pertaining to the importance of racial harmony. The names of these two do not conjure in me as someone who is unteachable. The rash acts were committed over a very short period of time. There is no indication that they were consistently anti faith before so we ought to cut them some slack.
However, the extremists would be very please with the sledgehammer though.

Racial tolerance should be uphold. If we would to differentiate by skin colour and ethics, we would not be the Human Race. We could just barricade ourselves to our own colour with our own land.

No matter how much we are displeased with the other races, prehaps we should learn to understand them better by asking and reflecting on ourselves.

LPB

I do understand the other races, and religious groups and because of that know I don't want to associate with these other people. I want the right to chose the behavour of my neighbors, and to exclude those who do not believe in our rights of a safe community. I want neighbors to join me in the community, not exclude me and drive me out of where I've lived for 25 years. I've had Hispanics who are in America illegally tell me this is now their neighborhood and that I don't belong there anymore. Wrong. Civil Rights begin with Civil behavour.

in their love for animals,the guys probably got carried away . they should have been reprimanded on the side and that would have quiet them down.honestly, who wants to be summoned to court? a warning or counsel from the authorities - minus charges - would have suffice. if that failed to deter, then the inevitable follows which i believe is more compassionate.

Trackback from twin stars:

Yet again, the government never fails to kill a part of my soul. 25-year-old Nicholas and 27-year-old Benjamin, both bloggers, are being charged under the Sedition Act for posting racist remarks on the Internet. Now, don’t get me wrong, racism is ......

bloggers being charged in court.. What is next? I might wanna gif up blogging soon

Trackback from chrisloup:

The logic seems to be that "promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between races in Singapore" is inherently seditious. You could redefine theft to be sedition using that logic (hey, it "promotes suspicion amongst neighbours in Singapore"). ...

Trackback from The Daily Backtrack:

I think being racist is a characteristic of Singaporeans. Just look at our schools, especially Chinese schools. It's all in the subtleties, so much so that a few careless comments aren't going to cause racial riots......

"I think being racist is a characteristic of Singaporeans". Please lah, don't be such a drama mama ! Muslims don't have their madrasahs meh ? I hope Spore isn't heading towards the slippery slope of pettiness ! Why not just adopt a live and let live attitude ! Otherwise, blinkymummy better help the gahmen build more prisons !!!

Someone has the act posted on her blog:
http://anantya.blogspot.com/2005/09/read-and-make-sure-you-know-what-youre.html

Trackback from My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}:

Excerpt:

Bloggers react to news of charge against 2 for ‘racist rants’ TWO bloggers were charged on Monday under the Sedition Act for allegedly racist comments made on an online forum and on a website. Naturally, this has sent ripples......

While I don't condone racism, if I were a foreigner considering switching to Singapore citizenship this piece of news would certainly put me off it ! Let's not forget what sparked off the whole thing in the first place - some muslim woman asked why dogs are allowed to be uncaged on taxis if I am not wrong - so how are people who own bigger sized dogs and don't own cars to transport them ? If these two are successfully prosecuted then what is next ?

so what the f**k is the cage for fool!!

What will be the legal precedent if prosecution is successful ? Anybody who types Ah beng, mat or kekleng is guilty of sedition ? Come on !!!!!!!

Trackback from Barbarossa returns!:

when was the last time you ever heard a Chinese being arrested for insulting a Malay? Even in real life? I can't recall any such incidents.... why invoke the Sedition act when the Religious Harmony Act would put the point across more forcefully?...

Trackback from asiapundit:

First they came for the dog lovers, and I did not speak out because I am a cat owner. The Singapore blogosphere is reacting strongly to the sedition charges against the two Singaporeans who made racist comments on bulletin...

Trackback from It's Time to Rock!:

The Sedition Act and the enforcement of such, thus, seems to be a direct contradiction to the 'open and consultative' image that the government has been portraying. ...

Trackback from My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}:

The New Paper: Simply electric!

Lordy, this matter has consumed me. But before I go further, there’s one thing that I have to be mindful of when discussing the case.

Channelnews Asia called the other night to tell me that the names of the o......

Trackback from enter the myoclonic jerk:

The Sedition Act is a scary thing. To be applied judiciously and used with a balancing scale that’s as just and fair as possible. Isn’t it intimidating that intention is irrelevant? How do you measure “tendency”?...

Why is each and every young Singaporean insists on "freedom of speech" yet refuses to take responsibility of their behaviour? Why should freedom of speech be granted to Singaporeans (especially those with IQ below 150) who have the penchant to talk cock without engaging brain first?

Serves to show that folk like those 2 clowns ought not be allowed near a computer.

Being jailed is not the same as taking responsibility.

Well, if you are given the chance [freedom] to express your opinion, you ought to be responsible, mindful and be aware of your limits, don't you?

But of course, you are still a student, what do you know?

Really? We do? In this country where 4 people holding a placard are dealt with by a busload of riot police?

But of course, you are just an anonymous prick, what do you know? ;)

Trackback from Atypical Singaporean:

What if you wrote about hello-kitty collectors and a horde of teenage girls clad in pink come howling at your door in cold blood? ...

I think this has nothing to do with free speech. I remember learning about Hitler and how he galvanised an entire nations to do unspeakable things to Jews. And I thought. WHY DIDN'T ANYONE STOP HIM???

It's one thing to state your opinion in an objective manner, about how you perceive racial ties in Singapore to be, quite another to post material that incites racial hatred. It's not as if Singapore has never experienced racial conflict before. One would have thought that people would refrain from posting their personal racist views on the internet, in times like these.

It's not about violating free speech, so get off your political hobbyhorse.

Actually this is precisely why we need freedom of speech. If someone like Hitler controlled the political apparatus and initiated reprisals against those who spoke up, he would be unstoppable.

Agag: By then no one wanted to speak up for the minority because he was such a good orator that he brainwashed others into thinking it was alright and justifiable to persecute the Jews.

As reported in a Lianhe Zaobao article, (http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp050913_503.html) - english translation (http://diodati.omniscientx.com/_wiki/BloggersChargedWithSedition) , it seems that the 2 bloggers had allegedly made derogatory remarks on Islam and not simply on the Malay community per se. Having said that, this seems to question appropriateness of employ the Sedition Act to apprehend the two bloggers when there is actually the Maintainance of Religious Harmony Act Chapter 167A in place which seems to fit the description of the crime better.

And in light of the fact that how even criticisms made on the government can be construed as seditious behaviour as defined by the Sedition Act, one can't help but to wonder whether or not the interesting choice of legislation was intended by the government to further ambiguate the already ill-defined 'seditious behavior' so as to serve as a warning, as well as using this as an attempt to set up new and timely OB markers upon the blogsphere....

Trackback from Queer Singaporean:

So.. 2 bloggers who made racist comments got sued. Apparantly it wasn't exactly on a blog, but a forum for dog lovers.. Now does anyone remember what happened months ago with the Racist PSC scholar Chua Cheng Zhan?...

Trackback from ringisei: Horror! Shock! Controversy! Yawn!:

This incident merely marks another step in how state authorities are reclaiming control and jurisdiction over what goes on in the internet. In this respect, the PRC continues to show the way......

Trackback from SomethingStickyThisWayComes:

The other part of me is sick at the fact that there isn't even a pretense of free speech now...

Trackback from Cornfucius:

I think in the future, bloggers might have to apply from the 'Ma Ta' (aka police) first, in order to publish any post. So...instead of writing everyday.......

big brother's watching!!

Hey moderators, or rather, editors, I think this post should be closed for comments as comments are getting ugly. We are getting nowhere.

do 'we' have to get somewhere? sometimes people just need to rant and release.