Speakers Cornered

Hmm..recently think theres some amendment on the rules of engagement at demostrating or voicing out at Speakers corner.

Singaporeans can demonstrate at Speakers' Corner from Sep 1

SINGAPORE: Banners, placards and effigies will be allowed at the Speakers' Corner when the site is opened for public demonstrations from September 1.

For Singapore citizens, there is no longer a need to apply for a police permit.

The new rules came about as the government seeks to open up the space for political engagement and activism in the country.

It is Singapore's version of London's Hyde Park. Hong Lim Park in central Singapore was designated as a site for public speaking on September 2000, but interest has waned over the years. However, with the new rules, things may change.

From September 1, Singapore citizens can organise demonstrations at the Speakers' Corner without a police permit.

Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/371502/1/.html

Our Speakers Corner a Sneaker Corner?

Initially popular, with 400 speakers registering in the first year, by 2006 this figure was down to 26. The New Paper reported that the area might now be more aptly named "Sneakers' Corner", as visitors are more likely to be playing soccer or just hanging around than listening to a speech.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakers'_Corner

Said Dr Balakrishnan: 'Why has it failed? Because Singaporeans are sensible people and have decided that there's not much point going up there standing on a soapbox yelling at the mosquitoes and the flies.'
- Additional reporting by Cherie Wong
Source:http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,105175,00.html

Hyde Park Union: Documentary about Speakers' Corner
Source:http://lebensfilme.de/?Referenz:VideoHyde=1

Found this video in google. Not sure about the authencity of this video is it really hyde park speaker corner. They speak about religion, races and direct and open in the way they converse, free to speak of their thoughts. Haha..and being open to criticisms. So is this what Singapore initially wanted to have at their speakers corner? Its completely difference in how our speakers corners is carried out.

Food for thought: Quotes on Free Speech

“Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, founded in injustice and wrong, are sure to tremble, if men are allowed to reason… Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”

Frederick Douglass, 1817-1895, American author and abolitionist
Source:http://www.speakerscornertrust.org/