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