Tech Talk: The Standoff Continues

If ever there was a time when the real world and the cyberworld felt disconnected in Singapore, this might be it.

Last week I wrote about the standoff emerging between the control-happy Singaporean government and the local news and forum site Sintercom.org, the home site of the Singapore Internet Community. This is a group the Wired Island should be lauding as advancing the I.T. cause. Instead it seems to have picked a fight with them -- -- the site now faces the possibility of being disconnected if it continues to provoke authorities. And all this has been going on with much of the Singaporean population -- those who rely on the self-censored local press -- blissfully unaware of what could be a watershed moment for the city-state's acceptance of alternative views canvassed via the Net.

Of course provocation in countries like Singapore can simply mean articulating an alternative voice to the prevailing orthodoxy. And so far it's a fascinating little cat-and-mouse game between the two sides, albeit one that in most other places, it would be so trivial not to raise any attention at all.

Sintercom has been requested to register with the authorities because it is perceived that it dabbles in -- shock, horror -- domestic politics! The site's founder, Dr. Tan Chong Kee, now has a number of choices: comply, which suggests that it is less than independent; move the Sintercom server offshore, thus keeping the service open; and close down the site in the face of intimidation.

True to its credo and pluralism and openness, Sintercom has been canvassing views from its readership on what action to take. Along with highlighting the stories and views that one doesn't find in the local media, it has also been sending out the contributions of various readers worried that a trusted source of information about their homeland will be cut off, or at least neutered.

Typical of the responses was "Angela's" take: "My humble opinion would be simply to move Sintercom to an overseas server, away from the jurisdiction of the Singapore Broadcasting Authority. It is all very well to want to be a symbol of open discussion et al in Singapore, but since that doesn't seem likely in the near future, it's better to have a Sintercom than none at all."

Brian Yeoh was more optimistic, arguing for Sintercom to stay in Singapore for the moment, until it gets really rough. "I believe that it is possible for political openness to exist in Singapore," he says. "It does not at the present; and the government's track record, which is not the best that it could be, leaves little hope that it will do so in the near future. While history overall has shown that the government is willing to use these restrictions, recent history seems to indicate that they may do so less frequently."

Naturally enough, very little of this has been played out in the traditional press. I suggested to Chua Lee Hoong -- the former security-official-turned-"Straits Times"-columnist -- the dispute might make an interesting column for her, but thus far nothing has appeared.

It's a tough call for the Straits Times and other media to publicize sites such as Sintercom. That would only serve to drive readers to the site to see what the fuss is about. And there they might get to see the way news was handled in the local media and the way it was reported elsewhere. Which is much of the reason why Sintercom has already proved pretty popular. Watch this space.