On April 14th, Parliament passed an amendment to the Public Order Act. The latest incarnation of this overly broad law has several implications, not least of which is giving the police too much power over the public in the form of "move-on" orders; police can now "order persons deemed a threat to public order, to move on from a designated area". Police will also "be empowered to direct any person to stop filming and spreading pictures or recordings of their operations or investigations", which is a substantial restriction on citizen journalism.
One of the reasons cited for this law was the increasingly violent riots in Bangkok. This was enough as an excuse for the government to expand the law, even though several MPs voiced concerns over the language of the act. K Shanmugam, 2nd Minister for Home Affairs, also mentioned that this expansion of police powers will allow better security for international events.
This post at SGPolitics summarises the new version of the law very well. You can also read the editorials published by The Online Citizen and Wayang Party for views that I agree with wholeheartedly. This is another blatant example of how this government can use any excuse to pass overreaching laws, regardless of how ridiculous it is. Adding to the ludicrous situation is how Singaporeans can vehemently attack people who formed a Facebook group named "Singapore Sucks", but not bat an eyelid to legislative changes such as the revision of the Public Order Act.
Despite our proud proclamations that Singapore is a developed nation (UN classification aside, which is another joke for another day), it is pathetic that the government has chosen repeatedly to distrust Singaporeans. This makes Mr Shanmugam's question of how much do Singaporeans trust the government even more ironic.
And to answer the question, no, Mr Shanmugam, I do not trust this government. A government that distrusts its people is not deserving of such trust. I leave you with some quotes to stir your thoughts.
"Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty." - John Basil Barnhill
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases." - Gerald Ford
"Our legislators are not sufficiently apprized of the rightful limits of their power; that their true office is to declare and enforce only our natural rights... and to take none of them from us." - Thomas Jefferson
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