Racial Harmony Day

To what extent should the media and the people of a country be granted the freedom of speech and expression? Should this freedom be unbounded or should there be more emphasis on developing a sense of social responsibility? This is a heated topic of debate and often it is very difficult to come to a final unanimous agreement on the issue. But when we look into the context of Singapore, a multi ethnic, multi cultural society the scope of this debate is reduced to a great extent.
In order to analyze the above statement in the context of Singapore we need to know what would be an ideal state of affairs in Singapore. The forefathers of the nation wanted Singapore to be a country where there is peace and harmony among different races such that all the citizens are united and the nation as a whole is continually moving on the path of prosperity. They also wanted the establishment of a ‘democratic society which is based on justice and equality’. Now getting back to the former question of the extent of the freedom of expression, in my opinion the freedom of expression should be limited, such that there is no detriment to the interests of the nation as a whole. Individuals and media should realize that opinions expressed about anyone in this globalised world spread like fire and are subject to different interpretations by different individuals. As mentioned in the article by Szilagyi, the reason why the Danish newspaper published Prophet Muhammad’s cartoon was that it felt that there was a sort of regression in the free expression of media since the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough in 2004. But the followers of Islam thought it as a mockery of their God and this lead to a bitter fight over this issue which resulted in the creation of even more tension between the West and the Islamic nations. Did this issue serve any purpose? Is this kind of freedom of expression of any significance? No, rather it serves as a hindrance in the establishment of a peaceful world for which humans long for. Similarly in the context of Singapore prosperity and peace is only possible if people are united. If the freedom of expression knows no bounds then there may be cases of racial abuse or religious conflicts among the people everyday.
Though it is true that restricting freedom of expression is not in lieu with the principles of democracy but at the same time we cannot expect a peaceful Singapore if people are free to express their opinions which, in many cases may be one sided and unevenly balanced. Furthermore there is a need to protect the rights of the minority community in Singapore. Justified restrictions on the freedom of expression would ensure that the minorities in Singapore are not subdued by those in majority. It should also be noted that some of the opinions of individuals and media coverage is only there to serve selfish interests such as political propaganda or gaining popularity. Such forms of expressions should be censored as they inflame religious or racial sentiments of different people leading to less unity and even revolt.
Thus in my opinion it is important that people and media have the right to express their opinions but at the same time it is even more important that the interests of the nation as a whole are not affected. The rights of the community should reign over the rights of individuals thus leading to the establishment of a more conducive environment for peaceful co-existence.