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SINGAPORE: The government agrees “in principle” with the live broadcast of parliamentary proceedings, and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) will study the technical and implementation details, the Minister of Justice said on Friday (September 4). Communications and Information, S Iswaran.
“Our goal, as always, will be to achieve transparency, accountability and accessibility while preserving the integrity and dignity of parliamentary procedures,” he said in Parliament.
The issue of live streaming of parliamentary proceedings had previously been raised in the Chamber, the last time in May.
Former House Leader Grace Fu said on May 5 that parliamentary proceedings are uploaded online in a “timely, comprehensive and easily accessible manner,” and are available to the public, including students and Singaporeans abroad.
She was answering questions from MPs during a debate to amend the Constitution to create a mechanism for Parliament to meet in two or more places in the event of demands such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
In Parliament on Tuesday (May 5), House Leader Grace Fu responded to clarifications requested by several MPs on the Republic of Singapore Constitution (Amendment) bill. Then the bill was passed.
Iswaran said on Friday: “Anyone can see the proceedings in person from the Strangers’ Gallery. Every speech and exchange in Parliament is recorded and posted online. Clips, sorted by topic and speaker, are uploaded within hours of each session.
“The Hansard is a complete written record of parliamentary proceedings and is available online. These already provide us with all the benefits of transparency, accountability and accessibility. We have been reluctant to go further for practical and political reasons.”
Demand for such live broadcasts, even for major speeches, is low, only 10 percent of that for free-to-air news, he said, adding that live broadcasting increases the risk of parliamentarians “playing on The galery”.
“A push and pull element is inevitable, even necessary, because members want to show Singaporeans that their concerns are being expressed and that questions are being asked and answered in Parliament,” Iswaran said.
“However, the members must confront the problems and their complexities and not play gallery. Live broadcasts run the risk of compromising this. We still have these reserves. ”
However, noting global and technological trends, which have made online streaming common, with legislatures live streaming their proceedings in many countries, he said the ministry will study the details and announce them soon.
