PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare has recently mentioned that he wants Singapore to help set up a State-owned newspaper company and a TV station.
I wish to raise a few points on that and on what Singapore’s “father of the nation” Lee Kuan Yew has achieved to make Singapore an industrialised nation within the 42 years of independence.
There are certain underlying issues of Singapore that Sir Michael should be careful when seeking help. Among others is Singapore’s human rights issue, especially the freedom of the media.
If Sir Michael wants Singapore to assist in setting up a State-owned newspaper and a TV station for PNG, here are some points that need to be taken into consideration.
Singapore’s media is censored and strictly monitored by the State. The freedom of expression is not fully guaranteed as compared to what PNG enjoys.
There is a lack of independent publications to present competing views to the mainstream media although it has several newspapers and TV stations.
The Singapore constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression in Article 14, but it also permits restrictions on these rights and there is very little evidence on the ground that things have changed. Its media, in terms of freedom, has dropped from 146th to 154th place.
I therefore would like to suggest that our PM should make Singapore the last place to seek assistance for a newspaper and a TV company. We can only depend on Singapore for the technical assistance but it would be a disaster for the people of PNG if Sir Michael goes further into adopting media laws of Singapore.
The chances of him doing that are less but it is worth discussing.
On the contrary, there are a lot of key areas that Sir Michael can learn from Lee.
Among others is the need for a legal reform where certain laws, especially for crime and corruption, could be straightened and the punishment systems in PNG be made tougher than what it is now. PNG really needs a legal reform than a State-owned newspaper.
PNG does not need a State-owned newspaper company because every citizen can predict what the content and the nature of the paper would be like.
We all know that no State-owned newspaper is entirely independent. That newspaper would promote autocracy and our democracy would become questionable.
Instead, I propose the PM look at ways to subsidise and provide incentives like technical assistance, probably from Singapore, to an independent but a PNG-owned newspaper which should be entirely independent.
The same should be for a TV station. Thus, Singapore’s help is needed in some areas but not all.

Kamawalg
Via email