And the propaganda machine rolls on

Spiegel dissects the local "news" cycle of our state-controlled press and its "trusted" mouthpiece, The Straits Times, illustrating their role in defending the governments policies with its news-to-forum-page technique using the latest debate on homelessness as an example, backed up with a quick history of the same news cycle promulgated previously in the debate about Singapore's meritocratic system and MM Lee's admission of his bilinugual education policy's mistaken direction.

This news-story-to-forum-page cycle churned out by the Straits Times national education machine is apparently a well-oiled technique. One might recall the tactic employed last November following Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s acknowledgement of mistakes in his bilingual education policy. That was the cue for Dr John Ng to pen an embarrassingly fawning letter, which appeared soon after the mea culpa, expressing unqualified admiration for MM Lee’s leadership qualities.

It does not take a keen observer to recognise ST's role in opinion shaping in favour of PAP policies, merely a functional memory. It has a habit of publishing opinion as fact, or selectively publishing news, or even selective about the angle of the news it chooses to report.

This technique have been priceless in the past for the ruling party to manufacture consent from the electorate in order to consolidate power, and even though new media is being used more regularly as an alternative news source, what we need is a free and independent press, acting as a strong Fourth Estate, to help the people hold the government accountable.