Yesterday, I was ordered by the Media Development Authority (MDA) to "to take down all digital copies of the film that you have uploaded onto youtube and your blogsite".
Therefore, as of now, the banned video "Ex-political prisoner speaks out in Singapore", or "Dr Lim Hock Siew" as stated in my submission to the censors, has been deleted from youtube, and you will not be able to view it here.
Yesterday, at the time of the first press release announcing the ban, the viewership registered at 44,165. At 2359 hours 12 July 2010, it had increased to 49,903
I have received notices that the film has been downloaded by anonymous netizens who have already or are in the process of uploading it to various video sites such as this. Although I remind all that it is criminal offence (to the tune of a maximum $10,000 fine or two years imprisonment) to possess or distribute the film, I have no wish, nor the means, to hinder the viral spread of the video.
As such, I hereby declare that the film is no longer in my possession, and its ownership will from now on be given to all citizens of the Republic of Singapore.
Meanwhile, read what other bloggers and news sites have to say :
Shooting the messenger in Singapore
Dr Lim Hock Siew - Dr Wong Wee Nam
Compulsive history
Lawrence show me Banned-in-Singapore video!
Banning Content Does Not Protect Us - Audrey Wong
The Internet is the voice of the people
Personal protest against the ban of the video recording of Dr Lim Hock Siew's speech
There Are Experts, And There Are Experts
2 Lefts, only 1 Right
MDA please clarify how ban served public interest
The public is interested
Are Ex-ISD detainees in the limelight to radicalise us? Or wake us up from our slumber?
Revisiting the Streisand Effect
Transcript of Dr Lim Hock Siew's speech on the ISA.
Why censorship is evil
Thank you PAP for promoting Dr Lim Hock Siew!
Dr Lim Hock Siew video is now banned
Why ban Lim Hock Siew's footage?
Singapore Outlaws The Film Dr Lim Hock Siew
Dr Lim Hock Siew banned by Censors
A month of barring and banning - Joshua Chiang
Singapore government bans Martyn See’s film ‘Ex-political prisoner speaks out in Singapore’
BREAKING NEWS: MDA bans See’s film on ISA detainee
Singapore forces removal of dissident YouTube video
AFP - A Singaporean filmmaker on Wednesday complied with a government order to remove a political film from video sharing site YouTube but said others were defiantly spreading it on the web.
Martyn See said he was ordered by the information ministry to to take down all digital copies of the film from YouTube and his blogsite by July 14 or face up to two years in jail and a fine of 10,000 Singapore dollars (7,100 US).
The banned video titled "Ex-political prisoner speaks out in Singapore" is about a rare public talk in 2009 by Lim Hock Siew, a leftist medical doctor and activist held from 1963 to 1982 during then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's rule.
"I have received notices that the film has been downloaded by anonymous netizens who have already, or are in the process of, uploading it to various video sites such as (Vimeo)," See told AFP in an email.
"Although I remind all that it is criminal offence... to possess or distribute the film, I have no wish, nor the means, to hinder the viral spread of the video," said See, who has had previous brushes with the authorities.
"As such, I hereby declare that the film is no longer in my possession, and its ownership will from now on be given to all citizens of the Republic of Singapore," added See, a 41-year-old professional video editor.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts said the 22-minute film was submitted to government censors for classification but it was banned "as it is against the public interest."
"The film gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Dr Lim?s arrests and detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1963.
"The Singapore government will not allow individuals who have posed a security threat to Singapore?s interests in the past, to use media platforms such as films to make baseless accusations against the authorities, give a false portrayal of their previous activities in order to exculpate their guilt, and undermine public confidence in the government in the process."
In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew -- now an adviser to his son Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- wrote that the 1963 police raids that landed Lim in detention were part of a crackdown on communists.
3 comments:
Dear Martyn,
Thank you for the video. I didnt get to watch it until I learnt of the Singapore Govt's ban on it yesterday.
It brought tears to my eyes that a Singaporean was subject to such treatment in Singapore.
It's ironic that the govt's ban, instead of denying spread of the video, has caused more people to want to watch it.
the government is its own worst enemy. by banning it and making it an offence, many more people will make it a point to watch it. maybe that is the intent of someone in the MDA to publicise it in a convoluted manner???
anyway, lky should defend his action instead of resorting to this crude means of banning it. human nature is such that when you ban something, it tells them that there must be some truth to the allegations at least. they can protest to high heaven its not true but no one will believe them!
Looks like the tide has turned and some netizens are braving this to upload the video.. unheard of before.
Well what can one expect when and acting minister whose only experience is in the military handles this.. seems like more and more military personnel are being enlisted into the PAP government.. one that will understand what is obeying orders.
Aside from this, there is a joke on Singaporeans.. there is one tourism that the STPB will not be successful in - fishing.
Why - because the fis in Singapore have their lips sealed... hahaha.
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