SINGAPORE: The Government agrees "in principle" to the livestreaming of parliamentary proceedings, and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) will study the technical and implementation details, said Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran on Friday (Sep 4).
“Our aim, as always, will be to achieve transparency, accountability and accessibility while preserving the integrity and dignity of parliamentary proceedings,” he said in Parliament.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe issue of livestreaming parliamentary proceedings had previously been raised in the House, most recently in May.
Former Leader of House Grace Fu had said on May 5 that parliamentary proceedings are uploaded online in a “timely, comprehensive and easily accessible manner”, and these are available to members of the public, including students and overseas Singaporeans.
She was responding to questions from MPs during a debate to amend the Constitution to create a mechanism for Parliament to meet at two or more places in the case of exigencies such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
In Parliament on Tuesday (May 5), Leader of the House Grace Fu responded to clarifications sought by several MPs on the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was then passed.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMr Iswaran said on Friday: “Anyone can watch proceedings in person from the Strangers’ Gallery. Every speech and exchange in Parliament is recorded and made available online. Clips, categorised by topic and speaker, are uploaded within hours of each sitting.
"The Hansard is a full written record of parliamentary proceedings and is available online. These already give us the full benefits of transparency, accountability and accessibility. We have been reluctant to go further for both practical and policy reasons."
Demand for such live broadcasts, even of major speeches, is low - only 10 per cent of that of free-to-air television news - he said, adding that livestreaming increases the risk that MPs will “play to the gallery”.
“An element of cut-and-thrust is unavoidable, even necessary, because members want to show Singaporeans that their concerns are expressed, and questions asked and answered in Parliament,” said Mr Iswaran.
“However, members must come to grips with the issues and their complexities and not play to the gallery. Live broadcasts risk compromising this. We still hold these reservations.”
However, noting the global and technological trends, which have made online streaming commonplace, and seen legislatures livestreaming their proceedings in many countries, he said that the ministry will study the details and announce them soon.
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