In an unprecedented move, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong openly invites Singaporeans for an online chat on Facebook to discuss issues related to the GE and to the future of Singapore. In one hour, more than 5,000 questions were posted. Now, do you think this is effective?
I personally logged on at 8pm (4th May 2011) to see how he coped with the questions. I do not know if he was prepared for the influx of questions that Netizens or ordinary citizens posted in that one hour.
Based on what I see, within 5 minutes of the conversations, there were already 200 over questions posted (abet some are just greetings to him) on various topics.
Actually, if you looked through the various topics, you can see more questions than answers. I think this is “no choice” based on the super fast questions being posted.
Do you think that this type of interaction with PAP (People’s Action Party) or any other parties is more effective than visiting rallies? In my opinion, I saw an opportunity for any party to collect valuable information on topics from Singaporeans.
And I think PM Lee’s question on how to improve Singapore is the most valuable one. This, I think, can let PAP or any other party see the “Wants” of Singaporeans or even you can see some interesting ideas inside the comments.
Hopefully, our Government (not just PAP) can make full use of social media to engage us. In this General Election, I have seen normal Singaporeans rising to the occasion, to voice out their thoughts on Singapore, the current situation, our Government and etc which you don’t see everyday.
Hopefully, with Technology and Social Media, Singapore Government can perform better, politicians will think twice before implementing policies and Singaporeans, who do not wish to show their faces, can have a voice for the better of Singapore.
OK, enough of my ranting on this GE.
Click Here to PAP Facebook page to see the thousands of comments
So do you think this kind of interaction will work better than to have it only on General Election?
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