Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim has expressed his assured belief that the shutdown of sensationalist socio-political website The Real Singapore was unquestionably the right thing to do.
The site was ordered to cease all operations and take down related social media accounts on May 3 by the Media Development Authority (MDA), as the editors were "seeking to make profit at the expense of Singapore’s public interest and national harmony."
Two editors of The Real Singapore are also facing seven counts each under the Sedition Act and one count each under the Penal Code for failing to produce accounts for online advertisements to the police.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Mendaki event, the minister insisted that the shutdown had to be carried out as they had enough evidence to show that The Real Singapore crossed the boundaries by publishing content that could cause a lot of racial unhappiness, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Dr. Yaacob also remarked that the MDA only intervened in 27 occasions since 1996, but The Real Singapore would be considered the first site the authority had to totally shut down.
"We are not against the Internet but there are also other things that we want to preserve in Singapore," he mentioned.
It looks like other socio-political sites in similar vein might be in trouble too. He added that they will continue to investigate other clone sites that have popped up since The Real Singapore was torn down.
Photo: YouTube screengrab
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim has expressed his assured belief that the shutdown of sensationalist socio-political website The Real Singapore was unquestionably the right thing to do.
The site was ordered to cease all operations and take down related social media accounts on May 3 by the Media Development Authority (MDA), as the editors were "seeking to make profit at the expense of Singapore’s public interest and national harmony."
Two editors of The Real Singapore are also facing seven counts each under the Sedition Act and one count each under the Penal Code for failing to produce accounts for online advertisements to the police.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Mendaki event, the minister insisted that the shutdown had to be carried out as they had enough evidence to show that The Real Singapore crossed the boundaries by publishing content that could cause a lot of racial unhappiness, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Dr. Yaacob also remarked that the MDA only intervened in 27 occasions since 1996, but The Real Singapore would be considered the first site the authority had to totally shut down.
"We are not against the Internet but there are also other things that we want to preserve in Singapore," he mentioned.
It looks like other socio-political sites in similar vein might be in trouble too. He added that they will continue to investigate other clone sites that have popped up since The Real Singapore was torn down.
Photo: YouTube screengrab