IN 1876, SINGAPORE businessman Cheang Hong Lim made a donation to Singapore's colonial authorities to create a green haven in the heart of the city's crowded Chinatown. His S$3,000 (about HK$13,400 at today's exchange rates) gift paid for a spacious outlet in the stuffy urban sprawl, enabling inhabitants to stretch their legs and breathe more easily. The park is still there and still bears his name.
Last year, the Government made something of a donation to its own citizens, creating a Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park. This move was also intended to provide an outlet, although this time in the political rather than the physical environment. It enabled Singaporeans to exercise their civic muscles a little more easily as they moved into the 21st century.
The experiment was modelled on the forum in London's Hyde Park, where campaigners of every description are free to vent their spleen. Its partial adaptation to Singapore was hailed as a milestone, freeing up the political arena and delivering on Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's long-standing commitment to promote a more open society. Six months after its creation, however, the authorities are having to make clear the nature of the process they started, reminding citizens of the tight legal framework within which Speakers' Corner operates.
Soon after its September launch, activists attempted to use the new forum as a springboard for more ambitious events, triggering official concern they were over-stepping the mark. Two organisers were called in for questioning, and a police spokesman says inquiries are ongoing.
The issue prompted heated exchanges in parliament and, with a general election on the horizon, may yet resurface. The outcome of the debate will give a clear pointer about the extent of the country's political openness.
James Gomez, head of Think Centre, an independent civil rights group and one of the pair who was questioned, says the corner's creation was not only symbolic but also offered his group a chance to reach a wider audience. He attended its inaugural session, and then helped to promote a series of events at the site, each slightly more complex than the last.
'Very early on we realised that we needed to use visual and verbal techniques,' Mr Gomez says. 'So we then went on to be more organised. The second time we appeared, apart from a banner, we had colour co-ordinated T-shirts. Then we had either a theme or a number of speakers with a topic to speak on. We went on like this for the next couple of months. Sure enough, every time that we were there, a crowd would be there.'