Education among topics discussed; guests include mrbrown and Dr Jiajia
By Tessa Wong, The Straits Times, 31 Aug 2012
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong has started a series of discussions with Singaporeans by hosting a tea session for a group of bloggers and fans of his Facebook page and Twitter account.
At the Istana yesterday, he met 19 netizens for around an hour to chat about issues ranging from education to social media.
Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin and MPs Zaqy Mohamad and Low Yen Ling were also present.
Among those invited were well-known bloggers Andrew Loh and Lee Kin Mun - better known as "mrbrown" - and YouTube child stars Dr Jiajia and Bigbro, whose real names are Chua Jin Sen and Chua Jin Chou, and their parents.
In a Facebook post made hours later, PM Lee put up pictures of the session and said they had talked about online behaviour, Web tools like Twitter and Reddit, and Singapore's declining birth rate. "No magic solutions, alas," he wrote.
"I look forward to meeting more of you in future," he added.
He also thanked netizens for engaging him on Facebook and Twitter, which he started four months ago, saying: "I appreciate your wall comments and private messages, which help me understand your hopes and concerns."
Participants at the session said PM Lee had asked for their opinions about online anonymity. Most felt that online commenters should not be anonymous.
But Mr Loh, who runs sociopolitical website Public House, disagreed. "I feel there are circumstances where the person's identity needs to be protected, such as whistle blowing on a wrongdoing," he said.
But Mr Loh, who runs sociopolitical website Public House, disagreed. "I feel there are circumstances where the person's identity needs to be protected, such as whistle blowing on a wrongdoing," he said.
PM Lee and the netizens also discussed education, particularly for special needs children.
"I told him that when disabled children turn 18, they have nowhere to go because special schools take kids up to only that age," said blogger Mr Lee, who has an autistic child. "PM said he was aware of the problem."
Six-year-old Jia Jia, who is dyslexic, asked whether the Government would give more support to the Dyslexia Association of Singapore to take in more students. He attends its learning centre.
PM Lee told him the Government would ensure there would be resources available.
Jin Chou, 12, asked Mr Lee how his generation could prepare for the future, particularly with more foreigners in Singapore.
PM Lee replied that the key was to "learn how to learn", and related how he taught his father, former PM Lee Kuan Yew, how to use word processing in his old age.
Mr Zaqy said the discussion was light-hearted and covered a spectrum of views. He added: "Not everyone invited was pro-Government. There were some who were critical, and they expressed strong views."
The participants, many of whom were meeting PM Lee for the first time, said they found him friendly and personable.
The fact that he had invited bloggers to meet him was significant, said Mr Loh.
"It shows the Government's attitude has changed, that they see that social media has a role to play in society," he said.
Blogger Mr Lee too said it was a nice touch to move "from Facebook to face-to-face": "It is one thing for him to go online and engage, but he wanted to get to know us offline as real people."
To show his appreciation, the blogger had cycled to the Istana with two bowls of the famous Lao Ban tau huay. It was also a reference to an event he had initiated, called Makan Day, as a protest against the Diner En Blanc incident where organisers briefly banned the soya bean curd.
But he did not get to present them to PM Lee, as they were taken by staff for security reasons.
When he told the Prime Minister, the latter appeared amused, said Mr Lee. "He told me that he eats the famous Tiong Bahru tau huay every morning. No sugar!"
When he told the Prime Minister, the latter appeared amused, said Mr Lee. "He told me that he eats the famous Tiong Bahru tau huay every morning. No sugar!"
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