Singapore will ease restrictions in a 10-year-old law that bans films promoting a political party or agenda, a report said Saturday.
The Straits Times quoted Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, as saying his ministry would table a bill in parliament to amend the Films Act early next year.
His statement followed an announcement by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) that the city-state was planning to ease its ban on political videos and outdoor protests as part of a gradual liberalization of society.
“The government accepts that our policies must evolve to remain relevant in the current media landscape. It is no longer realistic to disallow all forms of party political films,” the information minister said.
The government may allow films that are factual documentaries or recordings of live events that were “held in accordance with the law,” the newspaper quoted Lee Boon Yang, who is in charge of Information, Communications and Arts, as saying in an e-mail.
“However, political commercials and films that are dramatized and made to distort issues or create a slanted impression should not be allowed,” the minister said.
The Southeast Asian city-state, which has been ruled by the People’s Action Party for more than 40 years, bans the production and screening of all political films, imposing a maximum fine of S$100,000 (US$73,000) or a two-year jail term on offenders.
The ban came into effect in 1998, two years after the opposition Singapore Democratic Party applied for a license to sell a videotape about the party.
Public gatherings of more than four people without permits are also banned, making it difficult for opposition politicians to reach out to voters.
Martyn See, a Singaporean film maker who had two films banned by authorities because of their political content, welcomed the news although he noted it was unclear to what extent the government would relax its controls.
“My reaction is to re-submit my two banned films for reappraisal to test whether the PM’s pronouncements are for real,” See said.
“There’s lots of skepticism and a wait-and-see attitude judging from the blogs,” he said.
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