Speech for my part

Hi guys, here's what I've written for my part so far. I'll keep adding stuff to my slides and cut out parts in my speech to get it down to 2 minutes, but I'm including Malaysia (because I'm a Malaysian citizen and I can speak from experience) and leaving out Japan (because the Meiji Restoration, Allied Occupation, etc. is too much to cover in 2 minutes):


"Hi everyone, I'm Andre and I'll be wrapping up this presentation by presenting some examples of compromises and moderation before a conclusion.

We have argued how censorship is necessary for peace and order for governments to function, and how it can sometimes be used to suppress differences of opinion or hide the truth.

We would like to believe in a middle-ground, neither Draconian totalitarianism or unbridled anarchy. For that, we can look to several examples.

I'm Malaysian and my country doesn't have Internet restrictions, well not officially, anyway. The incumbent Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak repeated his promise of continuing former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamed's legacy of net neutrality. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the online news site Malaysiakini from being the subject of investigation by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Communication for controversial videos of a protest over the construction of a Hindu temple.

Or its avid propensity of the censoring of film. Anyone remembers Zoolander? That corny Ben Stiller comedy? It was banned in Malaysia because the protagonist was brainwashed to assassinate a fictional PM of Malaysia. I can frankly say that the government didn't share the film's sense of ironic humour.

I have also lived in Singapore, and there are 3 tiers of censorship. Parliament legislation, government bodies, and self-censorship. While a lot of democracy advocates have criticised Singapore's press freedom, especially because it encourages self-suppression, it actually served a useful function back in the days when there were communist and anarchist elements that were trying to divide the country.

Of course, now that Singapore is a modern country, there could be room for improvement. And there has been; the recent general election is an example. Due to the power of social networking, the opposition parties, which has largely been marginalized by the ruling party now have a greater presence than the more submissive mainstream media.

In conclusion, we are advocating a 'middle path' of government censorship. Incendiary or provocative elements should not be allowed to thrive. But neither should we discriminate against contrarian opinions. It is ultimately up to the leaders to decide what is best for the country, and we, in turn, have the responsibility of encouraging civil discourses."

Remember our final rehearsal on Monday! Thanks to Laura for booking the library room.

- Andre