'Why should I keep quiet about it?'
Ben Nadarajan
810 words
9 October 2005
Straits Times
English
(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Media exec, 21, is glad she made that call - now bloggers know with free speech comes responsibility
AT 3AM one Sunday morning in June, Kalin came across a blog which jolted her out of her seat.
Scrolling down the posts, she grew angrier and angrier at the nasty remarks made against Muslims.
She picked up her phone and called the police on 999.
That call led to two men being jailed on Friday for making seditious comments on the Internet - the first time in almost 40 years that this law has been used.
Animal shelter assistant Benjamin Koh, 27, and former assistant marketing manager Nicholas Lim Yew, 25, were jailed for a month and a day respectively. Lim was also fined $5,000.
Yesterday, the woman who told on the duo said she never thought the case would become such a talking point.
Speaking to The Sunday Times at the void deck of her HDB block, Kalin, who agreed to tell her story if her real name was not used, said: 'When I first gave my statement to the police, they asked me what I wanted the outcome of my complaint to be.
'I said I thought the bloggers would get a stern warning. I had no idea that the two men would be charged and even jailed.'
She does not regret what she has done though. The 21-year-old said she was fuming after reading Koh's post. She had not been able to sleep that night, and was reading her friends' blogs when she saw a link to Koh's blog.
But she did not do what others might have done - post a reply to his message - which was what some 200 others who had seen his comments did.
'I felt it was childish to post any reply. What he said was very disturbing and I could feel the hatred emanating from his post and the replies to it,' the media executive said.
'I didn't want to add to the hatred. Otherwise, I would just be like one of them.'
A subsequent message by Koh saying he wasn't scared of making those comments spurred her to make the call. Koh's blog had a link to Lim's anti-Muslim remarks on an online forum.
While Koh and Lim are the first two to be convicted of making seditious remarks online, it seemed as if it was also the first time the police operator had received a call reporting a blog.
With a chuckle, Kalin said: 'I told the officer I wanted to report a blog. He asked me which block I was at and if there was a fight going on there.
'It took me about a minute to explain to him that I meant a blog and not a block.'
The blog posting was not her first brush with racism. When she was in school, one of her lecturers made a racist remark in class. Kalin was asking her a question when she muttered that Malays were 'slow' and 'stupid'.
'That spoilt my whole day but I was too scared to report it then,' she said.
'Now that I've grown up, I'm more brave and confident.'
Earlier this year, she had also called the cops about a website which mocked and ridiculed Indians.
Kalin said: 'It's like seeing someone rob another person. Of course we need to report it to the police and not keep quiet about it. Otherwise, society will suffer.
'If the person was taking away someone's dignity, why should I keep quiet about it?'
She told her parents, both retirees, what she had done only after the two men were charged last month. She is the youngest of six children.
'My father was very worried for me,' she said. 'He was scared that those who were not happy with what I had done would hurt me.'
For now, only her family members know. She has not told even her close friends. 'After some time, when all the hoo-ha over this case is over, maybe I'll tell them,' she said. She is glad she made that call to the police though. 'Now bloggers know there is a limit to what they can say on their blogs,' she said. 'Those who complain about restrictions on freedom of speech are missing the point and the bigger issue - that racism has no place in our society.'

'I think this should serve as a reminder to Singaporeans to be very careful about making comments on matters that could affect or stir the different communities in Singapore. Race, religion and culture remain very sensitive issues.' - MR HAWAZI DAIPI, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education and Manpower), when asked to comment on the jailing of the two bloggers
Comments

I feel that what “Kalin” did was very brave and I feel that even with this small act, she helped Singapore’s society remain peaceful. Thanks to her report, Singapore bloggers may have become more cautious to what they post on their blog. In a way it seem that Singapore is trying to kill free speech. However the way I see it, free speech can work only if Singaporeans are sensitive to what they say on the net and do not post any comments that could be harmful to the society or its racial harmony. There must be a balance between free expression and the need to maintain racial and religious harmony.

Posted By
Shen Boyuan