Communication Policy & Planning In Singapore

Eddie C.Y. Kuo, Peter S.J. Chen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000448023
• Subtopic: Regional Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

This study of communication policy and planning the 1st of its kind in Singapore is an attempt to explore and analyze the following areas: communication systems; communication policy; national level policy planning; institutional level communication planning; and project level communication planning. Following an introductory chapter the chapters of this report sketch the sociodemographic characteristics of Singapore society and the history politics government and economy; describe the component systems of the communication network in Singapore today; present an analysis of the use of major types of mass media by the population broken down by demographic characteristics such as ethnicity age and sex; examine the guiding communication policies on which the present communication systems are built and operated; focuse on the structure of general policymaking and planning at the national level in Singapore; consider communication planning at the institutional level using Radio Television Singapore (RTS) as a case study; discuss project level planning; and make some generalizations on communication policy and planning in Singapore.

1

Introduction

Communication policy and planning is emerging as a new area of study that has attracted the attention of many communication researchers and institutions. Because it is a relatively young and unexplored field, and because of the “pragmatic” nature of policy research, the study of communication policy and planning is in great need of empirical case studies, through which the substance of policies and the factors and mechanisms involved in their formulation and implementation may be identified.

The present study arises from an effort to analyze communication policy and planning in the society of Singapore, with a special focus on communication activities in relation to social development in this island-republic.

Singapore—the smallest yet most developed nation in Southeast Asia—celebrated its thirteenth anniversary as an independent state in 1978 with confidence in its viability as a physical and political entity. Since its separation from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, the republic has maintained constant high economic growth rates and pursued a path of social development that has produced encouraging signs of the emergence of a Singapore identity. Such achievements in economic resilience, political stability, and social cohesion are impressive when considered in relation to the extent of cultural and ethnic diversity and the lack of natural resources in Singapore.

A student in communication will not fail to notice the presence of communication barriers in Singapore. The population is composed of three major ethnic groups: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. Religious affiliation is similarly heterogeneous with each of the major religions of the world well represented. The most direct and obvious barrier to communication comes from the complex linguistic diversity in the island-state, where a handful of major languages coexist. Therefore, while the people of Singapore have no doubt been brought under the same political and economic systems, sharing the same destiny, there is legitimate concern whether they have been effectively tied together under the same communication network. The questions that concern us as communication researchers are:

1. 1.  How and to what extent has a national communication network been established in Singapore to serve the diversified population and to help achieve the goals of national development?
2. 2.  What are the guiding policies, adopted by the government and political leaders, that serve to direct and constrain the operation of the communication network in Singapore?
3. 3.  What factors and processes influence communication planning in Singapore?
4. 4.  How do the leaders of Singapore utilize communication resources to mobilize the population to participate in national programs for social development?

Judging from the social and economic accomplishments of Singapore during its short history against such social-cultural constraints, these are problems of both theoretical and applied import that deserve careful and systematic study.

Objectives

A review of literature reveals that, except for some theses on the history of various language presses (Kanayson 1956; Burns 1957; M. Chen 1967), there has been little research done in Singapore on the communication network and its components. Similarly, of the few publications on policy planning and decision-making processes publicly available in Singapore, most are concerned with either urban planning, economic planning, or family planning. The present study on communication policy and planning, being the first of its kind in Singapore, is an attempt to explore and analyze the following areas:

1. 1.  Communication Systems: We purport to have made a thorough investigation of the existing communication network and its major components in Singapore. The component systems discussed include the press and other print media, radio, television, cinema, postal service, and telecommunications.
2. 2.  Communication Policy: The guiding national communication policies and legal and regulatory constraints in operation in Singapore today are identified and described. Following the definition of Unesco, communication policies are seen as sets of social norms “established to guide the behavior of communication systems” (quoted in Rahim 1977, p. 13). Such policies are identified from statements made by political leaders who are directly responsible for the legislation of legal codes and their implementation as it pertains to the working of communication systems. The legal constraints directly or indirectly related to communication activities are therefore operational means of translating the guiding policies into forces directing or constraining the operation of communication systems.
3. 3.  National Level Policy Planning: Since in Singapore there is no centralized agency responsible for overall communication planning, planning processes at the national level can be assessed only by aggregating piecemeal planning efforts within various ministries or statutory boards that happen to include communication elements. Such processes are analyzed within the context of overall policy planning at the national level. Most such communication planning involves the development of communication facilities or infrastructure.
4. 4.  Institutional Level Communication Planning: To understand how the processes and dynamics of policy formulation and planning apply to communication, a study of communication planning at the institutional level is necessary. The institution chosen for such a case study is Radio Television Singapore—probably the most popular and influential communication organ supporting the goals of social development in Singapore.
5. 5.  Project Level Communication Planning: Singapore is well known for its effective and constant mass campaigns, which promote development objectives by effecting attitudinal and behavioral changes in the population. (Better known campaign slogans are “Keep Singapore Clean,” “Use Your Hand,” and “Girl or Boy, Two is Enough.”) An analysis of the use of communication resources in relation to the propagation of campaign messages in Singapore can provide important lessons on the supportive function of the communication system. We focus on family planning campaigns in Singapore to illustrate how a government organization (Singapore Family Planning and Population Board) pools national communication resources to diffuse the norms and practices of family planning in Singapore.

Methodology

As a comprehensive case study of communication policy and planning in Singapore, the present research draws data from various sources in order to give an overall picture. The main sources of data were:

1. 1.  Documentary materials: These have been used extensively to describe communication systems and analyze the formulation and emergence of communication policies. Major documents used included parliamentary debate records, addresses of political leaders, reports of government and nongovernment institutions, legal statutes, government statistics, and newspapers.
2. 2.  Personal interviews with communication practitioners, government officials, and community leaders: The interviews were unstructured in order to obtain an inside view of communication systems and their operational processes. Fieldwork assistants were asked to prepare field study notes as participant observers in various capacities.
3. 3.  Media survey data: Data from a media survey have been used to describe the extent of media exposure and the relative functionality of various media as perceived by the population. The survey on “Media Habits and Information Needs in Singapore” was sponsored by the Asian Mass Communication Information and Research Center (AMIC) and carried out by authors of this report. The study which was completed in late 1977, used a quota sample of 612 Singaporeans aged 15 and above (controlled for sex, ethnicity, working status, and housing type).

Organization of the Report

This report consists of nine chapters, including this introduction. In chapter 2, the socio-demographic characteristics of Singapore society are discussed and the history, politics, government, and economy are sketched. The chapter provides a general background for understanding better how communication policies were formed and implemented as well as how communication systems developed in Singapore.

In chapter 3, the component systems of the communication network in Singapore today are described. The systems analyzed include the press and other print media, broadcasting media (radio, television, and Rediffusion), cinemas and films, postal services, and telecommunications (telephone, telex, telegraph, and satellite communication.)

The next chapter (chapter 4) contains an audience analysis covering the use of major types of mass media by the population broken down by demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, age, and sex. The perceived usefulness of these media in fulfilling the information needs of the population is also discussed.

Chapter 5 deals with the guiding communication policies on which the present communication systems are built and operated. The legal and regulatory constraints that direct and control the operation of several communication systems are presented in detail. The rationales behind the policies are discussed, as well as their possible consequences.

Chapter 6 is focused on the structure of general policymaking and planning at the national level in Singapore. Strategies and agencies of development planning and urban planning are discussed in some detail. At the national level of communication planning, agencies involved with the planning of certain communication elements are identified.

In chapter 7, communication planning at the institutional level is the topic, using Radio Television Singapore (RTS) as a case study. The structure and operation of RTS are presented, together with its role in support of development objectives.

In chapter 8, the focus is shifted from institutional level planning to project level planning. The communication activities of the Singapore Family Planning and Population Board are analyzed in detail to illustrate the use of promotional media, along with general organizational support, in one of the most successful family planning programs in the world.

Chapter 9 concludes the report with a summary and some generalizations on communication policy and planning in Singapore.

2

Singapore Society

Singapore is an island situated at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, with a land area of approximately 616 square kilometers. The island is linked physically to the Malay Peninsula by a three-quarter mile causeway carrying a road and a railway. As a small island-republic, Singapore has few natural resources. The only ones it possesses are its deep-water harbor and its strategic location at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, where major shipping and transportation routes between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean intersect. It was this strategic position that attracted the attention of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 when he decided to establish a port here to protect the trade interests of the British East India Company. Today, Singapore continues to rely on its strategic position for its economic survival.

History

Soon after its inception in 1819, the position of Singapore as the chief British colony in the area was consolidated, in 1832, when Singapore was made the center of government for the Straits Settlements, including Penang and Malacca, as an extension of British India. During the next hundred years, with the opening of the Suez Canal and the strengthening of Britain-China trade, Singapore’s importance as a seaport and trading post increased. Over the years, Singapore grew steadily in size and importance until 1942, when British rule was interrupted by Japan.

On February 15,1942, the Japanese invaded the island. For the next three and a half years, Singapore was renamed Syonan, or Shonan, under the Japanese rule. The Allied Forces led by Lord Louis Mountbatten regained the island in September 1945 and reinstituted British rule under the British Military Administration.

On April 1, 1946, civil government was established in Singapore. As a political unit, the Straits Settlements was dissolved, with Penang and Malacca joining the Malay Union (later the Federation of Malaya) in 1948. In the following years, political developments both inside and outside of Singapore led to full internal self-government in 1959. Singapore became an independent state with a constitution which gave the island complete internal self-government with the British controlling defense and foreign affairs.

Finally, Singapore became fully independent of British colonial rule by joining the Federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963. The marriage, however, was short-lived and ill-fated. With political struggles and communal tension reaching dangerous points following the merger, the Malaysian government under Tengku Abdul Rahman unilaterally announced the separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia on August 9, 1965, causing Singapore to become a new independent state—the youngest and the smallest in the region.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Since the early 19th century, Singapore has grown from a small village of a few hundred inhabitants to a modern metropolitan city of over 2.3 million people. Each influx of immigrants in the past 160 years has added to the ethnic complexity of the island. The population of Singapore is composed of about 76 percent Chinese, 15 percent Malays, 7 percent Indians (a census category including Pakistanis and Ceylonese), and 2 percent from other ethnic origins including Europeans, Eurasians, and others.

The ethnic heterogeneity of Singapore’s population is paralleled by its linguistic diversity. Each of the three major ethnic communities contains a number of dialect speech groups. As a compromise among the three major ethnic communities, the leaders of Singapore decided at the time of independence that there would be four official languages in the new republic. Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil were selected to represent the three ethnic-cultural traditions in Singapore, plus English because of its international status and Singapore’s colonial background. Of the four, Malay was designated the national language, a reflection of both the history and the geographical position of the island-state. Today, however, the role of the national language is more ceremonial than functional. The de fact...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Singapore Society
• Chapter 3 Components of Communication Systems
• Chapter 4 Media Habits and Information Needs: An Audience Analysis
• Chapter 5 Communication Policies and Laws
• Chapter 6 Social Policy Planning in Singapore
• Chapter 7 Communication Planning at the Institutional Level: Case Study of Radio Television Singapore
• Chapter 8 Communication Planning at the Project Level: Case Study of Family Planning Communication
• Chapter 9 Summary and Conclusion
• Appendix 1 The Communication Network in Singapore
• Appendix 2 Breakdown of Television Singapore Programs, by Language, Type of Program, and Location of Production
• Appendix 3 RTS’s Requirements for Advertising Material (Section B)
• References