• The Government is prepared to provide live feed of parliamentary sessions, Mr S Iswaran said
• Mechanics are being worked out on the livestream, which will be accessible by the public
• Since 1994, there have been calls for a public live feed or a TV channel dedicated to parliamentary proceedings

SINGAPORE — The Government “agrees in principle” to livestream parliamentary debates and will be working through the mechanics of how this can be implemented, Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran announced on Friday (Sept 4).

Speaking during a five-day debate on the President’s Address at the reopening of Parliament, Mr Iswaran told the House: “In this important ongoing effort to strike a balance between staying open and being inclusive, and build a better future for our people, I believe Parliament can play a significant role in three ways.”

These are to be the voice of the people, of reason and of hope, he said.

“Now more than ever, as we deal with unprecedented challenges and seek solutions, we must work with Singaporeans to draw confidence from what we have built up over the past five-and-a-half decades, the challenges we have faced and overcome, have deep conviction in our strengths and capabilities, and look to the future with belief,” he said.

The Government’s agreement to provide livestreamed proceedings is due to the spirit of the role that Parliament plays, despite its reluctance to do so in the past, he added.

The announcement comes after repeated calls from Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public for the Government to provide a live, publicly accessible feed of parliamentary proceedings. 

Such a feed has been provided only on selected occasions so far. For example, on Wednesday, a parliamentary speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his subsequent exchange with Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was broadcast live online and on national television.

The issue of providing a parliamentary live feed to the public has been a topic of debate in Parliament itself since 1994. In 2017, Mr Singh led the call for such proceedings to be broadcast live.

The issue was revisited during the debate on the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill earlier this year, with Workers' Party's Leon Perera, who is now MP for Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, as well as former Nominated MP Anthea Ong, calling for the same.

But over the years, the Government has stood firm in rejecting the proposal, saying that there was insufficient viewership demand for the live feed, based on data collected. 

Ms Grace Fu, then Leader of the House, also responded to the debate this year that the public already has access to the proceedings, reiterating past arguments such as the availability of parliamentary records known as the Hansard on the Parliament’s website, as well as selected clips on national broadcaster CNA's website.

In May, Ms Fu’s press secretary, Dr Michele Khoo, said in response to a TODAY reader that there were no plans to provide such a service, as there is a risk of turning Parliament into a “form of theatre”.

On Friday, Mr Iswaran said that the Government still holds these reservations that Parliament should remain a forum for serious debate, and that live broadcasts risk compromising it.

“Nevertheless, we also note the global and technological trends, which have made online streaming commonplace, and seen legislatures livestreaming their proceedings in many countries. The Government therefore agrees in principle to the livestreaming of Parliamentary proceedings," he said, adding that Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin has also expressed support for such a move.

“The Government therefore agrees in principle to the livestreaming of parliamentary proceedings.” 

The Ministry of Communications and Information is studying the technical and implementation details, which will be announced soon, he added.

“Our aim, as always, will be to achieve transparency, accountability and accessibility while preserving the integrity and dignity of Parliamentary proceedings,” Mr Iswaran said.

Responding to the speech, Mr Singh said that he welcomed the announcement, saying that the issue of livestreaming parliamentary debates has cropped up now and again because of Workers' Party's efforts to raise it in Parliament. 

He added that his party has reflected on the Government’s reservations that livestreaming these sessions risks turning parliamentary proceedings into political theatre.

“But it is our view that the element of theatre will be exposed and the public will conclude fairly quickly, if not immediately, who is here to turn Parliament into a theatre and who is here to (use it as) a serious forum where serious matters are discussed,” Mr Singh said. 

Mr Iswaran replied that he accepted that MPs are committed to preserve the dignity of such proceedings, but noted that the experiences of parliaments in other countries do not give much reason for optimism.

He said: “What it means is that, at the end of the day, it is not axiomatic in one way or the other, and it (falls) on all of us as parliamentarians to maintain the decorum, the dignity and the integrity of our proceedings through vigorous debate, based on facts, and focused on the long-term interest of Singaporeans.”