A lèse majesté law for Singapore’s king, long live Lee Kuan Yew!
(Asian Correspondent) – With a proposed lèse majesté law, Singapore may soon become the world’s newest monarchy. The late Lee Kuan Yew will be its eternal king.
Singapore isn’t a monarchy, but if the ruling party has its way, it may soon become one. And the king will be none other than the late Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Lee is Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, a highly controversial figure who is nonetheless widely respected by Singaporeans. With this law, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) hopes to make him less controversial and more widely respected—by fiat if not by rewriting our history. Yet if Thailand’s experience is anything to go by, the plan is more likely to backfire. It is in any case, ill-conceived and legally unsound.
Last Saturday, May 23, Culture, Culture, Community and Youth Minister Lawrence Wong mooted the idea of introducing a law that will criminalise the commercial exploitation and misuse of Mr Lee’s name. According to Mr Wong, this law will not penalise those who seek to “pay tribute to Mr Lee without making a profit out of it”, only those who use his name or image for profit. But while people may still use Mr Lee’s name, they must first seek the approval of the Government.
It remains unclear how commercial exploitation will be defined and who will be affected by this law. Will political cartoonists who sell books with Mr Lee’s image be banned? Will websites that use non-copyrighted images of him be banned if they display advertisements? Who must apply for approval? Is it anyone who wishes to use Mr Lee’s name or anyone who wishes to use it for commercial purposes? Must academics who write books about Mr Lee apply for approval if they earn royalties?
Mr Wong’s vague assertion that “there can be ways where you could put safeguards” is of little assurance. What safeguards are these and will the Government write them into the law or merely give verbal assurances that count for nothing? If anything, the Government has failed to even specify the reason for this proposed law. Although Mr Wong claims that the Government’s “intent is in line with public concerns”, he has not been forthcoming about what these public concerns are.
Nonetheless, Mr Wong raised the possibility that this may be a populist measure aimed at people who found the naming of a bun after Mr Lee distasteful. He also said his ministry was looking into treating Mr Lee as a national symbol, equivalent to the national flag, by incorporating him into the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act. Mr Lee’s name and image would then have to be accorded the same respect as the national flag, much like a king in a monarchy. The laws which govern the use of the flag will then also govern the use of Mr Lee’s name.
