Alexander Horstmann, a lecturer at Bremen University, Germany yesterday presented a paper to Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science. He said that e-government had been introduced by ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) on a grand scale to maintain its political legitimacy while collecting e-data to keep a Big Brotherly eye on its citizens.
“The key thread running through e-government rhetoric is how technology can be harnessed by the public sector for governance as opposed to how citizens can use it as a safeguard,” said Horstmann.
The researcher is carrying out fieldwork on e-government, surveillance and the politics of identity in Singapore.
He said that e-services range from exchange of information on low-cost housing, on-line match-making, psychological consultations, and even proposed topics for on-line debate. This, he said, showed how the line between private and public sectors is becoming blurred and how far government has permeated everyday life.
However, alternative identities are being formed through religion and ethnic traditions in ways that transcends the political borders of the nation-state.
For example, websites such as www.Fateha.com make evident the Muslim identity of Singaporeans and helps create an ethical community that counters government observation, said the researcher.
“Communities in Singapore are enthusiastically embracing the net culture to regain their identities.”
Because of this, Horstmann said, the PAP, which has been in power for four decades, is now providing impressive array of services to the people. But these are only available to Singaporeans and some resident foreign workers.
Quelle: The Nation, 27.12.2003
