http://www.todayonline.com/articles/268876.asp
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) has started giving out scholarships for undergraduate studies, starting with 6 young talents this year. Senior Minister of State (Information, Communications and the Arts). These bright young men and women will upon graduation join MICA as information officers who will “manage communication issues” and “reach out to segments of the population who look for alternatives to traditional media for information“.
Most interesting I think, does this segment of the population imply bloggers and most of the young in generation who now rely on social networks and Youtube for their daily dose of info? Is this a thrust in the new direction of engagement, of reaching out to the Youtube generation by recruiting from the same gene pool? Who better to tell you what’s right or wrong, what’s cool and what’s not, than your own peers? Isn’t that the very premise of a social network? Good move I’d say.
Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, who presented the scholarships, said the introduction of the awards “reflects the increasing importance the Government places on information management”. RAdm (NS) Lui said that in times of crisis, information officers function as “the voice of the Government in helping to quell rumours, dispel fears, rally the people and maintain confidence and trust.”
Indeed, one of the 6 bright young chaps also believed that “information needs to be tailored to the medium“. A stellar and bright future indeed. According to TODAY, MICA has 105 information officers. What exactly does this 105-strong team do at MICA, with respect to the above mandates Must be one heck of an awesome job, surfing the net all day, watching for instigators, naysayers and troubadours. Or is that having their daily dose of XiaXue and Dawn Yang and yet have their tea and crumpets to eat as well?
Would these visionary young help change the way MICA and our government views non-MSM sources of info? Hardly I think. More likely, as scholars on service bonds yet lucrative remuneration packages, they’d just toe the line and carry out the instructions of their superiors ie watch and report. Will they be on hand to craft policies to properly benefit the changing social landscape and bring it to the fold? I doubt that. Then why the big deal of an Information Service? Formalise recruitment and budgeting to create a veritable army of eyes and ears to carry out the insidious mandate of MICA for its political masters. Indeed one would need an actual army to properly cover the scope at play here. If you thought YoungPAP was the culmination of treachery that it is now, you haven’t seen anything yet.
