So TRS is gone (for now).

People are bidding it good riddance but the FreeMyInternet group dusted off cobwebs, deciding this was a good opportunity to make stand at the site of the TRS goldmine expressing its “complete and utter disappointment” at:

1. Censoring The Real Singapore (TRS)
2. Arbitrary and unsubstantiated action

They further called for the action to be revoked immediately and called for MDA to come clean on its processes and standards as a regulatory body.

Similar to how some members of the LGBT lobby decided to protest against a furniture store about sponsoring an FCBC Magic Show, the FreeMyInternet lobby decided to ask decide the TRS case was really about them instead.

Here are five problems with the FreeMyInternet pitchforked protest against the TRS suspension

1. Calling for TRS to be unbanned?

How does calling for an overturn of the TRS ban solve the TRS problem?

How was what MDA did ‘unsubstantiated’?

How is it responsible, to allow for the freedom to incite stir shit?

 2. Blindly using World Press Freedom Day as their banner

Almost instantly, the group felt that vilified by the gall MDA had, to suspend TRS’ license on World Press Freedom Day itself.

Are we really calling TRS, cesspool of fabricated, stolen content a member of the Press now?

Evidently, the FreeMyInternet group didn’t even bother to read into the basic themes foccussed upon this year. The first of

the three themes impressed upon the need for ‘quality journalism’. You guys remind me of hipsters.

3. You call for Transparency but…

It’s a bit fresh to call for transparency when you call yourself a group of 50 unnamed bloggers. Are you a group fronted by TOC only because you’ve been asked with register with MDA?

The only list we could find of these members was a partial one from 2 years ago.

I find it hard to believe that there is no political agenda behind this group hiding behind the shiny liberal progressive thinking banner of – freedom of speech

4. FreeMyInternet with caveats

The biggest problem I have with the FreeMyInternet Group is the obvious double standards.

Least of all concerns are allegations to the deletion of comments on their Facebook Pages. How does it work where the terms of expression are dictated by you?

The group also states that TRS should be unbanned in favour of the selective deletion instead of inappropriate comments.

They go even further say that improved copyright laws in the country would solve the TRS problem, conveniently forgetting the fact that copyright and plagiarism are only part of the laundry list of offences committed by TRS.

5. Feeble Ultimate Solution

The group’s ultimate solution to the TRS problem and objectionable content is ‘with open discussion and reasoned debate’. Would really be great if this worked. I suppose to deal with similar problems in future, the Government needs to create a yet another agency staffed by officers who are trained in the art of rationale debate over coffee. Oh wait.