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An OB marker, short for "
out of bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include Am ...
marker", is used in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
to denote what topics are permissible for public discussion. Discussion topics that go beyond the OB marker, are considered to be either societal, cultural or political
taboos A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
. The entire phrase "out of bounds marker", however, is rarely used within the political landscape.


Etymology

The term is adopted from
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
, where an out of bounds marker denotes the area beyond which playing is forbidden and not allowed. However, unlike golf, the OB markers of Singaporean political discourse are not visible. The term "OB markers" was first used in 1991 by the then- Minister for Information and the Arts
George Yeo George Yeo Yong-Boon ( zh, s=杨荣文, p=Yáng Róngwén; born 13 September 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and brigadier-general who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2004 and 2011. Yeo served in the Singapore Army an ...
to describe the boundaries of acceptable political discourse.


Considerations

An additional complication is introduced by the fact that OB markers may shift depending on the political climate, so a topic that was previously permissible may be banned in the future, and ''vice versa''. In 1999, George Yeo said that it is difficult to define exactly what the OB markers are in advance. ''
Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...
'' editor-in-chief Cheong Yip Seng found OB markers "bewildering", stating that topics deemed off-limits during his tenure included stories about a stamp dealer, carpet auctions,
monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with a ...
,
feng shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
and unflattering pictures of politicians. In 2003, a Remaking Singapore sub-committee, chaired by
Raymond Lim Raymond Lim Siang Keat ( zh, s=林双吉, p=Lín Shuāngjí, born 24 June 1959) is a Singaporean former politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Lim was a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the East Coast Group Repr ...
, described OB markers as "action and speech that engage directly in electioneering and party politics; that is, within the arena of the contest for political power".


Notable cases

There are several notable cases where the Singaporean government has flagged OB markers.


Catherine Lim

In 1994, author Catherine Lim published an essay '' The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide'' suggesting that the
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...
is not representative of the people. Then-Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the Peo ...
warned her to join a political party if she wanted to air political views in public, and stated that "demolishing the respect for and standing of the Prime Minister and his government by systematic contempt and denigration in the media"""PM tells Dr. Lim why he responded to commentary". In ''The Straits Times''. 17/12/94." was out of bounds.


2005 White Elephant incidents

The lack of clear definition of OB marker resulted in mixed responses by the police and the government during the "White Elephant" incidents at Buangkok MRT station in 2005. An undisclosed person posted a series of cut-outs of elephants to criticise the delayed opening of the mass transit station. This led to a police investigation. Although the person was later let off with a stern warning, Deputy Prime Minister
Wong Kan Seng Wong Kan Seng ( zh, s=黄根成, j=Wong4 Gan1 Sing4, p=Huáng Gēnchéng; born 8 September 1946) is a Singaporean former politician who served as 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011 and currently is the chairman of Unit ...
commented that "we cannot apply the law to some and turn a blind eye to others. If we do, then the law becomes the real white elephant." Later, a group of students from Raffles Girls' School were preparing to sell T-shirts bearing the phrase "Save the White Elephants" to raise fund for a charity. This prompted a warning from the police, but later Wong admitted that the police had over-reacted.


mrbrown

In 2006, blogger
mrbrown Lee Kin Mun (), better known as mrbrown, is a Singaporean blogger (person), blogger best known for publishing satirical social and political commentary despite Censorship in Singapore, Singapore's tight media landscape. At his peak during the ...
wrote the article "S'poreans are fed, up with progress!", for his weekly opinion column in ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' concerning the rising costs of living in Singapore. The
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI; ; zh, 数码发展及新闻部; ) is a ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the development of the infocomm technology, ...
labelled him a "partisan player" whose views "distort the truth", and his column was suspended by the paper.


Criticism

James Gomez, a Singaporean political science academic and member of the
Singapore Democratic Party The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, the party gained its first seat in 6th Parliament of Singapore, Parliament in 1984 Singaporean general election, 1984 when ...
, has described OB markers as "unconstitutional: by subscribing to the idea of OB markers, people abandon their constitutional rights or risk having such rights abused." He described adherence to OB markers as a form of
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...
. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance has described the OB marker system as "a suffocating environment where the limits of one's freedom to express is defined by citizens themselves."


Other related restriction on speech

While OB Marker usually refers to the restriction on political discourse, there are other forms of restriction on speech in Singapore.


Race and religion

Under the Singapore Sedition Act, topics known to be permanently out of bounds are comments that might produce ill-will and hostility between different races and religious groups. This applies to the Internet as well, where 3 people were arrested and charged under the Sedition Act for posting racist comments on the Internet, and two subsequently sentenced to
imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
in September 2005. At Singapore's
Speakers' Corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where free speech public speaking, open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London, England. Histor ...
, the rules state that:


Homosexuality

Homosexuality has long been a taboo subject in Singapore. For example, in 2005, an overseas-located gay website was banned by the
Media Development Authority The Media Development Authority (abbreviation: MDA) was a statutory board of the Singapore Government, under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). History MDA was founded on 1 January 2003 by the merger of Singapore Broadcasti ...
. However, in 2007, the proposal to repeal sections 377 and 377A of the Penal Code received a very public airing. This led to a local journalist, Sumiko Tan, suggesting that the OB markers have been redefined. Section 377 was eventually repealed in 2023.


Others

Other past and present topics widely considered out of bounds include: * Corruption or other alleged failings in government, such as in '' Lee v. FEER''


See also

*
Censorship in Singapore Censorship in Singapore mainly targets political, racial, religious issues and homosexual content as defined by out-of-bounds markers. Implementation The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) approves publications, issues arts enterta ...
*
Politics of Singapore Singapore is a parliamentary representative democratic republic in which the President of Singapore is the head of state, the prime minister of Singapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by t ...
*
Third rail (politics) The third rail of a nation's politics is a metaphor for any issue so controversial that it is "charged" and "untouchable" to the extent that any politician or public official who dares to broach the subject will invariably suffer politically. T ...
*
Overton window The Overton window is the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse. The key to the concept is that the window changes over time; it can shif ...


References

* Koh Buck Song, "Internet OB Markers Should Protect Nation", ''The Straits Times'', 5 August 1996, Life, pg 4. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ob Marker 1990s neologisms Politics of Singapore Society of Singapore Freedom of expression in Singapore Culture of Singapore Taboo Self-censorship