i-contact
The students-meet-Big-Authority-Figure schtick is pretty old, but I'll give credit to channel i for creating the TV series anyway. For the uninformed, i-contact is a show where students from JC and secondary schools (not necessarily top ones) get to quiz ministers. Starting last week, i-contact has so far featured Acting Minster for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and just today has featured Minister of State for Nat Development and Trade&Industry Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Though the students can't be expected to ask really good questions, as they understandably lack the in-depth knowledge of government and policy-making to do so, showing our ministers on TV does allow the people to get a measure of the man. Clever gimmick, good publicity, and at expense of channel i too. Score one for the PAP (not being cynical here--just being very appreciative, like a spectator admiring a soccer player's flawless left curl).
As an interested observer and exerciser of free speech I shall review each of the Ministers as they are featured. Have half-finished Tharman's, Dr Bala's will come soon too. Channel i seems to be fielding the young'uns (like Viv Bala, Tharman, and next-up is Raymond Lim), for obvious reasons.
The students-meet-Big-Authority-Figure schtick is pretty old, but I'll give credit to channel i for creating the TV series anyway. For the uninformed, i-contact is a show where students from JC and secondary schools (not necessarily top ones) get to quiz ministers. Starting last week, i-contact has so far featured Acting Minster for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and just today has featured Minister of State for Nat Development and Trade&Industry Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Though the students can't be expected to ask really good questions, as they understandably lack the in-depth knowledge of government and policy-making to do so, showing our ministers on TV does allow the people to get a measure of the man. Clever gimmick, good publicity, and at expense of channel i too. Score one for the PAP (not being cynical here--just being very appreciative, like a spectator admiring a soccer player's flawless left curl).
As an interested observer and exerciser of free speech I shall review each of the Ministers as they are featured. Have half-finished Tharman's, Dr Bala's will come soon too. Channel i seems to be fielding the young'uns (like Viv Bala, Tharman, and next-up is Raymond Lim), for obvious reasons.
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