SINGAPORE: Net spoof too funny for serious politics?

Minister says podcasts like 'bak chor mee' could detract voters' attention from key issues

Straits Times
Thursday, June 1, 2006

By Leslie Koh

A cheeky audio clip that parodied the Government's handling of the James Gomez saga was downloaded from the Net so many times, it surprised even the creators.

The exchange between a bak chor mee -- or minced meat noodles -- hawker and his customer was heard by more than 100,000 people, and became the most talked-about piece of political satire during the recent election.

It raised laughs even among People's Action Party politicians, whose criticism of Workers' Party candidate James Gomez was parodied in the sketch.

It had the bak chor mee hawker repeatedly demand an explanation from a customer who had given a wrong order - and was proved to have done so by footage from a closed-circuit television camera.

It mirrored PAP leaders' demand for an explanation from Mr Gomez, who had suggested before the GE that the Elections Department had lost his minority candidacy papers, but was shown on a CCTV to have not handed it in at all.

The audio clip was downloaded by more than 100,000 users, and likely heard by many, many more who passed it on.

Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang candidly told some 250 people who attended a conference on new media yesterday that he found the audio clip 'clever and funny'.

"A friend sent it to me in the middle of my contest. I enjoyed it too and had a good laugh," he said of the podcast, Netspeak for audio broadcasts that can be downloaded. But, he then added, he had also wondered if such humour could detract from the seriousness of the root political issue.

Parodies, he said, could mask the key issues in an election.

"I think you can miss the essence of the issue," he explained to reporters later. "Humorous creations are fun but may not contribute to a better understanding of deep-seated issues."

But the two bloggers who created the short audio clip disagreed with Dr Lee's take on their creation, and said so when they went on stage to speak on news reporting on new media.

They countered that the podcast was done purely for fun, and not meant to replace serious political discussion.

The man behind the befuddled customer's voice, Mr Benjamin Lee, 37 -- better known as 'Mr Miyagi' in cyberspace -- said: "It was meant to entertain, we were not setting any political agenda."

Mr Lee Kin Mun, 36, who was the voice behind the hawker and is well known as 'Mr Brown' on the Net, added that Singaporeans could distinguish between the humour in a parody and serious political discussion.

"People won't vote for the opposition just because of the recording," he said.

The two men had written the script for the three-minute clip in half an hour during the height of the James Gomez saga.

They believe that such political parodies can help to draw Singaporeans' interest to local politics.

"It's a good way to get people to talk about things that matter," said Mr Benjamin Lee.

But they also admitted to being concerned about the unexpected popularity of their sketch.

Mr Lee Kin Mun said it could raise their fans' expectations of future creations, and also brought what he called "unnecessary attention."

He added: "We didn't want to be seen as political pundits setting an agenda. We were just having fun."

Date Posted: 6/1/2006