celebrating my very first article- I'm quite capable of sounding serious after all.

Singaporeans disagree with government's move to ban protests.
SINGAPORE, 15 Sept 2006

Singaporeans are generally unhappy about the government's decision to disallow outdoor protests and rallies during the on-going International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) meetings at Suntec City.

"I feel it is contradicting since the World Bank has adopted good governance as the theme for this year’s meeting," said Shah Rizan Shahdan, a student of Nanyang Technological University. "The government should at least allow the more widely-respected organizations to have a say."

The decision to ban accredited activists invited to attend the annual meetings was announced at a July 28 conference, where Singapore police chief Soh Wai Wah said that outdoor protests during the World Bank/IMF meetings would "compromise security" and provide an opportunity for terrorist attacks.

Sharifah Alawiyah, a student from the National University of Singapore (NUS), felt that such moves "will not portray a good image of Singapore." The Sociology major student expressed her disappointment in not being able to witness any outdoor protests. It is the first since 1997 that the Annual Meetings will be held in Asia.

Due to the prohibition of outdoor protests, Singapore has set up an indoor venue for registered civil groups in the lobby of the conference venue. 24-hour security will be provided for the meetings.



[I understand I am abit late in publishing this. but at least I still show it to you mah!]