freedom of speech or social responsibility-

The current tourism brand in Singapore is "Uniquely Singapore". This branding illustrates the merging of the different cultures and modern worlds which is a distinguished aspect of Singapore and well known globally. For such a social cohesion to exist and be sustained, the different cultures and religions would have to co-exist peacefully.

That would only be possible if there is consideration, tolerance and understanding towards one another. Thus, a pragmatic approach for Singapore would be to adopt Szilagyi belief in focusing on social responsibility of individuals and organisations. When one is socially responsible, one's actions would not be detrimental to the collective interests of society. As a result, no parties would be provoked into staging protests marches or boycotts which may even escalate events to a repeat of the 1964 riots. Social responsibility is especially important in protecting the fragile peace in our current world where information is easily circulated. A single piece of information that contains negative connotations towards a particular group would quickly be the talk of the town and even spread to other countries. An example would be of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad which provoked rage in the Muslim world.

However, social responsibility should not be used as an aggressive approach towards preventing provocative articles to be published. It should be utilised as a form of education, making it a common and basic behaviour among people. For if the term " social responsibility" is used to condemn and punish people who write, draw or create provocative articles, it will only be pushing such issues aside and not eliminating it once and for all. This means that similar issues would occur in the future and individuals would be provoked and tempers would rise, and the cycle would repeat itself again. What is needed would be a similar concept raised by Peter Singer, freedom of expression. These views must be discussed wholly and evidence presented in a peaceful manner such that its author and any other potential authors would be convinced that whatever views they hold are false and see their mistake.

In conclusion, social responsibility should be focused on but the manner its used should be of an educational purpose.