Once in 50 years flip flop decision by Minister Yakult who has American kids :D

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim (Photo CNA)
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim has instructed NLB not to remove or pulp 2 of the 3 controversial children titles:

And Tango Makes Three
The White Swan
They will be moved to the adult section instead.

Dr Yaacob posted the following on his Facebook page this morning (18 Jul):

Over the past week, there has been a vigorous debate on the National Library Board’s (NLB) decision to withdraw the three children’s books ‘And Tango Makes Three’, ‘The White Swan Express’, and ‘Who’s In My Family?’.

We stand by NLB’s decision to remove the three books from the children’s section. As I said earlier, NLB has to decide what books should be made readily available to children, who are usually unsupervised, in the children’s section of our public libraries. NLB will continue to ensure that books in the children’s section are age-appropriate. We have a much wider range of books in the adult section of public libraries.

Many objected to the idea that the books would be pulped after being withdrawn from circulation. I understand these reactions, which reflect a deep-seated respect in our culture for the written word.

‘Who’s in My Family’ had already been disposed of as the title had been reviewed earlier. But I have instructed NLB not to pulp the two other titles, but instead to place them in the adult section of the public libraries. I have also asked NLB to review the process by which they deal with such books.

The decision on what books children can or cannot read remains with their parents. Parents who wish to borrow these books to read with their children will have the option to do so.

It appears that Dr Yaacob is rescinding his earlier decision in supporting NLB to withdraw and destroy the 3 said books.

Last Friday (11 Jul), he wrote on his Facebook page explaining the Government’s position on the matter and why he supported NLB’s decision:

I wish to explain the Government’s approach, in the hope that this will help all sides understand what the withdrawal is about – and what it is not about.

Firstly, the withdrawal was not based on a single complaint, without an attempt to assess the merits of the complaint. NLB has a process where its officers carefully consider such feedback, before making a decision.

Secondly, this is a decision only with respect to the children’s section in the public libraries. NLB is not deciding what books children can or cannot read. That decision remains with the parents, as it always has been. People can buy these titles for their children if they wish. Rather, NLB has to decide what books should be made readily available to children, who are sometimes unsupervised, in the children’s section of our public libraries. For the adult sections of the library, the guidelines for what is suitable are much wider, and a much wider range of titles are on the shelves.

Thirdly, NLB’s decision was guided by community norms. Public libraries serve the community and it is right that they give consideration to community norms. The prevailing norms, which the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans accept, support teaching children about conventional families, but not about alternative, non-traditional families, which is what the books in question are about. This approach is shared between all public agencies dealing with the education and care of young Singaporeans.

He ended his Facebook posting last Friday by saying that NLB’s approach is to “reflect existing social norms, and not to challenge or seek to change them”.

Following Dr Yaacob’s latest decision to reinstate 2 of the 3 children books but move them to the adult section, NLB CEO Elaine Ng held a media briefing today (18 Jul) to further “clarify” NLB’s position on the controversial matter.

Ms Ng said, “Young children are our biggest visitors, and they tend to browse unsupervised. Hence the NLB takes the stance of having age-appropriate guidelines. We have made certain decisions on what books should not be in the children’s section and that still stands. Going forward, we have found a means and method to put controversial children’s books in the adult section of the library.”

“Parents are the one who decide what books children can or cannot read. This could be achieved in the adult section or a PG section, as mooted by some members of the public,” she added.

“Is NLB subject to pressure by religious groups? The NLB is not in a position to discern people’s motivation. We treated the requests at a service level,” she further explained.

On the pulping of books, she said, “Many objected to the idea that books will be pulped. As book lovers ourselves, we understand the reaction. We do not want to be viewed as destroying books.”

Ms Ng also promised that NLB will be more transparent.

“We will look at other organisations, create more transparent review processes. We’re still looking around, and will need time to look at what works best for us. We ask for the public’s patience,” she said.

“We will seek more voices, include external parties on the feedback of some of our books… We want to build bridges with stakeholders, and take time to reach out to those who have partnered NLB in the past and have different views. We want to spend a lot of effort engaging them, and find ways to work with them in the future.”

Ms Ng also said they need to think through the mission of the library as they think through the processes.

“Please remember the good work that the NLB has done in the past. I hope we showed that we are a learning organisation,” she said.

News of the removal last week drew sharp criticism from many people including netizens, writers, MP Hri Kumar and even civil servants (‘Even civil servants find NLB’s decision offensive‘).


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