Speakers' Corner The riots and agitation for democratic reform encouraged some to force the issue of the "right to speak" in Hyde Park. The Parks Regulation Act 1872 delegated the issue of permitting public meetings to the park authorities (rather than central government). Contrary to popular belief, it does not confer a statutory basis for the right to speak at Speakers' Corner. Parliamentary debates on the Act illustrate that a general principle of being able to meet and speak was not the intention, but that some areas would be permitted to be used for that purpose. Since that time, it has become
Speakers' Corner, Singapore feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility between different racial or religious groups in Singapore. On 15 February 2002, while at Speakers' Corner, Singapore Democratic Party chief Chee Soon Juan attacked the Government's decision to suspend four Muslim girls for wearing the "tudung" (Islamic headscarf) to public schools. Contrary to police advice, he chose not to apply for a public entertainment licence, arguing he did not need one. Chee's speech sparked heated exchanges involving the Sikh practice of wearing turbans. In July, Chee was convicted and fined S$3,000 for speaking without the required licence. In his judgment, District Judge Kow