Speakers' Corner, Singapore to these free speech concerns, Speakers' Corner was created as local adaptation of the Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London, in 2000. In a 1999 interview with "New York Times" columnist William Safire, the Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the idea had first been suggested by the Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, but Goh felt that it was not yet the right time to set it up. The following year, the Government decided to go ahead despite its fear of potential public disorder, as the idea enjoyed widespread support from the public and civil society groups. During a Parliamentary
Speakers' Corner, Singapore for J.B. Jeyaretnam, the late leader of the opposition Reform Party, at Speakers' Corner on 5 January 2010. At the event, several opposition politicians shared with the public their experiences with Jeyaretnam. In September 2010, "Today" newspaper reported that statistics from the National Parks Board indicated that the number of groups registering to stage events at Speakers' Corner had fallen from 39 between September 2008 and August 2009, to nine between September 2009 and August 2010. The number of individuals registering dropped from 102 to 57 during the same periods. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who was Prime Minister when