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 the event. In January 2008, the Complaints Choir, a vocal group participating in the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2008, was denied the chance to perform at Speakers' Corner and other outdoor venues unless the six foreigners in the group of 50 did not participate in the performance. As the choir did not wish to be split up in any way, it decided not to go ahead with the performance. Queried on the matter in Parliament, the Minister for Communication, Information and the Arts Dr. Lee Boon Yang stated that the Government did not think it "desirable or good precedent" for