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 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