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 racially or religiously sensitive speech has been criticized as possibly curtailing free speech on genuine political matters and limiting the scope of constitutionally entrenched fundamental liberties. Despite such criticisms, some social activist groups remain optimistic that Speakers' Corner represents a step towards political liberalization and the promise of a wider political space. Although Dr. Kenneth Paul Tan, Assistant Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, has noted that initial cynicism was inevitable as Speakers' Corner was a top-down initiative, he recognizes that civil society activists have since actively occupied and made use of Speakers' Corner to generate