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 and then restored twice: first for the purpose of the campaigning period during the general election, and subsequently for the presidential election. In his 2008 National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong indicated that the purpose behind various government policies, including the creation of Speakers' Corner, was to "liberalise our society, to widen the space for expression and participation". Its reception was mixed, however, and there have been a wide range of views and perspectives on the impact of Speakers' Corner in increasing the space for free speech and the freedom to assemble. It has been called an