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 public interest in various social and political issues. This view is shared by Professor Bilveer Singh, a political science analyst at the National University of Singapore, who has pointed to large turnouts at events organized at Speakers' Corner as evidence that Singaporeans are "not fearful and not politically apathetic." The government has also shown itself to be sensitive to calls for greater liberalisation on the ground, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledging incremental changes to the rules and regulations at Speakers' Corner to be necessary for "more citizens to engage in debate" and to "progressively open up our system