BY THE time of the next General Election, due in 2011, Singaporeans should be able to post political videos and campaign material on the Internet without running afoul of the law.

Speaking during the National Day Rally on Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hinted at the liberalisation, saying the rules set just before the 2006 polls were 'very restrictive'.

'The Koreans are very exercised about this. Every time I meet them, I exchange notes with them, and they ask us how we intend to deal with it, and I ask them how they are dealing with it. They don't have an answer, but it's a real problem.' - PM Lee, on Korea's attempts to regulate content on the Internet

His take: It is time to update the rules or risk them being made obsolete by the rapidly changing new media landscape.

'Cyber years are like dog years. One year in cyberspace equals to seven years in real life,' he said.

However, in a suggestion that the liberalisation would not be total, he pointed to a need to maintain accountability and responsibility.

'It's not easy to do this. Do not think that other countries do not face these problems; they do,' he noted, citing Korea as an example of a country that was very concerned about regulating content on the Internet.

In his speech, Mr Lee also hinted at moves to ease the current ban on party political films, as well as that on outdoor demonstrations.

Said the PM: 'The overall thrust of all these changes is to liberalise our society, to widen the space for expression and participation. We encourage more citizens to engage in debate, to participate in building our shared future. And we will progressively open up our system even more.'

The prospective easing of rules comes two years after Mr Lee said the Government needed to ride the digital wave and use new media to get its message across.

In his 2006 Rally address, he said laws would be updated when necessary and cited two examples - regulations on online electioneering and the ban on political films.

A month before the 2006 polls, the Government made clear that political podcasts and vodcasts by candidates and political parties were not allowed during the elections. But they could put up information about rallies and candidates' biodata on their websites.

Blogs and websites which consistently espoused a certain political line were asked to register, and barred from posting political material online.

Still, some bloggers continued to do so.

Analysts said the law was an exercise in futility if it could not be enforced.

The impending changes were welcomed by most people The Straits Times spoke to.

Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong - the sole opposition MP who attended the Rally - said: 'It is very good to open up Singapore, a small step forward.'

Media academic Cherian George from the Nanyang Technological University said: 'It's good that the government accepts the principle that the regulations should not be so broad that they catch anything and everything, like a drift net that ensnares dolphins. The latest moves are a step towards more precise regulation.'

Senior Research Fellow Tan Tarn How from the Institute of Policy Studies believed allowing political podcasts and vodcasts was 'a necessary change'.

'There is a dearth rather than an excess of political information for the electorate during elections,' he said. 'The more sources of information on the candidates and their positions and on issues affecting voters, the better it is for democracy.'

The Government-appointed Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society is studying how to revise the rules, and will release its recommendations for public consultation by the end of this month.

Even as he spoke about the need to keep up with new media, PM Lee also reminded Singaporeans that politics is rooted in 'people's lives in the real world'.

'You can't vote for an avatar on Second Life. We are talking about real life, not Second Life. You got to talk, you got to argue, you got to persuade and then you got to mobilise and work together for what you believe in,' he said.

'And you can't do this online, reading e-mails or even listening to podcasts or watching vodcasts. You have to do it face to face.'

sueann@sph.com.sg