THE gag stays: civil servants are still not allowed to publicly express their personal opinions on government policies.
Allowing them to do so would 'compromise the performance of their duty by undermining discipline and trust within the civil service', said the Government.
Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, made this clear on Friday as he explained why the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (Aims) was rejected.
Aims had called for the gag to be reviewed, saying the civil service has a talented pool of employees who can comment on policy with insight.
A group of nine civil servants past and present had also advocated a similar change, saying it would 'reduce groupthink and tunnel vision'.
However, the Government on Friday said civil servants 'already have many internal channels to make their views known', including directly to the ministry or department concerned.
At the same time, they are privy to official and privileged information.
'Use of such information should be safe-guarded,' it added.
On whether the Official Secrets Act (OSA) would have been a sufficient deterrent, Dr Lee said it is a 'post-facto legislation', where leakage of confidential information had already happened and investigations had to be conducted.
The gag, on the other hand, provides 'general guidance to all civil servants that in the public arena you should exercise some care because in the course of your work, you do come into contact with privileged and confidential information and you should not just freely go out there and articulate your personal views', said the minister.
'I think the damage done can be quite substantial and I think we should observe some responsibility in this area.'
Mr Walter Lim, 38, directior of corporate communications at the National Heritage Board, is one civil servant who blogs.
He writes mainly about his personal life, but also shares general views on marketing and public relations strategies. He is careful not to 'relate them back to what the NHB or civil service are doing'.
There is no need for the rule to be liberalised, he believes, as there are 'sufficient channels' for views to be expressed.
'Also, not all civil servants may be fully exposed to the full thinking behind the policies', which may lead to painting an incomplete picture in public, he added.
