THE Government has responded to an online letter from a reader to a newspaper, a move believed to be a first. Aptly, the subject of discussion was how it engages citizens on the Internet.

The reply by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) was published on The Straits Times' Online Forum website on Tuesday.

It came about a week after the letter by Mr Tan Kee Lin was published on the website last Monday .

Mr Tan, in his letter 'Disturbed by Govt's response to new media proposals', criticised the Government's decision to engage netizens only via its official website Reach or the online forums of mainstream media.

The decision was too 'deterministic' and 'top-down', he said.

'It is still the Government that decides what issues are important enough to be debated on Reach,' he added.

The letter led to a response from Mica, 'Not efficient to engage Singaporeans on many online platforms'.

Mica's corporate communications director Julia Hang explained the Government's stance, saying it is 'not realistic or efficient to engage Singaporeans on a multitude of online platforms, which would require extensive resources'.

'Because it is a relatively new medium, it would take time for government agencies to build up and develop the necessary capabilities to e-engage widely.'

But, she added, 'over time, as we enhance our capability and experience, we will explore other objective and accountable online platforms'.

The exchange comes in the wake of a change in Government policy on responding to online letters.

Three weeks ago, Mica Minister Lee Boon Yang said it would henceforth reply to online letters in the mainstream media if a response was warranted.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.