SINGAPORE — The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) said it has canned an idea in which a petition website would reportedly have been used to submit petitions to relevant ministries if more than 10,000 signatures were garnered. GovTech added that the platform has "never been live".
In an email on Thursday (May 5) in response to TODAY's queries, a GovTech spokesperson said the Government “actively seeks out views and concerns of citizens through various channels but we do not make decisions on the basis of petitions”.
The agency's response came less than a day after a report about the PetitionsSG website was published by The Straits Times (ST) on Thursday morning.
The report stated that Singaporeans "may soon get a new avenue to voice their concerns through a platform where petitions that garner 10,000 supporters will be submitted to the relevant ministries for review".
It said the 10,000 signatures would have to have been collected within 180 days. The ministries would then be given 90 days to respond.
ST cited a senior software engineer who worked on the project as saying that PetitionsSG was created with the aim of empowering citizens to push for change and to connect important ground sentiment to ministries.
In its response, GovTech added that the website was an “exploratory prototype created during Open Government Products’ annual Hack for Public Good” but the team has since decided “to not pursue this idea”.
More at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/govtech-cans-idea-petition-platform-1890846
In an email on Thursday (May 5) in response to TODAY's queries, a GovTech spokesperson said the Government “actively seeks out views and concerns of citizens through various channels but we do not make decisions on the basis of petitions”.
The agency's response came less than a day after a report about the PetitionsSG website was published by The Straits Times (ST) on Thursday morning.
The report stated that Singaporeans "may soon get a new avenue to voice their concerns through a platform where petitions that garner 10,000 supporters will be submitted to the relevant ministries for review".
It said the 10,000 signatures would have to have been collected within 180 days. The ministries would then be given 90 days to respond.
ST cited a senior software engineer who worked on the project as saying that PetitionsSG was created with the aim of empowering citizens to push for change and to connect important ground sentiment to ministries.
In its response, GovTech added that the website was an “exploratory prototype created during Open Government Products’ annual Hack for Public Good” but the team has since decided “to not pursue this idea”.
More at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/govtech-cans-idea-petition-platform-1890846
