Govt petition platform ‘never been live’, idea now canned: GovTech
SINGAPORE — The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) said that it has canned an idea in which a petition website would reportedly have been used to submit petitions to relevant government 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, GovTech said that 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 The Straits Times published a report about the PetitionsSG website developed by GovTech's Open Government Products unit.
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.
In its response, GovTech told TODAY that the website was an “exploratory prototype created during Open Government Products’ annual Hack for Public Good” event but the team has since decided “to not pursue this idea”.
