The Online Citizen

The Online Citizen (TOC) is a socio-political blogging platform known for its independent journalism and commentary, particularly on issues pertaining to Singapore.

Established in December 2006 by Andrew Loh and Remy Choo Zheng Xi, TOC has positioned itself as a voice covering topics often overlooked by mainstream media.

History

In 2011, the Singapore Registry of Political Donations designated TOC as a political association, citing its involvement in campaigns aimed at influencing legislation and government policies.

This classification subjected TOC to regulations under the Political Donations Act, restricting foreign funding and capping anonymous contributions at SGD 5,000.

Four individuals stepped forward to register as appointment holders, as required by the Prime Minister's Office.

On 24 January 2011, TOC submitted the appointments. The four individuals were Siew Kum Hong, Joshua Chiang, Ravi Philemon, and Leong Sze Hian.

A fundraising event was held, resulting in a substantial amount of funds that allowed the site to operate well into 2012.

In 2014, The Online Citizen (TOC), including its domain name www.theonlinecitizen.com, came under the management of The Opinion Collaborative Ltd (TOC Ltd), a social enterprise registered under the Companies Act. TOC retained full editorial independence while ceding its administrative and management functions, including fundraising and revenue generation, to TOC Ltd.

This restructuring allowed the TOC editorial team to focus entirely on its core purpose—bringing news and stories that matter to Singaporeans—while continuing its mission of providing an online platform for Singaporeans to champion causes and values that promote justice, openness, and inclusiveness.

Following the 2015 General Election, TOC left TOC Ltd and was subsequently registered as a private limited company under Terry Xu.

By February 2018, TOC was de-gazetted as a political association, primarily because it was then operated solely by editor Terry Xu, who had been managing content since 2011 following the departure of the core editorial team.

In May 2020, TOC's domain was changed to onlinecitizenasia.com and rebranded as The Online Citizen Asia.

In September 2021, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) cancelled TOC's broadcasting class license due to non-compliance with funding source declarations.

Undeterred, TOC resumed its activities on 16 September 2022, relocating its operations to Taiwan under the ownership of a Taiwanese company while returning back to the original domain but keeping the Asia suffix.

In July 2023, the Minister of Information and Communication classified TOC’s website, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn as Declared Online Locations (DOLs).

This classification made it illegal for individuals or entities to provide financial support to TOC, as well as for the operators to benefit financially from its publication. Violations carried the threat of fines and imprisonment.

In response, Gutzy Asia, a new publication, was created and operated in light of the DOL. However, in June 2024, the Ministry issued another DOL designation on the new publication, making its operation impossible.

As a result, TOC ultimately decided to resume operations under its original name—dropping the Asia suffix—and expand to other social media platforms that had not been designated as DOLs in September 2024.

Founders and Editors

• Andrew Loh (Founder and former editor)
• Remy Choo Zheng Xi (Founder and former editor)
• Joshua Chiang (Former Intern Chief Editor)
• Kumaran Pillai (Former Chief Editor)
• Ravi Philemon (Former Chief Editor)
• Howard Lee (Former deputy Chief Editor)
• Terry Xu (Current Chief Editor)

Editors in charge

Name	Date start	Date end
Andrew Loh	December 2006	June 2011
Ravi Philemon	June 2011	March 2012
Kumaran Pillai	March 2012	2013
Terry Xu	March 2013