Fight Mud with Bleach?
Singapore Unbound's Public Statement on PAP's Attack on Alfian Sa'at. Sign up for weekly newsletter here.
Singapore Unbound strongly condemns the attack by Singapore's ruling party, the People's Action Party (PAP), on Singaporean author Alfian Sa'at. In a letter published on the PAP website, Member of Parliament Dr. Tan Wu Meng cherry-picks Alfian's Facebook posts and misreads his words to depict the author falsely as unpatriotic. Most pernicious is Dr. Tan's statement: "This man grew up in Singapore. Singapore gave him his education and he earns a living here. An education and a living that is denied to many minorities in the region." The suggestion that minorities should be especially grateful to Singapore teeters on racism, if it does not tip right over. Gratitude is neither here nor there. As a commentator has it, Singaporeans do not live in a feudal state, but in a modern democracy, in which citizens hold certain obligation to the state in return for certain rights and freedoms.
Alfian has rebutted the letter point by point in a Facebook post. The rebuttal is necessary to clear his name, but what a waste of the time and energy of one whom many in the arts consider to be Singapore's national playwright, the conscience of a nation. In addition, the malicious letter and its aftermath distract from the larger issues with the general elections that the ruling party has just conveniently called in the midst of a pandemic. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights recently issued a report that judges Singapore's elections to be "neither fair not free." Whatever popular mandate that the PAP receives from these elections is tainted by the fundamentally undemocratic process. Stepping up its attacks on its critics will not change this truth.
Writers should not be judged on the narrow and vague criterion of patriotism. A vital part of their work is to challenge us to reexamine our most cherished beliefs and to feel our ties to other human beings beyond state borders. On the wrongheaded test of patriotism, Alfian himself puts it best, "I have the deepest respect for the intelligence of my readers and audiences, and I know they will approach my works with care, openness, and sensitivity. I know that they are not easily swayed by combative rhetoric and shadowy accusations. As a writer, I will continue to write about things that are naughty, irreverent, even contrarian. To write about how feelings are often messy and thoughts contradictory. I don’t wish to fight mud with bleach and end up being unrecognisable to myself. Or else why be a writer at all? Might as well join politics."
Singapore Unbound is proud to stand with Alfian Sa'at, who is both a Gaudy Boy author and one of our honorary advisors. His contributions to literature go far beyond the territory of Singapore. Singaporeans should cherish Alfian for showing us the parts of ourselves that we would rather not face.
Jee Leong Koh
June 25, 2020
Singapore Unbound strongly condemns the attack by Singapore's ruling party, the People's Action Party (PAP), on Singaporean author Alfian Sa'at. In a letter published on the PAP website, Member of Parliament Dr. Tan Wu Meng cherry-picks Alfian's Facebook posts and misreads his words to depict the author falsely as unpatriotic. Most pernicious is Dr. Tan's statement: "This man grew up in Singapore. Singapore gave him his education and he earns a living here. An education and a living that is denied to many minorities in the region." The suggestion that minorities should be especially grateful to Singapore teeters on racism, if it does not tip right over. Gratitude is neither here nor there. As a commentator has it, Singaporeans do not live in a feudal state, but in a modern democracy, in which citizens hold certain obligation to the state in return for certain rights and freedoms.
Alfian has rebutted the letter point by point in a Facebook post. The rebuttal is necessary to clear his name, but what a waste of the time and energy of one whom many in the arts consider to be Singapore's national playwright, the conscience of a nation. In addition, the malicious letter and its aftermath distract from the larger issues with the general elections that the ruling party has just conveniently called in the midst of a pandemic. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights recently issued a report that judges Singapore's elections to be "neither fair not free." Whatever popular mandate that the PAP receives from these elections is tainted by the fundamentally undemocratic process. Stepping up its attacks on its critics will not change this truth.
Writers should not be judged on the narrow and vague criterion of patriotism. A vital part of their work is to challenge us to reexamine our most cherished beliefs and to feel our ties to other human beings beyond state borders. On the wrongheaded test of patriotism, Alfian himself puts it best, "I have the deepest respect for the intelligence of my readers and audiences, and I know they will approach my works with care, openness, and sensitivity. I know that they are not easily swayed by combative rhetoric and shadowy accusations. As a writer, I will continue to write about things that are naughty, irreverent, even contrarian. To write about how feelings are often messy and thoughts contradictory. I don’t wish to fight mud with bleach and end up being unrecognisable to myself. Or else why be a writer at all? Might as well join politics."
Singapore Unbound is proud to stand with Alfian Sa'at, who is both a Gaudy Boy author and one of our honorary advisors. His contributions to literature go far beyond the territory of Singapore. Singaporeans should cherish Alfian for showing us the parts of ourselves that we would rather not face.
Jee Leong Koh
June 25, 2020
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