Divest from Myanmar Military

 Weekly column written for the Singapore Unbound newsletter. Sign up here.

According to VICE, Singapore is Myanmar's largest foreign investor. If you're Singaporean, please join me in writing to your MP to urge him to speak up about the crisis in Myanmar, and Singapore’s part in propping up the perpetrators of the coup, whether intentionally or not. I also call on the Singapore government to make clear if our government-linked companies, or Temasek-linked companies have dealings with the Myanmar military and its network of companies, and whether the government will set an example for other Singaporean businesses by divesting from such ventures with the Myanmar military. You may use this thoughtful email template, if you wish.

Singaporean democracy and labor activist Jolovan Wham has been imprisoned for holding a peaceful public protest back in 2017. Now Spoke & Bird Open Mic and the Transformative Justice Collective are working together on the online project "Assembling With You: A Public Series of Creative Gestures in Solidarity with Jolovan Wham." They are inviting poets, writers, actors, artists, activists, and other concerned citizens to respond creatively to his incarceration. Every day, a creative work is posted on the page to count down the days of Jolovan's imprisonment and to attend viscerally to the injustices perpetrated under the Public Order Act. This creative series will culminate in a Zoom solidarity event on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, with readings and performances by our participants, and a collective reflection and check-in session. Hopefully Jolovan will be able to attend this session.

After March 10, please join us for the NY launch of ULIRÁT: BEST CONTEMPORARY STORIES IN TRANSLATION FROM THE PHILIPPINES on Sat, March 13. The writers and translators of all seven languages in the anthology will be reading from their work and explaining the challenges of translating Filipino, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Waray, Kinaray-a, and Akeanon into English. See event details below. We're so very proud of this inaugural title by Gaudy Boy Translates. The specially commissioned foreword by Gina Apostol says it better than we can, why translation is the lifeblood of the world republic of letters. If you are a translator or editor, we'd love to hear your book proposals for the translation of other Asian literatures. Write to Jee at jkoh@singaporeunbound.org.

Jee Leong Koh
February 25, 2021

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