we actually got LKY this year. we're lucky, n it's surprisin. we all know his partiality towards Nantah. so there were endless queues for e tickets when they were distributed. lucky i went on e 1st day (considerin e "tmr lah" mentality of undergrads) n at e earliest time i cld. titus joined me in e queue n conveniently got a ticket.
i heard e last time he had sucha forum, some wise guy thot he cld challenge LKY n ask some politically-incorrect (no pun intended) questions. it created a major hoo-ha n received a strong rebuttal from the man himself. tt guy was also subsequently killed in the media, doin sth tt seems expressive n noble but is widely regarded as impossible in spore. i didnt think this time wld b so controversial. especially if foreigners eventually dominate e QnA session.
being such a regimental Specialist myself i was subconsciously noticing e order of procedure. we were ordered to report one-and-half hour before LKY arrives. there was metallic screenin for everyone; common audience like us were separated from e press, who were e only ones allowed cameras, while we cldnt even bring bags in. when inside, e sternness was unmistakeable. e air had an undercurrent of anxiety. it was like a Communist congress. every few mins, e emcee wld appear to remind us of e magnitude of e event. when e few thousand seats were filled up in e manner they want, it was just right for e man's arrival. his entourage had his wife, his minders, and expectedly his bodyguards. they came in wave by wave, to clear e path n possibly part e seas. when he finally entered, it can be seen that his pace has slowed considerably over e years, but it simply adds to his aura. we were up in salute, but it didnt feel as much a host's welcome as a national reverance.
when e forum was nearin e end, there were tense movements all round. personnel gettin into position, e kind they rehearsed in much detail before. e emcee was timing her move, to end e forum in sync, n his entourage was mechanical in their jobs. but she broke e regimentation. in procedure, content, n argument.
i knew she had such streaks. i was proven right. she told me before e forum when i met her outside that she's here as e press, n that she wont be askin questions or wat. but when a forum goes by with 6 of e 7 questions asked durin QnA by foreigners, even promptin LKY to ask for locals to go to e mic, i cld feel she was comin.
after e moderator ended e QnA. after e emcee walked out. after LKY has stood up. she rushed to e mic, n boomed a voice that took us all aback. it almost felt like blasphemy. she seeked e man to answer one last question from her. it was a keen moment. he cld reject n walk away without much hoo-ha. but i sense he knew this generation of students n media wld expect him to not shy away. however his hesitance is understandable - e aggressive nature of this girl hints at a difficult question.
e Lit major went, "Do you see a natural contradiction in censorship codes and Singapore's efforts to promote artistic expression?"
LKY, "What is the problem you see?"
"For example, at the Singapore Arts Festival, there have been films that were censored to such an extent that the artists decided to withdraw their films from the festival.
So in this case, Singaporeans did not get exposed enough to artistic works, within Singapore."
LKY, "I don't see that as a great deprivation."
"The thing is we can travel out of Singapore..."
LKY, "No, no, you don't have to travel out. They will come. You can see it on the Internet..."
"Yes, but with regard to local artists' creations, there have been impediments because of the censorship code so there's a limit to what we can produce."
LKY, "I just find it unbelievable that your artistic expression...is being suppressed because of the censorship code. It cannot be. What is it you want to say, do, draw, paint?"
"OK, I'm not saying that pornography, for example, will help in artistic expression...Films relating to politics and explicit art are limited."
LKY, "What is explicit art?"
"As in maybe films that depict homosexual roles."
LKY, "Surely you can find expression through many other areas...
The movement is towards a globalised world culture. But we have to retain certain values of our own... Eventually, if that becomes the mainstream, with homosexual acceptance in China, in Taiwan, in Hong Kong, it will come to us. But we will go at a speed which makes our people comfortable. At the moment, if you move in this direction, you're going to make a lot of people unhappy and it's not necessary. Let's treat this in an adult way... If you're born homosexual, then so be it, but must you parade it and must you go out of your way to antagonise, embarrass or defy people with more conventional views? I think it is not necessary."
michelle chiang hui ling. my classmate. my Project Work grpmate. my filmmakin mate.
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