In my view Mr Speaker, we should count ourselves fortunate that we have citizens who are the loving critics amongst us, some of whom have been questioned in this very House in this term of government. Members would recall one citizen’s poems were nit-picked with a view to cast wholly negative aspersions on his character, even though that individual was not present in the House to defend himself.
Mr Speaker, when any leader or person of influence engages in what will be interpreted as dog-whistling, it sets the tone for how members of the public debate with those whose views they disagree with. If binary, black and white perspectives are the shape of how we as a society deal with differences after COVID-19, Singapore will become an ordinary society, no different from many around in the world. Nobody expects the Government to willy-nilly change its decision at the first sign of pressure and agree with a critic. Singaporeans do recognize the multitude of perspectives the Government has to take cognizance of, but it is important to recognise that citizens criticize and organise because they care.
Moving forward Government should look at opening more avenues like Parliament for citizen engagement, greater data-sharing and empower other institutions like our think-tanks and the mainstream media to give alternate perspectives more voice and even provide platforms piloting change on a small scale. As we traverse the post-COVID-19 VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous – world, we need to place more faith and promote even greater participation from Singaporeans than ever before.
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Pritam Singh 14 hours ago
I have read the comments of Minister for Law Mr K. Shanmugam with regard to Dr Tan Wu Meng's article dated 19 June 2020 hosted on the PAP website.
I drafted a press release as Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party (WP) in late 2018 when a Malaysian vessel entered Singapore waters off Tuas West. It was uncontroversial that Malaysia's actions were provocative and unnecessary in view of our fraternal relationship with our closest neighbour. The WP stood behind our troops and officers deployed to deal with the situation.
Mr Shanmugam asks, which side do I stand on? The Minister for Foreign Affairs put it best when he was quoted as recently as last year in a public forum as follows: "...I’m glad to tell you, at least based on my experience so far, there has been no gap, no party politics has supervened or interfered with our pursuit of foreign policy. This is a blessing..certainly with the current Opposition, they have played their part, and we have taken them into confidence. So it makes my job so much easier."
When it comes to Singapore’s sovereignty, there can be no doubt where the WP has stood and will continue to stand. We stand with Singapore.
The term I used in Parliament - "loving critic" - was originally coined by Professor Tommy Koh for Mr Alfian Sa’at and Singaporeans like him. Prof Koh, a Singaporean diplomat of international stature who built his reputation by tactfully protecting Singapore's foreign interests over many decades, needs no introduction. I found Prof Koh's use of the term "loving critic" to describe Singaporeans like Mr Alfian Sa’at apt. Why?
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Alfian Sa'at 18 June at 20:29
I think it's just bad form to attack me as a way of attacking a member of an Opposition Party.
If you wish to call me out on various statements that I have made over the years, then do it without having to drag other people into it.
I'm very happy to have a discussion with you about what I think of Singapore, Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir, etc.
Growing up in Singapore, I often observed how a form of Singaporean nationalism was being constructed through the othering of the countries around us.
I see patriotism as love for one's country. But this kind of nationalism was built on a sense of superiority, that at times went close to contempt and hatred for our neighbouring countries.
So over the years, I have made comments--not just on Facebook, but also on forums and interviews--where I would try to offer alternative--meaning positive--meaning sometimes even rhapsodic--views of Malaysia.
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‘I think it’s just bad form to attack me’: Alfian Sa’at
Singapore playwright Alfian Sa’at today said it was “bad form” for Parliament Member Tan Wu Meng to trash him on the ruling political party’s website.
Alfian said Tan, a member of the ruling People’s Action Party, painted him as unpatriotic this morning as a cheap way to attack “a member of an Opposition Party,” referring to Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh.
“If you wish to call me out on various statements that I have made over the years, then do it without having to drag other people into it,” Alfian wrote in response. “I’m very happy to have a discussion with you about what I think of Singapore, Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir, etc.”
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Pritam Singh seconds Tommy Koh’s sentiment that Singapore needs loving critics
Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh seconded veteran diplomat Tommy Koh’s sentiment that Singapore needs ‘loving critics’, during his parliamentary speech on the Fortitude Budget.
Dr Koh, a distinguished diplomat who currently serves as Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore, urged the Government to welcome criticism from critics who love Singapore, last year. Asserting that “the contestation of ideas is a necessary part of democracy” and that the Government should not “blacklist intellectuals, artists, writers because they criticise the Government or hold dissenting views, Dr Koh said: “Singapore will languish if our lovers are uncritical and our critics are unloving. What Singapore needs is not sycophants but loving critics and critical lovers.”
Echoing Dr Koh’s views, Mr Pritam told Parliament that Singapore “should count ourselves fortunate that we have citizens who are the loving critics amongst us.”
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Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh defends Alfian Sa'at amid Yale-NUS hullabaloo
Koh's remarks were made in reference to a speech by Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung on the incident
Professor Tommy Koh has spoken out in support of playwright Alfian Sa'at, after the latter was name-checked by Education Minister Ong Ye Kung in a speech he made in Parliament on Monday (Oct. 7).
The ambassador-at-large said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct. 8): "We should not demonise Alfian Sa’at. He is one of our most talented playwrights. I regard him as a loving critic of Singapore. He is not anti- Singapore."
Koh may have been referring to comments made by Minister Ong, who was fielding questions from MPs on the Yale-NUS case. The university last month chose to withdraw a course titled "Dialogue and Dissent in Singapore", which Alfian would have led.
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Tommy Koh 7 October 2019
We should not demonise Alfian Sa’at. He is one of our most talented playwrights. I regard him as a loving critic of Singapore. He is not anti- Singapore. I admire very much his plays, Cooling Off Day and Hotel. It is of course true that some his writings are critical of Singapore. But, freedom of speech means the right to agree with the government as well as the right to disagree. I feel that I should defend him at this moment when he must feel discouraged and worried and friendless.
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Singapore In General 16 hrs
The use of the term "loving critic" did not originate from Pritam
Tommy Koh, Singapore's ambassador-at-large, had said it in a Facebook post on Oct. 8 in defence of Alfian, who had his poetry read out in Parliament and critiqued without the author's response."We should not demonise Alfian Sa’at. He is one of our most talented playwrights. I regard him as a loving critic of Singapore. He is not anti- Singapore."
According to K Shanmugam - Mr Sa’at is irrelevant in this issue to that extent, but when Mr Pritam Singh, as leader of the opposition, stands up in parliament and support Mr Alfian Sa’at, and say he is a loving critic of Singapore, then I think we are entitled to ask, in a healthy democracy, which side do you stand on?
“I think we are entitled to ask, in a healthy democracy, which side do you stand on?” Why was Tommy Koh, the Singapore Ambassador-At-Large not asked this same question?
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Tan Wu Meng's roundabout attack on Pritam Singh boggles the mind
I didn’t realise that this kerfuffle over an opinion piece would last so many days. Frankly, I had hoped that the People’s Action Party website had been hacked and that Dr Tan Wu Meng, whom I know to be a perfectly friendly person, had had his name mis-used for an opinion piece.
But now it is clear that the PAP is serious about defending his column, which raised so many eyebrows because it seemed so uncharacteristic of the PAP. What had since looked like character assassination has morphed into a question of the Workers’ Party position on bilateral relations. Only a seasoned debater like Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam could have achieved such a re-direction of the issues.
In between, many people have dived into the row, more to attack the PAP MP, than to defend his column. You may say that this just a small segment of the population, and the rest haven’t been following or just reading what others have read. Whether the segment is large or small is immaterial. It is whether that segment which has read the to-ing and fro-ing have made points that require further reflection.
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2020 Singapore General Elections June 20 at 12:39 AM
Singapore's People's Action Party has launched an ad hominem attack on poet-playwright Alfian Sa'at, accusing him of treachery against the state. Couched as a warning to opposition MP Pritam Singh, the article published on the ruling party's website is an example of below-the belt electioneering that the PAP has deployed for decades: stoking anti-Malaysia sentiment, race-baiting that panders to the majority Chinese, and resurrecting founding PM Lee Kuan Yew as a god. It's a piece of "opinion" that might be dismissed as absurd, if not for the PAP's history of persecuting artists/playwrights, such as investigating The Necessary Stage's Haresh Sharma and Alvin Tan for alleged Marxism in the 1980s and imprisoning Kuo Pao Kun under the Internal Security Act in the 1970s. Singapore is sliding back towards the tyrannies of the last century. Artists - non-essential though we are - should start to fear.
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“Tan Wu Meng’s questions seemed innocent but were politically motivated to put WP in a negative light” – Pritam Singh
In his latest rebuttal against Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng’s comments on playwright Alfian Sa’at’s loyalty to Singapore, Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh asserted that Dr Tan’s comments seemed innocent but were politically motivated to put the WP in a bad light and divide Singaporeans into those who are for and against the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
During his parliamentary speech on the Fortitude Budget on 5 June, Mr Pritam seconded veteran diplomat Tommy Koh’s sentiment that Singapore needs ‘loving critics’ and urged the Government against picking on these loving critics. Mr Pritam illustrated this point by highlighting the Ong Ye Kung-Alfian Sa’at episode.
In Parliament last year, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung had lambasted local playwright Alfian Sa’at and accused him of trying to sow discord in Singapore. Singling out Mr Alfian for his role in a cancelled Yale-NUS module on dialogue and dissent, Mr Ong cherry-picked quotes from a poem Mr Alfian wrote in 1998 and insinuated that the poet hated Singapore and is unpatriotic.
Dr Tommy Koh was among the dozens of influential figures who threw their weight behind Mr Alfian in the aftermath of Mr Ong’s aggressive parliamentary speech. Dr Koh wrote on Facebook, then: “We should not demonise Alfian Sa’at. He is one of our most talented playwrights. I regard him as a loving critic of Singapore. He is not anti-Singapore.”
related: First pre-GE attack? PAP’s Tan Wu Meng blasts WP’s Pritam Singh for supporting playwright Alfian Sa’at
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Mr Pritam Singh supports Alfian Sa’at
During the recent Budget debate on 5 June, WP Leader Mr Pritam Singh spoke in support of Alfian Sa’at.
Mr Singh said that we should count ourselves fortunate that we have citizens who are “loving critics among us”. He gave an example, without naming names, but it is clear that he was referring to Alfian Sa’at.
There are many Singaporeans who criticise Singapore out of patriotism and genuine care, including opposition leaders like Mr Chiam See Tong and Mr Low Thia Khiang.
But Alfian Sa’at is no ‘loving critic’.
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K Shanmugam Sc 6 hours ago
I’m glad that Mr Pritam Singh has said that the WP under him will continue to stand squarely with the government when it comes to foreign relations. This continues the stance that Mr Low Thia Kiang took.
I look forward to him telling us if he still believes that Mr Alfian Sa’at’s views on Malaysia and Singapore merit his support. He admits now that he hadn’t examined these statements before declaring Mr Sa’at a “loving critic” and admonishing the government for not heeding Mr Sa’at’s wisdom.
He need not rush to examine those statements, (set out in Dr Tan’s post), but I hope to hear his views on them in good time.
And let me make clear- this is not about artistic freedom, or license, those are not being questioned.
This is specifically about Mr Singh asking the Government to listen to a specific individual.
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Tan Wu Meng's opinion piece on Pritam Singh was 'serious' and 'thoughtful': Shanmugam
The opinion piece written by Senior Parliamentary Secretary Tan Wu Meng on the support apparently offered by the Workers’ Party’s Pritam Singh to playwright Alfian Sa’at was “serious” and “thoughtful”, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Sunday (Jun 21).
The piece by Dr Tan, which focused on Mr Singh's comments made in Parliament earlier this month about "citizens who are loving critics", was published on the People’s Action Party (PAP) website on Friday.
Dr Tan said the opposition leader had spoken "in support" of Mr Alfian, who he said “consistently praised Malaysia to illustrate his disdain for Singapore". Mr Singh did not name Mr Alfian in his comments in Parliament.
related: PAP MP Tan Wu Meng criticises WP leader Pritam Singh for 'loving critic' comments
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Shanmugam says he is glad WP will stand with govt on foreign ties, asks Pritam if he thinks Alfian's views still merit support
Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam on Monday (June 22) said he is glad that Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh has reaffirmed the opposition party's commitment to Singapore's sovereignty.
In a Facebook post, he said: "I'm glad that Mr Pritam Singh has said that the WP under him will continue to stand squarely with the government when it comes to foreign relations.
"This continues the stance that (former WP chief) Mr Low Thia Khiang took."
related:
The Workers' Party stands with Singapore, says Pritam Singh in response to Shanmugam
Legitimate to question WP chief Pritam Singh's support for playwright Alfian Sa'at, says Shanmugam on post by MP Tan Wu Meng
PAP's Tan Wu Meng chides WP chief Pritam Singh for supporting poet and playwright Alfian Sa'at
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Furore over Yale-NUS cancelled course on dissent
The cancelled Yale-NUS College programme on various modes of dissent and organising resistance was not designed to train students to stage protests in public, said local playwright Alfian Sa'at.
"Any comparisons with what is happening in Hong Kong right now is off the mark," he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Mr Alfian was to have led the one-week course, which was due to take place later this month before the college withdrew it last week.
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