1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,576 So my ten year old son 2 00:00:01,576 --> 00:00:04,046 likes to begin a story out of nowhere. 3 00:00:04,416 --> 00:00:05,965 He used to start his compositions 4 00:00:05,965 --> 00:00:07,724 with "one day". 5 00:00:07,726 --> 00:00:08,702 And until I told him, 6 00:00:08,702 --> 00:00:09,069 "You know, 7 00:00:09,069 --> 00:00:10,676 you need to be more creative. 8 00:00:10,676 --> 00:00:11,726 Everything you write 9 00:00:11,726 --> 00:00:13,069 begins with 'one day'. 10 00:00:13,079 --> 00:00:14,937 You need to be more creative". 11 00:00:14,937 --> 00:00:17,056 So now he starts with a dialogue. 12 00:00:17,056 --> 00:00:19,607 He tells me, "I don't know how a story 13 00:00:19,607 --> 00:00:20,407 should begin, 14 00:00:20,407 --> 00:00:22,607 I can only write what happens". 15 00:00:22,607 --> 00:00:24,017 So, reading his compositions 16 00:00:24,017 --> 00:00:25,327 I know he has a bright future 17 00:00:25,327 --> 00:00:26,347 writing reports 18 00:00:26,347 --> 00:00:28,177 but that is another story. 19 00:00:28,858 --> 00:00:30,618 But my son taught me 20 00:00:30,618 --> 00:00:32,546 a useful lesson though: 21 00:00:32,546 --> 00:00:34,228 How should stories begin? 22 00:00:34,228 --> 00:00:36,338 Whose stories are we telling? 23 00:00:36,338 --> 00:00:38,619 Who are we in the story? 24 00:00:38,619 --> 00:00:40,918 Where are we telling the story from? 25 00:00:42,928 --> 00:00:44,259 Wait, the arrow right or left? 26 00:00:44,259 --> 00:00:46,557 [Gestures] 27 00:00:46,557 --> 00:00:47,485 Oh, shit! 28 00:00:47,485 --> 00:00:49,989 [Laughter] 29 00:00:50,589 --> 00:00:52,850 I only know how to tell stories, yeah. 30 00:00:54,219 --> 00:00:55,289 Oh, okay. 31 00:00:55,289 --> 00:00:57,209 So let's consider this photograph: 32 00:00:57,209 --> 00:00:59,070 One day, it was raining, 33 00:00:59,070 --> 00:01:00,299 a woman sheltered 34 00:01:00,299 --> 00:01:01,819 an old lady with a hijab 35 00:01:01,819 --> 00:01:03,300 and someone photographed 36 00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:04,456 her thoughtful gesture. 37 00:01:04,783 --> 00:01:05,853 The end. 38 00:01:06,093 --> 00:01:08,324 Just the way my son would write his compo. 39 00:01:09,024 --> 00:01:10,743 But this picture went viral, 40 00:01:10,743 --> 00:01:12,484 and the story that anchors it 41 00:01:12,484 --> 00:01:14,523 tells us a lot about what multiracialism 42 00:01:14,523 --> 00:01:15,734 means in Singapore. 43 00:01:16,194 --> 00:01:18,234 The emphasis on the Malay hijab girl 44 00:01:18,234 --> 00:01:19,654 being oh so kind 45 00:01:19,654 --> 00:01:21,034 to cover the head of a random 46 00:01:21,034 --> 00:01:22,244 Chinese old lady 47 00:01:22,244 --> 00:01:23,394 with her tudung. 48 00:01:23,794 --> 00:01:26,404 Except, the old lady was her grandmother. 49 00:01:26,404 --> 00:01:28,505 Except, they didn't have an umbrella. 50 00:01:28,505 --> 00:01:29,994 Except, she was the child 51 00:01:29,994 --> 00:01:31,055 of a Chinese man 52 00:01:31,055 --> 00:01:32,615 who married a Muslim woman 53 00:01:32,615 --> 00:01:34,175 and became Muslim. 54 00:01:34,175 --> 00:01:36,425 Except, why is this even a story? 55 00:01:36,425 --> 00:01:38,925 [Laughter] 56 00:01:39,415 --> 00:01:41,685 Sakinah would later write on her blog 57 00:01:41,685 --> 00:01:44,246 that she felt like an animal on exhibit 58 00:01:44,246 --> 00:01:46,276 both exposed and violated 59 00:01:46,276 --> 00:01:48,326 because, as she quotes, 60 00:01:48,326 --> 00:01:50,096 "People feel they have the right 61 00:01:50,096 --> 00:01:51,686 to decide whether or not 62 00:01:51,686 --> 00:01:53,236 she is my grandmother, 63 00:01:53,236 --> 00:01:54,847 or some random Chinese lady 64 00:01:54,847 --> 00:01:56,196 just based on their 65 00:01:56,196 --> 00:01:58,237 yet-to-mature world view". 66 00:01:58,247 --> 00:01:59,596 End quote. 67 00:01:59,596 --> 00:02:01,406 Sakinah's personal story 68 00:02:01,406 --> 00:02:04,007 drops the mic on racial harmony, 69 00:02:04,007 --> 00:02:06,597 or any attempts to racialise harmony, 70 00:02:06,597 --> 00:02:09,217 or any attempts to harmonise racism. 71 00:02:10,167 --> 00:02:13,117 Like Sakinah, I, too, am an outlier, 72 00:02:13,117 --> 00:02:15,766 a trans-identified, queer, Malay Muslim 73 00:02:15,766 --> 00:02:17,127 with a phD. 74 00:02:17,777 --> 00:02:20,958 As an outlier, depending on which 75 00:02:20,958 --> 00:02:22,948 axis of privilege we intersect, 76 00:02:22,948 --> 00:02:26,178 be it class, race, religion, 77 00:02:26,178 --> 00:02:27,838 gender or sexuality, 78 00:02:27,838 --> 00:02:29,658 the stories we tell often goes 79 00:02:29,658 --> 00:02:30,639 two ways: 80 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:32,408 reshape the mainstream, 81 00:02:32,408 --> 00:02:34,329 or be forgotten altogether. 82 00:02:35,069 --> 00:02:36,829 What kinds of stories get remembered 83 00:02:36,829 --> 00:02:37,707 in Singapore? 84 00:02:47,497 --> 00:02:49,249 Okay, this way it works. 85 00:02:51,199 --> 00:02:51,709 Oh, okay. 86 00:02:52,169 --> 00:02:52,869 Okay. 87 00:02:54,304 --> 00:02:55,359 So growing up in Singapore, 88 00:02:55,359 --> 00:02:57,109 the only true Singapore stories 89 00:02:57,109 --> 00:02:58,329 that I used to believe in 90 00:02:58,329 --> 00:02:59,622 were by Russell Lee. 91 00:02:59,622 --> 00:03:01,212 [Laughter] 92 00:03:01,212 --> 00:03:01,862 Okay. 93 00:03:02,812 --> 00:03:05,812 So my first lesson in multiracialism 94 00:03:05,812 --> 00:03:07,433 was in understanding that 95 00:03:07,433 --> 00:03:08,896 there was a Chinese hell 96 00:03:08,896 --> 00:03:10,173 that was different 97 00:03:10,173 --> 00:03:11,473 from a Malay hell. 98 00:03:11,473 --> 00:03:12,863 [Laughter] 99 00:03:12,863 --> 00:03:13,513 Okay. 100 00:03:13,513 --> 00:03:15,642 That Chinese see Chinese ghosts 101 00:03:15,642 --> 00:03:17,463 and Malays see Malay ghosts. 102 00:03:17,463 --> 00:03:18,693 [Laughter] 103 00:03:18,693 --> 00:03:19,703 And Indians, you know, 104 00:03:19,703 --> 00:03:20,653 they see everything. 105 00:03:20,653 --> 00:03:22,463 [Laughter] 106 00:03:22,463 --> 00:03:24,414 So, it got me thinking: 107 00:03:24,414 --> 00:03:25,716 "Are ghosts in Singapore 108 00:03:25,716 --> 00:03:27,804 so adept at racial profiling? 109 00:03:29,344 --> 00:03:31,804 What is going on here?" 110 00:03:33,454 --> 00:03:35,584 So obviously for this course today, 111 00:03:35,584 --> 00:03:36,764 I mean not course, um, 112 00:03:36,764 --> 00:03:38,124 for this talk today 113 00:03:38,124 --> 00:03:39,774 I'm going to talk about Singapore stories. 114 00:03:39,774 --> 00:03:41,584 Thank you Russell Lee for that cover page. 115 00:03:44,075 --> 00:03:46,535 Okay, so in 2009, I was spurred 116 00:03:46,535 --> 00:03:47,815 to examine the history 117 00:03:47,815 --> 00:03:49,735 and representation of the Pontianak 118 00:03:49,735 --> 00:03:51,870 in Singapore for my Masters thesis. 119 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:54,135 Because of the mass anxiety 120 00:03:54,135 --> 00:03:55,196 that was surrounding 121 00:03:55,196 --> 00:03:57,396 something called "Nenek Keropok", 122 00:03:58,186 --> 00:04:00,026 an old Malay lady who goes 123 00:04:00,026 --> 00:04:00,830 door to door 124 00:04:00,830 --> 00:04:03,241 specifically targeting Malay houses 125 00:04:03,241 --> 00:04:05,746 begging people to buy her keropok 126 00:04:05,746 --> 00:04:08,217 which is some kind of fish snack. 127 00:04:08,417 --> 00:04:09,357 Okay. 128 00:04:09,497 --> 00:04:10,807 So if you should refuse, 129 00:04:10,807 --> 00:04:12,548 and never refuse an entrepreneurial 130 00:04:12,548 --> 00:04:14,347 spirit okay? 131 00:04:14,347 --> 00:04:16,607 She would unleash the Pontianak 132 00:04:16,607 --> 00:04:17,807 into your house. 133 00:04:19,137 --> 00:04:20,377 So in 2009, 134 00:04:20,377 --> 00:04:21,687 mind you, I was writing my thesis 135 00:04:21,687 --> 00:04:22,708 on the Pontianak, 136 00:04:22,708 --> 00:04:23,898 so this should be a good opportunity 137 00:04:23,898 --> 00:04:24,865 for me right? 138 00:04:24,865 --> 00:04:26,278 I made my house, 139 00:04:26,278 --> 00:04:26,957 that was, 140 00:04:26,957 --> 00:04:28,428 that I was co-habitating 141 00:04:28,428 --> 00:04:29,518 with my then girlfriend, 142 00:04:29,518 --> 00:04:31,528 as un-Malay as possible 143 00:04:31,528 --> 00:04:32,678 cause I didn't want any keropok 144 00:04:32,678 --> 00:04:33,525 to come in. 145 00:04:34,525 --> 00:04:35,679 So this was not difficult 146 00:04:35,679 --> 00:04:37,069 given that there was no 147 00:04:37,069 --> 00:04:38,609 bismillah or Arabic scripture 148 00:04:38,609 --> 00:04:40,479 on my front door 149 00:04:40,479 --> 00:04:42,059 and I also had a painting 150 00:04:42,059 --> 00:04:43,279 of two naked women 151 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:44,959 staring at each other's naked bodies 152 00:04:44,959 --> 00:04:46,009 with the caption: 153 00:04:46,009 --> 00:04:47,379 "chaos in the cosmos" 154 00:04:47,379 --> 00:04:48,799 so I thought that was enough 155 00:04:48,799 --> 00:04:49,759 as a protection. 156 00:04:51,509 --> 00:04:52,479 So I was so confident that 157 00:04:52,479 --> 00:04:53,579 the Nenek Keropok would skip 158 00:04:53,579 --> 00:04:54,669 my un-Malay house 159 00:04:54,669 --> 00:04:55,429 until one day, 160 00:04:55,429 --> 00:04:57,589 I was home alone writing my thesis 161 00:04:57,589 --> 00:04:58,749 and someone knocked on the door 162 00:04:58,749 --> 00:04:59,529 and said "keropok, 163 00:04:59,529 --> 00:05:00,800 ...keropok" 164 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:02,310 So my first instinct was 165 00:05:02,310 --> 00:05:02,960 to move far away 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from the door as possible. 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the second, the inevitable question: 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "How she know I Malay sia?" 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Laughter] 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So my reaction was best explained 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by Michael Bell, 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that "our sense of rightful possession 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of place depends in part 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 upon our sense of the ghost 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that possess it, 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the connections of different people 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to these ghosts. 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Ghosts make claims about 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the territories of social life. 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Ghosts are political. 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Thus, the possession 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of a place by a ghost 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is not an immaterial phenomenon". 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So this is why I took the Ponianak 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 very seriously, 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because it represents something 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that makes people feel haunted 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by a presence in contemporary Singapore. 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So my belief is this: 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Pontianak is political. 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I spent, 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 um, and this picture over here 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Pontianak Awareness Programme, 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that was found, I think, 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in Singapore General - 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 no, Changi Hosp - 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 no, Changi Hospital. 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yup. 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The old Changi Hospital. 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I spent a year between 2008 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and 2009 listening to 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Malay people calling into the local radio 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 segment called "Misteri Jam Dua Belas" 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 otherwise known as "Midnight Mystery". 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's still going on, 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so you can tune into [pause] 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 89.7, I think, to listen to that radio talk show 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but you got to understand Malay. 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So I also went on ghost hunts, 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 spoke to Malays who claimed that they 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 could see ghosts 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or have experience being haunted 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or possessed. 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I analysed over 60 narratives. 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I found that Pontianak hauntings 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 revealed every day social tensions 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of living in a multiracial, 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and highly competitive society. 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They mirror our every day realities 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and ironies of social policies. 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What does it mean for the Pontianak 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to be alive in Singapore? 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So according to the narratives 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I gathered, the Pontianak 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 roams around the corridors, 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 carparks, void decks, 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and staircases of public housing flats. 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The standardised nature of public housing 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 makes it pertinent for her to make 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 her mark on places. 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The very notion of citing: 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "I saw a Pontianak there", 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 differentiates that space from others. 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Pontianak is also selective 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the houses she chooses to haunt. 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She possesses the stock of knowledge 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to enter houses Malays owned 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and to avoid those that are not. 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She's aware of racial quotas 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with regards to re-sale flats 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 previously demarcated as Malay enclaves. 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The ghost of a Malay flat 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is passed onto the next Malay owner, 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 while the Pontianak already existing 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in flats of Chinese or Indian occupants 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 lay dormant, 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 symbolising the lingering 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 residue of previous Malay occupants 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and an anticipative desire for potential ones 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to make her presence known. 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was told a few times that 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Hantu melayu tak kacau orang Cina" 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Malay ghosts do not disturb Chinese people" 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and vice-versa. 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Whatever the Chinese are afraid of 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it does not affect the Malays. 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Thank god, right? 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Since there are 75% of you. 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Laughter] 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Lai Ah Eng, in studying meanings 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of multi-ethnicity in the public housing 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of Singapore, 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 demonstrates this effect 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by highlighting how the highly standardised 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 design of public housing 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 provokes residents to 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 personalise their homes. 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So given this persuasive circumstances 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of multi-ethnic living in Singapore, 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 most residents would find it necessary 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to establish territories of self 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 through identity markers. 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So due to this intrusiveness 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of state policies, 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 private spaces becomes the most 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 controllable part of residents' 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 living environment. 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So for the Malays who are at the 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 margins of Singapore's foray 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 into this brave new world, 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Pontianak sightings represent 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 forms of strategic control 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 over their environment. 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As well as I would argue, 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the creative strategy to 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reframe the limitations of the environment. 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So another example that I found 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in my studies is that 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not all kampongs are nostalgised equally. 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We often hear the state leaders say: 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Bring back the kampong spirit", 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, you see that in 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Joseph Schooling right 294 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everybody rallies to basically 295 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 throne a champion 296 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but what does this nostalgia 297 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for the kampong mean? 298 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And most importantly, 299 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whose kampong are we referring to? 300 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, the Pontianak is the embodiment 301 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the rurality. 302 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is an expressive energy of the 303 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Malay kampong collective 304 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and whose continued presence in urban Singapore 305 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 highlights the existence of a memory of place. 306 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So this durability is a concern to the state 307 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for whom the supposed existence 308 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of a tightly-knit minority Malay community 309 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 often bears negative connotations 310 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and consequences. 311 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In 1979, Abdullah Tarmugi 312 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 issued a statement that the Malays 313 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 brought with them most of their 314 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 neighbourly attitudes from the kampong 315 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when moving to the HDB flats. 316 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Almost 30 years later, in June 2005, 317 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Straits Times ran the headline: 318 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Kampong Spirit Alive in Estates" 319 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to highlight the findings of the 320 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 HDB Sample Household Survey 2005. 321 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The findings showed that Singapore Chinese 322 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were the least neighbourly 323 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and had the weakest sense of belonging 324 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and community involvement 325 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 than other ethnic groups such as 326 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Malays and Indians. 327 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In a survey conducted in the previous year 328 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by The Straits Times, 329 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Malays were also found to be 330 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the most neighbourly 331 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 compared to other ethnic groups. 332 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 However, in July 2005, 333 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Minister Mentor, the late Lee Kuan Yew, 334 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 professed how racial integration in neighbourhoods 335 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 has not been completely successful 336 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the rate of intermingling 337 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and acceptance is faster 338 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 among certain groups than in others. 339 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He singled out the Malay community 340 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as an example of such a failure. 341 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And he says, I quote, 342 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "They've centered around the mosque 343 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 more than other social centres we got. 344 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Not quite what we've hoped for." 345 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You see, I leave in Selegie and right 346 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 above where I live is the RC, 347 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Resident Community area, 348 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and every Thursday they invite people 349 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to come and gather and just have 350 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a ball of time, 351 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I wonder, you know, 352 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do I - 353 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what does it feel like to participate 354 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in such spaces? 355 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Why are there only Chinese people 356 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in such spaces? 357 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Well, it's not really hard 358 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to, um, to kind of deduce 359 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because every time, 360 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and each time I visit the RC, 361 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you only hear Chinese karaoke songs 362 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 being played. 363 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I don't think any Malay or Indian person 364 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 would want to waste their precious time 365 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 belting out to tunes that they 366 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are not really familiar with. 367 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So that is why mosques became a successful 368 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 magnet to attract certain groups 369 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of Malays in Singapore. 370 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So Lee's statement reveals the 371 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 discursive formation of the 372 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 kampong spirit, 373 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you know, as a space of Malayness 374 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that was to be regarded 375 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 as less than complete 376 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 space of successful assimilation 377 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 into a multicultural society. 378 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, let you bring the kampong spirit. 379 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If it's Chineseness, 380 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that's what we welcome 381 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but if it's anything else, 382 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 any minority representation 383 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 becomes suspicious. 384 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On September 2007, at Mendaki's 385 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 25th anniversary dinner, 386 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Lee Hsien Loong recalled that the government 387 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the Malay community leaders 388 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were not sure whether the Malay community 389 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 could really cope with meritocracy 390 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and compete with other Singaporeans. 391 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Okay, in Singapore, 392 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the stories that get remembered 393 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are the ones that are constantly repeated. 394 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Repetition begets its own reality. 395 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On that dinner, PM Lee's narrative of 396 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Malays was no different than any other 397 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 state narratives of the Malay community. 398 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It begins with the long arduous task 399 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for the Malays to get here, 400 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because we are from "there" right? 401 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Um, the significant progress 402 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that they have made in education, 403 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 increasing social mobility, 404 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and then boom, 405 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 dysfunctional families, 406 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 unmarried pregnancies, 407 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 broken families, proverty, 408 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 et cetera. 409 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But not to worry: 410 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Malays should keep working hard 411 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the government is confident 412 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that Malays can make it 413 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Singapore way. 414 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, in Singapore, 415 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 stress has been justified as a necessity 416 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for the people to stay on the competitive 417 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 edge in order for the nation 418 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to survive in a brave new world. 419 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yet, this acknowledgement 420 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of stress onto various groups 421 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in Singapore are not equally regarded. 422 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The government's politicisation 423 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of stress makes it difficult 424 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for certain groups of Singaporeans 425 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to articulate how stressful they are 426 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 without being labelled as "incapable" 427 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or undeserving of assistance, 428 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or relief. 429 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For under privileged minorities, 430 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 stress is personalised as individual failure 431 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or lack of resilience 432 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 while stress for the privileged 433 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is validated as productive 434 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and a badge of diligence. 435 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is worthwhile to note that the bulk 436 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the narratives that describe encounters 437 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with the Pontianak 438 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 also profess the sentiments such as 439 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "I was possessed 440 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because I might have been tired from work" 441 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or, "I had to stay in school until late" 442 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or "come back from work late" 443 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 interestingly, in some of the narratives, 444 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 contributors also describe 445 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 feeling feverish and ill 446 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 after encountering the Pontianak. 447 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Such symptoms of illness warrants 448 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a day off from school or work 449 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to cope with the trauma 450 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of their frightening encounters. 451 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This latent imagery of being exhausted 452 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from school or work, 453 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 coupled with this haunting experience 454 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the Pontianak, 455 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of being possessed 456 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 may describe the anxieties of being 457 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in a stressful environment, 458 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a common experience among Singaporeans. 459 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Moreover, from my research, 460 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the visibility of the Pontianak 461 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in areas of high Malay numerical 462 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sorry, 463 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 high Malay numerical populated areas 464 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 corresponding with medial 465 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to low income housing areas 466 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 demonstrates cultural anxieties to survive 467 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in a competitive capitalist economy. 468 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In this manner, the Pontianak 469 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 may exist as a vehicle for the Malay 470 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 individual to express his or her anxieties 471 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in a common space, 472 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but private and secret enough, 473 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and intimate enough, 474 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that it escapes the scrutiny of the state. 475 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because any news of Malays 476 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 publicly complaining of Singapore's 477 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 highly stressed environment 478 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 may almost certainly invite 479 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 criticisms from the state 480 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or even local Malay agencies 481 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the Malays possess some form of 482 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 cultural deficit. 483 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We are easily contented lot, 484 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or lazy as compared to the other races. 485 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This culture of haunting reminds us 486 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the distinction between 487 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 conformity and resistance 488 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in relation to the dominant Singapore story 489 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of multi-racialism is hardly clear-cut. 490 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On one hand, 491 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 stories that I hear reveals how pervaisve 492 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the CMIO model is 493 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and on the other, it reveals the ways in which 494 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 people reappropriate the limiting 495 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 structures that they are embedded in. 496 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It reminds us that most of the times, 497 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 strategies to trouble mainstream narratives 498 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are not always for or against power. 499 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On the contrary, as activists, 500 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the important lesson here 501 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is that every day stories capture 502 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 new nuances in which people 503 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 find meaning in working 504 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in and on dominant ideologies. 505 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Maybe sometimes it is best 506 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that stories begin out of nowhere 507 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because not all characters 508 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 share the same beginning. 509 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Searching for people's history 510 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thus requires a return to a contested beginning. 511 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Not of how the same story is told, 512 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but rather, the point of which 513 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 another interpretation, 514 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 memory, 515 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 experience, 516 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 history, 517 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was about to be forgotten, 518 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that we rescue it. 519 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is our intervention as Singaporeans. 520 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 To remember who we are 521 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the stories that we tell 522 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and where and how a story is told. 523 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Is it from a prison? 524 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Or from a palace? 525 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is the key to harnessing power. 526 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 To fuck with it 527 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so that everyone can have a piece of it. 528 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Thank you so much. 529 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Applause]