[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my ten year old son
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.58,0:00:04.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,likes to begin a story out of nowhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.42,0:00:05.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He used to start his compositions
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.96,0:00:07.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with "one day".
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.73,0:00:08.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And until I told him,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.70,0:00:09.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You know,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.07,0:00:10.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you need to be more creative.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.68,0:00:11.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything you write
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.73,0:00:13.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,begins with 'one day'.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.08,0:00:14.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You need to be more creative".
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.94,0:00:17.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So now he starts with a dialogue.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.06,0:00:19.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He tells me, "I don't know how a story
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.61,0:00:20.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,should begin,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.41,0:00:22.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can only write what happens".
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.61,0:00:24.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, reading his compositions
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.02,0:00:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know he has a bright future
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.33,0:00:26.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,writing reports
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.35,0:00:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that is another story.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.86,0:00:30.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But my son taught me
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.62,0:00:32.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a useful lesson though:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.55,0:00:34.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How should stories begin?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.23,0:00:36.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whose stories are we telling?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.34,0:00:38.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who are we in the story?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.62,0:00:40.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where are we telling the story from?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.93,0:00:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wait, the arrow right or left?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.26,0:00:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Gestures]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.56,0:00:47.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, shit!
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.48,0:00:49.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.59,0:00:52.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I only know how to tell stories, yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.22,0:00:55.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.29,0:00:57.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So let's consider this photograph:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.21,0:00:59.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One day, it was raining,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.07,0:01:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a woman sheltered
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.30,0:01:01.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an old lady with a hijab
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.82,0:01:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and someone photographed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.30,0:01:04.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,her thoughtful gesture.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.78,0:01:05.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The end.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.09,0:01:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just the way my son would write his compo.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.02,0:01:10.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this picture went viral,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.74,0:01:12.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the story that anchors it
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.48,0:01:14.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tells us a lot about what multiracialism
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.52,0:01:15.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,means in Singapore.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.19,0:01:18.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The emphasis on the Malay hijab girl
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.23,0:01:19.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being oh so kind
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.65,0:01:21.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to cover the head of a random
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.03,0:01:22.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Chinese old lady
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.24,0:01:23.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with her tudung.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.79,0:01:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Except, the old lady was her grandmother.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.40,0:01:28.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Except, they didn't have an umbrella.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.50,0:01:29.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Except, she was the child
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.99,0:01:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a Chinese man
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.06,0:01:32.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who married a Muslim woman
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.62,0:01:34.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and became Muslim.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.18,0:01:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Except, why is this even a story?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.42,0:01:38.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.42,0:01:41.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sakinah would later write on her blog
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.68,0:01:44.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that she felt like an animal on exhibit
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.25,0:01:46.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,both exposed and violated
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.28,0:01:48.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because, as she quotes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.33,0:01:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"People feel they have the right
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.10,0:01:51.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to decide whether or not
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.69,0:01:53.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she is my grandmother,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.24,0:01:54.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or some random Chinese lady
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.85,0:01:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just based on their
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.20,0:01:58.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yet-to-mature world view".
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.25,0:01:59.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,End quote.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.60,0:02:01.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sakinah's personal story
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.41,0:02:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,drops the mic on racial harmony,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.01,0:02:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or any attempts to racialise harmony,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.60,0:02:09.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or any attempts to harmonise racism.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.17,0:02:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like Sakinah, I, too, am an outlier,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.12,0:02:15.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a trans-identified, queer, Malay Muslim
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.77,0:02:17.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a phD.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.78,0:02:20.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As an outlier, depending on which
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.96,0:02:22.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,axis of privilege we intersect,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.95,0:02:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be it class, race, religion,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.18,0:02:27.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gender or sexuality,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.84,0:02:29.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the stories we tell often goes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.66,0:02:30.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two ways:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.64,0:02:32.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reshape the mainstream,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.41,0:02:34.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or be forgotten altogether.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.07,0:02:36.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What kinds of stories get remembered
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.83,0:02:37.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Singapore?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.50,0:02:49.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, this way it works.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.20,0:02:51.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Oh, okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.17,0:02:52.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.30,0:02:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So growing up in Singapore,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.36,0:02:57.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the only true Singapore stories
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.11,0:02:58.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I used to believe in
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.33,0:02:59.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were by Russell Lee.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.62,0:03:01.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.21,0:03:01.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.81,0:03:05.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my first lesson in multiracialism
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.81,0:03:07.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was in understanding that
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.43,0:03:08.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was a Chinese hell
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.90,0:03:10.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was different
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.17,0:03:11.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a Malay hell.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.47,0:03:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.86,0:03:13.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.51,0:03:15.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That Chinese see Chinese ghosts
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.64,0:03:17.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Malays see Malay ghosts.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.46,0:03:18.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.69,0:03:19.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Indians, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.70,0:03:20.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they see everything.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.65,0:03:22.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.46,0:03:24.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, it got me thinking:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.41,0:03:25.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Are ghosts in Singapore
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.72,0:03:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so adept at racial profiling?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.34,0:03:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What is going on here?"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.45,0:03:35.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So obviously for this course today,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.58,0:03:36.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean not course, um,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.76,0:03:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for this talk today
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.12,0:03:39.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to talk about Singapore stories.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.77,0:03:41.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you Russell Lee for that cover page.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.08,0:03:46.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, so in 2009, I was spurred
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.54,0:03:47.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to examine the history
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.82,0:03:49.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and representation of the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.74,0:03:51.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Singapore for my Masters thesis.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.64,0:03:54.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because of the mass anxiety
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.14,0:03:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was surrounding
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.20,0:03:57.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something called "Nenek Keropok",
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.19,0:04:00.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an old Malay lady who goes
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.03,0:04:00.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,door to door
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.83,0:04:03.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specifically targeting Malay houses
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.24,0:04:05.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,begging people to buy her keropok
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.75,0:04:08.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is some kind of fish snack.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.42,0:04:09.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.50,0:04:10.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if you should refuse,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.81,0:04:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and never refuse an entrepreneurial
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.55,0:04:14.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spirit okay?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.35,0:04:16.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She would unleash the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.61,0:04:17.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into your house.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.14,0:04:20.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in 2009,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.38,0:04:21.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mind you, I was writing my thesis
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.69,0:04:22.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the Pontianak,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.71,0:04:23.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so this should be a good opportunity
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.90,0:04:24.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for me right?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.86,0:04:26.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I made my house,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.28,0:04:26.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.96,0:04:28.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I was co-habitating
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.43,0:04:29.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with my then girlfriend,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.52,0:04:31.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as un-Malay as possible
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.53,0:04:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cause I didn't want any keropok
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.68,0:04:33.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to come in.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.52,0:04:35.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this was not difficult
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.68,0:04:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,given that there was no
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.07,0:04:38.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bismillah or Arabic scripture
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.61,0:04:40.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on my front door
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.48,0:04:42.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I also had a painting
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.06,0:04:43.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of two naked women
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.28,0:04:44.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,staring at each other's naked bodies
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.96,0:04:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the caption:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.01,0:04:47.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"chaos in the cosmos"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.38,0:04:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I thought that was enough
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.80,0:04:49.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a protection.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.51,0:04:52.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I was so confident that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.48,0:04:53.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Nenek Keropok would skip
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.58,0:04:54.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my un-Malay house
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.67,0:04:55.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until one day,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.43,0:04:57.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was home alone writing my thesis
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.59,0:04:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and someone knocked on the door
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.75,0:04:59.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and said "keropok,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.53,0:05:00.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,...keropok"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.80,0:05:02.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my first instinct was
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.31,0:05:02.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to move far away
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the door as possible.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the second, the inevitable question:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"How she know I Malay sia?"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my reaction was best explained
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by Michael Bell,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that "our sense of rightful possession
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of place depends in part
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,upon our sense of the ghost
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that possess it,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the connections of different people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to these ghosts.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ghosts make claims about
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the territories of social life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ghosts are political.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thus, the possession
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a place by a ghost
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not an immaterial phenomenon".
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is why I took the Ponianak
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very seriously,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it represents something
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that makes people feel haunted
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by a presence in contemporary Singapore.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my belief is this:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Pontianak is political.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I spent,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,um, and this picture over here
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Pontianak Awareness Programme,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was found, I think,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Singapore General -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no, Changi Hosp -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no, Changi Hospital.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yup.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The old Changi Hospital.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I spent a year between 2008
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and 2009 listening to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Malay people calling into the local radio
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,segment called "Misteri Jam Dua Belas"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,otherwise known as "Midnight Mystery".
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's still going on,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so you can tune into [pause]
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,89.7, I think, to listen to that radio talk show
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you got to understand Malay.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I also went on ghost hunts,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spoke to Malays who claimed that they
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could see ghosts
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or have experience being haunted
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or possessed.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I analysed over 60 narratives.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found that Pontianak hauntings
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,revealed every day social tensions
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of living in a multiracial,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and highly competitive society.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They mirror our every day realities
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ironies of social policies.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What does it mean for the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be alive in Singapore?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So according to the narratives
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I gathered, the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,roams around the corridors,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carparks, void decks,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and staircases of public housing flats.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The standardised nature of public housing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes it pertinent for her to make
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,her mark on places.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The very notion of citing:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I saw a Pontianak there",
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,differentiates that space from others.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Pontianak is also selective
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the houses she chooses to haunt.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She possesses the stock of knowledge
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to enter houses Malays owned
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to avoid those that are not.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She's aware of racial quotas
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with regards to re-sale flats
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,previously demarcated as Malay enclaves.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The ghost of a Malay flat
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is passed onto the next Malay owner,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while the Pontianak already existing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in flats of Chinese or Indian occupants
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lay dormant,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,symbolising the lingering
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,residue of previous Malay occupants
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and an anticipative desire for potential ones
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make her presence known.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was told a few times that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Hantu melayu tak kacau orang Cina"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Malay ghosts do not disturb Chinese people"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and vice-versa.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whatever the Chinese are afraid of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it does not affect the Malays.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank god, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Since there are 75% of you.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Laughter]
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lai Ah Eng, in studying meanings
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of multi-ethnicity in the public housing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Singapore,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,demonstrates this effect
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by highlighting how the highly standardised
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,design of public housing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,provokes residents to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,personalise their homes.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So given this persuasive circumstances
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of multi-ethnic living in Singapore,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most residents would find it necessary
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to establish territories of self
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through identity markers.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So due to this intrusiveness
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of state policies,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,private spaces becomes the most
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,controllable part of residents'
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living environment.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for the Malays who are at the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,margins of Singapore's foray
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into this brave new world,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Pontianak sightings represent
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forms of strategic control
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over their environment.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As well as I would argue,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the creative strategy to
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reframe the limitations of the environment.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So another example that I found
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my studies is that
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not all kampongs are nostalgised equally.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We often hear the state leaders say:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Bring back the kampong spirit",
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, you see that in
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Joseph Schooling right
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everybody rallies to basically
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,throne a champion
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but what does this nostalgia
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the kampong mean?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And most importantly,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose kampong are we referring to?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the Pontianak is the embodiment
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the rurality.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is an expressive energy of the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Malay kampong collective
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and whose continued presence in urban Singapore
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,highlights the existence of a memory of place.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this durability is a concern to the state
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for whom the supposed existence
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a tightly-knit minority Malay community
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often bears negative connotations
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and consequences.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1979, Abdullah Tarmugi
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,issued a statement that the Malays
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,brought with them most of their
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,neighbourly attitudes from the kampong
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when moving to the HDB flats.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Almost 30 years later, in June 2005,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Straits Times ran the headline:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Kampong Spirit Alive in Estates"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to highlight the findings of the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,HDB Sample Household Survey 2005.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The findings showed that Singapore Chinese
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were the least neighbourly
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had the weakest sense of belonging
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and community involvement
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than other ethnic groups such as
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Malays and Indians.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a survey conducted in the previous year
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by The Straits Times,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Malays were also found to be
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the most neighbourly
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared to other ethnic groups.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, in July 2005,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Minister Mentor, the late Lee Kuan Yew,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,professed how racial integration in neighbourhoods
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has not been completely successful
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the rate of intermingling
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and acceptance is faster
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,among certain groups than in others.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He singled out the Malay community
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as an example of such a failure.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he says, I quote,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"They've centered around the mosque
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than other social centres we got.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not quite what we've hoped for."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You see, I leave in Selegie and right
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,above where I live is the RC,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Resident Community area,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and every Thursday they invite people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to come and gather and just have
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a ball of time,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I wonder, you know,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do I -
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what does it feel like to participate
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in such spaces?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why are there only Chinese people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in such spaces?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, it's not really hard
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to, um, to kind of deduce
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because every time,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and each time I visit the RC,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you only hear Chinese karaoke songs
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being played.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I don't think any Malay or Indian person
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would want to waste their precious time
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,belting out to tunes that they
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not really familiar with.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that is why mosques became a successful
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,magnet to attract certain groups
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Malays in Singapore.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Lee's statement reveals the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,discursive formation of the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kampong spirit,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, as a space of Malayness
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was to be regarded
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as less than complete
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,space of successful assimilation
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a multicultural society.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, let you bring the kampong spirit.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If it's Chineseness,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's what we welcome
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but if it's anything else,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any minority representation
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,becomes suspicious.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On September 2007, at Mendaki's
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,25th anniversary dinner,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lee Hsien Loong recalled that the government
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Malay community leaders
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were not sure whether the Malay community
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could really cope with meritocracy
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and compete with other Singaporeans.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay, in Singapore,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the stories that get remembered
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the ones that are constantly repeated.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Repetition begets its own reality.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On that dinner, PM Lee's narrative of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Malays was no different than any other
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,state narratives of the Malay community.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It begins with the long arduous task
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the Malays to get here,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we are from "there" right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Um, the significant progress
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they have made in education,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,increasing social mobility,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then boom,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dysfunctional families,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unmarried pregnancies,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,broken families, proverty,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,et cetera.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But not to worry:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Malays should keep working hard
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the government is confident
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Malays can make it
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Singapore way.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, in Singapore,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stress has been justified as a necessity
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the people to stay on the competitive
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,edge in order for the nation
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to survive in a brave new world.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet, this acknowledgement
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of stress onto various groups
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Singapore are not equally regarded.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The government's politicisation
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of stress makes it difficult
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for certain groups of Singaporeans
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to articulate how stressful they are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without being labelled as "incapable"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or undeserving of assistance,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or relief.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For under privileged minorities,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stress is personalised as individual failure
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or lack of resilience
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while stress for the privileged
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is validated as productive
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a badge of diligence.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is worthwhile to note that the bulk
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the narratives that describe encounters
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also profess the sentiments such as
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I was possessed
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I might have been tired from work"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or, "I had to stay in school until late"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or "come back from work late"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interestingly, in some of the narratives,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,contributors also describe
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feeling feverish and ill
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after encountering the Pontianak.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Such symptoms of illness warrants
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a day off from school or work
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to cope with the trauma
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of their frightening encounters.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This latent imagery of being exhausted
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from school or work,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,coupled with this haunting experience
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the Pontianak,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of being possessed
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may describe the anxieties of being
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a stressful environment,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a common experience among Singaporeans.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Moreover, from my research,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the visibility of the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in areas of high Malay numerical
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sorry,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,high Malay numerical populated areas
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,corresponding with medial
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to low income housing areas
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,demonstrates cultural anxieties to survive
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a competitive capitalist economy.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this manner, the Pontianak
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may exist as a vehicle for the Malay
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,individual to express his or her anxieties
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a common space,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but private and secret enough,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and intimate enough,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it escapes the scrutiny of the state.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because any news of Malays
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,publicly complaining of Singapore's
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,highly stressed environment
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may almost certainly invite
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,criticisms from the state
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even local Malay agencies
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the Malays possess some form of
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cultural deficit.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are easily contented lot,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or lazy as compared to the other races.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This culture of haunting reminds us
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the distinction between
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,conformity and resistance
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in relation to the dominant Singapore story
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of multi-racialism is hardly clear-cut.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On one hand,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stories that I hear reveals how pervaisve
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the CMIO model is
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and on the other, it reveals the ways in which
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people reappropriate the limiting
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,structures that they are embedded in.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It reminds us that most of the times,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,strategies to trouble mainstream narratives
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not always for or against power.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the contrary, as activists,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the important lesson here
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that every day stories capture
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new nuances in which people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,find meaning in working
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in and on dominant ideologies.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe sometimes it is best
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that stories begin out of nowhere
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because not all characters
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,share the same beginning.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Searching for people's history
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thus requires a return to a contested beginning.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not of how the same story is told,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but rather, the point of which
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,another interpretation,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,memory,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,history,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was about to be forgotten,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that we rescue it.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is our intervention as Singaporeans.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To remember who we are
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the stories that we tell
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and where and how a story is told.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is it from a prison?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or from a palace?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is the key to harnessing power.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To fuck with it
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that everyone can have a piece of it.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you so much.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Applause]