To Singapore, with
Love
Director: Pin Pin Tan
Year: 2013
Rating: 6.0
An interesting documentary though I would imagine
it would mean very little to most people not familiar with Singapore's history.
I used to go there for work many moons ago so have a nodding knowledge of
it. The director Pin Pin Tan interviews nine people situated in either Malaysia,
London or Thailand. What they have in common is that all of them are exiles
from Singapore who were arrested for political activity that they were involved
in decades ago. And though now in their 70's to their 90's, Singapore has
not forgiven them. Exiled from Singapore you might ask? It has such a good
reputation now that many would be surprised. Yes, don't litter or chew gum
but otherwise who thinks of Singapore as a repressive country. Well, it was.
Run by one man for the most part by Lee Kuan Yew for decades.
Singapore and Malaya were colonized by the
British in the 1800's as they were wont to do. Though Singapore is at the
tip of the Malay Peninsula, it was recognized as a separate entity by the
Brits. The two areas were very different ethnically from one another - Malay
primarily Malays who were Muslim and Singapore was primarily Chinese who
had emigrated from the Mainland. After WW2 the British gave them both their
independence and in the 1960s Singapore moved towards a democracy and that
is where some of these exiles show up. In 1963 Singapore joined Malay
to become Malaysia but the difference in their make-up caused so many problems
that Malaysia kicked them out in 1965. Lee Kuan Yew was the leader of one
party that was in control and the Internal Security Act (ISA) was passed
in 1960 that allowed the government to intern anyone without trial if they
considered them a threat to security.
Lee used this to arrest his rivals - primarily
from the Communist Party. This Act is still in effect and over the years
was used by Lee to arrest anyone he considered a danger to his rule. These
exiles interviewed were either from the early 60's or late 1980s. Some spent
years in jail, others got out of Singapore when they knew they were to be
arrested. Their yearning to return to the country of their birth is palpable
and sad. All of them stick by what they did and refuse to apologize as Singapore
demands to allow them back. That is one side of Lee's harsh rule; on the
other side is the fact that under his guidance, Singapore developed from
a backwater to one of the most developed nations in the world. A world that
none of these people have been able to see.
This film is banned in Singapore.
70 minutes.