Papa, can you hear me? Papa, can you see me?
Now that the annual orgy of patriotic schmaltz, brazen self-congratulation and tacky pageantry is upon us — that’s National Day to the rest of ya — I thought a tribute of sorts might not be untimely.
A couple of portraits spotted around town of our Minister Mentor no longer, juxtaposed with this rather spine-chilling remark from his N-Day rally speech back in ’86:
And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn’t be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters – who your neighbours are, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit or even what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think. That’s another problem.
While the recent elections would seem to indicate that change is afoot for Singapore’s political scene, the ol’ days really weren’t all that long ago, were they ?
Ah well.
Era (2011), Fan Shao Hua.
Detail of One (2011) by Kelvin Tan, a multi-media installation currently on display in the subterranean walkway between City Link and the Esplanade.
An Exceptional Statesman, Dick Lim, a.k.a. Chye. Bottommost image courtesy of Mayee Wong.
