It’s Singapore’s 52nd National Day today and as I type this I have another tab open on my browser streaming the live feed of the National Day Parade. My parents and sister are watching it from the venue this year, having secured tickets in the public ballot. I have only ever been to the National Day Parade full dress rehearsal and that was when I was still a minor. I was probably only 11 or 12 and I went with my sis and two younger cousins. Despite it being only a preview, we still had fun and it was held at the old National Stadium which has now been demolished. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go to the National Day Parade again some time in the future!

Singapore has come a long way in her 52 years of independence. We all know the story of how Lee Kuan Yew fought the communists and proceeded to turn Singapore from a backwater village to the bustling metropolis that it is today. But Singaporeans are often only fed one narrative . Therefore I was happy to read the Eisner award-winning graphic novel “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” (by Sonny Liew) which offered some alternative views. The graphic novel is smartly written and the narrative is told through the perspective of a comic artist, Charlie Chan Hock Chye, who was born in pre-dependence Singapore. Liew uses his novel to make a social, political and historical commentary on Singapore, questioning the merits (or lack thereof) of the policies the PAP government put in place. He also questions if Singapore has gained all this wealth only to lose her soul?

His questioning and alternate takes on history have not gone down well with the powers that be – the National Arts Council pulled their funding from him, saying he has misconstrued history. Liew really toes the line in what he has written. It’s a bold move and I think it’s something that Singapore society needs. A healthy civic society needs to be one that thinks critically, one that questions and not just accept everything at face value. Let’s hope we get more writers like him and also develop into a society that doesn’t try to shut up people who have other viewpoints.