Three Singapore Literature Prize judges resign over NLB furore

SINGAPORE — Three judges for the Singapore Literature Prize have resigned amid the ongoing furore against the National Library Board (NLB).

In a media statement released today (July 16), theatre educator T Sasitharan, former journalist Romen Bose and Yale-NUS College Professor Robin Hemley said that they “cannot in good conscience” continue to be judges for the non-fiction category of the Singapore Literature Prize.

In the past week, the NLB was in the public limelight over their decision to remove and destroy several children’s books in its collection as they were not in line with its pro-family stance.

Several prominent literary figures have since pulled out of NLB-related events such as the Singapore Writers’ Festival and talks organised by the NLB.

In the letter, the trio said NLB’s move is “censorship that has no place in any free and democratic society”. They added that the actions taken by NLB is “bigoted and sets a very worrying precedent that it is acceptable to discriminate against anyone who may hold differing values and opinions”.

Adding that they condemn NLB’s decision to remove and destroy the books given its responsibility to disseminate information, they noted that it is “very disconcerting” that NLB did not even consider restricting access to these titles but chose to pulp them instead.