Documentary on S’pore exiles a ‘self-serving personal account’, says PM

SINGAPORE — In the wake of the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) decision not to allow for local distribution or exhibition a documentary about the lives of Singapore exiles, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was yesterday asked about conditions under which the more controversial parts of Singapore’s past could be discussed normally.

Responding to the question from political analyst Gillian Koh following Mr Lee’s speech at the National University of Singapore Society 60th Anniversary Lecture, Mr Lee called the Communist insurgency that began in 1949 a violent struggle that should be seen within the historical context.

He said the Communists had cast their armed struggle for power as a quest for democracy, and that this was a matter of historical record that is not seriously disputed, except by some academics. “Why should we allow them, through a movie, to present an account of themselves not of documentary history objectively presented, but that is a self-serving personal account, conveniently inaccurate in places, glossing over inconvenient facts and others, which will sully the honour and reputation of the security people and the brave men and women who fought the Communists all those many years in order to create today’s Singapore?”

A movie is unlike a book, he noted. “You write a book, I can write a counter book, the book you can read together with a counter book,” he said. “You watch a movie, you think it’s a documentary (and) it may be like Fahrenheit 9/11 — very convincing, but it’s not a documentary. And I think we have to understand this in order to understand how to deal with these issues.”

When Professor Tommy Koh, who was moderator of the question-and-answer session, said he did not think communism posed a national security threat to contemporary Singapore — a reason cited by the MDA for its rating of the film, To Singapore, With Love — Mr Lee replied: “I don’t think communism will win. Communism is over, but I don’t think the people who used to support communism, some of them, have given up the fight for a place on the winner’s podium.”

Ms Tan Pin Pin, who made the documentary, said on Thursday that she had submitted an appeal against the film’s classification.

Mr Lee was also asked for his take on the protests in Hong Kong pushing for an open democratic vote for the city’s Chief Executive, and its implication for the territory, China and the region. He said the Special Administrative Region was in a unique and delicate position as being part of China and run under one country, two systems. “It’s a delicate business; where exactly does one country end and two systems begin,” he said.

He added: “It’s a difficult situation for the Chief Executive and his team to manage. And I’m quite sure there’s a large team on the Chinese side in Beijing watching this very, very carefully.”

Other questions posed by the audience included how to raise children with sound values, increasing knowledge of world affairs among the youth here and whether the leaders of tomorrow necessarily need to be the most highly educated members of society.

To the last question, Mr Lee said this was not so, though leaders must be capable people who know Singapore and the world. He cited former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as someone with little education who became an outstanding leader. But as more people in Singapore make it to tertiary institutions, the chances are that the more successful would have had more education — but opportunities will be available for those who want to upgrade, he said.

He encouraged young people to read the newspapers and parents to allow their children to find their own way in the world. Urging the audience to have confidence in the future, he called on them to take the ball, run with it and “win the game”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ROBIN CHOO AND ALICIA WONG