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Yes to more naysayers, says playwright Tan Tarn How at panel discussion

SINGAPORE — Singapore needs more naysayers, even if they are saying no for the sake of disagreeing, said playwright Tan Tarn How on Tuesday (Aug 28).

Award-winning playwright Tan Tarn How (centre) and award-winning graphic novelist Sonny Liew (right) take part in a discussion about the role writers play in imagining alternative visions of Singapore, on August 28, 2018.

Award-winning playwright Tan Tarn How (centre) and award-winning graphic novelist Sonny Liew (right) take part in a discussion about the role writers play in imagining alternative visions of Singapore, on August 28, 2018.

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SINGAPORE — Singapore needs more naysayers, even if they are saying no for the sake of disagreeing, said playwright Tan Tarn How on Tuesday (Aug 28).

Speaking at a panel discussion on literature as dissent alongside author and artist Sonny Liew, Mr Tan said having naysayers was "better than having yes-sayers", because this would mean issues being examined, instead of uncritical acceptance of the status quo.

"What's wrong with people who want to tear things down?" Mr Tan said, responding to a an audience member who felt people should object only after thinking critically about an issue.

"I would be worried if we have a nation of yes-sayers rather than a nation of naysayers, because when you say no, that's where the conversation starts," he added.

"When you say yes, there is no conversation. Let's move on to the next thing. I wish more people would say no for no reason at all… because at least it shows they are interested," said Mr Tan, a former journalist who most recently wrote the satirical play Press Gang, about the workings of a newsroom in Singapore.

Some people will not have an opinion on matters, because of a lack of interest. "That's the disease of apathy... that's a problem," he told the audience at co-working space WeWork.

The hour-long discussion, organised by local publisher Epigram, threw up a range of topics such as the relationship between mainstream media and the arts sector, reading in Singapore, as well as censorship.

Another question raised was whether the education system inhibited critical thinking, and Mr Tan and Mr Liew were asked about the role of educators in cultivating naysayers.

Drawing from his past experience as a teacher, Mr Tan said it was "very hard to engender... questioning".

Teaching a class of more than 40 students, "there was no free space in between classes to get out of the 'teach-study-test'" mode to talk about critical thinking, he said.

He also noted instances of students discouraged from taking literature in school because it was purportedly "a hard subject to score in".

Mr Liew — the graphic novelist behind The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye — also spoke about the need for arts practitioners to do their research well, before expressing dissent in their work.

"I believe that if you do enough research, you can... defend yourself against allegations," said Mr Liew, whose book follows the story of fictional artist Charlie Chan during the formative years of Singapore's history, and features events and personalities such as founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, opposition politician Lim Chin Siong and Operation Spectrum, the so-called Marxist Conspiracy, in 1987.

The National Arts Council withdrew an S$8,000 publishing grant for the graphic novel due to "sensitive content" on the eve of its Singapore launch in 2015, and the prestigious awards he later won reignited a debate about whether funding for the arts should be based purely on artistic merit, without political considerations.

"If you don't do enough research... don't have enough evidence backing up your claim or arguments, that's where you get in trouble," said Mr Liew. "Free speech is circumscribed by the need to do your research. It is the responsibility of (artists) to do their own research… to make it as convincing as possible."

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