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The Singapore Bicentennial: a Celebration or an Inquisition?

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Bronze statue of Stamford Raffles outside Victoria Theatre Singapore, January 2019. People reading this might think I'm suffering from colonial hangover and yearn for the return of empire and its excesses especially against the native peoples.  No, absolutely not. I just have issues with the verbal diarrhoea directed at Raffles at this time of so called bicentennial celebration of his founding of modern Singapore. I'm only speaking for the dead, those who have no voice to answer the barrage of accusations directed at them. Whichever side you're on, I ask for your indulgence to read without prejudice. In this bicentennial year of the founding of Singapore by Thomas Stamford Raffles , forces envious of his immense contribution to the rise of this city state would be out to steal the thunder from him, perhaps even photoshop him out of the popular narrative. Through a process of spins, character assassination, misinformation and disinformation, the myth makers will focu
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Blog contents follows this self-promotion video

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Singapore Myths: #1 "From fishing village to global city"

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Singapore's spectacular waterfront at night.   © 2020 Tan Keng Yang Origin of Fishing Village to Global City It is unclear who actually made this claim and when. But it has been so oft repeated through the state-controlled media and the national education program in schools that it has become gospel for the less questioning sectors of the population. Even foreign correspondents who failed to do due diligence have perpetuated this myth beyond the island’s shores.  The following are a sampling of foreign takes on the fishing village narrative:  “…from an impoverished fishing colony…” YouTube channel VisualPolitik EN (19 Jan 2022, timeline at 11:24). "... the transformation of Singapore from a mosquito-ridden colonial trading post and military base to a proud and prosperous – if somewhat antiseptic – Asian tiger." The Telegraph in its obituary of Lee Kuan Yew's death. "... just how did this tiny country go from swamp to one of the region's leading economies? BB
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Blog content follows this self-promo

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Nanyang a graphic novel by Tan Choon Hong  is now an eBook and Paperback  on  Amazon and Apple Books Over 100 pages of adventure romance. Love! Intrigue! Betrayal! Preview the contents here Watch the promo video An epic journey that spans the region the Chinese call Nanyang. Two brothers, hearing tales of a city where the streets are paved in gold, head south seeking a piece of the action. After a traumatic separation and several harrowing experiences, the brothers finally meet on opposite sides of the law.  Will they recognise each other as family or will loyalty to their masters triumph to turn them into deadly enemies? Thematic highlights: • Chance encounter on the high seas • Shipwreck of the gargantuan Tek Sing and agonising aftermath • Blood thirsty pirates and slave traders  • Sleazy opium dens in Raffles' Singapore • Sacrifices of the Sisterhood of the Sworn Virgins • Native rites and rituals of the feared Borneo headhunters • Sexual hospitality in t
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Location: Marine Parade Flyover, Singapore
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