It is blatantly clear that by no stretch of imagination could a film of this nature be said to undermine the security of Singapore. The argument put up by the Media Development Authority, followed immediately by the stamp of approval of the Cabinet Minister, is an insult to the intelligence of the population of Singapore. Consequently, the current outcry is predictable. Yet, why did these astronomically highly paid, supposedly highly intelligent individuals, some highly senior army personnel, make or acquiesce to such a decision which, to a common man, is either plainly foolish or extremely stupid? Why is the perverse assessment of security threat an affront to common sense? The plain answer is that the powers that be can tolerate only one narrative for the history of Singapore - the PAP story. The film sets out to present the lesser known aspect of the Singapore political fabric, and in the process, inadvertently presents an alternative version of history. A well crafted film, which, To Singapore, With Love, is one, becomes a potent challenge to the established views. To ban the film would be an infringement to Article 14 of the Singapore Constitution which protects the freedom of expression. The only way to circumvent Article 14 of the Constitution is to invoke the security threat mantra. This would be implausible in any democratic country where the rule of law interprets “security threat” only in the strictest and narrowest sense.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 01:25:56 +0000
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