| March 2004
Oh behave, Singapore source: Business Traveller Magazine. March 2004. by Margie Logartha
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The pixie-faced girl, sporting the tiniest of hot pants, struts her stuff
on the bar counter before rubbing provocatively against her partner who’s
trying gamely to match her slinky moves. Out of nowhere, she grabs a
pitcher, pouring its contents down his shirt. The crowd beneath them shows
its appreciation with a volley of whoops and cheers. More clamber up to
join the fun, and the fever factor continues to rise in the packed bar.
Cut to a dance club on the fringes of downtown where mist and strobe lights create a netherworld. Half-naked figures thump to ear-drum shattering music and patrons do what people ordinarily do in these placesflirt, hold hands, smooch. In contrast to the first bar, though, here they’re all men. In Borders, that sprawling bookstore along Orchard Road, glossy women’s magazines scream headlines such as "I bought my boyfriend a girl for a threesome"…"One night stand when sex is not enough"…"Have the best sex of your life"…"Why should he have all the fun?" Welcome to the new Singapore, a nation attempting to redefine itself in the face of radically shifting paradigms, yet coping with a government that still brooks no challenge to its leadership. Outwardly, the city-state shows no sign of the unprecedented economic slump brought about by the 1997 financial crisis and exacerbated by 9/11, the Iraq war and SARS. The skyline remains stunning, and has most recently been enhanced by the $356 million Esplanade arts center, now known as "The Durian" because of its spiky architectural skin resembling the popular but odorous fruit. Hotels are equipped with the latest in business technology, along with efficient and pleasant service. The café and restaurant scene is vibrant, complementing an already established hawker food culture, and the large and airy malls throng with serious shoppers, long past the Lunar New Year rush. But looks are deceiving. Last year Singapore "had a very bad patch" according to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Things reached a point where he warned of a possible recession. Growth for 2003 eventually sputtered at .8 percent, among the slowest in Asia, though it looks set to improve this year with pundits predicting a figure of as much as 6 percent (although Prime Minister Goh put it between 3 to 5 percent) as global sales of semiconductors, which power the vital electronics sector, lift off. But the rosy outlook isn’t enough to alter the reality of changing times and fortunes. With multinational firms like Compaq and Honeywell heading for cheaper sites in Malaysia and China, the local manufacturing sector has seen thousands of jobs lost and the unemployment rate steadily worsen from the usually stable 2 percent to 4.4 percent in 2003. And that’s still expected to increase further. This climate of uncertainty recalls a halcyon chapter in Singapore’s short history when it was expelled from the Federation of Malaya and forced to go it alone, with few natural resources and a fractious polyglot populace. Today’s dynamics are very different, of course, but the premise remains the same Singapore has to stay ahead of the game to avoid the risk of losing its hard-earned prosperity. As Prime Minister Goh has been saying lately in his public statements, Singapore and Singaporeans must be aware of world events, innovate and evolve. All of this is easier said than done when for decades multinational companies were attracted by state incentives and the population was drafted to be their workforce. Back then, being your own boss was certainly not the cool thing to be, and only when nerdy Sim Wong Hoo, founder of Creative Technology and father of the PC sound card, made waves internationally in the early 90s did entrepreneurship start regaining acceptance. Aware that risk takers are not born overnight but eager to hasten the process, authorities have set up a Ministry for Entrepreneurship and allocated more government-backed loans for start ups. The intention is to stimulate a eager breed of local businesspeople who can contribute to the economy in the same way as their peers in Taiwan and Hong Kong who generate three-quarters or more of the GDP. |
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Law Changes
To those outside of Singapore, news that bar-top dancing was finally allowed legally an occasion covered by the BBC last August with corresponding raucous noises in the background was an encouraging sign that this squeaky-clean Asian city was poised to join the real bad world. This, on top of earlier jolting tidbits such as permitting the sale of medical chewing gum, bungee jumping near Clarke quay, gays finally being allowed to occupy important government posts and (hold your breath) Cosmopolitan invading magazine shelves. But why the sudden barrage of changes? As one cynic put it "Because the government said so." Clearly, behind this spirit of loosening up, is a government-led, pragmatic effort to adapt to new circumstances. The intention is to diversify and survive. It’s ironic that it has taken a few years of bad economic news to encourage social liberties, but that’s the price the government has had to pay in order to build up the sort of service industries that require mavericks and visionaries. They are the sort of people who won’t live and work in a strictly controlled environment, and so some social controls long used to maintain stability in a multiethnic society have been relaxed. "Singapore needs a few little ‘Bohemias,’" said the Prime Minister, places where artists could gather to "soak in the ambience and do their creative stuff." In fact, artists have always been trying to do their stuff, with or without government approval. Haresh Sharma, founder and resident playwright of one of Singapore’s oldest theater groups, The Necessary Stage, says, "Things have always been happening since the 70sthere has and always will be an underground scene." In the early 90s, local artistic expression made history of sorts when a performance artist in an obscure neighborhood venue plucked out some of his pubic hair before an audience. His misfortune was that someone told the authorities, who slapped him with a hefty fine. His one-man act pales now in comparison to the sex scenes they allow in R movies (uncensored and only for over 18-year-olds) shown in local cinemas. Twice last year, including in his "National Day" speech, the Prime Minister urged the community to accept gays as fellow human beings and fellow Singaporeans, saying that since the public sector had yet to set an example in hiring gays, "the private sector might also refuse…gays, too, have to make a living." Whether he realized it or not, the Prime Minister, who added that he did not encourage or endorse the gay lifestyle, hastened a change in mindset. The local media, which had previously depicted homosexuality as "deviant behavior," maneuvered a 180-degree turn and now can’t get enough of the topic or interviews with gay personalities. Articles and plays on gay themes, whether homosexual or lesbian, have become common fare, including a well-produced, though vacuous, magazine for males called Manazine. Gay space has also come out from under the shadows. Instead of meeting in places like deserted areas of the East Coast Parkway, gay-friendly establishments are increasing, among them the chi-chi Centro bar and club in the Fullerton area, which promotes gays-only Sundays and sizzling-hot Taboo in Chinatown (lines on Friday nights are the norm). Throughout the island, there are reportedly seven saunas exclusively catering to this market. Given some conservative quarters in Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board is not, however, overtly pursuing the Pink Dollar as are its counterparts in Australia and Thailand, but that may only be a matter of time and priority. The existence of Section 3771 [1] of the Criminal Procedure Code, however, bothers gay rights activists like Alex Au. "The law is still there [that penalizes homosexuals for having sex with other men], so there are all these questions." He says. "If you boast about liberalization, and here’s a God-sent opportunity, then do something about it. Don’t be halfway." Au says the gay rights advocacy group, People Like Us, which he helped organize has so far been unable to gain recognition from the authorities. "And we’re just an association," he insists. Au should probably not worry too much. After all, Singapore’s founding father, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew did say over U.S. public radio once that no one had been persecuted for homosexuality for the past 50 years, and was not likely to if they were "consenting adults," adding, "God bless both of them." But it does pay to remember that this openness, Singapore style, is conditional. In a speech before the Harvard Club recently, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the country’s next prime minister and son of Lee Kuan Yew, made it clear that while voices from other sectors would be allowed to speak up, the government would still set the agenda. It’s still a far distance to even a glimmer of political liberalization and critical analysis that’s thriving in regional neighbors such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. Regarding bar-top and bungee antics, Lee Kuan Yew told interviewers on his 80th birthday last year "I am of a different generation. I don’t think these changes necessarily add to civilized living. But if this adds to tourism and makes for buzz, well, so be it." They say the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. In Singapore’s case, they’re moving, and for now, that should count. * * * * * Five Who Are Speaking Out Even in a nation not known for inspiring freedom of speech or spontaneity, there are still individuals who beg to differ and dare air contrary views through their work, letters to editors and media interviews, challenging their fellow Singaporeans to imagine other possibilities. Expectedly, many of them come from the arts as do four of the five prominent non-conformists BTAP contacted. Here is what they say about the ‘new’ Singapore. "I am as much a Singaporean as I am a gay person, and I worry that we are not going the road fast enough for a country that wants to be ahead of the curve. "If you haven’t thought about it, and just see a vibrant gay society and dancing on bar tops, you’d think it’s good. But I think it’s a bribethe substance hasn’t changed. We are still not seeing political openness. "Ultimately, that may be our Achilles heelthis inability to contemplate a different political structure." "We are often told that Singapore is becoming more liberal but one questions if it’s merely a public relations exercise to woo foreign talent and investment. "On the ground, the work continues to be a struggle. While there are new censorship guidelines, there are still restrictions on the issues one can address such as race, religion and governance, which raises the question Do these new rules actually support the credibility of Singapore as a modern, progressive, multicultural democracy? But it does make one sharper and more creative, as well as aware that there is a great deal more to be done. "My body of work, which has largely been concerned with identity, race, family, gender and social politics in the Singaporean context, has been perceived as controversial. But this has only been in the attempt to understand the dilemma of living in the Lion City." "It’s no big deal bar-top dancing, reverse bungee jumping. If you take it seriously, it’s laughable. "We’re not as boxed in as people overseas want to believe we are. They like sticking to that image that everyone in the country is meek and straightjacketed, and that’s why we have (international) publishers who reject book projects that don’t match their concept of Singapore. This stereotypingit’s terrible. "If we stick to this groove, and are unable to break it then that would be very damaging to a country’s literature, especially a fledgling one like ours. We need our arts and literature to be recognized by the world. If we are not understood by others, our life as a nation would be that much poorer." "…the truth is that political criticism in Singapore poses no threat at all, being sporadic, isolated, ephemeral and unsustained. The critic comes forward when there appears to be some relaxation of controls, the government responds to his article with its usual vigor, the critic retreats. It will be a long time before anyone dares venture out again. Small nuisances such as frivolous criticism on the Internet or the Forum pages will be ignored. More serious criticism, that is, those defying the rules and guidelines that have already been set out clearly, will be smacked down and got out of the way." (Taken from Ms. Lim’s one page comment in the Straits Times, January 13) "Frankly, I don’t spend my time thinking about whether Singapore is opening up or not. Let that be the problem of the people and the politicians. I spend my time doing the work I want to do. "Theater has always been at the
forefront of questioning, provoking and breaking boundaries. If you think
we (here in Singapore) have opened up, you can be sure theater will always
be there to make it open up even more."
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Side bar in the magazine:
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Footnotes
Addenda None
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