I hope this piece doesn’t get me in trouble
On Oct. 1, an artist from my home country, Singapore, was arrested for performing. Seelan Palay was held for 24 hours under the Public Order Act and released on $5,000 bail.
His performance? An expression of “agony, anger and determination” over Singapore’s longestserving political prisoner, Chia Thye Poh, who was detained 32 years without charge or trial. That’s five years more than Nelson Mandela. Mr. Chia was released in 1998 and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.
Why was Mr. Chia, 76, imprisoned to begin with? He was a member of the now-defunct opposition party Barisan Solialis. In 1966, he protested against the then-ruling People’s Action Party and was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act for organizing an illegal march to demand changes in the election system. The government accused him and other protesters of attempting to stir up violence and threaten the country’s peace.
Mr. Chia was offered his freedom — if he would sign a document renouncing violence. Mr. Chia refused, saying that to “renounce” violence was to imply that he had violent intentions to begin with. And so, he spent 32 years in prison.
Mr. Chia’s mistreatment moved Mr. Palay, 32, to express his anger and determination. His performance, in turn — though it was a peaceful reflection of his own life and his disbelief that someone could be detained without trial for as long as he had been alive — moved 10 officers to question and eventually arrest him. In this case, he was marching alone.
Mr. Chia’s case is extreme but not unique. Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, led for three decades with an iron fist. Those suspected of communist ties or who disrupted the young nation’s fragile peace were quickly imprisoned. There are laws in place from that tumultuous era that ban promoting ill-will against another class, race or religion. These laws still stand today as the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act and the Sedition Act.
Here in the United States, life is different. People can peacefully march pretty much anywhere they want, when they want, for any reason they want, and they don’t have to fear backlash from the government. People can stand, sit or kneel during the national anthem if they so wish and should not, in theory, face persecution from the government. Other people can burn NFL merchandise in response. It’s fine to openly criticize any political party, talk about how to improve the government and suggest new leadership models without fear of imprisonment.
The freedom to express yourself is a beautiful thing. To not have to live in fear of repercussions, perpetually self-censoring to avoid having acriminal record, is a blessing.
Of course, freedom of speech is notthe same as freedom from consequence. The government cannot persecute you, but you may face backlash from other people, who have the right to express themselves as freely as you. And that’s the wonderful thing: Everyone has a say. We just need to learn to coexist with those who hold opposing views. With freedom of speech comes the freedom to choose how to reactto it. Please choose to be kind.
Dear Americans, please don’t take your freedom of speech for granted.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my home country. The international community may frown upon Singapore’s censorship laws, but the people are sincere, honest, considerate and kind. The food is wonderful. The health care system is amazing. The government takes excellent care of its citizens. And the whole country runs almost like clockwork, because everything is about efficiency.
Mr. Palay told me that he sought a Singapore with freedom for people and the press to freely present their ideas, and “from this ocean of ideas, every single citizen will be able to decide for themselves what they agree with, what they disagree with, what they believe in and otherwise. And from that pool of opinions and knowledge and positions, we will come to a collective reality, a collective history, a collective future.”
One day, I hope for a Singapore where artists like Mr. Palay can peacefully express themselves in response to injustice and not get arrested for doing so. I hope we will be able to bathe freely in the ocean of information flooding our world today and decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. I hope I will not get in trouble for writing this piece.