Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen

Yen and I just came back from a speaking engagement organised by the Singaporean student association at the University of Pennsylvania (’Club Singapore’). We’re very fond of UPenn - this is the third time they’ve invited us, and it’s always fun. It’s also one reason why we were very happy to hold the US premiere of Singapore Dreaming in Philadelphia!

This year, the event was entitled ‘Dia’Spura’ and naturally involved lots of introspection about being Singaporeans overseas. There was also an excellent musical put up by the students titled ‘Sing City’. I’ve seen similar performances by Singapore clubs in other universities, but this one stood out for me, particularly the poppy score and witty libretto by brothers Joshua and Caleb Yap, two names to watch out for. Anyway, here are some snaps:

Left to right: photographer Quek Jing Cheng (or ‘Jing’ for short), playwright & poet Alfian Sa’at, photographer Yian Huang, and Yen. They were on a panel about the relative ability to pursue one’s passions as a Singaporean. I won’t go into too much detail on this meaty topic here… but I think it’s worth following up on, perhaps in a column.

And that’s me (centre) with (L-R): film director Ong Lay Jinn (’Djinn’ - what’s with all these jazzy singular stage names?), up and coming filmmaker Li-Anne Huang, Jing, and Alfian.

The gentleman above was probably the highlight of the event, supplying, as he did, the crucial whiff of controversy. He is, of course, Francis Seow, former solicitor general of Singapore and now a political dissident (not to say fugitive) in exile here in the US, who delivered an address which is essentially a precis of his book, ‘The Media Enthralled’.

The first keynote speaker was Singapore’s ambassador to the US, Prof. Chan Heng Chee, who, unfortunately, had to rush back to Washington after her address. A pity -I’ve heard lots about her, but this is the first time we’ve met. It would have been nice for everyone to have had the opportunity to talk more substantively with her, especially on her address, which was basically about why we should be proud of Singapore. Time did not permit any substantial questioning, and there were many areas which could have benefited from more discussion.

The brevity of time also affected our ability to question Mr. Seow, but he gamely stayed on for dinner and the show, and even for a late night talk cock session over philly cheesesteaks and milkshakes (pictured below), so we got to find out at least a bit more.

Naturally, he was full of eyebrow-raising anecdotes; Mr. Seow is a born raconteur with an old-fashioned dry wit. It seems a shame that we’ll all probably never get to know the whole story behind so many events. Singapore really could use a Freedom of Information Act, like the US does, so that an objective view of the differing accounts of history can be formed, perhaps after the personalities involved have moved on or the immediate political considerations have cooled off. But I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, more snaps:

That’s Yen selling copies of our ever-popular Coxford Singlish Dictionary - thank you to everyone who picked up a copy! You think films can make money, meh?

And that’s the last picture taken before we all dispersed… (L-R): Yen, me, Jing, Alfian, Club Singapore head honchos Terence and Ming Jing, and Djinn.

It was really fun for us to meet everyone. Alfian is, of course, a superstar whose work and sheer chutzpah we admire deeply. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: he’s Singapore’s best poet, hands down. Jing’s work was a real discovery - he has a humourous, almost delirious eye that reminds us of the very best modern Chinese art we encountered in Beijing. And Djinn - we should have met years ago, but somehow it never happened: a really nice bloke who’s not only completely recovered from his debilitating illness, he seems even healthier than the rest of us! Folks, if you’re ever in NYC, dun forget to call, hor.
We’ll be back in Philadelphia in a couple of weeks for the premiere, so hope to catch up with more of our Penn pals then!

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