Tan Pin Pin's film To Singapore, With Love not to be shown in public
The Media Development Authority (MDA) says the film is not allowed for all ratings as contents undermine national security.
Faris Mokhtar 10 September 2014
The Media Development Authority of Singapore on Wednesday (Sep 10) decided that local film director Tan Pin Pin's work To Singapore, With Love will be classified as "Not Allowed for All Ratings".
In its statement on Wednesday (Sep 10), MDA said it had assessed the contents of the film, and decided that it undermined national security. It added that legitimate actions taken by security agencies to protect the national security and stability of Singapore are distorted as acts that victimised innocent individuals.
"The individuals in the film have given distorted and untruthful accounts of how they came to leave Singapore and remain outside Singapore," the MDA stated. "A number of these self-professed 'exiles' were members of, or had provided support to, the proscribed Communist Party of Malaya (CPM)."
The documentary depicted Singaporeans who are self-declared cadres of CPM, with some in exile for as long as 50 years. Ms Tan sought to show how they have lived their lives away and how they still viewed Singapore, according to the film's website.
Those featured in the film are:
Said Zahari Tan Kok Fang Tan Wah Piow Chan Sun Wing Wong Soon Fong He Jin @ Lim Kim Chuan Shu Shihua @ Soh Say Hwa Tan Hee Kim Yap Wan Ping
The National University of Singapore (NUS) Museum had submitted the film to MDA for classification in May. It was planning to screen the film with Ms Tan's Invisible City (2007) and Singapore GaGa (2005) at the end of September.
Under the Film Classification Guidelines, films that are assessed to undermine national security will be given an NAR rating. This means the film is not for exhibition or distribution in Singapore.
"NO PUBLIC PLATFORM TO MISLEAD": DR YAACOB
Commenting on MDA's ruling, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said he had read the reasons for the decision and "agree and support their assessment".
"The individuals in the film have given distorted and untruthful accounts of how they left Singapore and claimed that they were unfairly denied their right to return to Singapore," said Dr Yaacob.
"The truth of the matter was that many of them, by their own admission, were members or supporters of the Communist Party of Malaya which sought to overthrow the legitimate elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia through armed struggle and subversion, and replace them with a communist regime," he added.
The minister said it is "not surprising" that ex-CPM members and sympathisers wish now to give their own accounts of historical episodes they were involved in.
"But individuals who have chosen to leave and remain outside Singapore, and refused to account for their past actions, should not enjoy a public platform to purvey distorted and untruthful accounts to mislead the public, absolve themselves or deny their past actions," Dr Yaacob stated.
For ex-CPM members and supporters who have returned to Singapore, acknowledge their actions and renounced Communism and violence, they and their families continued to live here and contribute to building Singapore, he added.
In a Facebook statement, Ms Tan said she was "very disappointed" by the MDA decision and stated that she may re-submit the film for a rating in the future.
She also described the focus of the documentary as being about the everyday lives of the exiles she featured: "These exiles all have different ideological positions and are of different ages; some are communists, others are activists from the Christian Left, yet others are socialist politicians or former student activists. But their feelings for Singapore are intense and heartfelt, albeit sometimes ambivalent, even after so long away." She said she feels many viewers might be able to relate to those feelings.
Ms Tan said she had hoped the film would open up a national conversation to allow Singaporeans "to understand ourselves as a nation better". "It is vital for us to have that conversation on our own terms, especially on the eve of our 50th birthday."
FILMMAKERS, ARTS COMMUNITY EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT
On Wednesday evening, 38 members of the film-making and arts community sent a joint statement, expressing "deep disappointment" in MDA's decision not to allow public broadcast of the film.
The group includes directors Anthony Chen, Boo Junfeng and Royston Tan, as well as notable figures in the arts community such as Ivan Heng, former Nominated Member of Parliament Janice Koh, T. Sasitharan and Alvin Tan.
They suggested that the authorities - which had described the accounts given by the film's subjects as "distorted and untruthful" - release their own version of the events in question. They also noted that To Singapore, With Love has won "multiple awards all over the world", and received "high praise" from film-makers and critics. They said MDA's latest move would reinforce the view that the Government is "trying to limit discussion" on Singapore's history, and urged the authority to reconsider.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, Dr Carol Soon, Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, suggested: "What the authorities could have done is to make use of the opportunity to, say, dispute their accounts and educate the public."
Editor's note: The headline of this article was amended on Sep 10 because the MDA has clarified that the film To Singapore, With Love is not banned, but not allowed to be screened in public, or distributed.
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Tan Pin Pin's film To Singapore, With Love not to be shown in public
The Media Development Authority (MDA) says the film is not allowed for all ratings as contents undermine national security.
Faris Mokhtar
10 September 2014
The Media Development Authority of Singapore on Wednesday (Sep 10) decided that local film director Tan Pin Pin's work To Singapore, With Love will be classified as "Not Allowed for All Ratings".
In its statement on Wednesday (Sep 10), MDA said it had assessed the contents of the film, and decided that it undermined national security. It added that legitimate actions taken by security agencies to protect the national security and stability of Singapore are distorted as acts that victimised innocent individuals.
"The individuals in the film have given distorted and untruthful accounts of how they came to leave Singapore and remain outside Singapore," the MDA stated. "A number of these self-professed 'exiles' were members of, or had provided support to, the proscribed Communist Party of Malaya (CPM)."
The documentary depicted Singaporeans who are self-declared cadres of CPM, with some in exile for as long as 50 years. Ms Tan sought to show how they have lived their lives away and how they still viewed Singapore, according to the film's website.
Those featured in the film are:
Said Zahari
Tan Kok Fang
Tan Wah Piow
Chan Sun Wing
Wong Soon Fong
He Jin @ Lim Kim Chuan
Shu Shihua @ Soh Say Hwa
Tan Hee Kim
Yap Wan Ping
The National University of Singapore (NUS) Museum had submitted the film to MDA for classification in May. It was planning to screen the film with Ms Tan's Invisible City (2007) and Singapore GaGa (2005) at the end of September.
Under the Film Classification Guidelines, films that are assessed to undermine national security will be given an NAR rating. This means the film is not for exhibition or distribution in Singapore.
"NO PUBLIC PLATFORM TO MISLEAD": DR YAACOB
Commenting on MDA's ruling, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said he had read the reasons for the decision and "agree and support their assessment".
"The individuals in the film have given distorted and untruthful accounts of how they left Singapore and claimed that they were unfairly denied their right to return to Singapore," said Dr Yaacob.
"The truth of the matter was that many of them, by their own admission, were members or supporters of the Communist Party of Malaya which sought to overthrow the legitimate elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia through armed struggle and subversion, and replace them with a communist regime," he added.
The minister said it is "not surprising" that ex-CPM members and sympathisers wish now to give their own accounts of historical episodes they were involved in.
"But individuals who have chosen to leave and remain outside Singapore, and refused to account for their past actions, should not enjoy a public platform to purvey distorted and untruthful accounts to mislead the public, absolve themselves or deny their past actions," Dr Yaacob stated.
For ex-CPM members and supporters who have returned to Singapore, acknowledge their actions and renounced Communism and violence, they and their families continued to live here and contribute to building Singapore, he added.
TAN PIN PIN MAY RE-SUBMIT FILM FOR RATING
In a Facebook statement, Ms Tan said she was "very disappointed" by the MDA decision and stated that she may re-submit the film for a rating in the future.
She also described the focus of the documentary as being about the everyday lives of the exiles she featured: "These exiles all have different ideological positions and are of different ages; some are communists, others are activists from the Christian Left, yet others are socialist politicians or former student activists. But their feelings for Singapore are intense and heartfelt, albeit sometimes ambivalent, even after so long away." She said she feels many viewers might be able to relate to those feelings.
Ms Tan said she had hoped the film would open up a national conversation to allow Singaporeans "to understand ourselves as a nation better". "It is vital for us to have that conversation on our own terms, especially on the eve of our 50th birthday."
FILMMAKERS, ARTS COMMUNITY EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT
On Wednesday evening, 38 members of the film-making and arts community sent a joint statement, expressing "deep disappointment" in MDA's decision not to allow public broadcast of the film.
The group includes directors Anthony Chen, Boo Junfeng and Royston Tan, as well as notable figures in the arts community such as Ivan Heng, former Nominated Member of Parliament Janice Koh, T. Sasitharan and Alvin Tan.
They suggested that the authorities - which had described the accounts given by the film's subjects as "distorted and untruthful" - release their own version of the events in question. They also noted that To Singapore, With Love has won "multiple awards all over the world", and received "high praise" from film-makers and critics. They said MDA's latest move would reinforce the view that the Government is "trying to limit discussion" on Singapore's history, and urged the authority to reconsider.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, Dr Carol Soon, Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, suggested: "What the authorities could have done is to make use of the opportunity to, say, dispute their accounts and educate the public."
Editor's note: The headline of this article was amended on Sep 10 because the MDA has clarified that the film To Singapore, With Love is not banned, but not allowed to be screened in public, or distributed.
- CNA/kk/xy/ly
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