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2002-04-10 - 9:55 a.m. Teng Qianxi is a friend of mine, and I got to know her after she did something naughty at a function where she was supposed to read a poem to a few dignitaries as part of some Creative Arts programme ‘do. When her turn came, she sauntered up to the mike, and in that charmingly blasé tone of voice (as I would imagine her), she said, “I was going to read a subversive poem on the Speak Mandarin Campaign, but this will have to do.” In one fell swoop she put spotlights on her censorious teachers, her peers who’d prefer the safe and the twee, and the guests-of-honour she was supposed to humour. I did an interview with her, which BigO magazine published, but here’s an excerpt. By the way I think she’ll kill me if she finds out I called her ‘chick’. Alfian: In a recent e-mail to me, you mentioned that you went for the National Day Parade Preview, and felt helpless and alienated by the mass spectacles. Qian Xi: Yes, I had this NDP backlash for a few days. I was struck by the fluorescent colours, the sight of so many people banging their clappers together. It was a monstrous attempt to homogenise and standardise. And these inflatable clappers made these clashing metallic sounds when struck together. The screens would tell us when to use them, and blasted a billion slogans, like ‘together we make a difference’. That was also when I found out that we had ‘consensus, not conflict’ as our first shared value and ‘harmony’ as the last one. Alfian: How in the world did you end up there? Qian Xi: A friend and I got a pair of preview tickets, and I guess I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It’s part of our process to continue our political education. Oh yeah, I also wanted to see LKY before he died, but he wasn’t there for the preview. Maybe next year. Alfian: So tell me more about what it was like. A friend once remarked that he thinks that the NDP is Singapore’s very own National Theatre. Qian Xi: Well it was very spectacular, very extravagant, but at the same time so contrived and choreographed. I didn’t associate it with any level of spontaneity. It was so desperately eager to show the world that we’re this ‘global hub city’. There was this sequence about ‘building bridges’ or something, and there were these gold balloons, looking like ingots, wound round to look like this pseudo-DNA thing. It was a very fitting symbol of how the Life Sciences is equated with something that’s supposed to generate money. Alfian: But balloons are fragile aren’t they? Like the dot com bubble. I think I heard it go ‘pop’ just two minutes ago. Qian Xi: I think I felt alienated by the monumentalisation of state ideologies—there were these five phallic pillars that represented our shared values. I took on an observer status, and I was sad that most people there weren’t aware of the agenda behind everything. It’s been around them all their lives they don’t notice it anymore. Alfian: OK, but I’m sure there were people there who enjoyed themselves. Qian Xi: Of course, from every possible economic strata. From HDB dwellers who think PAP is the best option to JC students who want their PSC scholarships. It was mainly a family affair. To catch the fireworks at the end. Alfian: So, I want to throw you that old government trick when responding to any form of criticism: what would you have done differently, then, if you were organising the NDP? Qian Xi: Let’s start with a few things I would NOT do. I wouldn’t have the MC’s speak in an American accent. I don’t believe in an ultra-representative Singaporean accent, but I wouldn’t opt for a thick American accent either. I wouldn’t have allowed the National Anthem to be rendered in Western style opera, Andrea Bocelli-style. I wouldn’t have the military band, which I think is such a colonial hangover. I wouldn’t have all these synthetised sounds overwhelming the space—perhaps a range of instruments more representative of our cultural make-up. I wouldn’t design costumes where people wore Victorian style crinoline with Thai dancer head-dresses. I wouldn’t make it so blatant that the development of the arts scene is for purposes of tourism. I would realise quite early on the irony of having a mass display promoting creativity in education. And I wouldn’t give out a 3/4 cm book of discount vouchers to reward those who turned up. Alfian: So how did you celebrate National Day? Qian Xi: As a day of observance. I thought of all the places that will be torn down. And all the places that they haven’t touched yet.
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