志异 Draft by Drama box December 2014 (english) | Page 16

A closer look at
these alternative
narratives that
aim to poke holes
in mainstream
accounts reveals
that they too
have many
inconsistencies
and conflicting
claims.

Singapore and ‘how we became who we are by addressing what
was banished and unspoken for’. It was precisely due to this
intention that the film was banned. Therefore, a discussion
about the plurality of ‘political exile’ and the various forms of
‘displacement’ was never Tan Pin Pin’s objective.
The history of the Malayan Communist struggle in Singapore
shares a very interesting relationship with the notions of
‘exile’ and ‘displacement’. Limited by geography, the Malayan
Communist Party (MCP) was unable to sustain an armed
resistance in Singapore like what was being done ‘inland’.
As official accounts tell us, the pioneering generation of
Singaporean leaders ousted the communist elements within
their party, emerging from the political storm to build Singapore
into an affluent and prosperous nation. What this implies is also
that the MCP was in fact on the path of parliamentary politics in
Singapore during the 1950s and 1960s, albeit clandestinely.
In recent years, there have been several academic publications
on the leftist struggle in Singapore and also many memoirs, oral
histories and autobiographical accounts published with the aim
of giving their sides of the story. Together, they have helped us
piece together an account of Singapore’s nation-building years
that differs from the official narrative. A closer look at these
alternative narratives that aim to poke holes in mainstream
accounts reveals that they too have many inconsistencies and

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