From this condition it is that none of the Malay rajas ever expose their Malay subjects to disgrace or shame; they never bind them, nor hang them, nor give them opprobrious language; for whenever a raja exposes his subjects to disgrace, it is the certain token of the destruction of his country; hence also it is, that none of the Malay race ever engage in rebellion, or turn their faces from their own rajas, even though their conduct be bad, and their proceedings tyrannical.

– Malay Annals: Translated from the Malay Language. Trans. John Leyden. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ormg and Brown, 1821. 26 – 27.

How do we reconcile this with the Singaporean present, when we are so far removed from the past?

This is from Learn Something Everyday, a new site I discovered from I forgot where.

Anyway, while the site is an interesting and innovative initiative, and the fact in itself is interesting too, my biggest grouse is – how do I verify the authenticity of what’s being said?

I tried searching for the information online but the quote always turns up on its own, without any sources or studies to back it up.

I’m probably not looking hard enough – the last time this happened was when I was working on my research paper and I found this quote about Alfian Sa’at’s One Fierce Hour and how the Straits Times lauded it as “truly a landmark for poetry [in Singapore]“.

Every source I found about the book had the same line, but I couldn’t find the exact article with those words. I remember searching for days on end and wondering if this was one of those things that become truth when you repeat it often enough.

(Who said that line about repeated lies becoming truths, anyway?)

Well, suffice to say, I managed to find the article on RedNano (proved to me that the damn site was good for something), and in case anyone is curious, it was Lee Tzu Pheng who said it in a book review.

So yes – I’m probably not looking hard enough, so if anyone can point me to the actual source where the information about being able to guess someone’s sex from smelling their breath can be found, I’d be very grateful.

Anyway, some tangential information on the Big Lie to sum up what I’ve been thinking about information and credible sources.

Well, perhaps it’s just the prejudice innured into us by politicians past and present, that we have never been good enough, aren’t and never will be good enough. But I think that one will always find things to do as long as one gets access to the information from the organisers themselves.

It’s not always easy, and I don’t have the perfect solution (though Facebook + Google Reader + Twitter + a whole host of other Web 2.0 apps, along with mailing lists help a lot in getting info), but as part of my belief that we need to share as much info as we can (perfect knowledge and all that jazz), I’ll do my bit to advertise about stuff that’s happening which is relatively affordable for anyone, from couples on dates to students.

So!

In the next few months or so, I’d ideally like to go for these two things (click on the links for more info):

1. The Image of Our Landscape (Price: Free!).
2. Baba Bling: The Peranakans and Their Jewellery (Concessions on Fri evenings.)

I know, I know – some of you might be thinking: ee yer, so [insert appropriate pejorative here].

But believe you me – it’s good for all of you to start going for these things. Without not being preachy enough, it is all too often that Singaporeans ironically end up becoming tourists/foreigners in their own land.

Writing Singapore: An Historical Anthology of Singapore Literature will be launched next week, so be sure to get it when it’s out in stores.

Dear friends,

Migrant Voices is building Singapore’s first oral history archive for foreign workers.

Oral history is a special type of in-depth interview. Interviewees are simply asked to tell us their ‘life story’ with minimum intervention and questioning. They need to take stock of their lives in the course of telling their stories. In this way, the individual’s perspective can be revealed holistically, and in indirect and revealing ways.

We believe that a public archive of interviews with migrant workers can benefit both workers and Singaporeans. Telling one’s own life stories to interested listeners can be a tremendously healing and empowering experience. The archive will be used to:

• educate the public,
• help policy researchers and activists, and
• instigate change in the working and living conditions of the workers.

Without this “body of evidence” on the modern phenomenon of migrant labor, the voices of the very people at the heart of the process will simply vanish from public record and public memory.Would you be interested in taking part as an interpreter in these interviews, or as a translator behind the scenes? Drop me an email and I’ll send you more information.

Best wishes,

Shengpei
Project Co-ordinator
Migrant Voices Oral History Archive