She sits back, immersed in her thoughts.
‘You know what?’ she asks after a while.
‘What?’
‘I’ll file for divorce. It’s about time.’
‘I thought people here didn’t divorce’.
She looks at me perplexed.
‘Who told you that?’
I shrug my shoulders.
‘Never mind.’ I reply.
- 38 -
I get off the metro at Raffles Place, but I don’t lose my bearings any more. It still feels like a giant Broadgate development stretched to infinity, but now the skyscrapers are familiar, have names and are as such less threatening. To my left stands my favourite: the Caltex-Hitachi Tower, its steel and glass ring-shaped structure providing a visual alternative to the linear geometry around me. As a homage to the currency-exchange hawkers of old when ships and sailors descended on the river in droves, it stands protectively over Change Alley that leads to Collyer Quay. Behind me rises the grey UOB Plaza, part of the curtain of granite and glass that began to define the global city of the nineties: two octagonal towers, linked by an office bridge hanging over the gateway to Boat Quay. But the octagons are not complete: the floors are stacked on top of each other, some aligned properly, some rotated at 45-degree angles like a giant corkscrew made out of cleaving cubes. This is a landmark that can be seen from the Padang, from the Esplanade, and during that fleeting moment over the bridge coming from the airport on the ECP Expressway.
The post-modern, flashy fabric of the rest of the buildings – HSBC at Ocean Towers, the UCO Bank, the Indian Bank – are stitched together between these two architectural tours de force. Except for one much older structure that stands on the other side of the UOB Plaza: the 18-storey Bank of China. Completed in the mid-fifties, it is the granddaddy of them all. Not only was it the first skyscraper to stand near Raffles Place, but it was also the first centrally air-conditioned building in Singapore – if it only knew the terrible trend it started. But its transgression is forgiven, for it is beautiful, combining the elements of modernism with subtle Chinese ornamentation under its façade.
I walk across to the Padang for a last stroll. Everywhere I look is a reminder that this is a city which changes and mutates, as if standing still is a transgression. The old Legislative Council in front of me, a genteel, Georgian building, is now housing the Asian Civilisations Museum. That wonderful, domed Supreme Court has become an empty shell; the functionaries have moved to a new address on North Bridge Road. The City Hall next door that saw all the important events in Singapore’s History is vacant, too. A sign says that, along with the Supreme Court, it will house Singapore’s National Art collection by 2012. That leaves enough time for the censors to veto the nudes, I suppose.
I walk up the river to the gaudily-coloured MICA building; this is where the MDA is based, easily my least favourite institution, and one of those niggling questions forms in my mind: how can you aim for a grand art collection with such strict censorship laws? Whom are they supposed to protect, anyway? There are few countries whose citizens are as educated and mature as Singapore’s.
I am about to turn right, but something catches my eye. I walk to the bottom of Fort Canning, the old Forbidden Hill, and look over to the River Valley Swimming Pool. It is fenced off, the pools are empty and the tiles are being ripped up. Opposite, on the other side of the river, a new hotel development is being erected. These baths are far too central and the land they occupy too valuable. Except that their demise is also that of a legend; that of Forbidden Hill and the sultan’s harem that used to bathe in the springs on this very spot. The River Valley Complex may well have been underused but it kept the myth alive.
Here is Hill Street with its Armenian church. Her orchid garden may have given way to a mall, but in this graveyard the headstone of Agnes Joaquim is commemorated with a plaque. This city can be mawkish when regretful.
I walk past Bras Basah Road up Victoria Street towards Arab Street and I tell myself that there much less to regret (censorship? gay rights? punishments?) than to admire in Singapore: its tranquillity, its mindset, its material success. And I always get a buzz from its amalgam of cultures that manifests itself wherever you stand to look, smell or listen: the mix of architectural styles, the range of food in the hawker stalls, the multilingual chatter on the pavements. As I tread on the steps of the procession that on 21 July 1964 led to the Singapore riots, I know that these people have finally got it right where it matters: living together with mutual respect. That date is now celebrated in the city’s schools but not as one of division: it is Racial Harmony Day, when pupils learn to appreciate each other’s cultural background. It takes courage and guts to take the blackest day in your history and turn it into one of reconciliation. Could we designate 7 July as a day to celebrate our own diversity?
There is a small Asian country that can show us the way.
I am back at Raffles Place where everything is so familiar and it is this very familiarity that I carry as a burden. You are never sorry to leave a place as a tourist because by definition you have kept aloof. You are not affected by its life or its rhythm because you have put on a protective suit with goggles and a face mask. But when you learn enough and crave to know more – ah, it is that knowledge that hurts. I wish I were a typical tourist, one leaving tomorrow after a two-day break en route to Australia. I wish I could wear my sling again and use it as an excuse not to go out, not to meet people, not to be involved, but it’s not possible any more, for now I know and I care.
NOTES
THE MYTHS
I have compiled the myths from several sources, but I have rewritten them extensively in this book: for instance, I have made up a complete story around Shushan’s famous koan about the most valuable thing in the world in chapter three. The Buddha’s Message Is Eternal comes from that classic of Chinese literature by Wu Ch’êng-ên, Journey to the West, which appears in the references as Monkey; The Immortal is a parable which I found in Percival Yetts’ article on The Eight Immortals; The Favourite is a well-known story quoted by Hinsch that you can read at Fordham University’s website along with others; The Dutiful Son is a fable on filial piety that I first noticed in the Haw-Par Villa; What the Eyes Don’t See is from The Book of Mencius written by Ke Meng during the Warring States period (around 300 BCE); Ghost For Sale and The Rabbit’s Sacrifice both come from the book Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China; The Missing Piece is a traditional folk legend from the island of Bintan that tries to make sense of the historical event of the assassination of Sultan Mahmud Shah II in 1699 CE.
The Question is actually part of the Buddhist canon, the Tipitaka – which was allegedly brought to China by Xuán Zàng as described in the first chapter – so I have kept it closer to the original than everything else. It appears in the Kevatta Sutta and the version I have read has been translated from Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Unlike my rendition, the question does get answered in the Buddhist text, and you are all urged to go to the website in the references and read it.
Every Singaporean will recognise the tale of the swordfish plague which appears in the Malay Annals (as translated by Raffles’ friend Dr John Leyden) but I should make clear that in the Annals it was the Sultan’s advisors who prompted him to assassinate the boy. But, hey, was anyone present during the discussions? And he did give the order, didn’t he?
Finally, I admit that I have cheated and I have added three Japanese Zen stories, but I have justified it to myself by the fact that they are timeless, they are Buddhist and, well, if a Japanese team can play in Singapore’s football league (it does) then I can put some of their tales in my book. They are The Wise Old Man and Dreamland from that wonderful volume Zen Flesh, Zen Bones and the other is, of course, Shushan’s koan about the head of the dead cat in On Inns and Valuables.
CURRENCY
Unless explicitly shown otherwise, all prices given are in Singapore dollars whose exchange rate is about three to the British pound at the ti
me of writing.
GLOSSARY
Ah: A particle appended at the end of a sentence implying a question and requiring confirmation, something like our ‘innit?’ as in: ‘You English, ah?’
Ang moh: A slightly derogatory term in Singlish, meaning a Westerner (literally ‘red-haired’ in Hokkien).
Atap (or attap): Malay for roof/shelter, denoting the palm-leaf thatched houses common in the old kampongs.
Bendahara: In the classical Malay sultanates this was the title given to the sultan’s prime minister, who was also the treasurer and chief executive of the kingdom.
Batu: Malay unit of distance equal to a mile also used to refer to sections of the motorway.
Box-wallah: Anglo-Indian term denoting a businessman.
Char kway teow: A popular dish in Singapore made with flat rice noodles fried together in pork fat with prawns, fish, egg and other seafood. The word is of Hokkien origin and it means unsurprisingly ‘fried flat noodles’.
Godown: A warehouse.
Keramat: The tomb of a Muslim holy person, normally with miraculous properties.
Koan: A brief question, story or saying that appears impenetrable by reason but can be understood by intuition. It forms part of the teachings of the Zen school of Buddhism.
Kris: A dagger with a sinuous blade used by the Malays and other people in the South Seas.
Lah: A particle appended at the end of an exclamation for emphasis – it is similar to our ‘hey’ or ‘oi’ even the American ‘yo’ at the beginning of a sentence. ‘Oi, go home!’ would be ‘go home, lah!’
Lai dat: A Singlish expression at the end of a sentence, meaning ‘like that’.
Laksamana: The commander of the fleet in the classical Malay sultanates, a position equivalent to an admiral.
Leh: A particle similar to lah, but slightly pleading – ‘Go home, leh!’ implies ‘please go home, don’t be so bloody difficult!’
Li: A traditional Chinese unit of distance equivalent to 500 metres.
Lor: A particle like lah or leh, carrying an air of resignation. ‘Go home, lor’ would be appropriate talking to a drunk or a truant kid.
Mak nyah: The preferred expression for Malaysian male-tofemale transsexuals.
Mee: This Hokkien word also means noodles, but these are fat noodles made of dough, not the rice noodles used in char kway teow. They are called ‘mein’ in Cantonese which is where our ‘chow mein’ comes from.
Merlion: A mythical creature with the upper body of a lion and the lower body of a fish, the symbol of Singapore.
Nangka: A jackfruit.
Nanyang: South East Asia as known throughout China, literally ‘the South Seas’.
Ojek: An Indonesian motorcycle-taxi where the paying passenger rides pillion.
Orang laut: Literally meaning ‘sea-person’. A Malay term that is used to describe the people of the archipelago who literally live on their boats, eking an existence from the sea. Some writers freely translate it as ‘sea-gypsy’ which is rather apt.
Prau or prahu: A long, narrow Malay boat with a triangular sail. In Raffles’ time they were decked and up to sixty feet in length, but modern praus tend to be open and much smaller.
Punkah-wallah: A boy who was employed to keep moving a large piece of cloth, used as a fan, by pulling the end of a rope with his hand, or more usually with his foot.
Sagga: The domain of Buddhist paradise populated by worthy beings who are still subject to reincarnation and rebirth.
Tuan/Mem: A respectful title meaning Sir/Madam in Imperial Malaya and Singapore.
Wa: A Japanese word, meaning social harmony.
Wa lao: A Singlish expression equivalent to ‘goodness gracious’, or ‘Oh My God’. It actually means ‘I’m old’ in Mandarin – the sentiment expressed being equivalent to someone so befuddled that he or she feels suddenly aged.
Wang: (i) ‘Lucky’ as in ‘Lucky’ Wang (ii) a corruption of wén, a unit of payment that was used in China and amongst the Chinese diaspora until the late nineteeth century when it was replaced by the yuan.
REFERENCES
Allen, Charles Tales from the South China Seas (Abacus, 1983)
Anthony, Rachel Singapore (Lonely Planet, 2002)
Beng Huat, Chua Life Is Not Complete Without Shopping: Consumption Culture in Singapore (Singapore University Press, 2003)
Bravo-Bhasin, Marión Culture Shock! Singapore: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Marshall-Cavendish, 2006)
Ch’êng-ên, Wu Monkey (translated by Arthur Waley, Allen and Unwin, 1942)
Collis, Maurice Raffles (Graham Brash, 1982)
Dalby, Andrew Dictionary of Languages (Bloomsbury, 1998)
Dawson, Raymond The Chinese Experience (Phoenix Press, 2005)
Dobbs, Stephen The Singapore River: A Social History, 1819– 2002 (Singapore University Press, 2003)
George, Cherian Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation: essays on the politics of comfort and control, 1990–2000 (Landmark Books, 2000)
Hinsch, Brett Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China (University of California Press,1990)
Humphreys, Neil Notes from an Even Smaller Island (Times Media Private Ltd, 2001)
Kah Choon, Ban Absent History: The Untold Story of Special Branch Operations in Singapore, 1915–1942 (Horizon Books, 2001)
Keay, John The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company (HarperCollins, 1991)
Lau, Albert A Moment of Anguish: Singapore in Malaysia and the Politics of Disengagement (Times Media Private Ltd, 2003)
Leeson, Nick Rogue Trader (Little Brown,1996)
Leyden, John Malay Annals (Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1821)
Lim, Gerrie Invisible Trade: High-class sex for sale in Singapore (Monsoon Books, 2004)
Modder, Ralph The Singapore Chinese Massacre (Horizon, 2004)
Nurvidya-Arifin, Evi; Ananta, Aris and Suryadinata, Leo Indonesia’s Population: ethnicity and religion in a changing political landscape (Institute of East Asian studies, 2003)
Powell, Robert Singapore Architecture: A Short History (Periplus Editions HK Ltd, 2004)
Reps, Paul Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (Penguin, 1957)
Savage, Victor R. and Yeoh, Brenda S. A. Toponymics: A study of Singapore Street Names (Eastern Universities Press, 2004)
Smith, Colin Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II (Penguin, 2006)
Somers Heidhues, Mary Southeast Asia; A Concise History (Thames and Hudson, 2000)
Stepanchuk, Carol and Wong, Charles Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China (China Books, 1991)
Tannahil, Reay Sex In History (Sphere Books, 1989)
Thai Ker, Liu (Chairman) Report Of The Censorship Review Committee 2003 (Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore, 2003)
Wise, Michael and Him Wise, Mun (editors) Travellers’ Tales Of Old Singapore (Times Books International, 1996)
Yetts, W. Percival, ‘The Eight Immortals’ The Journal Of The Royal Asiatic Society, V36 (1916)
Young, Gavin In Search Of Conrad (Penguin, 1991)
GUIDES
Augustin, Andreas The Raffles Treasury: Secrets of a Grand Old
Lady (Kin Yiap Press, 1988) Masjid Sultan – Brief History, leaflet The National Heritage Board: Discover Singapore: Heritage
Trails (National Heritage Board, 2004) Unknown, Haw-Par Villa: The Original Tiger Balm Gardens: A Guide (undated)
WEBSITES
http://www.scroll.demon.co.uk/spaver.htm
Firstly, of course, my own website with some pictures of the places described here, as well as the poem that inspired the title:
http://www.yawningbread.org/
Alex’s weblog as Yawning Bread
http://www.paranormal.org.sg/
Singapore Paranormal Investigators
http://www.etymonline.com
Dictionary of languages
http://www.nesa.org.uk/html/alexandra_massacre.htm
; Alexandra Hospital Massacre
http://hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/essays/buddhist_heaven.asp
Buddhism: Philosophy and Concepts
http://tinyurl.com/ywf4og
In case you don’t believe my ASBO story, read: ‘Yob banned from his own front door’ by Paul Carey, Western Mail, 20 January 2005
http://www.corpun.com/awfay9405.htm
An account of Michael Fay’s crime and punishment by Alejandro Reyes (‘A Caning in Singapore Stirs Up a Fierce Debate About Crime and Punishment’, Asiaweek, Hong Kong, 25 May 1994)
http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/
Official collection of essays on Singapore’s heritage
http://www.elibraryhub.com
The Malay Annals available online
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/china-gaytexts.html
The story of Mi-zi Xia
http://china.tyfo.com/int/literature/fables/20000221literature.htm
Tales from Meng Ke’s The Book of Mencius
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.11.0.than.html#gods
The answer to The Question
http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/
Zen koans
www.summersdale.com
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