Thank Gov't for Its Vigilance against Communism! Hurrah!!

Hurrah for the Government! Hurrah!

Film on ex-detainee banned (TODAY, 11 April)
It may undermine public's confidence in Govt: Mica
Loh Chee Kong

A FILM about a former journalist detained under the Internal Security Act has been deemed "against public interest" and banned by the Government.

Shot, directed and edited by local film-maker Martyn See, the 50-minute interview-based film, Zahari's 17 years, centres around the February 1963 arrest and subsequent detention of Mr Said Zahari, a former editor of the Malay-language newspaper Utusan Melayu and president of Parti Rakyat Singapura. Mr Said, then 34, was arrested during Operation Cold Store — a Government security operation against subversive activities — and released in August 1979.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) said the film gives "a distorted and misleading portrayal" of Mr Said's arrest and detention and was "an attempt (by Mr Said) to exculpate himself from his past involvement in communist united front activities against the interest of Singapore".

The ministry said Mr See had submitted the film to the Board of Film Censors for classification for screening.

Explaining its decision to use, for the first time, section 35 (1) of the Films Act, Mica added: "The Government will not allow people who had posed a security threat to the country in the past, to exploit the use of films to purvey a false and distorted portrayal of their past actions and detention by the Government. This could undermine public confidence in the Government."

Section 35 (1) allows the Mica Minister to prohibit the possession or distribution of any film contrary to public interest. With effect from tomorrow, anyone who possesses or distributes the film could be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for a maximum of two years, or both. When contacted, Mr See, 38, said he found the decision "very strange".

He said: "I had wanted to screen the film here, but I haven't decided when and where yet ... I need to find out on what basis they are banning it."

This is the second time in as many years that a film which Mr See had directed has run afoul of the Films Act, which prohibits films with political themes. Last year, after 15 months of investigation, the police gave him a "stern warning" over his documentary about opposition politician Chee Soon Juan, which was banned under a different section of the Films Act.

Last year, Zahari's 17 years was submitted for the Singapore International Film Festival. At that time, the Board of Film Censors passed the film with a PG rating — traditionally, films at the festival attract a smaller audience than at a general release. But despite the rating, the festival organisers decided not to screen the movie. It has, however, been shown at film festivals in Malaysia and Toronto.

"(The Board of Film Censors) has to explain why they had passed it under "PG" in the first place. If I'm not satisfied with the explanation, I will have to put it up on YouTube," Mr See said.

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I was in Kalamazoo yesterday morning… in a dream. I was bicycling around the campus. Confused by a changed sight of the town and not really aware which building I should go to, I was also meandering on foot in the campus. There were some T-shirt shops, eateries and even a small bowling alley.

Before flying to Kalamazoo, I was talking to perhaps two men. I have no idea as to who they were. Sitting on a white floor of a place like a rooftop playground, one man was pointing structures that could be seen at a far distance. “That’s the “Tower of the Sun” of the Expo Park and the other is ‘…’ Hotel,” he said. The floor was moving slowly as if floating on water. I asked one of them the time and he said, “eight o’clock.” “I need to catch a nine-o’clock flight to Kalamazoo!” The other man phoned some place and found that my flight would leave after ten o’clock.

Then, last night, I encountered this passage in “The Human Factor”; “One of the men said, ‘Take a squint at this, Taylor.’ He handed the other a sheet of paper. The other read aloud, ‘Bonne chance, Kalamazoo, Widow Twanky.’” Coincidence? Of course.

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For the last few weeks, I’ve been nightmare-free. It tells a lot about my state of mind (I’m quite content with reading and writing). But it is not whole yet. I’m so impecunious! To a scary extent. And the trouble with Epilim is it does not seem working at all. Say, I take two tablets at midnight, I’m still awake reading at four o’clock. Then, I wake up only after a few hours.