laremy.sg

Or, why I’m now seriously scared of Tony Tan, just like how George Yeo scared the bejesus out of me with his “Christians are less likely to riot” comment.

Why?

1. Watch this video once.
2. Watch the video again from 1:35 onwards, this time paying close attention to the parts of the transcript in bold:
   

   (Transcript from 1:35)

   “T-t-t-terrorism [1] is a fact of life today, and, er, you know, it is with us and I don’t think there is any point in trying to (pause) disguise ah, and it comes in many forms, not only with regard to one sector of… (longer pause) society [2], (pause) but from sectors of society or countries which you never thought this could happen – look at Norway.

   (longer pause)

   Somebody – Anders Breivik, I think – from the Christian far-right, (pause) set off a series of bombs, took a gun, killed over 90 people.

   Would you believe that could happen in Norway? From the Christian far-right [3]?“

3. Refer to the video once more, and answer the corresponding questions that follow:
   1. Based on the earlier portion of Tony Tan’s reply, why does Tony Tan stutter when pronouncing the word “terrorism”? Refer to Yawning Bread if you need assistance.
   2. Which “sector of society” is Tony Tan referring to? What is the significance of his longer pause i.e. what does it reveal about his thoughts and feelings with regard to that “sector of society”?
   3. Why is it hard to “believe” that “the Christian far-right” is not capable of carrying out violence? What is the significance of his use of rhetorical questions?

BONUS: One arbitrarily-chosen winner will win one arbitrarily-chosen prize based on the accuracy of your answers.

When I walked into the Drama Centre on Saturday evening, my aunt came up to me with a look of utmost sombreness upon her face and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Aunty Janki’s son is here.”

“Who is Aunty Janki’s son??” I asked.

“The… Kamal,” she said.

“Who’s Kamal???”

Turns out ‘Kamal’ was none other than Kishore Mahbubani, who had come to watch OTOT with his missus, because both their sons were in NS and Mrs M felt that the Ms had to watch OTOT to better understand NS and what their sons were going through.

That’s what I gathered from the Sindhi side of my family who were huddled around me, as they’d also come to watch OTOT as well. Just then, ‘Kamal’ walked by and we talked for a minute or so – I told him that there was going to be “some strong language” in the play; he joked that he was going to leave then.

During the intermission, I joined my family where they were seated, in the middle of the theatre. Coincidentally, Kishore was sitting one row behind us.

He jokingly said that he thought the language wasn’t strong enough. He also added that the French ambassador was around, and was asking what one word in particular meant. No one dared to tell him what it meant in English, but a clever soul told him that the word translated to ‘la chatte’ in French. Nice work, diplomats.

Tan Hong Ming on love.

Race is what? Race car ah?

He, she, me, we.