August 29, 2019, 04:21 PM
A tourist to Singapore from the United Kingdom wrote a Straits Times forum letter urging Singaporeans to remember colonial Britain’s role in shaping Singapore into what it is today.
His letter was published on Aug. 24, 2019.
The writer, Dr. Daniel Emlyn-Jones, wrote that he was surprised by the lack of acknowledgement for Britain’s contributions in the midst of our bicentennial commemorations.
He also noted that the colonial masters had their shortcomings, were “utterly incompetent” in defending Singapore against the Japanese, and had committed “atrocities” such as the Batang Kali massacre.
And he did this all without being ironic.
Negative responses
Emlyn-Jones was promptly eviscerated.
Singapore blogfather mrbrown, responded with: "Oh piss off, ya bloody tosser."
Others piled on with their own responses, wondering out loud if there could be a less tone-deaf person wandering the face of god's green Earth (even in places that were not colonoised by the British previously).Eats own words
In response to the negative reaction, Emlyn-Jones wrote a second follow-up forum letter backtracking and eating his own words by claiming he was "wrong" -- or that's at least how ST framed it.
This is his second forum letter in full:
Wrong to suggest giving more credit to colonial Britain
I wrote a letter suggesting that colonial Britain should be given more credit for shaping Singapore.
I thank Forum contributors for their responses to this letter, from which I have learnt a great deal.
To use an extreme analogy, Adolf Hitler introduced motorways to Germany, but it would be incendiary to suggest he should be celebrated for this, given what else he did.
It is true that Britain does like to forget the darker side of its colonial past. For example, the victims of the Batang Kali massacre in 1948 still have not received justice from the British Government, despite years of campaigning by survivors and family members. I applaud Mr Ng Qi Siang's call to decolonise the curricula of British universities (More critical view of Britain's colonial project needed, Aug 28).
The best way for different cultures and nations to learn more about one another is through friendship, and I sincerely hope that once the embarrassing mess of Brexit is over, Britain and Singapore can forget the past and deepen their friendship as they move together into the future.
Daniel Emlyn-Jones (Dr)
But this second letter presupposes another thing: How can the "embarrassing mess of Brexit" ever be over?
At the rate that Brexit is devolving, Britain and Singapore can never forget the past and deepen their friendship as they move together into the future.
Third forum letter, incoming.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.