Having
lived in Singapore for almost twenty years and as a licensed Singapore Tour
Guide I know Singapore well. Academically and ‘in theory’ at least.
However,
since I did not grow up in Singapore I don’t have the shared experiences of
many Singaporeans of my age. I did not listen to stories from my parents about
the ‘Konfrontasi’ period between Malaya – of which Singapore was then a part –
and Sukarno’s Indonesia. I also did not grow up in a Singapore dotted with kampongs
and wooden shacks. (HDB apartments became the order of the day by the late
1970s.)
For
such experiences I turn to literature. There may not be a lot of it around as
most Singaporeans were busy making ends meet – not much free time and hardly
any disposable income. Hence, Mohamed Latiff’s book Confrontation – originally written
in Malay - helps to fill some ‘memory’ gaps for me.
The
story revolves around a kampong boy and his life in a mixed Chinese – Malay kampong
in the 1960s. Political consciousness, the communist movement and Malay
Nationalism are some of the undercurrents which flow through the book.
Nonetheless,
the book has a human face to it. There are multiple (believable) characters all
of whom go through the joys and sorrows of life like the rest of us. (No superheroes
in this novel.) The characters make the novel worthwhile even for those not
interested in Singapore’s history and social conditions during the 1960s ‘Merdeka
Period.’ For those wishing to understand Singapore’s social milieu as seen from
a Malay perspective Latiff’s novel Confrontation is a must.
__________________
Imran is a Singapore based Tour Guide with a special interest in
arts and history. Imran has lived and worked in several countries during his
past career as an international banker. He enjoys traveling, especially by
train, as a way to feed his curiosity about the world and nurture his interest
in photography. He
is available on twitter (@grandmoofti); Instagram (@imranahmedsg) and can be
contacted at imran.ahmed.sg@gmail.com.
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