Mr Lee Suan Hiang

CEO, National Arts Council

Mr Alan Chan

CEO, Singapore Press Holdings

Distinguished Guests, Writers

Ladies and gentlemen

Good evening.

1.            It is a real pleasure to join you tonight in honouring the winners of this year’s Golden Point Award competition.

Nurturing Local Writers

2.            Our local literary culture has come alive.  Today, there are some 20 active literary arts societies and organizations in Singapore, almost twice the number a decade ago.  Many of our top writers have been invited to prestigious international literary events, like the International Literature Festival Berlin, and The Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

3.            Literature matters.  Be it in the form of novels, poetry, comics, newspaper commentaries, or even the now ubiquitous blog, the written word has great influence.

4.            But there is also a uniquely enduring quality about literature that makes it particularly important as we develop a nation.  It is through the works of local writers that a people’s past and present, and their aspirations, are defined, explored and passed on to future generations.

5.            As a multi-cultural society, Singapore is fortunate to enjoy a treasure trove of literary works in our four official languages.  They bring different sensitivities and perspectives into the way we look at ourselves as a people, but increasingly share a uniquely Singaporean spirit.  Local writing is itself part of the Singapore story being written.

6.            Some of our leading writers today – our Cultural Medallion recipients for Literature – continue to influence contemporary Singapore writing as well as writers beyond our shores.  For example, Wong Meng Voon, who is noted for his contribution to the mini-story Chinese prose genre in Singapore and for publishing a History of Chinese Literature in Singapore.  Abdul Ghani Hamid’s sensitivity to the lyricism of the Malay language, as reflected in his poems, continues to inspire many young writers today.  Abdul Rahman, better known as Singai Mukilan, and Rama Kannabiran have inspired and caught the attention of Tamil writers even in Malaysia and India.  Edwin Thumboo, widely regarded as a pioneer in local English writing has powerfully captured the aspirations and questions in the minds of many Singaporeans in his poems over the years.

7.            Many other writers have built on the foundations laid by the pioneers and are helping contour Singapore’s literary landscape.  They include Kirpal Singh, the late Goh Sin Tub and Catherine Lim, Yeng Puay Ngon, KTM Iqbal, Isa Kamari and younger writers like Alfian Sa’at, Alvin Pang, Felix Cheong and Tan Chee Lay.

Support from the National Arts Council

8.            A Population Survey on the Arts conducted in 2002 found that 10 per cent of 1314 respondents aged between 15 and 34 had written stories, articles or poetry in the past year.  Many of you here today would be amongst this 10 percent and we must all want to see the number grow.  We need more writers, creating works that fuel the imagination of our fellow citizens and promote an active, thinking society.

9.            To this end the National Arts Council (NAC) has been tireless in its efforts to promote writing.  The NAC provides over half a million dollars of support for the literary arts each year.  In addition, there are a number of programmes for young people who want to write.  These include Marshall Cavendish's annual Words + Art writing competition, the National University of Singapore Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and The Arts House’s Writing Fellowship, MOE’s Creative Arts Programme, Singapore Press Holding’s weekly YouthInk pages and Lianhe Zaobao’s weekly “qu huo” for young people to pen their thoughts.  Events such as the National Book Development Council’s Singapore Literature Prize and even tonight’s event, the Golden Point Awards, continue to be avidly anticipated by many writers.  These are commendable initiatives and the NAC has done well to nurture local writers.

Exciting Students about Literature

10.       We want our students in schools to be excited about learning Literature.  In schools, interactive activities, such as story-telling, skits, poetry recitations and word games, are part and parcel of the present day classroom.  We have incorporated the work of local writers into our language and literature curriculum.  For instance, our Malay Language texts feature the work of poets such as Masuri S. N. and Rasiah Halil.  At ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, Liang Wern Fook and Dan Ying feature in the Chinese Literature syllabuses.  Our revised ‘A’ level Literature in English syllabus features the works of Kuo Pao Kun, Suchen Christine Lim and Boey Kim Cheng.

11.       In reviewing the current literature syllabus, we are studying ways to give students a more varied selection of set texts, including more home-grown literature.

12.       Some schools have made special effort to stimulate students’ interest in Literature, and the results show.  Besides schools such as Crescent Girls School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls School and Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School, which have traditionally had a high candidature for Literature, there are a number of schools which have seen a turnaround in the subject.  Literature flourishes once again in schools such as Bowen Secondary, Bukit Panjang Government High and Chua Chu Kang Secondary.  Last year, Bowen Secondary had one of the highest candidatures for Literature at the ‘O’ levels.  Their pass rate for Literature was above the national average and they had a good proportion of distinctions.  Significantly, they saw gains in other subjects, such as, English Language.

13.       How do these schools do it?  It usually comes down to the vision of a school leader, and passionate teachers.  At Bowen Secondary, teachers implemented a dynamic and exciting lower secondary Literature programme, incorporating drama, film appreciation and trips to various places in Singapore so that students could explore different ‘moods’ and ‘metaphors’.  At CHIJ Katong Convent, teachers have designed their own school-based Literature curriculum and assessment for the Normal (Technical) students, from Secondary One to Four.  At Crescent Girls Secondary, students discovered rhythm in language through poetry slam[1] and rap.

Conclusion

14.       All these efforts go towards forging future generations of Singaporeans who experience the joys of literature.

15.       On this note, I would like to commend NAC for its dedication to nurturing local literary art.  My heartiest congratulations to all winners and participants in the Golden Point Award.  I look forward to your continued efforts in writing and in helping in your own way to chart our course as a nation.

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