By Professor Tommy Koh: The scourge of racial prejudice in Singapore

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Like most Singaporeans, I am concerned by several recent incidents of racism. In May, an Indian woman was confronted by a Chinese man for not wearing her face mask properly while brisk walking. The man abused her verbally, using a racial slur, and kicked her.
In the most recent incident, a Chinese man confronted a mixed race couple on Orchard Road, telling them that it was a disgrace for a Chinese girl and an Indian man to be together.

MY CONCERNS
I have three concerns. First, I am concerned that such incidents seem to be on the increase. Second, I am concerned by the appearance of Chinese chauvinism. Third, I am concerned that members of our Indian community seem to be the target of these recent attacks.

Singapore is a very successful multi-racial country. Citizens of different races live at peace and in harmony with one another. Most of our children and young people have the benefit of studying together in integrated schools and living in public housing which is racially integrated.

Our young men have the bonding experience of performing their national service in the army, police or civil defence. All our workplaces are racially diverse. There are no ghettos in Singapore.

This happy state of affairs is also due to our legal system, our institutions, our policies and to our people.

THE LEGAL SYSTEM
The highest law of Singapore is the constitution, which prescribes that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law. The constitution also prohibits racial discrimination.

The Penal Code makes it a crime to utter words with the deliberate intent to wound the religious and racial feelings of any person. The Penal Code also makes it a crime to promote enmity between groups on grounds of religion or race, or for doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.
In addition to the Penal Code, we also have the Sedition Act. Under this law, it is a crime to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population.

In addition to the legal framework, the Presidential Council for Minority Rights was created in 1970.  The principal function of the council is to examine legislation and to ascertain if any of their provisions discriminate against any racial or religious minority.

The council is chaired by the Chief Justice and consists of eminent citizens. To date, the council has not issued any adverse report.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES
It is the policy of the Singapore Government to promote racial harmony. All the schools celebrate annually Racial Harmony Day. At the community level, the Government has established Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, which are inter-faith platforms formed in every constituency to promote racial and religious harmony.

All these efforts are intended to inculcate, in the minds of our citizens, young and old, the value of racial harmony.

The United Nations International Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Racial Discrimination was adopted by the UN in 1965 and came into force in 1969. Singapore became a party to this important convention in 2017.

The convention requires countries to condemn all forms of racial discrimination and to pursue a policy of eliminating racial discrimination.

Countries which are parties to the convention are required to submit biennial reports to the committee established under the convention. By becoming a party to the convention, Singapore has agreed to have its record scrutinised by the UN committee.

STATE OF PUBLIC OPINION
A Channel NewsAsia-Institute of Policy Studies (CNA-IPS) Survey on Race Relations in 2019 revealed some important findings.
First, about 70 per cent of the respondents viewed the various policies meant to safeguard racial harmony as helpful in building trust between the races and in safeguarding minority rights.

Second, 85 per cent of the respondents acknowledged that Racial Harmony Day celebrations foster inter-racial trust. Third, 53 per cent viewed racism as a problem of the past. Fourth, 40 per cent reported that their close friends were mildly racists.

Fifth, about 44 per cent of the Malay respondents felt that they had been treated negatively because of their race, religion, education and income. Sixth, 62 per cent of the Indian respondents felt that they had been treated negatively because of their skin colour and their race.

It is significant that 40 per cent of the respondents in the CNA-IPS survey reported that their close friends were mildly racists.

It would seem from the survey that racial prejudice is quite widespread in Singapore, especially by the Chinese towards the Malays and Indians.

This was reflected in the result of a study conducted by Angeline Khoo and Lim Kam Ming of trainee teachers. The report of their study is contained in the 2004 book, Beyond Rituals And Riots: Ethnic Pluralism And Social Cohesion In Singapore, edited by Lai Ah Eng.

RACIAL STEREOTYPING
Khoo and Lim found that the trainee teachers held many stereotypes about the different races.

The Chinese were perceived to be kiasu, materialistic, industrious, practical, superstitious and ambitious.

The Malays were perceived to be very religious, loyal to family ties, tradition-loving, happy-go-lucky, lazy and kind.

The Indians were perceived to be tradition-loving, intelligent, loyal to family ties, loud, very religious and argumentative. The authors wrote that “only the Chinese trainees perceived Malays as lazy”.

Racial prejudice is morally wrong but not illegal. Nevertheless, we should fight against racial prejudice in Singapore whenever it rears its ugly head.
We should do so because such prejudice could affect the dignity and employability of members of the minority communities.

As we do not have a national commission of human rights, we should mobilise the weight of public opinion to combat prejudicial views and comments about members of the minorities.

CHINESE CHAUVINISM
I see evidence of Chinese chauvinism in Singapore. This could be due to several developments outside Singapore.

The rise of China in the world has naturally engendered pride in many Chinese Singaporeans. There is nothing wrong with this.

However, pride in China’s achievements should not be allowed to cause the Chinese in Singapore to become chauvinistic, meaning to feel superior to the other races.

There are two other factors at work. These are the growing strength of ethno-nationalism and of identity politics. We must not allow ethno-nationalism or identity politics to come to Singapore.

TARGETING INDIANS
I am also concerned by the anti-India mood in Singapore. Why are the Indians being targeted? I don’t know the answer.

It could be due to perception. There is a perception that there are too many expatriate Indians in Singapore. There is also the misperception that our free trade agreement with India – the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement or Ceca – has created a loophole for Indian professionals to work in Singapore.

Whatever the cause, it is time for the leaders of the majority community to speak up and to put a stop to it. Singaporeans cannot distinguish between an expatriate Indian and a local Indian. Therefore, all Indians, whether expatriate or local, have become targets.  Whether local or foreign-born, there is simply no justification for racist attacks.

WORK IN PROGRESS
I will conclude by quoting what Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said at the IPS Singapore Perspectives 2021 conference in January. He acknowledged that there is still racism in Singapore and that the government is committed to improving the situation. Yes, the situation may be better than it was 10 or 20 years ago but it is not perfect. We must work continuously to make it better.

By Professor Tommy Koh: The disabled and the arts in Singapore

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My interest in connecting the disabled and the arts was inspired by three artists I admire: a musician, a painter and a poet. They convinced me that disability does not mean no ability. They showed me that a disabled person could still be a world-class artist. The human spirit is indomitable.

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the world’s greatest composers. Born in Germany in 1770, he died in 1827, at the age of 56. When Beethoven was 45, he began to lose his hearing. He was completely deaf when he composed his magnum opus, the Ninth Symphony. At its premiere in Vienna in 1824, Beethoven stood next to the conductor Michael Umlauf. When the symphony ended, Beethoven couldn’t hear the applause until he turned around to face the audience.

Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh is one of the world’s most admired artists. He was born in 1853 and died in 1890, at the age of 37. He produced about 900 paintings in his lifetime but sold only a few of them. He painted his most famous work, Starry Night, when he was staying in a mental hospital. Van Gogh suffered from mental illness all his life. After a quarrel with his friend and fellow painter Paul Gauguin, he cut off a lobe of his ear. In 1890, he committed suicide.

The English poet, John Milton, was born in 1608 and died in 1674, at the age of 65. In 1652, he became blind. The precise cause of his blindness was unknown. However, his blindness didn’t stop him from writing. In 1667, Milton published his magnum opus, Paradise Lost. The epic poem, in blank verse, consists of 10 books, with more than 10,000 lines of verse. The poem is about the biblical story of the Fall of Man, and is considered one of the great poems of the English language.

Talented home-grown disabled artists

Singapore, too, has produced several very talented artists with disabilities living extraordinary lives. I shall refer briefly to pianist Azariah Tan, writer Tan Guan Heng, visual artists Chng Seok Tin, Victor Tan and Raymond Lau, and actor Timothy Lee.

Azariah Tan
I have often called Dr Azariah Tan, 30, Singapore’s Beethoven. He has lost about 85 per cent of his hearing and will gradually become deaf. But his disability has not prevented him from becoming an exceptionally accomplished pianist, and he has inspired audiences around the world. He graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore, and has a doctoral degree in music from the University of Michigan. He has won the first prize at several national and international competitions, and he was one of the four winners of the Goh Chok Tong Enable Award last year.

Tan Guan Heng
Tan Guan Heng, 84, is a gifted writer. He became blind at 29 because of an accident while playing hockey. He has written four books – two novels and two non-fiction books. His novel, My Love Is Blind, has been made into a musical. His third book is entitled 100 Inspiring Rafflesians, and his fourth, Pioneering Disabled And The Able, was launched in 2015. He was one of the winners of the inaugural Goh Chok Tong Enable Award in 2019.

Chng Seok Tin
Chng Seok Tin became blind at 33 after surgery to remove a brain abscess. She was a multi-talented artist: painter, sculptor, print maker, mixed-media artist, writer and songwriter. She was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2005, and named Her World Woman of the Year 2001. She was a champion of Singapore’s Very Special Arts (VSA) non-governmental organisation (NGO). She died of cancer in 2019 when she was 72. Her works are currently on display at the National Gallery Singapore, in a group show of six post-independence artists.

Victor Tan
Victor Tan, 52, is one of Singapore’s finest sculptors. He creates works of imagination and beauty with steel wires. When I first saw his works at an exhibition, I could not believe that the sculptor was blind. One of my favourite sculptures by Victor is that of a father and son, on display near the Sun Garden of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Raymond Lau Poo Seng
Raymond Lau, 53, was affiicted with Tourette syndrome at the age of seven. He has learnt to live with the neurological disorder which results in sudden, involuntary movements and utterances. Born into a humble family, Raymond was talent-spotted by Brother Joseph McNally, who invited him to study at the LaSalle College of the Arts. In 2001, he won the Young Artist Award conferred by the National Arts Council. He is a successful painter with a following of collectors. He also teaches other disabled artists at VSA Singapore.

Timothy Lee
Timothy Lee, 21, is an actor with Down syndrome. He is currently acting as “Handsome” in the long-running television show Kin. His good performance is an inspiration to others born with the same condition. I hope our doctors will reconsider the advice they used to give to pregnant mothers to abort such foetuses. Timothy also won the Goh Chok Tong Enable Award in 2019.

Connecting the disabled community and the arts

In 1991, the Singapore Government asked me to set up the National Arts Council (NAC) and serve as its first chairman. I was a happy and active chairman. However, there was one area that I felt it overlooked – bringing arts to our disabled community.

In 1993, I decided to plug that gap by setting up an NGO to connect the disabled community and the arts. My American friends came to know about my intention, and persuaded me to set up the NGO as an affiliate of America’s VSA organisation, established by former president John F. Kennedy’s sister Jean Kennedy Smith in 1974.

The mission of the VSA was “to provide people of all ages, living with disabilities, the opportunity to learn through participation in and enjoy the arts”. The American NGO has affiliates in 52 countries, which pay it an annual fee. 

In 2011, VSA became a department of the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Since then, VSA has become more domestically focused and less interested in its global affiliates. In view of this development, we have decided to cut our link to the Americans and rebrand ourselves. We will take the lead to form an Asean network of similar organisations.

I had five objectives in founding our own VSA. First, to provide an education in the arts to the disabled, especially the children. Second, to use the arts as a form of therapy for the disabled. Third, to enable our disabled citizens to find joy and self­ fulfilment through the arts. Fourth, to showcase the talents of our disabled citizens to the public. Fifth, to help the exceptionally talented to make a living as artists.

Arts education and showcasing young talents

VSA provides classes in art, music, dance and theatre. It conducts art classes for children and adults in painting and pottery, and offers classes in music, with a focus on the cajon, ukulele, piano, violin and singing, as well as different genres of dance. The NGO has benefited from collaboration with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in visual art, dance company Raw Moves in dance, The Jazz Association (Singapore) in jazz and various partners in theatre.

To encourage our students and to showcase their talents to the public, VSA has organised exhibitions and concerts. Every year, it organises an art competition for children and youth with disabilities. The winning entries are exhibited in one of our shopping malls. VSA also organises an annual art exhibition at which the artworks are for sale. It also holds an annual concert by people with disabilities, called Welcome to My World. The concerts are inspiring events, featuring dancers who are deaf, musicians and singers who are blind, and actors and dancers with Down syndrome. Anyone who has attended one of the concerts would have been moved by the  talents on display and discarded whatever prejudice he might have had against the disabled.

VSA’s significant milestones

VSA was founded in 1993. In 1995, it was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. It has  been conferred  the status of an  institution of public character. In 2001, VSA moved to its current premises – a Housing Board void deck – in Bedok. With the financial help of the Lee Foundation, the renovated premises house our administrative office and classrooms for art. In 2011, with the help of the NAC, it opened a second venue at the Changi City Point shopping mall, which was made available to us for free by Frasers Centrepoint. The space includes an art gallery, a dance studio and rooms for music classes.

In 2018, VSA celebrated its 25th anniversary by organising a four-day festival of arts for persons of disabilities, called True Colours. The festival had the support of Unesco and the Nippon Foundation. The concert at the Indoor Stadium was graced by President Halimah Yacob, and featured super-talented artistes from around the world. The festival also included an international  conference on the  arts and disability. In 2019, VSA contributed to Singapore’s celebration of the bicentennial, through the making of four murals in different locations in Singapore. Last year, VSA, with the financial support of Maybank, opened a gallery to display and sell the  works of disabled artists at Changi City Point. 

VSA Singapore turns 28 in September this year. Has it lived up to my expectations when I founded it in 1993? I think it has brought joy, dignity and empowerment to many persons with disabilities.

In the field of the arts, I am impressed by the formation of the Purple Symphony, an orchestra of over 100 disabled and able musicians. The orchestra was founded by MP Denise Phua, a champion of the disabled in Singapore. There are other ground-up initiatives, such as the Inclusive Arts Movement, started by Ron Tan, 29, a deaf pianist.

Public opinion towards the disabled still sub-optimal

The situation in Singapore for the disabled has improved a great deal in the last 30 years. The Singapore Government acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013. From 2019, compulsory education has been extended to children with moderate to severe special needs. 

Two disabled persons, lawyer Chia Yong Yong, 59, who has peroneal muscular atrophy, an inherited neurological disorder, and Yip Pin Xiu, 29, a gold medalist Paralympian swimmer, have been appointed as Nominated Members of Parliament.

However, the employment of the  disabled is still challenging despite the many incentives offered by the Government. I was Chng Seok Tin’s referee when she applied for a teaching position with one of our tertiary institutions. When the employer  found out that she was blind, she was not granted an interview.

Public opinion towards the disabled has improved but is still sub-optimal. This is another area in which Singaporeans do not behave like the citizens of other First World countries. Recently, two of my good friends asked me to help their talented son, an architect based abroad, to find a job in Singapore. He uses a wheelchair to get around. I wrote to several government  agencies and five of our top architectural  firms to ask if they would like to interview him. I received only one reply from an architectural firm, which hired him and renovated its office to accommodate his wheelchair.

I can empathise with why many of our disabled citizens feel like second-class citizens. My ambition is to help level the playing field for them. My dream is that, one day, all our disabled citizens will feel like first-class citizens.

By Professor Tommy Koh: The global campaign to combat ageism

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One of the missions of the United Nations (UN) is to make this a more just and humane world. Towards this end, the UN has campaigned to combat discrimination against women, racial minorities and persons with disabilities.

The UN adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), in 1965; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in 1979; and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in 2006. Singapore is a party to all three conventions.

Campaign against ageism
The UN has been considering the issue of discrimination against older persons for the past three decades. In 1990, the UN General Assembly designated Oct 1 as the International Day of Older Persons.
In 1982, the UN convened the first World Assembly of Ageing, in Vienna, Austria. The Vienna International Plan of Action – the first international instrument on ageing, guiding thinking and the formulation of policies and programmes on ageing – was endorsed by the UN General Assembly that year.

The second World Assembly of Ageing was held in Madrid, Spain, in 2002. In 2003, the UN General Assembly endorsed the Political Declaration and the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing. Article 5 of the Madrid Declaration made a commitment to eliminate age discrimination.

In 2010, the UN General Assembly established the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing. The group is considering developing a new UN convention to promote and protect the rights of older persons.

In 2016, the Assembly of the World Health Organisation (WHO) called upon the organisation to lead a global campaign to combat ageism, in collaboration with partners. In fulfilment of the mandate, WHO has been working with the UN, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Population Fund. The four institutions recently published their Global Report on Ageism. This essay is inspired by that report.

What is ageism?
Ageism means holding negative stereotypes about older persons, being prejudiced against older persons, and discriminating against older persons. In other words, ageism affects how we think, feel and act.

Ageism starts in childhood and is reinforced over time. Children pick up cues from those around them about their society’s stereotypes and prejudices, and internalise them.

They are also influenced by the media and popular culture. Both the media and popular culture tend to depict older persons in a negative light. Even academics are guilty of ageism. Many economists describe the trend of the ageing of the global population as a tsunami or disaster.

Attitude towards older persons however differs from culture to culture. In some cultures, the older persons are respected. In other cultures, they are despised. In general, the older person is viewed negatively in most societies.

How prevalent is ageism?
In the preface to the global report, the authors wrote: “This report shows that ageism is prevalent, ubiquitous and insidious because it goes largely unrecognised and unchallenged. Among older people, ageism is associated with poorer physical and mental health, increased social isolation and loneliness, greater financial insecurity and decreased quality of life and premature death.”

In his message, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres wrote: “Ageism is widespread in institutions, laws and policies across the world. It damages individual health and dignity as well as economies and societies writ large. It denies people their human rights and their ability to reach their full potential.”

The UN report states that, globally, one in two people is ageist against older people. In Europe, one in three older persons reported that he had been the target of ageism.

The report states that, globally, 55.5 per cent of the people hold ageist attitudes towards older people. Regionally, the highest percentage of people with ageist attitudes towards older people is in South-east Asia, at 86.4 per cent. The percentage in the Americas is 41.9 per cent and 44.2 per cent in Europe.

I find these findings surprising and counter-intuitive. Given the Asian value of respect for older persons, I had expected South-east Asia to be less prejudiced than Europe and the Americas. The conclusion is that the old Asian value has gone and been replaced by a new value which privileges the young and disrespects the old.

What are the objectives of the global report? First, to raise awareness about the problem. Second, to draw attention to the need to prevent ageism. Third, to call for action, across sectors and stakeholders.

Ageism In Singapore
Does ageism exist in Singapore? I think the answer is yes.

When President Halimah Yacob was the Speaker of Parliament and a member of the People’s Action Party’s Seniors Group, she said: “We are still an ageist society.”

She said that it was difficult for older workers to find a job. She urged Singaporeans not to “look at an elderly person and immediately assume that they will not be productive, they will not be adaptable, they can’t perform their job… Employment is one area we need to tackle”.

Singapore has a retirement age. It is set at 62 and employers are encouraged to re-employ their active retirees until the age of 67. Next year, the retirement age will increase to 63 and re-employment to 68.
The Ministry of Manpower has a Fair Consideration Framework which sets out requirements for all employers which forbid them to discriminate on characteristics unrelated to the job, such as age.
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices has set out guidelines on fair employment practice. The guidelines prohibit age discrimination.

However, in spite of the Government’s efforts and exhortations, and the Tripartite Guidelines, the situation on the ground is very bad. Workers in mid-career, in their late 40s and early 50s, find it hard to get a job.

The same is even more true for older workers. Employers in Singapore, with few exceptions, hold ageist attitudes towards older workers. One exception is insurance company Prudential Singapore, which has abolished the retirement age.

Should Singapore have a law to make age discrimination illegal?

Many countries have enacted laws to make discrimination on account of age illegal. These include Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States. The laws have had a positive impact on the employment of older workers.

Law against ageism?
Should Singapore consider enacting such a law?

My philosophy is to use the law as the last resort. We should try moral suasion before resorting to the law. My conclusion is that our employers have remained recalcitrant in spite of the Ministry of Manpower’s Fair Consideration Framework and the Tripartite Guidelines on fair employment. In view of this, it is time for the Singapore Government to consider enacting a law making it illegal to discriminate against anyone on account of his age.

There is a strong economic argument in favour of such a law. Singapore is short of manpower. At the same time, we are not employing older workers who have experience and wisdom. We should end the discrimination against older workers and make use of this pool of human resource. Most older Singaporeans want to work. We should let them work and be assets, not liabilities.

At the UN, I hope that Singapore will play a leadership role in the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing. Let us help the UN to develop a new UN Convention to promote and protect the rights of older people.

By Professor Tommy Koh: Rivers of peace and rivers of conflict

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A look at international law governing riparian states and what Asian countries can learn from Europe in managing their international watercourses

There are two kinds of rivers in the world: national and international.
An international river is one that flows through the territory of more than one country. Instead of “international river”, the United Nations uses the term “international watercourse”, which is broader and includes all interconnected waters, including rivers, tributaries, lakes, glaciers and underground aquifers.
There are 310 international rivers, as listed under the Register of International River Basins. A state through which an international river flows is called a riparian state.
An international river can be a river of peace if all the riparian states agree to cooperate in managing the river, to keep it clean, navigable and sustainable. An international river can be a river of conflict if the riparian states act unilaterally and do not cooperate in managing the river.


Lessons from Europe
The successful manner in which Europe manages its international rivers contains some lessons for Asia.


The Danube River
The river Danube is the second-longest river in Europe. It has 10 riparian states, namely Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. All of them are parties to the 1994 Danube River Protection Convention. The convention’s objectives are: 

  • sustainable water management;
  • conservation of surface and ground water;
  • pollution reduction; and
  • prevention and control of floods and accidents.

Although the convention contains a dispute settlement mechanism, it has never been used. Differences between the riparian states have always been settled by consensus.

The Rhine River
The Rhine is an important river in Europe. Its riparian states are: Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The five riparian states, as well as Luxembourg and the European Union, are parties to the 2000 Convention on the Protection of the Rhine.
The convention has eight objectives. These include maintaining and improving the quality of the Rhine’s waters through the prevention, reduction, or elimination of pollution caused by industry, agriculture and shipping – essential, as another objective is the production of safe drinking water from the Rhine. Yet another objective is to take ecological requirements into account when developing projects, such as hydroelectric power.
Decisions by the parties are taken by consensus. Disputes between the parties are to be referred to arbitration.
What lessons can we learn from the Danube and the Rhine?
First, all the riparian states are parties to a legally binding agreement. Second, the riparian states accept that they share a community of interests. Third, they accept the duty to cooperate. Fourth, they have refrained from taking unilateral action. Fifth, they agree to take decisions by consensus. Sixth, they agree to be bound by the dispute settlement mechanism prescribed by the respective conventions.

Asia’s international rivers
Asia has many international rivers. These include the Indus, which is shared by India, China and Pakistan; the Ganges, which is shared by India and Bangladesh; the Brahmaputra, which is shared by China, India and Bangladesh; the Salween, which is shared by China, Thailand and Myanmar; and the Mekong, which is shared by China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Indus and the Ganges
In 1960, when relations between India and Pakistan were very fragile, the two countries still managed to conclude the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. The agreement is in force and is effective in settling disputes between them. A recent complaint by Pakistan against India under the Treaty was settled by arbitration in 2013.
In 1996, India and Bangladesh concluded the Agreement On Sharing Of The Ganges Waters at Farakka. This agreement does not create a community of interests in the shared management of the Ganges. It has left Bangladesh with numerous concerns and unresolved issues.

The international law of international rivers
There are two kinds of international law: treaty law and customary law. A treaty is binding only on its parties.
An example would be the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses which, among other things, commits its members in utilising a river’s resources within its territory to “take all appropriate measures to prevent the causing of significant harm to other watercourse states”.
The convention has come into force and has 37 parties, including Vietnam. As China and Laos are not parties to this convention, they are not bound by it.
Unlike treaty law, customary international law is binding on all states. The International Court of Justice ruled in the 1997 Gabcikovo-Nagymaros case that the riparian states of an international river share a community of interests. This means that the riparian states are bound by the principle of equitable and reasonable use of the river.
In other words, an upper riparian state’s use of the river, in its territory, must be “equitable” and “reasonable”. It would not be equitable or reasonable for an upper riparian state to ignore the legitimate interests of other riparian states.

The Mekong River
The Mekong River is not only one of the world’s longest rivers, but it has also been referred to as the world’s most productive river as it cuts its way through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – over 60 million people depend on the river for their living.
In Cambodia, the Tonle Sap and the Mekong flood plains cover the entire country. The river provides people with fish, agriculture and navigation.
The Vietnam Delta, which is the country’s rice bowl, produces 60 per cent of Vietnam’s rice and fish.
The Mekong has come in for greater international attention in recent times because of concerns over developments that pose a threat to the food security of the lower riparian states.
China has built 11 dams on the river. Laos, which hopes to generate revenue from hydropower, has built more than 50 dams over the past 15 years, with more under construction in rivers and streams around the country. Together, the dams have had a devastating impact on the lower riparian states.
A study by the Mekong River Commission shows that fish stocks could fall by as much as 40 per cent. It also states that there could be a 97 per cent reduction of sediments flowing downstream. This could lower soil fertility and affect agricultural productivity.
Are the six riparian states of the Mekong parties to a legally binding agreement? The answer is no.
Four of them, namely Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, are parties to the 1995 Mekong Agreement.
Article 1 of the Agreement commits its members to “cooperate in all fields of sustainable development, utilisation, management and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin… in a manner to optimise the multiple-use and mutual benefits of all riparians and to minimise the harmful effects that might result from natural occurrences and man-made activities”.
The first imperative is to persuade China and Myanmar to join this Agreement. The lesson from Europe is that all the riparian states should be parties to a legally binding agreement.
We should point out that under the Mekong Agreement, no country can veto another country’s dam projects. There is an obligation to consult, but a riparian state like Laos has insisted that it has a right to use its water resources. Laos wants to build 100 dams by 2030, to become the “battery” of South-east Asia.
The second imperative is to persuade China and Laos, the upper riparian states, that they do not have absolute sovereignty over the river in their territories.
Their sovereignty is balanced by the community of interests they share with the lower riparian states. Their exercise of sovereignty is limited by the obligation to ensure that their actions do not cause significant harm to other states.
This applies to the building of dams by China and Laos. The law does not prevent them from building dams. However, before they build a new dam, they have a legal obligation to undertake an environmental impact assessment and to notify the lower riparian states of their plans. The law also requires them to ensure that the new dam does not cause significant harm to the lower riparian states.

Existing institutions
Apart from the 1995 Mekong Agreement and its well-regarded secretariat, the Mekong River Commission, there are many other institutions relating to the Mekong. In 1992, the Asian Development Bank brought together all six riparian states in the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Programme. The agenda of the programme is to promote connectivity, competitiveness and community.
In 1996, Asean established the Asean Mekong Basin Development Cooperation to engage China. The programme’s main achievement so far is a plan to build a railway connecting Kunming and Singapore.
In 2015, China launched the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, which includes all six riparian states. This is the platform that China uses to engage the five Asean riparian states. Many meetings are held annually and at all levels. However, the issue of dam building by China and Laos is not on the forum’s agenda.

 

A river of peace and cooperation
Our ambition is to make the Mekong River a river of peace and cooperation. Towards this end, we respectfully urge China and Myanmar to consider joining the 1995 Mekong Agreement.
Our second plea to China and Laos, the two upper riparian states, is to accept the rule of customary international law governing international rivers, which is, that they share a community of interests with the lower riparian states.
We want to conclude by appealing to all Asian riparian states: Let us show the world that we can manage our international rivers as well as the European.

Reading Room – Book Reviews by Students

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There is nothing as satisfying as reigniting an old flame like reading. This Winter, 6 Tembusu students, dubbing ourselves the Unsure Motivations, decided to pick out a bunch of books from the Reading Room, and write about them. As the Reading Room closed last semester due to the restrictions on the COVID-19 pandemic amongst other things, this collection of essays is an attempt by Min Si, Melvin, Hong Kai, Jean, Minh and Zhi Feng to show people what the room had to offer once again.

A long over-looked room, this place has much more to offer than we normally assume. As the College’s own private collection of books, curated by our Rector and Fellows, the reading room contains a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be read and appreciated. Essentially, what we hope you will find in these book reviews is motivation to come explore the Reading Room, and hopefully find something that gets your gears turning, just like we have.

By Professor Tommy Koh: A Farewell to Arts: The Substation’s Legacy

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The announcement by the board of directors of arts venue The Substation on 2 March 2021, to close the company permanently has caused much unhappiness in the arts community.
Why did the board take such a drastic decision? In July, the building at 45 Armenian Street will be taken back by the National Arts Council (NAC) to undergo a two-year renovation.
The Substation wants the building back after the renovation. NAC does not agree, as it would like the building to be made available to other arts groups, as well as The Substation. In other words, the dispute is over whether The Substation will be the sole tenant or a co-tenant of the renovated building.
In view of this impasse, the directors of The Substation have decided to shut down the company permanently.
As a long-time supporter of The Substation and its patron, I understand and accept their decision.

Electrical start
The building was originally built in 1926 as an electric substation. It ceased operations in the late 1970s and was left vacant.
In 1986, Singapore’s leading playwright and theatre director Kuo Pao Kun proposed to the Government to convert the building into an arts centre.
The Government accepted the proposal and spent over $1 million converting and retrofitting the building. On Sept 16, 1990, The Substation was opened and Pao Kun was appointed its first artistic director. It was incorporated as a company to run the centre. Pao Kun requested that I be its patron and I accepted.

Vision and mission
What was Pao Kun’s vision for The Substation?
First, he envisaged it as an independent home for the arts. Artistic freedom and integrity were very important to him. He therefore insisted that The Substation should be independent and not be affiliated to any other organisation.
For instance, when the police prosecuted performance artist Joseph Ng for his controversial act of snipping off his pubic hair in 1994 in front of a small audience, to protest against the persecution of gay men, The Substation defended him.
Second, Pao Kun wanted The Substation to promote multi-disciplinary collaboration and to break down the silos in which most artists lived and worked. This resulted in some successful collaborations between visual artists, musicians and dramatists.
Third, he wanted The Substation to encourage experimentation and the exploration of new ideas, new art forms and new ways of making art. He was not afraid of failure. He used to say that a worthy failure is more valuable than a mediocre success. His philosophy was not to be afraid of failure, because failure was often the mother of success.
Fourth, The Substation would be a haven for young artists. There, young artists could find the time and space to learn, to mature, to provoke, to inspire and be inspired. Young artists would be protected from the pressure of money and the obsession with key performance indicators.
Fifth, The Substation would champion the fringe, the maverick and the non-conformist. It would fight against the commercialisation and bureaucratisation of the arts. It would defend the validity of art practices of multidisciplinary artists such as Tang Da Wu and Zai Kuning, and performance artists such as Lee Wen and Amanda Heng.

The first five years
I look back on the first five years of 1990 to 1995 as the golden years of The Substation. That period overlapped with my stint as the founding chairman of the National Arts Council (1991 to 1996).
The Substation was like a beehive for artists and art lovers. Artists young and old, of different language streams, and practitioners of different forms of art would gather at its small coffee shop or garden in the evening. The place had a buzz. Many young theatre companies, such as The Necessary Stage (TNS), made their debut there.
Every September, The Substation would organise a month-long festival, consisting of exhibitions by visual artists, drama and dance performances and thought-provoking forums. With Pao Kun at the helm, The Substation attracted both local and international attention and support. It had no competition in Singapore in the 1990s.

The Last 25 Years
In 1995, Pao Kun left The Substation to return to his first love of writing and directing. He was succeeded by Thirunalan Sasitharan, Audrey Wong, Lee Weng Choy, Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Alan Oei, and Raka Maitra and Woon Tien Wei, who are currently artistic co-directors.
They are good people. They have tried their best to keep up the good work of the centre. I am sure they will not be offended if I were to say that no subsequent artistic director could match Pao Kun’s charisma, stature, credibility and convening power. Pao Kun, who died in 2002, was a hard act to follow.
Although The Substation had no competition when it began, it has many competitors today.
The two arts colleges, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the Lasalle College of the Arts, have grown in strength and quality. Several theatre companies, like Wild Rice, have acquired their own premises. There are also The Arts House and the Goodman Arts Centre.
In 2005, The Substation made a serious error. It rented out its coffee shop and much-loved garden to live music bar Timbre in order to get rental income for the space. But without the coffee shop, there was no place for artists to meet. Without the garden, out-door concerts and other events could no longer be held. This contributed significantly to the decline of the centre.
The other issue is The Substation’s finances. It is surprising that, after an existence of 30 years, its annual budget is only about $1 million, mostly derived from government grants and rentals. Even before the impact of Covid-19, the failure to raise funds from other sources is partly a reflection on the leaders and partly due to the declining relevance of the centre.

Achievements beyond arts
What has The Substation achieved? It has nurtured many recipients of the Cultural Medallion and Young Artists Award. Eminent theatre practitioners, such as Wild Rice founding artistic director Ivan Heng, TNS artistic director Alvin Tan, and TheatreWorks artistic director Ong Keng Seng were mentored by Pao Kun at The Substation.
But, just as importantly, The Substation has played a vital role in the art journeys of many other less well-known artists. Without it, they would not have become the successful artists they are today.
Finally, what will be missed most is its values and culture. The Substation is about the freedom to innovate, to experiment, to challenge the establishment and conventional wisdom. It is about the process of art-making and less about its outcome. The Substation is an incubator of young artistic talent.
I hope there will always be a place in Singapore which understands, values and supports this mission.
It is with a heavy heart that I say farewell to this unique, independent, multi-disciplinary arts centre.
The spirit of Pao Kun and The Substation will never die. It will live on in the many artists whose lives have been touched by it.

Looking ahead, I hope the two arts colleges and the new arts university will attempt to fill the void left by the demise of The Substation.

See you at Tembusu College e-Open House 2021!

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Interested to find out more about Tembusu College? Come join us at our e-Open House 2021!

Virtual Talks:

  • 13 March 2021 (2:00pm – 3:00pm): Residential College Programmes Talk
    Come join the Masters from the various residential colleges (Tembusu College, CAPT, RC4 and RVRC) as they share what each RC has to offer!
    Zoom Link: https://nus-sg.zoom.us/j/85976612056
  • 14 March 2021 (1:00pm – 2:30pm): Tembusu College Virtual Talk
    For a more in-depth understanding of what Tembusu College has to offer, from our academic programmes to residential and student life, come join our Masters and students in this sharing session!
    Zoom Link: https://nus-sg.zoom.us/j/86493769621


Instagram activities:

  • 10 March 2021 to 12 March 2021 Ask Me Anything Session 1
  • 5 April 2021 to 7 April 2021 Ask Me Anything Session 2
    Questions? Take this opportunity to ask us via our official Tembusu College Instagram page!


Launch of Tembusu College virtual tours: 14 March 2021 (evening)

This year, we are unable to physically show you around Tembusu College but fret not! Let us show you around virtually, and along the way, meet the friendly faces who will be sharing with you more about the academic programme, interest groups and residential life here at the college!

Check out the following videos:

Interested to apply to Tembusu College?

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          *Application deadline has been extended to 20 April 2021 (1200hrs)! Faced with too many options? Not sure which Residential College to apply to? Fret not, here are some resources which you may find useful pertaining to Tembusu College!
  • For an overview of Tembusu College: check out our *college brochure.
  • Interested in finding out more about the admission process, or our line-up of virtual events for e-Open House 2021? Check out this infographic!
  • Wish to find out more about the kind of modules offered in Tembusu College? Take a read of these lovely ModBooks designed and produced by our students from the Education Working Group: –    Junior and Senior Seminars offered by Tembusu College in AY2020/2021 Semester 1. –    Junior and Senior Seminars offered by Tembusu College in AY2020/2021 Semester 2. –    Ideas and Exposition offered by Centre for English Language Communication in AY2020/2021 Semester 1. –    Ideas and Exposition offered by Centre for English Language Communication in AY2020/2021 Semester 2.
  • Take a sneak peek into our activities on our College Instagram page, managed by our Tembusu Ambassadors.
  • Come join us on our virtual tours! –    e-Open House 2021 Tembusu College Virtual Tour: Residential Life –    e-Open House 2021 Tembusu College Virtual Tour: Academic Programme and Student Life
Come join us, and let Tembusu College be YOUR Home of Possibilities! For more detailed information about admissions to Tembusu College, click here. *For the most updated information, please refer to the relevant pages on the college website.

Tembusu College

Tembusu College Office
University Town, NUS
28 College Avenue East, #B1-01
Singapore 138598

tembusu@nus.edu.sg

+65 6601 2150

© Copyright 2024 Tembusu College. All Rights Reserved.

© Copyright 2024 Tembusu College.
All Rights Reserved.

Background image of Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) flowers and fruits in Leenhouts, P W (1960) Loganiaceae. Flora Malesiana, Ser. 1, Vol. 6/1, Fig. 6 (CC-BY 4.0).
Background image of Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) flowers and fruits
in Leenhouts, P W (1960) Loganiaceae. Flora Malesiana, Ser. 1, Vol. 6/1, Fig. 6 (CC-BY 4.0).