Over the past decade, Singapore’s local booksellers and publishers have worked to put the city-state’s literary scene on the map. Now, amid a revival of book and magazine publishing, its young creators take stock of the progress that’s been made and ready themselves for the challenges of the future.
Entertaining as well as educational, this gently satirical card game inspired by the dirty politics of the Philippines hopes to open Filipinos’ eyes to the tricks their politicians play.
When he first moved to the Philippines for work two years ago, P. J. Lim encountered political campaigning in the unlikeliest of places—at funerals.
‘Some people are so poor that they can’t afford funerals, so politicians fund them, and you see their faces all over the condolence messages,’ says Lim, who hails from neighbouring Singapore. ‘It is ridiculous and it is real.’
That encounter sparked a conversation with his Filipino friend, R. B. Ting, about the crazy things that happen in that country’s politics. As the duo drew up a list that ran the gamut from marrying a celebrity to sex scandals, and even kidnapping opponents, they decided to create a game out of these examples in time for the Southeast Asian nation’s presidential elections in May 2016.
Over the last decade, some 20 titles have sprung up from Singapore, riding the wave of its cultural renaissance and defying the fact the city-state was once known for its tight media censorship (Singapore still ranks 154 out of 180 in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index). Over the decade or so though, the Singaporean government has pumped in millions of bucks to grow its creative sector and nurture creativity among its citizens—and an independent magazine scene has flourished from this intersection.