Ever since I began my career as a professional writer, I figured I would run afoul of the law someday.
This time, I have a chance to prevent it from happening.
On 4 February, the Singapore Parliament unanimously passed the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act. The blog Order and Law discusses the implications of this law, and how it erodes civil liberties in Singapore.
Quoting Order and Law, this is the cornerstone of the MHRA:
The Minister of Home Affairs may issue a Racial Content Restraining Order against a person or entity who committed, is committing, is likely to commit or has attempted or is attempting to commit an act that causes feelings of enmity, hatred, ill‑will or hostility between different races in Singapore.
The restraining order may order the recipient:
To stop writing or speaking to the public or some group of persons.
To stop distributing information or material to the public, whether by placing it on the internet or some other medium, or having someone else do it on their behalf.
To remove information from being accessed by the public.
To stop writing for or being a part of a publication (e.g. a newspaper or online media platform).
The threshold for triggering a restraining order is vague. The oversight mechanism embodies the uniquely Singaporean practice of ownself checking ownself. In the linked post, Order and Law has done yeoman's work in analysing in detail both the law and its implications.
Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew lived through the most tumultuous and racially-charged period in Singapore history. Even he had no need for such broadly sweeping powers. Now that we live in a time of racial peace, the Singaporean government is steadily expanding its powers to control public speech, on grounds of preventing 'racial disharmony'.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said:
[It] is a powerful signal of our resolve to remain united as one people.
We have had similar powers for over 30 years, and the powers have never been used. That gives you an indication of how the government approaches these powers...
The important thing is to have the powers, but also to be very, very careful and judicious in how you use them.
Since these powers have never been used in the past 30 years, even for racial and religious controversies, it's a signal that they were never needed in the first place—never mind expanded.
Dennis Praeger said, "The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." Again, Order and Law has done fine work in explaining the law and what it means for ordinary people, so I won't repeat his points.
Instead, I'm going to discuss what the law means for me, as an author.
The Fiction Implications
First, some good news: none of my existing publications are affected by the new law.
Even Diary of A Bomoh isn't likely to come under fire. There is no controversial racial content in the book. The religious content is limited to characters attempting to persuade the titular bomoh to change his ways before it is too late. Nothing in that book is likely to "incite enmity, hatred, ill‑will or hostility between different races in Singapore."
However, two of my future series might come under scrutiny.
The first is the Covenant Chronicles. A science fantasy thriller series set in a technomagic-fuelled War on Terror, it involves gods and angels intervening in mortal conflicts to foil the machinations of a fallen archangel. It draws heavy inspiration from Eastern and Western myths and religions, marrying them to a futuristic aesthetic.
The Covenant Chronicles is currently not available. Ever since the rights returned to me, I have been editing the series, preparing it for its return. Part of Book 3 is set in Singapore, but nothing about the series touches on Singapore-specific issues.
The second is the Michael Chang Casefiles. It is a psychological and supernatural horror series set in modern-day Singapore. Michael Chang confronts demons, cosmic horrors, and sorcerers as he walks the fine line between salvation and damnation.
The law was passed while I was putting the final touches on Book 1 of the Michael Chang Casefiles. All it means is that I have to work with an even finer touch.
No Compromise
For over a decade and counting, I've had a clear vision of the Covenant Chronicles and the Michael Chang Casefiles. Even with the new law, I will not compromise this vision.
Books 1 to 3 of The Covenant Chronicles were previously published. The main story beats will not change. They will set up the conflicts in future books, culminating in an epic showdown between the forces of Good and Evil in the final book.
What I will do is clarify both series.
In The Covenant Chronicles, the villains are all puppets of the ultimate evil. The heroes, supported by divinities, race against time to foil their machinations. The gods and angels of this setting are all different from each other, but all are united in the quest to prevent the apocalypse.
There are already plenty of thrillers and SFF books in Singapore's bookshops and libraries with similar set-ups. The only real innovation, if you could call it that, is that I have merged these themes and premises for my own work. Since the authorities have not found these books objectionable over the past 30 years, there is no reason for them to find my work objectionable either.
I will be making another round of revisions to clarify the themes and conflicts in the series. I will also be adjusting the plots of future books, which have not yet been written, for additional clarity.
While racial and religious conflicts were—and still are—part of the storyline of the Covenant Chronicles, they are the logical extensions of the antagonists' attempts to manipulate societal fault lines to create global chaos. The protagonists do not condone these attempts. They are trying to defuse these conflicts. The changes I intend to make will ensure that the government will recognise this.
Likewise, racial conflicts are not part of the Michael Chang Casefiles. None of Michael's cases have anything to do with race in Singapore, beyond showcasing Singapore's diverse ethnic makeup.
The Michael Chang Casefiles confronts the darkness within the human heart, drawing out the desires, derangements and demons that lead men to their doom. Most of the antagonists are devils, cosmic horrors, and wayward spirits. The human antagonists are driven by base desires. Again, race and religion are not essential components of their motivations.
Religion is the lens through which some characters—Michael included—view events in the series. It is the framework that guides the development of those characters. Different religions are represented in the series, but there is no conflict between them.
As with the Covenant Chronicles, there will not be any major changes to the storyline. There is no need for such changes. All that is necessary is some minor clarifications to ensure that there is nothing that I can be faulted for.
Bending with the Wind
I am not going to censor myself. I am not going to compromise my vision. Nor is there any need to.
Both series were written with universal themes and appeal in mind. Bringing in Singaporean-specific sensitivities would merely undermine them. Nonetheless, because the new law is so broadly reaching, and the out of bounds markers so ill-defined, I must take pre-emptive measures to ensure that I can continue my writing career.
Bruce Lee said, "Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." This is all I am doing: bending with the wind. Nothing else will change.
And even the wind will cease blowing sometime.
You can check out Diary of a Bomoh here and see if there's anything controversial about it.