Even in an uncertain global economic situation, Singaporeans can still find comforting stories and fresh perspectives through Singaporean authors. This year’s Singapore Prize – a biennial literary award honoring works published in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil – attracted record entries; 12 top prizes as well as two readers’ choice awards were offered across these four languages.
Archaeologist John Miksic’s book Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 upended traditional theories regarding Singapore’s founding. To win this prestigious award he relied heavily on historical evidence such as literary records written about it over one millennium ago by Chinese traders mentioning Singapore.
Miksic explained that this prize serves as an affirmation that anyone living through some portion of their lives in Singapore has the ability to write history books about its past. Ms Hidayah’s Leluhur: Singapore Kampong Gelam earned rave reviews from reviewers for being elegantly written and meticulously researched over 14 years – born near Istana Kampong Glam near Gedung Kuning where Ms Hidayah spent five years researching her book by conducting interviews and gathering facts.
Ms Hidayah’s work stands out for providing an innovative perspective on Singapore’s colonial past while drawing upon personal inputs of her interviewees, according to the jury panel led by NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani and including novelist Meira Chand, economist Lam San Ling, historian Peter Coclanis and archaeologist Ms Miksic.
Ms Miksic pointed out that her book not only provided a “synthesis of history”, but was also an authoritative primary source through her personal inputs. According to her, this work demonstrated that anyone without professional training in history can write significant books; an important lesson.
Ho Tzu Nyan earned the special prize award for his varied interpretations of Asian culture through video animations and physical installations, garnering wide acclaim worldwide.
Ms Hidayah expressed her appreciation that both readers and judges recognized her work as one of the year’s top. “I hope this will encourage other writers to tackle Singapore’s history,” she stated. Ms Hidayah was also invited as guest of honour at an award ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and other dignitaries. Prince William of Great Britain will travel across the UK this week to promote his Earthshot Prize initiative of his charity, the Royal Foundation. This award promotes technological innovations to combat climate change and wildlife poaching. He will meet Singaporeans and observe how the city-state is working to preserve and restore our planet. Additionally, the royal will try his hand at dragon boating–a popular sport in Singapore–before attending a United for Wildlife summit comprised of representatives from law enforcement agencies and conservation groups that focus on combatting illegal wildlife trade.
