CNA!

I've been working at my old company of Channel NewsAsia the past two weeks~~~

What made me come on board? Well, I was in London when around the third or fourth day, I received a whatsapp message from my friend and current producer of the documentary, "Hey Si Hui, want to be a free-lance researcher for my documentary? It'll be for two months."

When I read "researcher" I was thinking oh, no, researching ain't my thing. I can't sift through a lot of dense material without my mind drifting off to some place else.

But she continued telling me what the documentary was about and it is about Race in Singapore. When you talk to me about race relations in Singapore, my eyes and ears are always open. Ever ready to read and listen to what's being said. Ever since my time on exchange, I've become aware of what majority privilege is and it hit me how much privilege the Chinese here get. And as a Chinese Singaporean, in a Chinese majority country, I feel... a mix of things. A bit of shame and a bit of guilt for being unaware and ignorant about it till the age of 20. But of course, I know it's not my fault lah, it's just realising what my Malay and Indian counterparts are going through that kind of woke me up. A lot of the time, it's the subtle, unconscious actions that show how aware (or unaware) one is of their privilege.

Race is always a very complex issue and there are many layers to delve into. So I can't completely say that the Chinese are entirely to blame. Problems like that happen when it is a majority-minority thing, in every damn society. Race is also a very sensitive issue. Which has led our nation to stay silent about it for all the years that the different races have co-existed. Because of this, I was also skeptical. Really? MDA would allow this to be aired? But it was also the reason why I took this up. I wanted to see how far this documentary could go. What the boundaries and limitations are. How much about race that we can talk about in Singapore.

That's one of the reasons why I wanted to join the media industry in the first place. To start conversations. Honest discussions. No more textbook-based answers. No more hiding behind a veil of fear. Because that's an era long gone. I want civil discourse. And it should be a civilised one too. Not unruly and sensationalised. A proper discourse where one can speak his views, and be treated with respect for them no matter how different they may be.

So far, I've spoken and contacted a number of people and their views are quite enlightening. I wish more would listen to these views. If what they say trigger something within you, I think my job and my producer's job are done.

Work has been all right. My body took a while to adjust from both jet lag and the length of the time I'd been unemployed. Still adjusting, in fact. But I'm happy that I'm back in business. Not totally open for business yet but I know it helps with keeping the idle mind at bay. My friends, who are also my colleagues, are all here. I can laugh, I can whistle, I have people and a place to look forward to.

Channel NewsAsia feels like home :-)

And so... what will I do after these two months? We'll see. I've an interview coming up next week so let's see how I'll fare. I'mma keep it hush hush now and will share the good news when it's ready.


I hope you're happy for me hehe, things are indeed looking up and well, I truly can only be thankful!