PSP’s Wendy Low: ‘Dear You’s’ greatest legacy may be in inspiring filmmakers to tell stories that are proudly Singaporean

SINGAPORE: Two-time GE candidate Wendy Low of the Progress Singapore Party weighed in on Dear You, the recent hit film from China that stirred no small amount of controversy when it was shown in Mandarin in Singapore instead of in Teochew, in which it had been filmed.

In a July 13 social media post, Ms Low took a slight swipe at Acting Culture, Community and Youth Minister David Neo, who had said in Parliament on July 7 that ministers had no time to watch movies. She went on to say that after all that had been said during the debate on language policy, for her, there are still questions that have been left unanswered.

First, she wondered if the film could “rebuild cultural ties between Singaporean Chinese and China without compromising Singapore’s identity.”

Ms Low noted Singapore’s advantageous position amid the rivalry between the United States and China, and asked if Singapore could celebrate its heritage without its loyalty being questioned.

“Cultural confidence and political allegiance are not the same thing,” she added.

Secondly, she asked if dialect goes beyond nostalgia, adding that it could “become ASEAN’s forgotten language of connection to grow pro-ASEAN.” Teochew, Hokkien, and other languages, as well as the stories of migration they represent, could strengthen people-to-people ties across the region, as well as support regional integration and business opportunities.

“What happened to the spirit of the qiaopi (侨批)?” Ms Low asked, referring to the letters and remittances sent to family members who stayed home. It was these that funded development on a family and community scale, and she questioned whether cross-border wealth still serves society or has primarily become a vehicle for growing richer.

Finally, she also wondered whether the movie could do for Singapore’s film landscape what Little Nyonya did for television by inspiring more stories rooted in the Nanyang experience. This type of narrative around migration, resilience and multicultural heritage could, after all, resonate and find an audience around the region and the rest of the world.

“Perhaps the greatest legacy of Dear You is not its box office numbers or its controversies. Perhaps it will be whether it inspires a new generation of filmmakers to tell stories that are proudly Singaporean, deeply ASEAN, and universally human,” she wrote.

Ms Low is a member of PSP’s Central Executive Committee, its highest decision-making body, as well as heads the party’s Women’s Wing and communications. /TISG

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