(This is a monthly letter from Baba Colin Chee to members and friends of the Association.)
Dear Babas and Nyonyas,
COVID-19: Planning in Uncertain Times
As our government prudently opens up the Singapore economy, your General Committee (GC) has been busy deliberating on our next steps.
Our biggest challenge still is having to continually second guess the unseen around the corner, then calibrating and re-calibrating our plans.
The pandemic continues unabated in the USA, India, UK, Spain, France, South Korea, Hong Kong, and many other countries. Our only reliable planning assumption is that the COVID-19 virus is super resilient and completely unpredictable.
The Peranakan Ball 2021
We are still actively working towards having The Peranakan Ball as planned, on 15 May 2021.
However, we have laid other options on the table: outright cancellation, yet a second postponement, a virtual dinner, or even downsizing the number of guests to fit the permissible number.
The easiest is to cancel the Ball. But our nyonyas have been telling us about their newly tailored sarong kebayas and gowns, all ready to joget and have a ball with their kawan kawan!
Our key planning metric, therefore, is to not disappoint. As far as we can. You have so kindly stood by us. Kamsiah manyak manyak! We will do our level best not to let you down.
The 33rd Baba Nyonya Convention 2021
Even more challenging is planning the 33rd Baba Nyonya Convention, which we have also postponed for a year to 19-21 November 2021.
Will we be permitted to host nearly 500 delegates from the region by then?
Worse still, can we still hope to sell convention tickets in early 2021 to members from the 14 Peranakan associations in the Federation?
Especially if the current broadly negative sentiment and great uncertainty over border re-openings persist into March 2021, flight bans, high cost of airfares, mandated post-flight quarantines, restrictions on large public gatherings and safe distancing rules continue to take their toll.
To ensure safety and encourage participation, our energetic Head of Events, Nyonya Gwen Ong has been evaluating the feasibility of holding a downsized physical convention for Singapore delegates in tandem with a virtual event for regional delegates. We have been sounding out tech expertise to help organise a cross-border virtual event.
Of course, while planning for the worst, we are still holding tightly to the hope that the pandemic will be cleared by early 2021 so that we can push on with a full-scale event in November 2021 as planned.
Bibiks Behind Bars, Kena Again!
I never quite expected that streaming the high-definition (HD) video of a very niche musical called Bibiks Behind Bars, Kena Again! (BBBKA) on 16 August 2020 could be so well-received beyond our expectations.
Yet, the raucous staging of social-gambling bibiks in Joo Chiat and Katong, commissioned by The Peranakan Association Singapore five years back, was watched by nearly 8,000 viewers in its month-long livestream on TPAS YouTube and Facebook pages. The musical was streamed to celebrate our association’s 120th Anniversary on the next day.
We were heartened to receive donations totalling $2,218.12 from 11 well-wishers who generously responded to our very first online appeal for funds. To our kind donors, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Viewers also wrote in and called us. Among the many comments: “I loved the show very much! It was a good community effort to keep our culture growing and glowing!” “The first segment was nice and informative. Kudos to the Peranakan Association!” “What this show has done is to add another good brick to our Association’s reputation.” Thank you, all, for your thoughtful notes and compliments.
Our Tech Team, comprising Nyonyas Victoria Chanel Lee, Theresa Tan, Josephine Tan, Dawn Marie Lee and Baba Tony Tan, made the broadcast possible.
Behind the scenes was nerve-wracking. Nothing must go wrong. And nothing did! Right up to the early morning hours on the day of the live streaming, Victoria and her brother-in-law were working to iron out technical glitches. Kamsiah manyak manyak.
Particular thanks also to Baba Richard Tan, artistic director of GenerAsia Ltd, who initiated the collaboration with TPAS. Richard wrote and produced BBBKA in 2015 as a sequel to an earlier 2001 musical, Bibiks Behind Bars, also staged by TPAS with our choir, The Peranakan Voices.
Special thanks, to Baba GT Lye and Baba Chan Eng Thai for their specially composed pantons (see below) to commemorate several milestones – the TPAS anniversary, The Peranakan Voices 20th Anniversary, and Singapore’s 55 years of independence.
You can also watch them recite the pantons here on our Association’s YouTube Channel:
Finally, our thanks to the choir and General Committee members who ‘zoomed’ in to send their virtual well wishes on Singapore’s birthday.
TPAS 2020-2022 Roadmap and 120th Anniversary Magazine
The bumper anniversary issue of our beloved magazine, The Peranakan, should be on its way to TPAS members sometime in October.
In this issue, please take time to read about our roadmap for the upcoming term, the challenges we face, potential solutions, and the opportunities to showcase our culture.
In closing, may God bless you and your loved ones. Thank you for your continued support, keep safe and always watch for the glimmer that comes with each morning dewdrop!
Blessings,
Colin Chee
Keeping the Culture Alive
30 September 2020
Two pantons composed in celebration of Singapore’s 55th Year of Independence
Panton by Baba GT Lye
Berkait pakay benang sutera.
Raayat setia kerajaan nang baik,
Negara kita maju berjaya.
Kalu panday hidop berjimat,
Perkara nang baik sepanjang panjang.
Lima puloh lima taon peng an nang selamat,
Tuan Allah popi taon taon nang dating.
She uses silk thread.
With dedicated citizens and good government,
Our country prospers successfully.
If you live wisely in moderation,
All your years will be blissful.
Fifty-five years we have been blessed with peace,
Pray God bless us with more good years ahead.
Panton by Baba Chan Eng Thai
Bikin tapay pileh pulot.
Tempu macham mata kelek,
Persatuan dah seratus dua-puloh!
Kain rubia sulam kebaya,
Sarong songket kilat menang,
Budaya hadat Baba Nyonya,
Seluru dunia kasikan terang!
Pick the best glutinous rice to ferment.
Time flies in the twinkling of an eye,
The Peranakan Association Singapore is 120 years old!
The beautiful kebaya in embroidered voile,
Its sarong with glittering gold thread.
Baba Nyonya culture and traditions,
Shining brightly across the world!
Panton by Baba Chan Eng Thai in celebration of The Peranakan Voices’ 20th Anniversary
Dengan Baba budaya pelita.
Suara merdu nyanyi sama,
Itu lah Peranakan Voices kita!
Baju batik sarong kebaya,
Menyanyi lagu tari menari,
Peranakan Voices dua-puloh raya,
Lebeh ulang mesti mari!
With the Babas are a beacon of culture.
Melodious voices singing in harmony,
No other than our Peranakan Voices!
Sarong kebayas and batik shirts,
Singing and dancing gracefully.
Our Peranakan Voices celebrate twenty years,
Many more anniversaries surely to come!