The Changing World

The feisty Catherine Lim is still writing, both novels and political commentary. With all the dust flying about in anticipation of a by-election in the ward of Hougang, Catherine Lim has again spoken. Anyway, it reminded me of a book I hadn't read. It was still sitting amongst the pile of unread book. There we go, 'Miss Seetoh in the World'.

I don't think her writing has changed that much since those days I had to read her for secondary school. Her writing is built on observations of society, and very much centred on long-suffering women, lack of personal fulfilment in the light of performing their expected roles in society. As a teenager, those books certainly resulted in a lot of wonderment, and to a certain extent, a little bit of an education in the lives of different women. Catherine Lim is a lovely, exciting speaker on stage. Still worth a listen. But she somehow has a tendency to link everything back to the 'repressed female'. Too predictable, and it can get a little stale. Today, as I flipped through the pages, there's a growing sense of irritation and annoyance at her continued choice of subject matter.

I really like 'The Bondmaid' and 'Following The Wrong God Home'. In 'Miss Seetoh in the World', published in 2011, her writing flows easily to weave the stronger political theme into the storyline. Miss Maria Seetoh is the average Singaporean going through her personal crises and political awakening within a changing social climate. I skipped over plenty of the personal incidents. I wasn't entirely interested in it. The development of the chain of events on those is totally predictable. There's no twist. Her usual satire is evident through the characters and what they represent. Not unfamiliar to readers who have kept abreast with the political developments in Singapore.

The sudden departure of the principal of St Peter's Secondary School provoked speculation which, for the time being at least, had to lie silent beneath the proper public response of polite acceptance of any decision taken by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry promoted deserving principals in secondary schools to senior school inspectors or administrative officers in the various departments of the ministry headquarters, or transferred them to larger, more prestigious schools and junior colleges. The sudden decision to let the principal of St Peter's go on 'indefinite leave' was only slightly less foreboding than the decision of a 'suspension' which would mean that he was being investigated for some serious misdemeanour. What wrongdoing could the principal be possibly guilty of? He was an exemplar of professional and ethical conduct and had been so long at St Peter's that he was simply known as 'the principal'; many among the staff did not even know his full name.