The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ

It was tedious, boring, convoluted, and I'm trying to be nice. In short, a 15 minute joke that went on for 2 hours too long.

"The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ" is a political satire about Singapore society. Its about how people here, including civil servants, are frightfully terrified of offending the Govt, esp. the main man, Mr Yew Know Hu.

A young Uni student's campaign to award an environmental activist who has the same initials as a discredited opposition leader results in his apparent untimely death. A dedicated public prosecutor who has political connections is called to investigate and butcher the audiences' brains with a cliched plot. The spastic dialogue between her lover and her could only have been written by a person who has never experienced a relationship with a member of the opposite sex.

The first part - a comedy of manners- had a few hilarious scenes. The second part - the writer decided to turn it into a political thriller of the mindnumingly excruciatingly boring kind. Not that it mattered to the director, Ivan Heng, he was laughing his head off. I had the misfortune to sit in the row in front of him.

If this passes for political satire in Singapore, the Govt need not worry a single damn bit. Its no surprise that the censors passed this - either they strangled themselves half way thru the show - or they probably realized that letting Singaporeans see this sort of crap would cause them to vote for the ruling party for life.

Thanks God none of my friends had the misfortune to be there.