Solve a problem, issue a directive
South China Morning
Post Dec 7, 1998
Business Post section
SOMETIME back, we informed you that radical change was
under way in Singapore, that great bastion of free thought. Busking was
made legal, albeit with Singapore characteristics. The thinking behind
this was that it might help to bring in tourists.
Well, just over a year later, there's one problem with the great busking experiment; no one wants any part of it. You see, years of busker bans have made their mark. People think performing for money on the street is just not something to be seen doing in Singapore. It has connotations of begging and poverty. The Singaporean solution to the busker bailout? Why, to issue a directive, of course.
The National Arts Council has sent a note to colleges and arts schools asking them to encourage students to perform on the streets. We figure they'd have to make it illegal not to busk to get this scheme off the ground in conformity-made Singapore. Just think. Arts college students could be fined $200 if spotted walking from their residence to class without giving a few twirls or reels in front of cinema queues.
Published in the South China Morning Post. Dec 28, 1998