The Singapore National Arts Council withdrew its publishing grant from a graphic novel for its potential to undermine “the authority or legitimacy of the government”, a media report said today.

The graphic novel revolves around the story of comic artist Charlie Chan during the early years of Singapore’s modern history, featuring first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and opposition politician Lim Chin Siong.

The latter’s detention without trial under Lee’s administration is a matter of controversy in Singapore; the government insists that Lim was a dangerous communist, but historians and commentators have in recent years asserted that Lim was detained for political reasons.

The Arts Council decided on May 29 to withdraw its grant of S$8,000 (US$5,939) from 'The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye' by Sonny Liew, saying it contained “sensitive content” that did not meet funding conditions.

The book also touches on Operation Spectrum, a series of arrests during which lawyers, social workers and activists were detained without trial and accused of being involved in a ‘Marxist

conspiracy’.

The graphic novel portrays that campaign as a plot to replace all music in Singapore with the tunes of Richard Marx.

Liew told dpa that the grant withdrawal was unexpected, because the Arts Council had already been aware of the novel’s content.

“They have an application review process so we thought it meant that they were okay with the book even though it did touch on some potentially politically sensitive topics,” he said.

Liew noted that public response following the launch had been “pretty overwhelming”.

Print run of 1,000 copies sold out

The news of the withdrawal sparked more interest in the novel, with the entire print run of 1,000 copies selling out over the weekend.

The launch event at a Kinokuniya bookshop also attracted three times the usual number of people, according to the store’s merchandising director.

“Our distributors have zero copies in the warehouse, and we have only two left in our office,” publisher Edmund Wee of Epigram Books told local newspaper TODAY , adding that a second print run was being prepared.

Lawyer Remy Choo did a legal review of the book before its publication, and at the book launch bought nine copies, which he intends to give to friends and colleagues.

“Reading it, I got goosebumps because it was such a beautifully illustrated narrative set against a familiar historical backdrop,” Choo told dpa.

“How many artistic masterpieces of international standing can our country boast which are set in a Singaporean context?”

The publisher had to return the S$6,400 that had already been disbursed as part of the grant. Stickers also had to be printed to cover up the Arts Council logo in the book.

- dpa