Kishore Mahbubani Thinks There is No Place in Singapore for Political Cartoons

In ‪#‎TheStraitsTimes‬ today. With all due respect, a public intellectual like Mr Mahbubhani does nobody any favours when he writes, "Singapore is clearly not yet ready for political cartoons". He goes on to list the “leading lights” whom would be open to being lampooned - Tommy Koh, Chan Heng Chee, Ho Kwon Ping and Gerard Ee. Oh come on, they are not politicians, are they? And there are juicer targets.

We have effectively banned the art of the political cartoon in Singapore. Why? Clearly, it's because some politicians are not ready - because it threatens an image they have of themselves. If only our cartoonists (and artists) were allowed to do their job. If only our people were allowed to laugh at the foibles of those in authority. It could soothe the string of truth, help us vent our anger and stress. It could humanise them. Who knows? We could even begin to love our politicians for being no more than mere mortals - rather than just respect or fear them.