CHARGED (2026)

Poignant restaging of CHARGED by Teater Ekamatra. A reminder that racial harmony is never a destination. It's a work in progress.

Deep down, I flinched when one of the characters mentioned the "token" Malay Commando. I remembered how I felt when I first watched this play in 2011: patronised, moved and anxious, all at once. Funny enough, I felt exactly the same this evening.

For a moment, I wanted to approach the actor afterwards and say, "Hey, that was me you were talking about." But I refrained. Tonight was his moment, not mine. It took me back to the time during pre-enlistment interview at CMPB at 18 years old too myopic to see how my life will change forever as a pioneer, the prowler details during guard duty and that final moment when I walked out of Hendon camp during ORD.

Looking back, I'm simply glad to have been one of those who helped open the door for other Malays in the unit.

Singapore has come a long way since then. Not because these conversations disappeared, but because we kept having them. Progress doesn't happen by accident. It happens when every generation is willing to confront uncomfortable truths, question old assumptions and leave the door a little wider open for those who come after.

Thanks to the magnificent cast, Chong Tze Chien (writer) and Fared Jainal (director) for reminding the conversations CHARGED raises are far from over. If anything, many of us are still living within our own bubbles.