Gather round, folks. Here’s a story on the sign I held on stage at my graduation, calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore. And how NUS tried their hardest to erase it. A [thread emoji] 1/13 https://t.co/T5xcpwdN3t

My ceremony was at 2.30 pm on Wednesday. That was around the time of Kalwant Singh’s last appeal for his life in court before execution. I felt uncomfortable with this juxtaposition of being celebrated by an institution of the state that was going to murder two the next day. 2/13

BTW, the death penalty should be abolished. It ignores how deliberate state violence and ignorance forces many into poverty and crime. It unjustly kills the poor. It is not an effective deterrent of ‘crime’. And there’s no acquittal for those found innocent after execution. 3/13

When I went up on stage, I unfolded this sign from my gown pocket. It read “Abolish the death penalty. No to state murder. End poverty, not life. Blood on your hands”. I held that sign as I walked on stage, took my on-stage photo, and left the stage, sign in hand. 4/13 https://t.co/PBO2O7afgB

It was a small act that I knew could inspire others to take similar action. To stand against violence, to fight for those disproportionately affected by the death penalty. To recognize how power drives violence. To stand in solidarity, love & empathy with everyone. 5/13 https://t.co/hrLjZFrl5B

An act NUS wants to erase. NUS took down the live recording of my commencement ceremony, only to reupload it later with an edit. If you go to around 1:14:54 in this video, you’ll see the most obvious jump cut in the world, omitting my time on stage. https://youtu.be/uRxP_xRhjlU?t=4494
6/13

In the official stage photograph (that I paid for, for my own private display), the photo studio actually took time to try and edit the words on my sign out. You can still make some words out though, thank goodness they didn’t do a good job with it. 7/13 https://t.co/Jl98JqgV3K

NUS (and others) went through the EFFORT to crop the sign out. To erase the message from existence. To pretend nobody who studied there thinks this way and is taking action on this. To say ‘all is well’ by excluding something uncomfortable to their institution. 8/13

Thing is, NUS could’ve just… not acknowledged it. But by taking the EFFORT to do that, they’re trumpeting that they would silence anything that threatens their power, even if it’s a call against violence. (they tried doing that with sexual violence. look at them now). 9/13

It makes them complicit in maintaining hierarchies of power in society. Hierarchies that neglect, that exploit, that turn people against each other, that kill. They’re an institution with state ties, after all. They dare not go against what that grants them academic power. 10/13

I gave my space on stage to Kalwant. To Norasharee. To those on death row now. To those already executed. A small, A4-sized disruption, to acknowledge that even taking the stage is a privilege built on a system of violence that oppresses many in society. 11/13 https://t.co/62gY4Nrahz

Apparently, for an institution that thrives on ideas, papers and works from their staff and students (many of whom I loved to learn with), a single sheet of paper is too extreme of a push for change for them to live with, to the point where it becomes a need to redact it. 12/13

I’d just like to end this by echoing (& tweaking) a quote from the speaker at that same ceremony, Georgette Tan. “Don’t be afraid to use your voice. Know your worth. Be strong. Stand up for yourself, and [especially] others around you.” https://youtu.be/uRxP_xRhjlU?t=1908 13/13

(BTW since this is blowing up, please donate to Transformative Justice Collective. They use these funds to assist families with transport & other costs to visit ppl on death row. The donation link is here: https://donorbox.org/fund-our-movement-tjc) 14/13

(Also, please join/contribute/support any other civil society movements that support those overexploited & oppressed in SG, like Migrant Mutual Aid (https://migrantmutualaid.sg/), The T Project (https://www.thetprojectsg.org/), among many others.) 15/13