The Electric New Paper :
FACE OF S'POREBr>BBC PUTS TOUGH QUESTIONS TO 'SINGAPORE'S
MOST
SAY AGAIN, FANN
HIS questions were tough but her replies, fluff.
When BBC's senior foreign correspondent Michael Peschardt met
Singaporean star Fann Wong last month for his weekly series,
Peschardt's People, he fired some hard questions at her.
By Chang May Choon
21 August 2006
HIS questions were tough but her replies, fluff.
When BBC's senior foreign correspondent Michael Peschardt met
Singaporean star Fann Wong last month for his weekly series,
Peschardt's People, he fired some hard questions at her.
Like whether she finds Singapore too restrictive?
Or if she thinks our cleanliness and orderliness is
artificial?
And why are Singaporeans so shy?
But Fann, being her usual guarded, reserved and evasive self, gave
mostly fluffy replies.
Hailed as 'arguably the most famous woman' in Singapore and the
only actress here with a Hollywood film to her name, she took a
walk with Peschardt around and inside The Heeren for the show aired
on BBC yesterday evening .
His weekly series gives viewers a peek into the lives of some of
the most famous people in the Asia-Pacific region, like New Zealand
actor Sam Neill, Australia's richest woman Hanel Holmes a Court,
and Singapore-born violinist Vanessa Mae.
When faced with tough questions about her island home, it was
obvious Fann, 35, could barely cope.
HEM AND HAW
Visibly nervous, she would hem and haw, then pause for seconds
before giving safe replies.
She also had a habit of gesturing wildly whenever she could not
express herself well enough in the English language.
English teachers would scream if they heard her - she said
'blooder' when she meant bloodier, 'longivity' for longevity, and
'dug' for duck.
At one point, she was asked if Singapore is still too restrictive
and if young people approve of it or if they crave greater
freedom.
But Fann's reply was as good as a non-reply.
'We don't really have a choice, but a lot depends. It's due to the
whole environment being opened up. The majority of people are
introduced to different parts of the world where we can see we have
different choices. That's why we're opening up.'
So it's inevitable that Singapore will become more relaxed?
'Yes, it's inevitable. We have to go along where the whole world is
going, but we have to pace ourselves, not too fast. If it's too
fast, there's going to be chaos.'
But will young people have the patience to wait?
'Well, you have different opinions... erm... there's no right or
wrong. It's basically about your own opinion. So I don't know. I'm
okay with that. I don't touch politics.'
However, she gave Peschardt the impression that security is so
strict here that they may be chased out of the shopping mall - even
though they have papers that grant them entry to film.
It got him curious - he even asked in jest 'Will we be sent to
jail?'.
But the walk was so smooth that Peschardt joked that he felt
disappointed not to be thrown out.
Having been to Bollywood where he met mega stars like Aishwarya Rai
and Preity Zinta who get mobbed if they leave their homes, he was
pleasantly surprised Fann received only curious stares.
Even if there were fans of hers in the crowd, he noted they were
almost too shy to approach her.
Fann explained that Singaporeans are shy of cameras, but they are
'much more better now' and slowly opening up with the introduction
of cable and the Internet.
As for Singapore's reputation of being a clean city, Fann had no
fresh perspectives to offer either.
When asked if our orderliness and cleanliness is 'almost so
perfect', she quickly waved it off but added she appreciates the
smooth traffic and clean environment.
But doesn't she find it a bit artificial, pressed Peschardt.
A LITTLE FLUSTERED
Looking a little flustered, Fann paused for a good six seconds
before she finally said: 'No, but I have friends who say that it's
artificial. But no, I'm grateful to be here.'
But the actress was able to offer some insight into how Asians are
more tolerant of violence while Europians have higher threshold for
nudity, based on her experience from the German film, House Of
Harmony.
She also shared how it was tough working with Jackie Chan on the
Hollywood flick Shanghai Knights, because he was a perfectionist
and she had to train 'really hard' on her fight scenes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FANN'S ANSWER
Do young people approve of Singapore being too restrictive or do
they want greater freedom?
Fann: We don't really have a choice, but a lot depends. It's due to
the whole environment being opened up. The majority of people are
introduced to different parts of the world where we can see we have
different choices. That's why we're opening up.
So it's inevitable that Singapore will become more relaxed?
Yes, it's inevitable. We have to go along where the whole world is
going, but we have to pace ourselves, not too fast. If it's too
fast, there's going to be chaos.
But will young people have the patience to wait?
Well, you have different opinions... erm... there's no right or
wrong. It's basically about your own opinion. So I don't know. I'm
okay with that. I don't touch politics.'
Everything works in Singapore. There's a resort feel and there's
cleanliness. But does it ever get on your nerves? Because it seems
almost perfect?
Fann: 'Perfect? No no no, if you live in Singapore you'll know that
it's not so perfect. You ask her! (Points to manager beside her.)
But I really appreciate the smooth traffic and how it's
clean.'
