Alternative narratives : why i wrote it

Abstract

IN RESPONSE to Hong Lysa’s remarks on my RSIS Commentary on Alternative Narratives: The Danger of

Romanticising the Other published on 14 September, I would like to clarify three issues of contention: history as a practice; the writing of alternative narratives; and the crux of her argument. At no point did my article suggest

that any Singapore-based academics were engaged in the romanticisation of violent revolutionaries. My

commentary was premised not on any unfounded innuendos but on the perils of romanticising the exploits of

violent revolutionaries that threatened the security of Malaysia and Singapore from 1968 to 1989.