Dear Nyonyas and Babas,
Kamsiah Manyak Manyak for supporting our hybrid 33rd Baba Nyonya International Convention on 20 November 2021.
Memory of the last scene in our convention’s play, The Matriarchs, lingers. Played to perfection by Baba Ivan Heng, Emily surreptitiously and audaciously sidled up to her mother-in-law’s blackwood mother-of-pearl armchair the minute the latter’s back was turned. The scene subtly suggested Emily’s succession as the next matriarch of the Gan household.
Succession is Critical
If the life cycles of a culture are to persevere, they cannot be broken. The passing of the baton from one generation to the next must take place in a timely manner.
Similarly, leadership cycles have their continuing seasons. In the coming months, this General Committee (GC) will be preparing for the next Annual General Meeting (AGM).
This year’s AGM will elect a new GC for the next two-year term from 2022 to 2024.
The incumbent GC has already served two terms since May 2018.
I have had the singular privilege and honour to be part of a highly competent and united team of volunteers who have given their time, talent and passion to serve the community, to help reshape the organisation, and, hopefully, in the past year, to reset its direction.
Whether this new vision that has been set – to help the Peranakan community reimagine and reinvent its culture – is shared and adopted by future GCs, and, more importantly, whether the community itself wants it, remains to be seen.
Our hope is that they will see the wisdom of our choice and stand on our shoulders, as we have stood on the shoulders of those who came before us.
Finding a successor
Succession planning is never easy. How does one ensure that the torch will continue to be carried by individuals with a passion for the community and culture, and who would work as a team towards a common goal? Ideally, in the way Emily’s mother-in-law quietly groomed Emily to be her successor, although Emily was already one by default, being the eldest son’s wife.
To be honest, we have tried very hard since 2018 to look for a successor for the association’s presidency.
Several who we approached turned us down for personal reasons of their own – mainly around the commitment of time and competing needs. These are serious people who want to get the job done well. We understand that.
Having done what we can, we will leave it to the community to decide who it wants to lead them. May they be wise in their choice.
We know that there are many young talented and passionate Peranakans out there who may wish to carry the flag. We invite them to step forward to serve the community.
Another Renaissance Perhaps
The 33rd Baba Nyonya International Convention was a tremendous success by all accounts.
Because of safe distancing measures we could only have a maximum physical capacity of 136 people for the convention at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s 533-seat auditorium.
But, also because of COVID-19, we were able to enjoy a global reach of another 530 virtual participants. When we add to these numbers some group viewings in Phuket, Melaka, and Australia, we probably reached an audience of nearly 700.
The record participation across the world has been an unexpected and most welcome surprise. The power of the internet! It suggests that interest in Peranakan culture still runs deep and strong.
This is further confirmed by my monthly President’s Letter of 30 November 2021. Reflecting on the outcomes of the convention, accompanied by a photo gallery of the play The Matriarchs and the symposium, this posting scored an unprecedented 28,879 views by 26 December 2021.
No doubt, the historic once-only bilingual play contributed significantly to the enthusiastic response to the convention.
The symposium also upped attendance with its stellar cast of keynote speaker, moderators, and panelists. We received a total of 65 very thoughtful questions from forum participants. We will finalise and make public our responses to these questions within the next few weeks.
The questions have also been conveyed to the Peranakan Museum, at its request. They may help the museum to further fine-tune its messaging, as appropriate, before its re-opening in 2023.
Most importantly, the convention has focused the association’s mind to facilitate and serve as a platform for the REIMAGINING and REINVENTION of our culture as it evolves to sustain itself or, perhaps, advance towards another renaissance.
Kamsiah Manyak Manyak
For now, I would like to thank all the Babas and Nyonyas and other supporters who have stood solidly by me to serve you better. They are too many to be listed here.
I am compelled to mention them by grouping: TPAS’s General Committee of which I am a part; The Peranakan Voices; TPAS’s Editorial Committee and advertisers; our many volunteers; our friends who have never failed to come alongside us when we raised funds for our activities; members of the Federation of Peranakan Associations and their members in the region; and, last but not least, our many partners and collaborators, and all of you.
On behalf of the GC (2020-2022), I wish each of you a blessed New Year and a wonderful and safe 2022 ahead.
Colin Chee
President
Reimagine & Reinvent
31 December 2021