In the realm of statecraft, soft power can amplify loudly when wielded correctly.
Moments after Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament yesterday (Jan 9) there was no need to engage in megaphone diplomacy over the Terrex vehicles confiscation, a Singaporean has taken to the microphone, singing about the nine armoured vehicles.
‘Give me back my Terrex chia’ is a song posted on Youtube yesterday by an Alvin Oon.
Sharing the Youtube video on his Facebook page, Alvin wrote: “Maybe a light-hearted song will lessen the tensions and see the return of Singapore’s 9 Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles.”
Inspired by dialect songs from the old days, the kitschy song in peppered with colloquial phrases, such as “cannot suka suka (as you please) take from me”.
The song has since been shared on community Facebook pages such as The Reservist and SAF Professional Reading Programme.
If megaphone diplomacy is an out-of-bounds (OB) marker, but how about some microphone diplomacy?
