Let It Burn Out: The 1957 Flu Pandemic and Decolonisation in Singapore
Hosted by the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre
Wednesday 6 April 2022 12:00pm to 1:15pm, British Summer Time
SEAC will host this talk by Dr. Kah Seng Loh (Director, Chronicles Research and Education) on the influenza pandemic in Singapore in 1957 and its implications for decolonisation.
When the influenza pandemic reached Singapore in May 1957, the Labour Front government’s response was to ‘let it burn out’. This handling of the outbreak received only muted criticism in the Legislative Assembly.
How did the pandemic reveal incomplete decolonisation in Singapore? Join Dr. Loh to explore the gap that still existed between the state and the people over matters of public health, while the old discourse of racial immunity remained in circulation.
For more information on the seminar and to register, please click here.