SMU Associate Professor of English Literature, writer and critic Kirpal Singh commented on the appointment of National Arts Council’s (NAC) deputy chief executive Yvonne Tham as Assistant Chief Executive of the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, with current Director of Visual Arts Paul Tan replacing her at the NAC, Associate Prof Singh is of the opinion that these reflect the decision-makers’ desire “to see vigour and imaginative transformations taking place at the NAC and the Esplanade”. He added that “the time is now ripe for the arts council and the Esplanade to expand frontiers and to inject a dynamism with which the young can engage in meaningful and significant ways,” and “to work towards a sensitive re-orientation which will help contribute to making Singapore a true, creative, global city of and for the arts”.