Debating Singapore

Debating Singapore, a volume of thirty-one essays, offers perceptive observations, acerbic commentary and judicious critiques from academics and professionals on key economic, social and cultural issues that have shaped discourse on Singapore since 1990. Written between 1990 and 1994, these concise essays capture the essence of debate during a particular moment in time. They also convey a sense of the rapidity with which change, in both tangible and intangible dimensions, takes place in the Singapore of the 1990s.

The book gathers the general report and the national reports presented at the XXth General Congress of the IACL, in Fukuoka (Japan), on the topic “Debating legal pluralism and constitutionalism: new trajectories for legal theory in the global age”. Discussing the major contemporary changes occurring in and problems faced by domestic legal systems in the global age, the book describes how and to what extent these trends affect domestic legal orderings and practices, and challenges the traditional theoretical lenses that are offered to tackle them: constitutionalism and pluralism. Combining comparative law and comparative legal doctrine, and drawing on the national contributions, the general report concludes that most of the classic tools offered by legal doctrine are not appropriate to address most of today’s practical and theoretical global legal challenges, and as such, the book also offers new intellectual tools for the global age.

"Grew out of a one-day conference ... organized by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in August 1999. Eight papers were presented at that conference, of which seven were selected, revised in 2001 and now appear as chapters in this book [together with] three more ... and also reflecting on the significance of the 2001 general election."--Pref.

This title was first published in 2001. A collection of valuable, previously published essays analyzing the major social dynamics shaping the increasingly complex society, economy and polity of contemporary Singapore. Topics range from ideology and culture to the character of the state and its institutions and the possibilities for political reform.

Although more than 30 years have passed since the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme was introduced in 1990, it remains controversial and poorly understood today.Have NMPs raised views that elected MPs — on both sides of the House — could or did not? Have they kept voters away from the Opposition, or been a bulwark of loving critics in the midst of a parliamentary supermajority?In this first book devoted to the NMP scheme, former NMP Anthea Ong brings together 19 colleagues past and present to discuss their experiences in office, from the Population White Paper to the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, and what being appointed has meant to them personally.In exploring the workings and impact of the NMP scheme, the contributors hope this book will invite Singaporeans to consider how their NMPs should and must represent them, aside from their elected representatives. And in doing so, ask: What sort of Parliament does Singapore, as an evolving society, deserve?

The Historical Dictionary of Singapore relates this history of this country through a chronology, an introductory essay, an expansive bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, events, places, organizations, and other aspects of Singapore history from the earliest times to the present.