Across the Causeway: A Multi-dimensional Study of Malaysia-Singapore Relations

Across the Causeway is a compilation of essays by Singaporean and Malaysian academia, edited by a Japanese, Takashi Shiraishi.

This is an ideal book for anyone who wants to learn more about the history between Singapore and Malaysia and how history had played a dominant role in present bilateral relations between both states.

Not to fret if you do not have prior political knowledge as the book starts with the history of both states, focusing mainly on the merger and separation. It then proceeds on to essays pertaining to more current bilateral boons and banes.

It is a good read, and I personally can't put it down once I read it.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Make it Right for Singapore by Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam

Make it Right for Singapore is a compilation of Parliament speeches made by Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam (or more affectionately called JBJ) when he was a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament. JBJ was the first opposition leader to break the dominant one party system when he won the Anson by-election against a PAP candidate.

He was disqualified from being an MP when he insulted the judiciary and was charged in court. In the 1997 General Elections, he was the best loser in the Cheng San GRC ward and thus was appointed as NCMP.

After reading this book, I feel that he had made many repetitive speeches regarding political freedom in Singapore. The speeches were very rhetorical in nature and lacked focus on the bread-and-butter issues concerning most Singaporeans.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism - Asian Values, Free Market Illusions and Political Dependency by Christopher Lingle

Author Christopher Lingle was previously a lecturer in National University of Singapore. After he wrote an article, in which alleging that the judiciary of Singapore is not independent, he was interviewed by the police. He later fled Singapore in fear that he would be heavily penalised by the government.

In Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism - Asian Values, Free Market Illusions and Political Dependency, Christopher Lingle sought to expose the fallacy of Asian Values and how the region is vulnerable in the near future.

The book is severely biased against Singapore's government and the reader would easily detect how the author routinely attempts to defend himself by condemning Asia Pacific states.

Overall Rating: 4/10

The Future Role of Singapore by Dick Wilson

Published in 1972, The Future Role of Singapore depicts the problematic issues of the newly independent island-state republic. As the title of the book suggests, Dick Wilson analysed the trend of developments in Singapore and expressed his views on the future role of Singapore amidst a region that is catching up with development as well.

Dick Wilson believed that Singapore would be a step further from its neighbours while ensuring that they do not lag behind in terms of development. Singapore could contribute in their development as well.

Even though the book was published more than 3 decades ago, it is still relevant. The vulnerability of a small state with the absence of natural resources and geopolitical factors are going to stay on.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

What if There Had Been No Lee Kuan Yew? by Anthony Oei

From the condition of the book, you can see that this book had been read by many. The title of the books builds up our curiousity as readers. However, the title is misleading...

In What if there had been no Lee Kuan Yew? by Anthony Oei, the only mention of the question in the title lies in the last paragraph of the book.

Oei traces the life of Lee Kuan Yew from his childhood days to the formation of PAP and beyond. The last few paragraphs highlighted the main criticisms of Lee by his critics.

Oei is a former journalist who has worked for The Straits Times and Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, as well as for the Far Easter Economic Review of Hong Kong as its Singapore correspondent, and other magazines. He subsequently became the head of the EDB's Public Relations and Implementation Assistance Units.

Overall Rating: 7/10

From Kuan Yew to Chok Tong and beyond by George Nonis

From Kuan Yew to Chok Tong and beyond is one of the few books that carry political caricatures. In Singapore, cartoon drawings of political figures are seldom seen on newspapers due to the more restricted political expression within the state.

This is a comic book and carries jokes about Singapore. There is a previous comic book by George Nonis, entitled Hello Chok Tong, Goodbye Kuan Yew which caused some stir when it was released.

Meet the Cabinet Ministers aka players in the Singapore Young Lions as illustrated by George Nonis.

Bottom (from left): Abdullah Tarmugi - Mr Rock Steady, Lim Boon Heng - Mr Cupid, Lee Boon Heng - Best Trainee, Mah Bow Tan - Mr Goal 2010, Lim Hng Kiang - Young Player of the Year, Wong Kan Seng - The Singer, Lee Yock Suan - Mr Drama, Yeo Cheow Tong - Mr IT (intelligent tackles)
Top (from left): Goh Chok Tong - Mr Golden Boots, Teo Chee Hean - Mr Long Beans, George Yeo - The Thinker, Lee Hsien Loong - The Super Sub, Tony Tan - The Swinging Sub, Richard Hu - The Paymaker, S. Jayakumar - Mr Smiley, Lee Kuan Yew - Old Player of the Year

Overall Rating: 7/10

From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong by Shin Min Daily News

From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong is a compilation of news publications by Shin Min Daily News, a newspaper under the Singapore Press Holdings Corporation.

The first part of From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong provides coverage on Mr Lee Kuan Yew. From how he became the leader of Singapore, the book then interviewed the grassroots leaders and various individuals that had worked with him.

The second part of From Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong then focuses on Mr Goh Chok Tong. Interviews from people who knew him before he stepped into politics shed some light into the nature and character of this great leader.

Overall Rating: 7/10

The Politics of Policy-Making in Singapore by Ho Khai Leong

The Author is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore. He has also taught in the Master in Public Policy programme at NUS.

The Politics of Policy-Making in Singapore offers a critical analysis of the political dynamics that shape Singapore's public policies. It suggests that policy-making in Singapore involves a complex process of interaction among political institutions, and that the distribution of power among these institutions is hierachical and precarious. Thus, the book argues that the contestation of political interests occupies a central position in these stratified interactions, and this has been largely responsible for the types of policies and their impact.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Elections in Singapore by Pugalenthi SR

Elections in Singapore is a narrative summary of all the elections in Singapore from the Legislative Council General Elections of 1948 right up to the Presidential Elections of 1993. It encompasses all the By-Elections as well.

The book is easy to read and filled with quotes from the various politicians standing for elections. The purpose of the respective elections, the number of seats contested, the duration of political campaigning and the parties contesting were recorded in each chapter. Pugalenthi SR also pointed out the main issues that were debated during the Elections. Of course, each chapter ended with the results of the Election.

This book is a good read for people who want to see the whole big picture of Singapore politics via elections. However, readers would need to be equipped with some knowledge of Singapore politics before they could fully appreciate the contents.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP At The Grass-roots by Chan Heng Chee

At time of writing Prof Chan Heng Chee was a lecturer with the Department of Political Science, University of Singapore (now called National University of Singapore). She is currently the Singapore Ambassador at United States.

The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP At The Grass-roots is a micro-study of the politics in Singapore and focuses on 5 constituencies - Chua Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang, Telok Ayer, Kg Kembagan, Crawford. These 5 constituencies represent the rural and the urban settlements in Singapore and thus acted as good range of reference for the study.

In this book, Prof Chan first described Singapore as an "administrative state", which would be frequently used by other authors and academics when they refer to the Singapore state.

Other issues covered in the book also include an analysis of the Opposition, grassroots composition at the different constituencies, as well as the voters' concerns at the domestic level.

As The Dynamics of One Party Dominance: The PAP At The Grass-roots is authored at around 1976, many of the issues covered might not be relevant now. In general, however, there are good sources of reference if one were to research for the domestic issues affecting Singaporean voters at the period of time.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Thinking Allowed? Politics, Fear and Change in Singapore by Warren Fernandez

At time of writing the book, Warren Fernandez was the Foreign Editor of The Straits Times, Singapore's leading English-language daily. Currently, he is the Deputy Editor and Foreign Editor.

Thinking Allowed? is a compilation of Warren Fernandez's articles written for The Straits Times. He had written for the column "Thinking Aloud". Arguing that there is politics in Singapore, Warren Fernandez illustrated his point with his viewpoints in various current affairs events related to local politics.

The Author expressed his moderate views and opinions in regard to government actions.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party by Diane K. Mauzy and R.S. Milne

This is a comprehensive overview of politics in Singapore since its independence in 1965 to the publication of the book in 2002.

The Authors present a moderate and balanced view in their depiction of the politics in Singapore under the PAP rule.

Singapore Politics Under the People's Action Party covers the following topics:

What is remarkable about Singapore?
How Singapore became independent: Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP
Locations of power: the state and the government
The PAP: the structure and operation of a dominant party
Ideology of the leaders and for the populace
Economic policy for an independent Singapore
Supplying social services to the people
The dictates of ethnicity: language policy, education, and self-help
The successors: leadership trends in the PAP -- the search for top talent
Authoritarian aspects of PAP rule
Elections, electoral innovations, and the Opposition
The growth of civil society
Deterrence and diplomacy
Singapore in the future

Overall Rating: 9/10

Publish and Perish - The Censorship of Opposition Party Publications in Singapore edited by James Gomez

Publish and Perish - The Censorship of Opposition Party Publications in Singapore is a compilation of the Party Newspapers (SOLIDARITY, and then later renamed to NSP News) of the National Solidarity Party.

The book is edited by James Gomez, Founder of Think Centre and a Workers' Party Candidate for Aljunied GRC at the 2006 General Elections.

NSP is a relatively young political party in Singapore. It came into the limelight when its then Secretary-General Steve Chia managed to attain an Non-Constituency MP position for his performance in the Bukit Gombak Constituency. Publish and Perish - The Censorship of Opposition Party Publications in Singapore allows an insight of readers into the political views of the NSP and dispels the myth that there is no qualified opposition in Singapore.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Singapore My Home Too by Chee Soon Juan

Another book by Secretary General of Singapore Democratic Party, Dr. Chee Soon Juan. "Singapore My Home Too" was written right after his book "Dare to Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore".

A short glance at the table of contents shed some light into his area of discussion:

The Terrible Curse of Fear
Keeping Stomachs Full and Heads Empty
Intellectually Speaking
No Democracy Please, We're Asians
Meritocratic Humbug
Robin Hood
Looking Ahead

I particularly like this book as Dr. Chee patiently dispels all the urban legend and myth that the ruling party had entrenched in Singapore society. As always, the book is easy to read and self-explanatory even if you are a newbie in Singapore politics. If you have read his previous book, you might find some similar arguments in "Singapore My Home Too".

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

For reference, you might want to visit http://www.yoursdp.org

Parties and Politics - A Study of Opposition Parties and the PAP in Singapore by Hussin Mutalib

This is a holistic analysis on the 4 significant political parties in Singapore -- namely, the Barisan Socialis, Worker's Party, Singapore Democratic Party and PKMS by Associate Professor Hussin Mutalib of Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore.

The Author gives a brief description on how local politics evolved from a 2-party rule into a 1-party dominant political system. From the historical ontext of politics before 1963, the Author moves on to case study Singapore's opposition parties. He then gives his analysis on the impediments to a viable opposition in Singapore and concludes with the future prospects for these opposition parties.

Barisan Socialis was, at one time, the strongest opposition to the PAP government when it splintered off from the latter. Worker's Party is the longest opposition party to exist in Singapore. Singapore Democratic Party is a relatively new political party formed in 1980 but won a seat (by Chiam See Tong) in 1984. PKMS, a Malay-first Political Party surviving in a Chinese-dominated society.

Your Future, My Faith, Our Freedom by Chee Soon Juan

This book by Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of Singapore Democratic Party, once again highlights the lack of democracy in the political system of Singapore. Dr. Chee argues that there had been many problems and more to surface in economic crisis due to the lack of democracy in Singapore.

The author covers The Political System, The Economy, Distribution of Wealth, Social Security, The Media and Censorship, Society and the People.

In each scope of writing, he gave alternatives to improve the situation by instilling greater openness and democracy.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

The Hatchet Man of Singapore by J B Jeyaretnam

ISBN: 981-04-8513-1

Joshua Ben Jeyaretnam (JBJ), a veteran politican and former Secretary-General of Worker's Party of Singapore is the author of this book. He refers Lee Kuan Yew as the Hatchet Man of Singapore.

JBJ was a trained lawyer before he entered politics. After defamation suits from Cabinet Ministers such as then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, JBJ was made bankrupt and hence unable to enter parliament or stand for elections. JBJ had recently announced that he would be setting up a new political party.

This book featured details of the defamation lawsuits that were imposed upon the author, including cross-examination of then PM Goh. JBJ would describe what should be the normal procedures for handling certain issues, and what actually happened in his case which stood biased against him.

This book is easy to read and understand even if you are not familiar with legal procedures.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Dare to change : an alternative vision for Singapore -- Dr. Chee Soon Juan

ISBN: 981-00-5853-5

This book is authored by the Secretary-general of Singapore Democratic Party, Dr. Chee Soon Juan.

In this book, Dr. Chee sought to dispel the existence of "Asian values" and that a more open and democratic society would be more beneficial to Singapore.

He criticised the ruling PAP government's policies and then gave alternatives to them. Some of his criticisms are in the streaming of Primary 4 students at a young age, the Internal Securities Act as irrelevant in this era, healthcare, social aspects, etc.

In my opinion, some of Dr. Chee's alternatives to government's policies are too idealistic and might not be implementable in our local context. However, in retrospect, some of his ideas were actually fulfilled by the PAP government albeit over a long period of time.

Overall Rating: 5/10