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Aug 14, 2009
Goh Chok Tong years <!--10 min-->
Last week, Insight carried excerpts from a new book on the Goh Chok Tong years, zeroing in on what he did for Singapore's political scene, prosperity and place in the world. This week, we turn to his impact on culture and society.
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View more photos
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</div> </td></tr>--> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Lee Siew Hua, Senior Political Correspondent </td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
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Then Prime Minister Goh Chok tong visiting a Malay family living in a newly upgraded Marade Parade HDB flat in 2002. -- ST FILE PHOTOS
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View more photos </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--> FOURTEEN years is a fleeting moment in a nation's life. But stepping back, we may see that Mr Goh Chok Tong shaped or sometimes subverted Singapore society and culture in his 14-year premiership, more than his Nice Guy image suggests.
<table valign="top" align="left" width="200"> <tbody><tr><td class="padr8"> <!-- Vodcast --> <!-- Background Story --> <style type="text/css"> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </style> <div id="related" class="vclear"> <div class="quote"> <div class="headline">IMPRESSIONS OF THE GOH CHOK TONG YEARS IN SINGAPORE
</div> <div class="text"><div align="left">
EDITORS: Bridget Welsh, James Chin, Arun Mahizhnan and Tan Tarn How</div></div> <div class="text" align="right"> ... more</div> </div> <div class="quote"> <div class="headline">His imprint on culture & society</div> <div class="text">A WINNER WITH MALAYS
The Goh years can easily be described as a defining period for relations between the state and the Malay/Muslim community.</div> <div class="text" align="right"> ... more</div> </div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> This is explored in a new volume of 45 essays titled Impressions Of The Goh Chok Tong Years In Singapore, launched last week. Its extensive portrayal of Mr Goh's imprint on cultural policy and the social fabric is illuminating, for this is where the book diverts from the regular current of intellectual discourse here, which tilts to hard-edged issues.
The book does solidly cover politics, economics, defence and foreign policy. Refreshingly, it also unwraps the softer and deeper issues - how Singapore architecture can be a political statement or sports may be politicised, for instance. Architect Tay Kheng Soon, for one, links his critiques of the smallness of our architectural ambitions to the smallness of the popular imagination. He is right that the nation's builders for decades styled Singapore as a Western city more than a modern tropical Asian city. Possibly, this is a linear development from the British colonial days when Singapore was conceived as an outpost of empire.
The authors also unpack new meanings in how Mr Goh tackled Singlish, bonded with Malay-Muslims, and re-established ties with India. He defined culture and identity with gusto. Contemporary art flourished under him, and Singapore cinema was revived. The sharp debate over foreign sports talent and our new international sports glory also started in his time. For women, he modified the state's patriarchal perspectives in favour of female perspectives. Many players other than Mr Goh played a vigorous part - defining and contesting the issues - in the grand transformation of Singapore. If Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is largely synonymous with the Singapore story of success, then this book suggests that the Goh Chok Tong narrative may turn out to be the Singapore Story Version 2.0.
[email protected]
Aug 14, 2009
Goh Chok Tong years <!--10 min-->
Last week, Insight carried excerpts from a new book on the Goh Chok Tong years, zeroing in on what he did for Singapore's political scene, prosperity and place in the world. This week, we turn to his impact on culture and society.
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <!--<tr><td>
<div class="border_dbl2_bn"">
</td> <td width="10">
Then Prime Minister Goh Chok tong visiting a Malay family living in a newly upgraded Marade Parade HDB flat in 2002. -- ST FILE PHOTOS
</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table> <tbody><tr><td> <div class="vclearleft">
View more photos </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--> FOURTEEN years is a fleeting moment in a nation's life. But stepping back, we may see that Mr Goh Chok Tong shaped or sometimes subverted Singapore society and culture in his 14-year premiership, more than his Nice Guy image suggests.
<table valign="top" align="left" width="200"> <tbody><tr><td class="padr8"> <!-- Vodcast --> <!-- Background Story --> <style type="text/css"> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </style> <div id="related" class="vclear"> <div class="quote"> <div class="headline">IMPRESSIONS OF THE GOH CHOK TONG YEARS IN SINGAPORE
</div> <div class="text"><div align="left">
EDITORS: Bridget Welsh, James Chin, Arun Mahizhnan and Tan Tarn How</div></div> <div class="text" align="right"> ... more</div> </div> <div class="quote"> <div class="headline">His imprint on culture & society</div> <div class="text">A WINNER WITH MALAYS
The Goh years can easily be described as a defining period for relations between the state and the Malay/Muslim community.</div> <div class="text" align="right"> ... more</div> </div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> This is explored in a new volume of 45 essays titled Impressions Of The Goh Chok Tong Years In Singapore, launched last week. Its extensive portrayal of Mr Goh's imprint on cultural policy and the social fabric is illuminating, for this is where the book diverts from the regular current of intellectual discourse here, which tilts to hard-edged issues.
The book does solidly cover politics, economics, defence and foreign policy. Refreshingly, it also unwraps the softer and deeper issues - how Singapore architecture can be a political statement or sports may be politicised, for instance. Architect Tay Kheng Soon, for one, links his critiques of the smallness of our architectural ambitions to the smallness of the popular imagination. He is right that the nation's builders for decades styled Singapore as a Western city more than a modern tropical Asian city. Possibly, this is a linear development from the British colonial days when Singapore was conceived as an outpost of empire.
The authors also unpack new meanings in how Mr Goh tackled Singlish, bonded with Malay-Muslims, and re-established ties with India. He defined culture and identity with gusto. Contemporary art flourished under him, and Singapore cinema was revived. The sharp debate over foreign sports talent and our new international sports glory also started in his time. For women, he modified the state's patriarchal perspectives in favour of female perspectives. Many players other than Mr Goh played a vigorous part - defining and contesting the issues - in the grand transformation of Singapore. If Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is largely synonymous with the Singapore story of success, then this book suggests that the Goh Chok Tong narrative may turn out to be the Singapore Story Version 2.0.
[email protected]
