Recommended (non-fictionalised) Books on Singapore Politics and SE Asia

Would it be possible to have a Recommended Books sticky?

A number of well-read and articulate members of the forum have cross-referenced interesting/overlooked publications which are great for those of us who have not come across these before, in particular newbies who are keen (such as myself) to gain insights from a historical (albeit written by winners or losers) and sociological perspective.

A number of veterans here have lamented the lack of awareness of such publications and I am hoping that such sticky would be useful.

This would also help those seeking to read beyond To Catch a Tartar.

As a first contribution, I recommend for SE Asia:

Benedict Anderson - Imagined Communities - Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism

Benedict Anderson - The Cornell Paper - A Preliminary Analysis of the October 1, 1965, Coup in Indonesia

Singapore: Unexpected Nation by Edwin Lee
The scripting of a national history by Ly Hongjia or something (about PAP govt's struggle to script S'pore's history while struggling with the past cultural/language baggages, Nantah, Confucian values then Asian values then nothing...)
Paths Not taken by Tocki and Barr
Leaders of singapore: Melanie Chew (this is a coffeetable book format - huge and heavy)
Lee's lieutenants by Kevin Tan, lam Peng er etc.
The tiger and the trojan horse: dennis bloodsworth (DB is pro LKY)
Darkness at dawn - Said Zahari
Comet in the sky by Tan jin quee
Ousted by Patrick Keith (gives the Malaysian side of the story - interesting insightful)
Singapore, a struggle for success by John Drysdale
Goh Keng Swee by Tan Siok Sun (his daughter-in-law)

More when I remember...

of course, explore the biblios found at the back of each book for deeper or more wider reads

Beyond the Blue Gate: Recollections of a Political Prisoner by Teo Soh Lung
The Fajar Generation: The University Socialist Club And The Politics Of Postwar Malaya And Singapore edited by Poh Soo Kai, Tan Jing Quee & Koh Kay Yew

The Hatchet Man of Singapore by JB Jeyaretnam
Dare to Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore ​by Chee Soon Juan

There is also a book May 13 generation about the Chinese Middle School students, how they came about, their leaders etc.

yellowarse said:

Beyond the Blue Gate: Recollections of a Political Prisoner by Teo Soh Lung
The Fajar Generation: The University Socialist Club And The Politics Of Postwar Malaya And Singapore edited by Poh Soo Kai, Tan Jing Quee & Koh Kay Yew

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kingrant said:

There is also a book May 13 generation about the Chinese Middle School students, how they came about, their leaders etc.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder.

The May 13 Generation: The Chinese Middle Schools Student Movement And Singapore Politics In The 1950s edited by Tan Jing Quee & Tan Kok Chiang et al

This is one of the most important books about our history... If anyone wants to know why Singapore/Malaysia is the way it is today, this is a must read.



Red Star Over Malaya: Resistance and Social Conflict During and After the Japanese Occupation, 1941-1946 (3rd Edition)

Cheah Boon Kheng

An account of the inter-racial conflicts between Malays and Chinese durign the final stages of the Japanese Occupation and the social unrest and breakdown of law and order that followed the Japanese surrender. As Japanese forces retreated into the big cities, the Chinese guerillas of teh communist-led resistance movement, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), emerged from the jungle and took control of some 70% of the country's smaller towns and villages. The ensuing conflict involving the Malayan communist Party, the Malay population and the British Military Administration marked a crucial stage in the history of nation building in Malaya.

Based on extensive archival research in Malaysia, Great Britain, Japan and the United States, Red Star Over Malaya provides a riveting account of the way the Japanese Occupation reshaped colonial Malaya, and of the tension-filled months that followed. The book is fundamental to an understanding of social and political developments in Malaysia during the second half of the 20th century, and also provides important insights into Japan's activities in the Southeast Asian region, the situation of the overseas Chinese, and the rise of communism.

First published in 1987, this book is a 'must' for any student of history in Southeast Asia. This edition contains a new foreword from the author.

Cheah Boon Kheng recently retired as Professor of History at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. He has written extensively on Malaysian social and political history.

CHEAH Boon Kheng is one of Malaysia's leading historians.​

publication year: 2003
366 pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-274-2 Paperback US$19.00 S$28.00​

yellowarse said:

Thanks for the reminder.

The May 13 Generation: The Chinese Middle Schools Student Movement And Singapore Politics In The 1950s edited by Tan Jing Quee & Tan Kok Chiang et al

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You guys might also want to check out Ju Lang. I bought this one in December but hadn't had the time to start.



New. The translators, Tan Jing Quee, Loh Miaw Gong and Hong Lysa have helped revive this almost lost Singapore novel - Ju Lang, was its original title - to add it to the country's literary heritage. The novel's central feature is the anti-colonial movement against the British in the Singapore of the early 1950s. It follows a group of middle class students who started campaigning in 1954 for exemption from national service imposed by their British rulers and ends with the triumph of their party in the 1959 elections. He Jin was still living in political exile in Thailand when the book was translated and supported the work. 386 pages. The book includes a time line of events as well as photographs from the time.

GoldenDragon said:

If you compare WW with some others, it pales in comparison. I dare say LKY was MOST vindictive against JBJ. Everything and anything goes as long as JBJ is destroyed. That's the brutal truth alright.

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Is there any book out there that offers a fair view in chronicling the vindictiveness against JBJ (other than The Hatchet Man)?

I've recently discovered this:

Singapore in the Malay World: Building and Breaching Regional Bridges by Lily Zubaidah Rahim http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415484107/

I think this one can also be added to the list: The long nightmare : my 17 years as a political prisoner by Said Zahari.

gatehousethetinkertailor said:

Is there any book out there that offers a fair view in chronicling the vindictiveness against JBJ (other than The Hatchet Man)?

I've recently discovered this:

Singapore in the Malay World: Building and Breaching Regional Bridges by Lily Zubaidah Rahim http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415484107/

I think this one can also be added to the list: The long nightmare : my 17 years as a political prisoner by Said Zahari.

Click to expand...

The measures taken, all classified TOP SECRET. Will never make it to the printing machines.

gatehousethetinkertailor said:

I think this one can also be added to the list: The long nightmare : my 17 years as a political prisoner by Said Zahari.

Click to expand...

I was looking for Said's "Dark Clouds At Dawn" for my own research but to no avail. Apparently it is out of print.

"Dark Clouds" would have provided me the final piece of the puzzle....

Constructing Singapore: Elitism, Ethnicity And The Nation-Building Project
by Barr, Michael D.; Zlatko Skrbis



Price: US$38.42 (SGD49.90*)
Format: Paper Back, 304 pages
Published: 2008, Denmark, 1st Edition
ISBN: 9788776940294
SB#: 043806 (111)


About This Book

The main focus of this thoughtful and dense critique of Singapore's post-colonial development policies is on some of the country's shortcomings. Among others discussed are: elite formation, seen as consciously promoted by the gearing of all aspects of the education system and media direction, and by the sharpening of ethnic distinctions and identification in public policies. Efforts in these two areas are seen as having brought about a Chinese ethno-nationalism which dominates Singapore's own identity and the perceptions and actions of both Singaporeans and others. With bibliography and index.


This is one of the best books I have read about Singapore.. A chilling read..