Singapore: The air-conditioned nation : essays on the politics of comfort and control, 1990-2000

by Cherian George

Singapore: The air-condit...

by
Cherian George

published

2000 by Landmark Books

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binding

Unknown Binding, 223 pages

isbn

981306546X (isbn13: 9789813065468)

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other reviews (showing 1-13 of 13)

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Valerie rated it:

07/10/08

bookshelves: 2006-2008-singapore, asian-histories

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: Asia-philes

Essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating country. Only a few essays seem dated; since Sng govt politics move so slowly, most of the "issues" from 10 yrs ago remain relevant--even the Chee case is still in motion. And for humor, turn to the "Lost at Home" chapter, about Singapore's incessant remodeling projects that rearrange old neighborhoods until they are unrecognizable. George is an excellent writer; would that there were more journalists of this calib...more Essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating country. Only a few essays seem dated; since Sng govt politics move so slowly, most of the "issues" from 10 yrs ago remain relevant--even the Chee case is still in motion. And for humor, turn to the "Lost at Home" chapter, about Singapore's incessant remodeling projects that rearrange old neighborhoods until they are unrecognizable. George is an excellent writer; would that there were more journalists of this caliber.

Most interesting, in my view, are the chapters on ethnicity and language politics, a complex matter in a tiny country with 4 national languages. Ethnic polarization--indeed, an almost complete lack of "mixing"--leads some to bemoan a "Singapore without Singaporeans" (as people cling to their ethnic identity over their national one, and the govt seems lazy about promoting one).

Other dimensions to the problem: school versus home languages. For example, since the Chinese population is 70%, the govt feels it is vital to insist that Chinese is not an Official language, so as to avoid unintentionally marginalizing the Malay and Indian populations. But they go too far: Malay and Indian students are not allowed to study Mandarin at all, even as a second language--even though some believe that to do so would be in their best economic self-interest (business with China, anyone?). As George puts it: the policy persuades minority groups "only that PAP does not want to turn them into Chinese; [but:] it does not address their worst fear, that they will be left out of an increasingly Chinese Singapore."

More dimensions to the problem: the govt maintains a ridiculously rigid understanding of race=culture=language which bears little relation to ethnicity as a lived experience, to say nothing of personal choice in language study. There are Chinese families who speak Hokkien, but are forced to study Mandarin at school as the "mother tongue". There are Straits Chinese who speak Malay at home but are also forced to learn Mandarin, etc.

For a country that excels at reinvention, it is astonishing to me that this one area remains so deeply entrenched in out-moded thinking. And it is a shame, because in other respects, Singapore is quite forward-looking. But don't look to Sng for new ideas on fostering multi-culturalism. ...less

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John rated it:

06/18/08

bookshelves: essays

Read in May, 2008

Friends have been urging this book on me ever since I moved to Singapore, but I'm glad I waited a while before reading it; I don't think it would have made as much sense to me earlier on, and it was good to have an independent sense of the place against which to measure George's. Having that, though, I must say I think his analysis is spot-on; he does a great job of outlining the many ways in which Singapore's paternalistic government wins democratic assent for its one-party rule both through i...more

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Caleb rated it:

03/25/07

Read in March, 2001

A collection of essays and writings from a well known Straits Times journalist are definitely timely and relevant for all Singaporeans. The choice of the air-conditioner as a metaphor for Singaporean life was definitely inspired (Lee Kuan Yew our great patriach considered it the most important invention of the 20th Century) apart from the fact that George does try to stretch the illustration a bit too far at times. Still, an interesting read for all who are concerned about Singapore politics and...more

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