Symposium on
Paths Not Taken:
Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore
14-15 July 2005
organised by
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore &
Centre for Social Change Research, Queensland University of Technology
venue
Faculty Lounge
National University of Singapore
Blk AS7, Shaw Foundation Building,
Level 1, 5 Arts Link
(within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
The ‘Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore’ Symposium is jointly sponsored by the Centre for Social Change Research at the Queensland University of Technology and the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. It is the culmination of a three year project sponsored by the Australian Research Council, which has brought together researchers from three continents to study political and social movements that have operated in postwar Singapore outside and in rivalry with the ruling party’s hegemony.
The following abstracts address various aspects of these ‘alternative’ histories, following the themes of ‘New Ideas’, ‘Civil Society’, ‘Chinese Social and Intellectual Movements’ and ‘English-educated Movements’. Under these rubrics, participants will discuss 18 papers covering a diverse range of topics: party and activist politics; trade unions; commercial and professional organisations; social, intellectual, ethnic and religious movements, and; the media and service organisations.
STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATIONS
Commentators have 15 minutes to introduce and outline the paper and offer some thoughts on its content and arguments. Presenters have 10 minutes to respond. After this format has been followed for each paper in a session, the floor is thrown open for a general discussion. Panel 3 is the exception, with 2 shorter discussion periods.
CONTACT DETAILS
Organisers:
Prof Carl A. Trocki, Queensland University of Technology ()
Prof Chua Beng Huat, National University of Singapore ()
Dr Michael D. Barr, The University of Queensland ()
Secretariat:
Ms Valerie Yeo ()
Asia Research Institute
National University of Singapore
Tel : (65) 6874 5279
Fax : (65) 6779 1428
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Symposium on Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore,
organised by Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore; and
Centre for Social Change Research, Queensland University of Technology,
on 14-15 July 2005 in Singapore at NUS.
PROGRAM – DAY 1
14 JULY 2005 (THURSDAY)08:15 – 09:00 / REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
09:00 – 09:30 / WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS
Chua Beng Huat
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Mrs Jean Marshall
Carl Trocki
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
09:30 – 10:20 / PANEL 1 – NEW IDEAS
Chairperson:
Michael Barr, The University of Queensland, Australia
09:30 / Communists, Leftists and Populists:
The Social and Ideological Roots of Postwar
Left-wing Politics
Tim Harper
Cambridge University, UK / Comments:
Carl Trocki
09:55 / History Spiked: Hegemony and the Denial of Media Diversity
Cherian George
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore / Comments:
Chua Beng Huat
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
10:20 – 10:50 / TEA BREAK
10:50 – 12:55 / PANEL 1 (continued)
10:50 / “Anti-national” or Internationalist?
Afro-Asianism in Singapore, c.1955-1963
Sunil Amrith
Cambridge University, UK / Comments:
Meredith Weiss
11:15 / “Art for Society”: Language, Literature and Film in the Singaporean Malay Community
Jan van der Putten (presenting)
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Tim Barnard
National University of Singapore, Singapore / Comments:
Lily Rahim
11:40 / Winning and Losing Malay Support:
The Capricious Course of PAP - Malay Community Relations - 1950s and 1960s
Lily Rahim
The University of Sydney, Australia / Comments:
Suzaina Bte Abdul Kadir
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore
12:05 / DISCUSSION
12:55 – 14:00 / LUNCH
14:00– 15:15 / PANEL 2 – CIVIL SOCIETY
Chairperson:
Carl A. Trocki, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
14:00 / The Malay Education Council
Kay Gillis
Independent scholar, Singapore / Comments:
Sikko Visscher
14:25 / Hand-over or Take-over?: The Politics of Management/Control of the Family Planning Association
Uma Rajan (presenting)
Medical Doctor, Singapore; and
Meena Shivdas
Gender and Development Consultant, UK / Comments:
Wee, Ann Elizabeth
Dept of Social Work & Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
14:50 / “But We Don’t Talk About That”:
Foundational Narratives in the History of AWARE
Lenore Lyons
University of Wollongong, Australia / Comments:
Constance Singam
Former President of AWARE and the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations, Singapore
15:15 – 15:45 / TEA BREAK
15:45 – 16:50 / PANEL 2 (continued)
15:45 / Catholic Social Activists of the 1970s and 1980s: Alleged ‘Marxist Conspirators’
Michael Barr
The University of Queensland, Australia / Comments:
Coeli Barry
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
16:10 / DISCUSSION
16:50 / END OF THE DAY 1
19:00 / DINNER (For speakers and chairpersons)
PROGRAM – DAY 2
08:15 – 09:00 / REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
09:00 – 10:10 / PANEL 3A – CHINESE SOCIAL & INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENTS
Chairperson:
Carl A. Trocki, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
09:00 / Paths of Contestation and Neglect:
Positioning Postwar Student Political Activism in Singapore
Huang Jianli
National University of Singapore, Singapore / Comments:
Kwok Kian Woon
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
09:25 / All Quiet on Jurong Road: Nanyang University and Radical Vision in Singapore
Yao Souchou
The University of Sydney, Australia / Comments:
Kwok Kian Woon
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
09:50 / DISCUSSION
10:10 – 10:40 / TEA BREAK
10:40 – 12:30 / PANEL 3B – CHINESE SOCIAL & INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENTS
10:40 / The United Front Strategy of the Malayan Communist Party in Singapore During 1950s and the Early 1960s
C.C. Chin
Independent scholar, Macau / Comments:
Wang Gungwu
East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
11:05 / Re-Mapping the Nanyang: Reflections on the South Seas Society, Chinese Intellectuals in Singapore, and the Formation of a Local Identity, 1940-1971
Leander Seah
National University of Singapore, Singapore / Comments:
Huang Jianli
11:30 / Ambitious Chinese Merchants; The Democratic Party in the 1955 Legislative Assembly Election
Sikko Visscher
University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Comments:
Carl Trocki
12:00 / DISCUSSION
12:30 – 13:30 / LUNCH
13:30 – 14:55 / PANEL 4 – ENGLISH-EDUCATED MOVEMENTS
Chairperson:
Chua Beng Huat, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
13:30 / The Left-Wing Trade Unions in Singapore, 1945-1970
Michael Fernandez
Journalist, Singapore; and
Loh Kah Seng
National University of Singapore, Singapore / Comments:
Carl Trocki
14:05 / The Campus as Crucible: Student Activism in Singapore and Malay(si)a
Meredith Weiss
DePaul University, Chicago, USA / Comments:
Sunil Amrith
14:30 / Lawyers in Singapore Politics: 1945-1990
Kevin Y.L. Tan
Independent scholar, Singapore / Comments:
Michael Barr
14:55 – 15:25 / TEA BREAK
15:25 – 17:30 / PANEL 4 (Continued)
15:25 / David Marshall and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Singapore
Carl Trocki
Queensland University of Technology, Australia / Comments:
Kevin Tan
15:50 / DISCUSSION
16:30 – 17:30 / CONCLUDING REMARKS
Chua Beng Huat
National University of Singapore, Singapore
17:30 / END OF THE DAY 2
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