Architectural historian YEO KANG SHUA critiques the unease written into Singapore’s fabric, and argues that conservation is a discipline of attention we can all practise. This essay is adapted from his remarks at the “States of Unease” Public Forum.
In a world inundated with data, literature helps us seek truth, argues poet POOJA NANSI. It is where we learn to be patient with difference and contradiction, and thus discover how to understand and live with one another. This article is based on her remarks at the “States of Unease” Public Forum 2026.
In his contribution to the “States of Unease” Public Forum 2026, media scholar CHERIAN GEORGE explored the idea of moral progress as a core objective of a good society. This essay elaborates on his argument.
At the “States of Unease” Public Forum 2026, sociologist TEO YOU YENN explained why Singaporeans should not think of the Government as the only relevant conversation partner if they want to change things. This article is based on her remarks at the event.
Historian THUM PING TJIN argues that The Albatross File Exhibition and its accompanying book turn Lee Kuan Yew from a historically consequential actor into a passive victim of circumstance, thus diminishing him. By trying to protect him from moral scrutiny, Singaporeans are given a comforting story instead of an educational one where power, fear, race, ambition, and moral compromise destroyed Malaysia.
Sociologist Teo You Yenn’s previous book was an academic publishing phenomenon; her latest appears to be following suit. CHERIAN GEORGE (Hong Kong Baptist University) explains the structural conditions that make her an exception in Singapore academia.
Drawing from his new book, The Economic History of Singapore, CHOY KEEN MENG identifies continuities over the long span of Singapore’s 700-year history and argues that its economic success can be attributed to both luck and astute decision making.
As Hussein Alatas and other Muslim thinkers recognised, only a working community of public intellectuals can save societies from shallow, populistic, and paranoid reactions to contemporary challenges such as inequality and identity politics, argues YAACOB IBRAHIM (National University of Singapore). This is the text of his closing remarks at the launch of a new book inspired by the late Syed Hussein Alatas.
The formal position of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament was created in a legal vacuum. Constitutional law scholar KEVIN Y.L. TAN explains why it should be given a proper footing in law.
Parliament has begun its marathon session reviewing the Government’s plans for the year. Tackling social inequality has been a stated priority of the Government for a while. This year, policy discussions can refer to a new research paper on the topic from the Ministry of Finance. NG KOK HOE (National University of Singapore) examines how it can guide the debate and suggests questions that remain.
