Law

The establishment of the Singapore Management University (SMU) in 2000 represented a major departure from established systems and models of tertiary institutions in Singapore. The vision for this university – largely the brainchild of former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan – was born out of a frustration with the established state-operated university system and was designed to answer the challenges of modern tertiary education
in Singapore. Privately-run and publicly-funded, the Singapore
Management University provided a new model of tertiary education that pushed its students to speak up, challenge orthodoxy and be active learners. More importantly, it acted
as a major catalyst for the transformation of Singapore’s tertiary education system. This book details the events leading up to the University’s formation and charts the first 15 years of its growth.

Off icially est abl ish ed in 1878, the natural history collection—originally housed at the Raffles Museum—now has more than 560,000 specimens in its care, one of the largest collection of Southeast Asian plants and animals. Dedicated to scientific research and education, the museum was reincarnated as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in 2015, closing the loop on its remarkable 127-year history. But beneath the sleek exterior of the museum’s new, modern building lies a saga of struggle and change. That the collections survived at all—through the multiple challenges of the nineteenth
century, the disruption of World War Two, and its potential disintegration in the face of Singapore’s modernization—is nothing short of miraculous. This book is not only an institutional history of the museum but also recounts the frustrations, tenacity, and courage of the numerous individuals
who battled officialdom, innovated endlessly, and overcame the odds to protect Singapore’s natural history heritage

Singapore’s Constitution was hastily cobbled together after her secession from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965. In the subsequent 50 years, the Constitution has been amended many times to evolve a Constitution like no other in the world. Outwardly, Singapore has a Westminster-type constitutional democracy, with an elected legislature, fundamental liberties and safeguards to ensure the independence of the judiciary.
On closer inspection, the Constitution displays many innovative and unusual characteristics. Most notable among them are the various types of Members of Parliament that have been introduced since the mid-1980s, the office of the Elected President and the fact that there is no constitutional right to property. This volume seeks to explain the nature and context of these constitutional innovations in the context of a pluralistic, multi-ethnic state obsessed with public order and
security. The volatile racial mix of Singapore, with its majority Chinese population nestled in a largely Malay/Islamic world, compels the state to search for ethnic management solutions through the Constitution to guarantee to the Malays and other ethnic minorities their status in the polity. In addition, it examines how the concept of the rule of law is perceived by the strong centrist state governed by a political party that has been in power since 1959 and continues to hold almost hegemonic power.