A Nation Cheated
Author: Chee Soon Juan
paperback
181 pp
ISBN: 978-981-08-0819-9
Available from: speakup@yoursdp.org, Select Books, Kinokumiya Books
Small as it is, Singapore has generated many headlines that have caught the attention of the world’s biggest movers and shakers, especially in the area of trade and finance. Much is made about the country’s economic leap, achieved within a single generation of workers. As a result, many tales that have been spun about it. Repeated over the years, these stories have developed into veritable myths, the most popular ones being that the Singapore economy is the freest in the world, that its people are rich and productive but uninterested in politics, that the legal system is the envy of the world, and so on.
A Nation Cheated explodes these myths and describes how the authoritarian system put together by Mr Lee Kuan Yew has de-politicised and silenced an entire generation of citizens, breeding a climate of fear and uncertainty. It shows how the PAP Government uses the political culture to ramp up economic gains at the expense of the people.
The book exposes the weakness of such a system, and outlines the dangers that await the city-state. It also relates how Singaporeans can overcome this problem and bring about genuine stability and progress for the country.
CSJ’s speech at book launch: Civil disobedience works (31 Aug 08)
Part I: Has Singapore been cheated?
Part II: Now is the time to press ahead
Chee Soon Juan’s previous books:
The Power of Courage: Effecting Political Change in Singapore through Non-violence (2005)
Your Future, My Faith, Our Freedom: A democratic blueprint for Singapore (2001)
To Be Free: Stories from Asia’s struggle against oppression (1998)
Singapore, My Home Too (1995) out of print
Dare to Change: An alternative vision for Singapore (1994) out of print