Meritocracy is marketed as a system for the management of scarce resources but is in fact the imposition and justification for scarcity. This article examines university education in Singapore as the prime site for the production of meritocratic ideology and considers the consequences more generally on the Singapore polity.
Category: Research
Posted inResearch
Why Is It Difficult to Organise Around Class in Malaysia?
Despite the drastic rise of global inequality, left-wing parties continue to struggle to build class solidarity which transcends ethnic nationalism. Audi Ali looks at the historic and local factors in Malaysia that make class solidarity difficult to achieve.
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Three Myths of Female Genital Cutting (sunat perempuan) in Singapore
Saza Faradilla and Sya Taha unpack the top three misconceptions about female genital cutting (FGC) in Singapore, which falls under Types 1 and 4 of the World Health Organization’s definition of female genital mutilation.
Posted inResearch
How Much Should Hawker Food Cost in Singapore?
How much should hawker food in Singapore actually cost if we want hawkers to earn a minimum appropriate standard of living?
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Raffles Must Fall? The Memory and History of Colonialism
The story of the Raffles statue in Singapore is a story of memory, not history. From its creation in 1887, the statue has been part of an official colonial and later post-independence narrative, created and reinterpreted by successive governments as a basis for civic unity for the island.
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Indonesia’s Years of Violence
Indonesian writer Martin Aleida lived and wrote through a dark chapter of Indonesia’s history. His new memoir, “Romanticism in the Years of Violence”, sheds new light on the oppression and stigma faced by journalists in Indonesia in the 1960s.
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Putu Oka and Goenawan
Putu Oka Sukanta and Goenawan Muhammad reflect on Indonesia’s Years of Violence and their friendship with Martin Aleida. Supplementary material for “Indonesia’s Years of Violence”.
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Like a Child With Two Parents
Amrita Malhi traces the historical roots of the 3Rs of Malaysian politics—”race, religion and royalty”—to 19th-century colonial contests between Siam and Britain.
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Frontier Islands and Climate Change: A Story From Indonesia’s Sangihe Islands
Daily life on a small island in Sangihe District, a frontier district in Indonesia, demonstrates how local communities are responding to the effects of climate change, and how its impact varies with factors like age, gender, and socioeconomic class.
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The Citizens’ Agenda: The Parties Respond
Nearly a year ago, we embarked on the Citizens’ Agenda: our quest to find out what our Singaporean community thinks are the most important issues facing Singapore, and then to write and commission articles on those subjects. Now, with Singapore’s General Election looming, we complete our journey by telling you how the political parties responded to the issues.