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A Nation Cheated
- GenresPolitics
183 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Chee Soon Juan
12 books9 followersDr Chee Soon Juan is the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 4, 2020
A worthwhile read which goes point by point on controversial issues in Singapore. Chee Soon Juan's book provides an alternate perspective from the narrative many Singaporeans have grown up hearing. I gave this book a 4 star rating mainly for Chee's attention to detail in properly substantiating his points with his sources and also for his clarity. The biggest downfall of Chee would be his tone and voice- too sarcasm and 'passion'. If Chee can learn to restrain his excessive 'passion' and sound more balanced rather than abrasive, his book can have far greater reach. Perhaps he should learn to sound more academic like Teo You Yenn's "This is what inequality looks like" (don't think that should be an issue given the academic whom he is).
March 6, 2019
3 key takeaways:
1. Something I already knew, but a stark reminder of how much history has been blanked out or re-told and is essentially, propaganda
2. This retelling of history (incorrectly) is important because it shapes our present narratives, and gives justification for why things are as they are
3. An enormous amount of our GDP is based not on actual increases in productivity, but in foreign investment. Is this kind of economic 'progress' truly sustainable? 'Whoring' out our labour force and economy to foreign corporations and talent has led to a marked retardation in development of our capabilities -- for example, the lackluster entrepreneurial activity and international reputation of Singaporeans lacking creativity.
1. Something I already knew, but a stark reminder of how much history has been blanked out or re-told and is essentially, propaganda
2. This retelling of history (incorrectly) is important because it shapes our present narratives, and gives justification for why things are as they are
3. An enormous amount of our GDP is based not on actual increases in productivity, but in foreign investment. Is this kind of economic 'progress' truly sustainable? 'Whoring' out our labour force and economy to foreign corporations and talent has led to a marked retardation in development of our capabilities -- for example, the lackluster entrepreneurial activity and international reputation of Singaporeans lacking creativity.
September 26, 2021
Many of the political maneuverings described in this book are still going on in broad daylight in this day and age but many people either chose to turn a blind eye or tried to put forth all sorts of justifications for their occurrence.
Author Chee Soon Juan must have struck a nerve because the establishment was so triggered it sent one of its lapdog over to leave a negative review and engaged in personal attacks here.
I suspect the reviewer didn't even read the book, as his claims of "little academic discipline in citing reliable sources" can easily be debunked - there are plenty of references at the end of the book.
Author Chee Soon Juan must have struck a nerve because the establishment was so triggered it sent one of its lapdog over to leave a negative review and engaged in personal attacks here.
I suspect the reviewer didn't even read the book, as his claims of "little academic discipline in citing reliable sources" can easily be debunked - there are plenty of references at the end of the book.
December 23, 2019
Vicious, biased drivel with only the intention to attack, rather than to be constructive. Worse still, there is little academic discipline in citing reliable sources. Chee may have softened his public image since (without doubt also a political move), but this book is incredibly damning of him as a politician.
July 31, 2011
Contained within this slim volume is an incisive and informative critique of the official version of Singaporean history (i.e. the version in which the PAP/LKY and his non-communist comrades rode and subdued the communist tiger) and of the Singaporean system established under PAP rule, with special emphasis on the alleged weaknesses and failures of the economic system.
Well, while I would say that I, in principle, agree somewhat with the author's criticism, suggestions and political strategy, I remain sceptical about the tactics employed by the author and his colleagues in their political struggles against the incumbent PAP government.
Also, it is my opinion that while it may perhaps be the author's intention to present a plethora of statistics to bolster his arguments about the deficiencies of the Singaporean system under PAP rule, it may have been better if the author presented these statistics in a more understandable manner; providing some context to allow readers to better understand these statistics would be nice. I say this in light of how, at one point in the book, the author devoted almost 5 pages of the book to presenting a list of statistics/figures.
Finally, I just want to say that I cannot help but detect a sense of situational irony in how I have borrowed this book from my university library (and, judging by the earlier reservation list for this book, I was not the first person to do so).
Well, while I would say that I, in principle, agree somewhat with the author's criticism, suggestions and political strategy, I remain sceptical about the tactics employed by the author and his colleagues in their political struggles against the incumbent PAP government.
Also, it is my opinion that while it may perhaps be the author's intention to present a plethora of statistics to bolster his arguments about the deficiencies of the Singaporean system under PAP rule, it may have been better if the author presented these statistics in a more understandable manner; providing some context to allow readers to better understand these statistics would be nice. I say this in light of how, at one point in the book, the author devoted almost 5 pages of the book to presenting a list of statistics/figures.
Finally, I just want to say that I cannot help but detect a sense of situational irony in how I have borrowed this book from my university library (and, judging by the earlier reservation list for this book, I was not the first person to do so).
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews