What do you think?
Rate this book
The Business of Politics and Ethnicity: A History of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
This book describes the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce's changing relationship with the state and with businesses in the region.
Some of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in Singapore and Malaysia have served as leaders of the Chamber. Drawing on archival materials and extensive interviews, Visscher provides lively biographical sketches that highlight the circumstances and personal values that propelled these and other leading Chinese businessmen to success and to prominence.
He also examines Chinese business practices, considering cultural elements as well as state and market forces, and highlights unique features of the Chinese experience in Singapore. By viewing Singapore from the perspective of a well established non-governmental organisation as it struggled, negotiated and cooperated with the state, this book offers an alternative to conventional political histories.
Some of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in Singapore and Malaysia have served as leaders of the Chamber. Drawing on archival materials and extensive interviews, Visscher provides lively biographical sketches that highlight the circumstances and personal values that propelled these and other leading Chinese businessmen to success and to prominence.
He also examines Chinese business practices, considering cultural elements as well as state and market forces, and highlights unique features of the Chinese experience in Singapore. By viewing Singapore from the perspective of a well established non-governmental organisation as it struggled, negotiated and cooperated with the state, this book offers an alternative to conventional political histories.
390 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
10 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 26, 2017
A decent overview with insightful commentary about the evolving relationship between the (elite) Chinese community and the government of the day, with occasional assessments of the changing role of race as envisioned by the state. There is much more to be said about the latter, and it is a pity that the book did not explore the evolving role of race as an end in itself. It does, however, accomplish what it sets out to do.
A few bugbears:
1) The magazine-style biographies of the Chinese elite were distracting and generally unnecessary;
2) Visscher's classification of the 'Ambiguous' and 'Ambitious' SCCCI leadership was a limp and inaccurate attempt at wordplay - under no circumstances could those who advocated gradualism and cooperation be reasonably termed 'Ambiguous';
3) With regards to the post-WWII Chinese position in Singapore, Visscher would have done well to make a distinction between a citizen's allegiance to Singapore and a merchant's interest in Singapore's future. Taxation and limited representation is not an arbiter of patriotic allegiance. Their insistence on the sanctity of the Chinese language was not the result of wanting to shape Singapore's future as citizens, but a selfish if understandable desire to sustain the culture of their ethnic enclave. It was not until the late 1950s at the earliest that the Chinese began to view Singapore/Malaya as their 'home', but this was not sufficiently fleshed out in the text.
A few bugbears:
1) The magazine-style biographies of the Chinese elite were distracting and generally unnecessary;
2) Visscher's classification of the 'Ambiguous' and 'Ambitious' SCCCI leadership was a limp and inaccurate attempt at wordplay - under no circumstances could those who advocated gradualism and cooperation be reasonably termed 'Ambiguous';
3) With regards to the post-WWII Chinese position in Singapore, Visscher would have done well to make a distinction between a citizen's allegiance to Singapore and a merchant's interest in Singapore's future. Taxation and limited representation is not an arbiter of patriotic allegiance. Their insistence on the sanctity of the Chinese language was not the result of wanting to shape Singapore's future as citizens, but a selfish if understandable desire to sustain the culture of their ethnic enclave. It was not until the late 1950s at the earliest that the Chinese began to view Singapore/Malaya as their 'home', but this was not sufficiently fleshed out in the text.
Displaying 1 of 1 review