Singapore, Disrupted

by Chua Mui Hoong

Singapore is in a state of disruption. Change is here – disorienting, disturbing, sometimes distressing change. Disruptive technologies are displacing jobs and dislodging workers. Society is showing signs of splintering. The gap between the “best” and the rest is growing. In establishment circles, members are breaking ranks. People are searching, probing, asking: what’s happening?
Change is also unequal. While shaking up many quarters at an alarming rate, it is not happening fast enough in the areas that truly matter, observes Chua Mui Hoong, political columnist and Opinion editor of The Straits Times, in this volume of fresh essays and published articles.

As a journalist who writes from both the head and the heart – and often from a heartlander’s perspective – she takes on issues such as joblessness and safety nets, meritocracy and elitism, marketplace upheavals and leadership transitions, and persuades us that in this new age of disruption, what Singapore needs is a new order.

But how can Singapore reorder itself? What can it do better? How must it move, and how can all the motion be translated into real change and advancement?
Singapore is at a crossroads. How it responds to this state of disruption will determine its place in the disrupted world.


“Chua Mui Hoong writes with a brilliant mind, a warm heart and integrity. She is not afraid to praise or to criticise any one, any institution, including the Government. No reasonable person can question her objectivity and fairness. She loves Singapore and Singaporeans, especially our working class and heartlanders. In spite of her success, she has never forgotten her roots. Her gentle voice is a voice of conscience from our heartland.”
– Foreword by Tommy Koh
Ambassador-At-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Professor of Law, National University of Singapore

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Unfinished

327 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[ash | songsforafuturepoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Chua Mui Hoong's opinion pieces and articles throughout her long years as a journalist. She spoke about technology, politics, inequality, her experiences as a journalist, and her journey on understanding her own privilege living as a upper-middle class Chinese person in Singapore.

I'm glad to have read this in a collection as I'm sure I would not be able to read all of her articles in a piecemeal fashion all throughout the internet.

Still, the nature of being a collection means that there were a lot of repeated points - which are surely important in every article she wrote, but repetitive when bound together.

Chua writes in a fresh, clear manner; her opinions are well backed-up with research and she's highly in tune with the current landscape of today's issues. She's not afraid - and in fact, have stressed several times in her articles that she find it important - to take a balanced view on things where balanced views are hard to come by (especially in a place with restricted speech like Singapore), like media censorship and its open-secret role as the 'establishment's' mouthpiece, and the state of our social service sector, which she feels perpetuates inequality instead of progress (which I feel, looking at our rabid obsession with merit and deservedness, is no coincidence). A good read for anyone wanting bite-sized, refreshing pieces on these matters.

[Wei Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

i can tell a chua mui hoong article just by reading the title. she has a really distinctive voice. She is eloquent and well written. doesnt rly have expert knowledge in what she talks abt so its rly easy and enjoyable for a gp student to read but it only skims the surface of each topic with little new insight

[crx · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF@226

Based on enjoyability/engagement of book, 2/5
Based on the prevalence of new insights, 3/5
Overall an OK read that took me such a long time to get through. Will probably return in the future to finish off the remaining pages (can’t stand an incomplete read ><)

[cyfa.haha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like reprint of her articles, lacked depth and analysis, which made it hard to get through (so many articles). The good portions were topics of her specialty - tech and print media.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is divided into four parts: mainly on the subject of class divides within modern societies, technological disruptions, Singapore politics and the micro details of the founding father’s family.

It’s a book which has compiled some interesting opinion pieces which have been articulated very well by Miss Chua. I enjoyed how she would occasionally refer back to her own life experiences when trying to explain some of the issues she encountered, such as her experience being “slaughtered” at wet markets, to how her dollar was being spent at amazon instead of local retail stores and hdb heartland shops, and even the feelings she felt during a retrenchment exercise and the creeping anxiety she’s faced as she contends with technological disruption which she has emphasized is already here facing Singapore. I enjoyed the detailed account she gave about elitism, and her own experiences with it, as a daughter of hawker parents but earned the opportunity to study English literature at Cambridge university.

Through this book, one can aspect to have an even more detailed understanding of Singapore politics; from the politics surrounding upgrading projects during PM Goh’s era to the gracious assistance that PAP candidates offered to their political opponents in GE2015. It also offers interesting perspectives on the influences that one can have, as speaker of parliament, the decreased certainty of a cabinet position and the more fluid ways in which Singapore’s politics and policies may evolve as we deal with the effects of technological disruptions in the years ahead. As she emphasized, a spirit of collaboration and not competition is needed among local companies is key to dealing with international competitors, particularly in the new, disruptive era that technology will bring.

I would like to end off this review by highlighting just how dominant Amazon has become in 2020, and how the example she highlighted of the Chinese government actually compelling cooperation between major Chinese companies across different industries can be an example for Singapore to replicate as we require a global outlook to prosper and grow. The future is here.

[Sanford Chee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of Chua Mui Hoong’s commentaries in the Straits Times over the years.
Technology disruption.
Politics:
* Inequality & the class divide
* ministerial salaries
* The Lee family & the Oxley Road saga

Does the political model under LKY that served Singapore so well in the past need tweaking in the current age?
LKY’s priorities: jobs, housing (HDB, CPF), hope for the future - education, basic healthcare, national defence

Socio-political disruption in SG since 2011.
1. Fraying consensus - 3M: multi-racialism, meritocracy, mothering state
Constraints of meritocracy & over emphasis on PSLE, O & A-levels, University degree
HDB as asset

2. Elite fragmentation eg Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Jee Jay; Mahbubani vs Bilahari (ad hominem personal attacks); Lee siblings fracas
Singapore government/PAP is not monolithic. It’s a contested space.

3. Puncturing the myth of Singapore exceptionalism
2013 riots in Little India
Frequent MRT disruption
Corruption at Keppel Offshore

4. Gap b/w the “best” & the rest
Crazy Rich Asians vs HDB uncle
“You’re going to end up with v, v mediocre people who can’t even earn a million dollars outside to be our minister.” Goh Chok Tong

“What kind of lifestyle are you living as a public servant paid by public taxpayers that even millions is not enough?” - Andrew Loh
http://theindependent.sg/beyond-snobb...

Inflection power = position power x knowledge power
- Andrew Grove’s ‘Only the Paranoid Survive”

Can Singapore be a gracious society?

[Juliana Poh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of Chua Mui Hoong's ST columns over the years. It is divided into 4 sections. I must say the first section on the class divide is really repetitive aka boring. I struggled with the second which covered Disruption, and jumped to the fourth which focused on the Lee family. Some interesting things that came up in this book (besides the Lee chronicles) were Unconditional Basic Income, the voting trends (and tactics) of the past GEs and our country's carousel politics. I felt that the columns could have been better selected so that her viewpoints don't seem so repetitive. It is largely pro-PAP, and where she sought a contrary opinion, most of the time, she was not able to expound on those in depth, which was kinda disappointing for me. Like 轻描淡写地带过only. Read if you need to understand a bit more stuff before the next GE!

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting the book to dive deeper on the topics of technological disruption and political shifts. While these aspects were covered, the perspective leaned too much towards journalism. Specifically, the book placed significant emphasis on how technological disruption affected The Straits Times and the print papers. I would appreciate if it could take a step back and touch on disruption to "Singapore" as a whole.

[Alvin Liew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the section on inequality. She isn't afraid to be critical and objective of government policies which is why this was such a nice read

[Minlsm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and writer is able to express her thoughts eloquently.

[Delia Quek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite biased views coming from a Straits Times journalist. But offered interesting perspectives, especially at the end.