The First Wave

by Loke Hoe Yeong

Based on extensive interviews and archival material, The First Wave tells the story of the opposition in Singapore in its critical first thirty years in Parliament.

Democratisation has been described to occur in waves. The first wave of a democratic awakening in post-independence Singapore began with J. B. Jeyaretnams victory in the Anson by-election of 1981. That built up to the 1984 general election, the first of many to be called a watershed, in which Chiam See Tong was also elected in Potong Pasir. After their successes in 1991, the opposition began dreaming of forming the government.

But their euphoria was short-lived. Serious fault lines in the leading Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) rose to the surface almost immediately after the opposition victories of 1991, and the party was wiped out of Parliament by 1997. The opposition spent the next decade experimenting with coalition arrangements, to work their way back to victory.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2019

About the author

Loke Hoe Yeong is Associate Fellow at the European Union Centre in Singapore, and was formerly Research Analyst at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. He holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Since 2014, he has been Assistant Secretary-General of the Singapore People's Party.

Reviews

[Sivasothi N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tender look at the first wave of opposition politicians who were diametrically different, but courageous and stuck to their ideals as far is it could take them, and in doing so, inspire Singaporeans to expect more of their leadership and themselves.

Written with clarity against a backdrop of fiery stories and is a good introducing to those wanting to reminisce or familiarise themselves with the early ground work behind what they see today.

[Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, to be old enough to have bought books from JBJ outside Centrepoint Orchard! So much of our history is never taught to us.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining romp through three decades of opposition history. While the imbalance in Loke’s source material means that we never get the same insight into Low’s fears, biases and petty feuds that we do for Chiam (JBJ pops in and out of the narrative while battling various lawsuits), no one can possibly fault its juicy and detailed adjudication of SDP’s schism and Chee’s dramatic entry into politics. Also reminds us all PAP’s present-day antics actually represent a massive improvement over 20C PAP (MND challenging Chiam to build four HDB blocks! LHL’s terrible condolence letter to JBJ’s sons! etc).

[Sagar Godbole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book itself is like a wave. It ebbs and flows.

The awful intro
From the cover, it looks like it will be a nice narrative history of the early opposition in Singapore but I almost gave up after reading the introduction. It reads more like a (very boring) literature review section of a thesis with repeated references to various political theories and to other authors such as Mutalib, da Cunha, Bellows etc.

The wonderful bulk
However, if you get through the introduction, Part I, Part II and Part III of the book each covering a five year period from 1981 to 1993 are superb. The book goes into detail about not only the story of JBJ and Chiam's entry into the Parliament but also of the key issues they took up and the challenges they faced both inside and outside the Parliament. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the extracts of their initial and then subsequent interventions in the Parliament which the book uses to show JBJ and Chiam's evolution as leaders. It is enlightening to read about various controversies of the '80s from the much publicized Graduate Mothers Scheme and Operation Spectrum to the less known ones like PAP/HDB's challenge to Chiam/SDP to building housing blocks and the Teh Cheang Wan Affair. Part III also does a great job of detailing out the events leading to the 1993 SDP implosion and is insightful.

The rushed end
However, as the book enters into Part IV, it is extremely rushed. While Chiam/JBJ's stance on every key issue is explored in the sections relating to time prior to 1993, the last part feels like a hurried retelling of just the events surrounding elections and nothing else.

The surprising choices
Several of the choices made by the author left me surprised. Firstly, why not take Barisan Socialis as the first wave? Ignoring BS is perhaps excusable because presumably the author wanted to focus on the post-Anson opposition and not the politics of 1950s and 60s. However, more surprising is the treatment of Low Khia Thiang in the book. Despite having been elected in 1988, Low gets step motherly treatment in this book. SDP's conquest of Nee Soon and Bukit Gombak, and its fallout gets much more coverage. Similarly, despite the chronological storytelling, much attention is lavished on how Chiam's GRC contest came about in 2011 and almost no details are provided about WP's Aljunied triumph. While the focus on JBJ and Chiam is clear from the title itself, the author could have done a better job of explaining to the reader why he does not consider BS to be the first wave or Low to also be a part of author's definition of the first wave.

Conclusion
While I did not enjoy the introductory chapter and the rushed end, this book is still a great and insightful read. I learnt a lot more about the issues championed by JBJ & Chiam during their time and also what transpired when Chiam left / was driven out of the SDP. I just hope the author writes another one to do more justice to the post 2006 developments.

[Xavier Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good survey of the history from JB Jeyaretnam's election into Parliament, followed by Chiam See Tong's, and how their careers progressed. Loke lays out Jeyaretnam's career from his aggressive performance in Parliament, to his lawsuits and disbarment (and appeal to the Privy Council), bankruptcy, and formation of the Reform Party. I thought the book focused more on Chiam, when it traced not only his public performance in elections and Parliament, but also the inner workings of the Singapore Democratic Party ("SDP") he founded, the split within the SDP, how Chiam was ousted by the central executive committee and the post of Secretary-General was taken up by Chee Soon Juan (which he still holds till the writing of this review), how Chiam was vindicated in court, and his eventual formation of the Singapore People's Party and his loss at Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC (alongside his wife's loss of his Potong Pasir SMC). I wish Loke had more attention to Jeyaretnam's Worker's Party, though he did trace its performance and leadership from Low Thia Khiang's winning Hougang SMC and his eventual taking over of leadership from Jeyaretnam. Apart from minor quibbles, however, I found the book a good read for an overview of the history of these first opposition Members of Parliament since Singapore's independence.

[sands · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good overview of opposition politics in Singapore, especially the complexity and nuance of events that unfolded in the 1970s to 1990s. It was written in an accessible manner, almost like I was reading a fiction novel. It was well-researched and I had a great deal of fun going through the content. Loke wrote in a witty and engaging manner (the subheadings were amazing), bringing out the highlights of parliamentary debates in context.

However, because of how events were linked, some parts felt a little messy as I struggled to figure out who was who again. Certain key events were hashed and rehashed again in the later parts, which made it feel a little repetitive. The focus was also placed on Chiam's side of the story and neglected the other developments simmering in the Workers' Party.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read!

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched book detailing the rise of the opposition from when JBJ won Anson in 1981 till when Lina Chiam lost Potong Pasir in 2011. Book mainly focuses on CST opposition story. It was very interesting to read about the debates for/against the GRC system, how the by-election strategy was carried out by the opposition, the unravelling of SDP from when CSJ joined the party till when CST got out. It ends with the rise of new opposition parties from 1994 onwards, including the rise and fall of the SDA coalition, SPP emerging solo and Reform Party being formed. Chronological narrative storytellng made this book extremely engaging!

Hoped for more details on the rise of LTK. The last section felt rushed, and the ending was quite abrupt. Good book nonetheless if going in with the expectation of focusing on JBJ and CST.

[Iqbal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful read on the history of the opposition in Singapore, the challenges they faced both from the obstacles placed by the ruling party as well as the clashes/differences between individuals and personalities in the opposition camp.

It’s unfair to paint the opposition with a single brush and this books details the complexities and nuances in the development of the opposition parties in Singapore.

[Leia Deva · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!! so detailed, well-researched, elegantly presented, and frequently funny (although this is also a provision of the verbatim quotes from politicians/ Parliament...). My only complaint is that the author's coverage of SDP is far greater than that of WP, whose side I would've loved to read especially from Low Thia Kiang's ascendancy in the party until their 2011 Aljunied GRC win.

[Tommy Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book “The First Wave” is the sequel to “Let The People Have Him”. The author Loke Hoe Yeong did an excellent job in gathering so much information from so many sources. He then presented all these information in the book clearly and objectively. A must read for those who are interested in the intrigue of opposition politics in Singapore!