Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: K Kesavapany, ISEAS
The results of Singapore’s 27 August Presidential Election were a cliff-hanger.
In the four-way contest, the government’s preferred candidate, former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, won 35.2 per cent of the valid votes after a recount. Read more…
Author: K Kesavapany, ISEAS
As Singaporeans go to the polls today to elect a new president, it is worth remembering there used to be a comfortable myth perpetuated about Singaporeans — this myth held them to be an apolitical people, conditioned by greed and fear to vote the People’s Action Party (PAP) into power, election after boring election.
Author: K Kesavapany, ISEAS
Barring the defeat of three ministers, including the multi-talented Foreign Minister George Yeo, the General Election on 7 May was a victory for Singapore and Singaporeans.
The People’s Action Party (PAP) was returned to power with a credible 60.1 per cent of the vote in a promise of economic growth and political stability in the next five years. With 81 out of the 87 seats in Parliament, the Government will enjoy a strong electoral mandate on which to plan and pursue policies decisively for the long term. Read more…
Author: K. Kesavapany, ISEAS
The general election to be held on 7 May is expected to be a watershed in Singapore’s parliamentary history. From 1966 to 1981, there was not a single opposition Member of Parliament.
Among other reasons, the fact was that the opposition Barisan Socialis (Socialist Front) decided to boycott the General Election of 1968 and take politics to the streets. Read more…
Author: K. Kesavapany, ISEAS
Amid the flowering of the revolutions in the Arab world, an issue that could shape international relations for decades to come is emerging in Libya. As rebels continue to battle Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s armed troops, almost inch by inch, civilians are paying the price in this civil war.
Libyans in cities like Misrata and Ajdabiya have been reported to have suffered terrible horrors at the hands of pro-Gaddafi forces. Read more…
Author: K. Kesavapany, ISEAS
The fighting and violence that have taken place in the Thai-Cambodia border area violate both the letter of solemn agreements among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its spirit, the spirit which underlies the very concept of ASEAN.
As ASEAN members, Cambodia and Thailand are both signatories to the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), which commits them to reject the use or threat of force in the relations between states and to the peaceful settlement of inter-state disputes. Read more…
Author: K Kesavapany, ISEAS
Last year was not a year of dramatic change for Singapore. It was, instead, a year for fine-tuning existing public policies to meet the impending and fluid economic and political challenges of globalization.
One of the key decisions the Singapore government made this year was the reduction of the number of foreign workers admitted into the city-state. Read more…
Author: K. Kesavapany, ISEAS
This is an article I wish I did not have to write. As an Asian, as a student of history, and as a person who spent a lifetime in the Singapore foreign service, I have waited for Asia to move to the centre stage of world affairs.
Asians have waited very long. Since the advent of colonialism destroyed ancient patterns of interaction among Asian countries, this continent has been at the mercy of historical trajectories that originated from beyond the region. Read more…
Author: K Kesavapany, ISEAS
As the international centre of economic gravity moves towards East Asia, the challenge for the region is to develop a new architecture commensurate with its growing role in world affairs.
Consider East Asia. There is no doubt that East Asian countries are well-represented in the Group of 20, which is turning into a genuine platform for international economic cooperation. China and India, the two rising Asian giants, are prominent members of the G20. Read more…
Author: K. Kesavapany, ISEAS, Singapore
Singapore was the first East Asian casualty of last year’s Global Financial Crisis. Its growth rate plunged from 7.8 per cent in 2007 to 1.1 per cent in 2008. The trade ministry said Singapore’s economy would see a contraction between 2.5 and 2 per cent in 2009 before recovering in 2010.
The manufacturing sector was the worst hit due to fall in global demand for its non-oil exports. Read more…