英文

In This Together: Singapore’s Covid-19 Story is a dramatic insider account of the first two years of the pandemic.

It is a story of suffering and resilience, of miscalculation and foresight, and of grumbling yet cooperation.

The book is written by journalists of The Straits Times who have been in the thick of covering the ongoing crisis.

More than 300 people were interviewed, including the President of Singapore, the Prime Minister, business owners and survivors of the disease.

Through their recollections, the book chronicles how the country came together to fight the virus, even as everyone has had to stay resolutely apart while doing so.

　　Modern Singapore was forged in the flames of a volatile past. Different groups fought to tear Singapore apart during our early years of nation building.

　　This five-book series traces those turbulent years and tell the stories of the people who witnessed history up close. Written in a clear and down-to-earth way, packed with photographs and with pages of graphic novel storytelling, these booklets will appeal to students, young people and anyone looking for a vivid and concise overview of Singapore’s turbulent years.

The five titles in the series are:

• Battle for Hearts and Minds: Fighting the Communist Threat, 1948-1963 The fight against the communist threat in Singapore and Malaya in the years immediately after World War II. (76 pages)
  
  
• The Undeclared War: Konfrontasi Indonesia’s Konfrontasi (Confrontation) campaign against Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960s, including the 1965 bombing of MacDonald House in Orchard Road that killed three innocent people. (64 pages)
  
  
• Into The Fire: 1964 Racial Riots The deadly racial riots of July and September 1964 that took place against a backdrop of growing political tension in Singapore and Malaysia. (52 pages)
  
  
• Singapore Is Out: Separation and Independence The fight for merger and the issues that led to political tension between Singapore and Malaysia and, eventually, to independence for Singapore. (48 pages)
  
  
• War Is Far From Over: Fighting the Communist Threat, 1968-1989 The havoc wreaked when the communists resumed their attacks in Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960s and 1970s. (60 pages)

　　After Japan was hit by a triple disaster — an earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear meltdown — in 2011, Singapore raised about S$35.7 million, one of its largest contributions for disaster relief in another country.

　　In 2023, the year after Japan had relaxed border measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic that erupted in 2020, 591,267 travellers from Singapore visited Japan. This was equivalent to almost 15 per cent of Singapore’s resident population. In 2024, this number grew further by 16.9 per cent to 691,100.

　　The people of Singapore have shown strong support for Japan, even though Japan had occupied their home from 1942 to 1945, during the Second World War.

　　Things improved later. After Singapore became independent in 1965, Japan established diplomatic relations with it in 1966 and contributed significantly to its development. Both countries have also since cooperated in various areas, including the economic, defence, and security spheres.

　　The Land of the Rising Sun and the Lion City: The Story of Japan and Singapore illustrates the growing ties between both countries through their people’s experiences. The collection of 68 essays is contributed by more than 80 writers from various walks of life, including government officials, entrepreneurs, artists, academics, and journalists.

　　They include Singapore’s Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Pang Kin Keong and Japan’s former Special Advisor on National Security Miyagawa Makio, who led the negotiations for the 2002 Japan–Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement; former Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tan Chin Tiong and Bilahari Kausikan; Nippon Paint Chairman Goh Hup Jin; Albirex Niigata President Korenaga Daisuke; TungLok Group President Andrew Tjioe; chef Willin Low; Enshu Sado School’s Grand Master Kobori Sojitsu; World Toilet Organization founder Jack Sim; Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Singapore Office’s Executive Director Shiraishi Takuya; Gardens by the Bay Chief Executive Felix Loh; Japan Creative Centre Director Kawabe Akiko; Singapore Film Society Chairman Kenneth Tan; Artistic Director of the Singapore Biennale 2006 and 2008, Nanjo Fumio; National Gallery Singapore’s Assistant Chief Executive Aun Koh; Cultural Medallion winners Iskandar Jalil, Dick Lee, and Eric Khoo; YouTuber Ghib Ojisan; and journalists Walter Sim and Michiyo Ishida. Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Japan’s former Minister for Digital Transformation Kono Taro penned the forewords.

Men In White is the inside story of one of the world’s most successful political parties. Narrated in three parts, it is oral history spun in a journalistic mode and spiced unapologetically with anecdotes, quotes and human interest to breathe life into past events.

Three writers from The Straits Times backed by four researchers conducted some 300 interviews in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. The result is a dramatic account of the PAP – warts, blemishes and all – and of the pivotal moments in its history which changed the course of Singapore forever.

PART ONE tells how a Cambridge-educated lawyer and his anglicised associates collaborated with radical Chinese-speaking trade unionists to drive out the British colonialists and how they fought each other to the bitter end.

PART TWO captures the agonies of leadership renewal and charts the ascent of Goh Chok Tong who succeeded Lee as the second prime minister. It ends with Lee Hsien Loong taking over from Goh in 2004 and leading the party to victory in the 2006 polls.

PART THREE wraps up the PAP story by delving into the key principles that characterise Singapore governance and concludes with the intriguing poser: Will PAP outlive LKY?

This book tells the story of the man who transformed an improbable country into the thriving metropolis it is now. Selected from over 35,000 photographs from a wide range of sources, including Lee’s personal albums, it also captures private and loving moments between Lee and his wife and life-long partner Kwa Geok Choo, and the family they raised together. This pictorial is both a visual record and a celebration of his remarkable story.

Proudly Singaporean is Alain Vandenborre's powerful and thought-provoking review of the many challenges facing Singapore today, and a moving account of why he chose to become a Singapore citizen. An entrepreneur and the Executive Director and Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Vandenborre has over 20 years of business and senior management experience, and he brings insight, hope and warmth to his stirring vision for the country.