Trade unions in an elitist society: The Singapore story

Australian Journal of Politics and History

Volumn 46, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 480-496

  Barr, Michael D ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0034369484     PISSN: 00049522     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8497.00109     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. The Straits Times, 6 October 1982.
2. Ibid., 8 November 1985.
3. st Century: Lessons from Singapore", The Economics and Labour Relations Review, 8, 1 (1997), pp. 7-21.
4. Michael Easson, "The Bud That Will Never Flower? East Asian Trade Unions?", in Greg Sheridan ed., Living With Dragons: Australia Confronts its Asian Destiny (Sydney: Allen & Unwin in association with Mobil Oil Australia, 1995), p. 212. At the time of writing Easson was the Secretary of the NSW Trades and Labor Council.
5. According to surveys conducted from 1985 to 1987, about 72 per cent of the general public approved of the unions' close association with the government while only 10 per cent actively disapproved. See Chew Soon Beng, Trade Unionism In Singapore (Singapore: McGraw-Hill, 1991), p. 189. This cannot be taken as a true indication of active support of the PAP-NTUC link, but it does suggest that levels of dissatisfaction were not inordinately high. The declining levels of trade union membership throughout the 1980s indicate that although most people supported the Singapore style of unionism in principle, that support was often passive acceptance rather than active endorsement.
6. Frederic C. Deyo, "The Emergence of Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Corporatism in Labour Relations", in Ong Jin Hui, Tong Chee Kiong and Tan Ern Ser eds, Understanding Singapore Society (Singapore: Times Academic Press, 1997), pp. 353-62.
7. David Brown coined the term "inclusionary corporatism", in Brown, The State and Ethnic Politics in Southeast Asia (London and New York: Routledge, 1994), p. 89.
8. For a better understanding of the rationale behind the elitism of the Singapore system, see Michael D. Barr, Lee Kuan Yew: The Beliefs Behind the Man (London: Curzon Press; Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000), pp. 97-128.
9. See "Seconded to the NTUC", The Sunday Times, 16 March 1980, p. 4.
10. Lee Kuan Yew to Lim Chee Onn, 9 April 1983, in Lee, Prime Minister's Speeches, Interviews, Statements, etc (Singapore: Prime Minister's Office, 1959-90).
11. See Jonathan Rigg, "Singapore and the Recession of 1985", Asian Survey, 28, 3 (1988), pp. 342 and 343.
12. See The Straits Times, 2 February 1980.
13. F. Deyo, "Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Corporatism in Labour Relations", p. 356; and, Lee Boon Hiok, "Trade Union Growth in Singapore", Asian Journal of Political Science, 3, 2 (1995), pp. 93 and 94.
14. F. Deyo, "Bureaucratic-Authoritarian Corporatism in Labour Relations", p. 356; and, Lee Boon Hiok, "Trade Union Growth in Singapore", Asian Journal of Political Science, 3, 2 (1995), pp. 93 and 94.
15. See Far Eastern Economic Review, 21 December 1979, p. 22, and The Sunday Times, 27 January 1980. Phey was trying to set up a supermarket chain to rival that owned by the NTUC. See James Minchin, No Man is an Island: A Portrait of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1985, 1990), p. 224.
16. See Far Eastern Economic Review, 21 December 1979, p. 22, and The Sunday Times, 27 January 1980. Phey was trying to set up a supermarket chain to rival that owned by the NTUC. See James Minchin, No Man is an Island: A Portrait of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1985, 1990), p. 224.
17. See Far Eastern Economic Review, 21 December 1979, p. 22, and The Sunday Times, 27 January 1980. Phey was trying to set up a supermarket chain to rival that owned by the NTUC. See James Minchin, No Man is an Island: A Portrait of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1985, 1990), p. 224.
18. The Sunday Times, 16 March 1980. "House" unions draw their membership from one employer only. In trade union circles they are usually considered to be overly vulnerable to pressure from employers.
19. Ibid., 11 May 1980.
20. Ibid.
21. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
22. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
23. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
24. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
25. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
26. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
27. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
28. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
29. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
30. See, for instance, the following newspaper articles: "Learning New Tasks Keeps Employees Happy: Expert", The Sunday Times, 31 October 1982; "Starry-eyed Over Love ... Level-headed Over Marriage", ibid., 8 January 1984; "Shifting Eduction into High Gear Too", The Straits Times, 29 September 1982; "Aid That Will Do Us the Most Good: PM. Japan can tell us how to drive home the productivity message and this will have a long-lasting impact on progress of S'pore, says Lee" and "Search Must Go On ... We are looking for way out of recession tunnel, says Nakasone", both in ibid., 5 May 1983; "More Working Women Than Housewives Soon: Japanese Trend Calls for Review", ibid., 29 October 1984, "Time to Educate a New Generation: PM" with a smaller boxed quotation bearing the headline, "Wisdom of the Japanese in banning the pill", ibid., 2 March 1985; "Service in Our Stores Far Behind Japan's: QCCs can help upgrade standard, says Japanese expert", ibid., 3 September 1985; and "Why Japan's Service is So Highly Acclaimed", ibid., 14 September 1985; "PM's interview with Asahi Shimbun: We have to be bold like the Japanese", ibid., 18 November 1985; "Japan's Trade Success in China a Lesson for West", ibid., 22 November 1985.
31. Lee Kuan Yew's address to NTUC Seminar, "Progress Into the '80s", 6 November 1979, in Singapore Economic Bulletin, December 1979, p. 33.
32. Ibid., p. 34.
33. The Straits Times, 1 April 1985. Ivan Lim's report of the Delegates' Conference speeches read in part, "...some image building is necessary for the NTUC. New efforts must be made to portray the NTUC as an equal partner with the People's Action Party. One way is to get more grassroots leaders to take over top union jobs. They must be given equally important roles in the NTUC alongside the labour MPs."
34. The Straits Times, 26 July 1982.
35. Nair has since conceded that he trusted Phey implicitly and made no effort to monitor his activities. The trust that Nair placed in Phey was well known, and captured in the unattributed epithet, "To Devan, Phey could do no wrong." See The Straits Times, 2 February and 16 March 1980.
36. Knowledge of the crossover of MPs and NTUC Secretariat and Central Committee Members is gained from a study of The Straits Times, 1 May 1982, 6 October 1982, 8 September 1983, and 2 April 1985; the NTUC May Day Annual magazines for 1982 to 1985; lists of MPs in the Singapore Yearbook for 1981 to 1986; and e-mails from the NTUC Secretariat dated 23 and 24 May 2000. The author is grateful to the National Trades Union Congress for supplying excerpts from the May Day Annual magazines for these years.
37. Knowledge of the crossover of MPs and NTUC Secretariat and Central Committee Members is gained from a study of The Straits Times, 1 May 1982, 6 October 1982, 8 September 1983, and 2 April 1985; the NTUC May Day Annual magazines for 1982 to 1985; lists of MPs in the Singapore Yearbook for 1981 to 1986; and e-mails from the NTUC Secretariat dated 23 and 24 May 2000. The author is grateful to the National Trades Union Congress for supplying excerpts from the May Day Annual magazines for these years.
38. Knowledge of the crossover of MPs and NTUC Secretariat and Central Committee Members is gained from a study of The Straits Times, 1 May 1982, 6 October 1982, 8 September 1983, and 2 April 1985; the NTUC May Day Annual magazines for 1982 to 1985; lists of MPs in the Singapore Yearbook for 1981 to 1986; and e-mails from the NTUC Secretariat dated 23 and 24 May 2000. The author is grateful to the National Trades Union Congress for supplying excerpts from the May Day Annual magazines for these years.
39. Knowledge of the crossover of MPs and NTUC Secretariat and Central Committee Members is gained from a study of The Straits Times, 1 May 1982, 6 October 1982, 8 September 1983, and 2 April 1985; the NTUC May Day Annual magazines for 1982 to 1985; lists of MPs in the Singapore Yearbook for 1981 to 1986; and e-mails from the NTUC Secretariat dated 23 and 24 May 2000. The author is grateful to the National Trades Union Congress for supplying excerpts from the May Day Annual magazines for these years.
40. The Straits Times, 14 April 1983. Even upon and after his retirement in 1985, Vincent was still making public statements critical of the new trade union regime of government-appointed technocrats. See ibid., 2 April and 24 September 1985.
41. The Straits Times, 14 April 1983. Even upon and after his retirement in 1985, Vincent was still making public statements critical of the new trade union regime of government-appointed technocrats. See ibid., 2 April and 24 September 1985.
42. Chew, Trade Unionism in Singapore, p. 65.
43. The Straits Times, 1 September 1983.
44. Ibid., 1 April 1985.
45. Ibid., 26 July 1982.
46. Ibid., 18 September 1982.
47. See ibid., 24 April 1982, 18 August 1982, and 19 January 1983; and The Sunday Times 28 November 1982.
48. See ibid., 24 April 1982, 18 August 1982, and 19 January 1983; and The Sunday Times 28 November 1982.
49. The Sunday Times 28 November 1982. Although such "go slow" campaigns at the national level were unprecedented, there had been instances of similar incidents and even more open expressions of dissent at lower levels of union leadership during the mid-1970s. See Noeleen Hayzer, "International Production and Social Change: An Analysis of the State, Employment and Trade Unions in Singapore", in Ong, Tong and Tan eds, Understanding Singapore Society, pp. 392 and 393.
50. The Sunday Times 28 November 1982. Although such "go slow" campaigns at the national level were unprecedented, there had been instances of similar incidents and even more open expressions of dissent at lower levels of union leadership during the mid-1970s. See Noeleen Hayzer, "International Production and Social Change: An Analysis of the State, Employment and Trade Unions in Singapore", in Ong, Tong and Tan eds, Understanding Singapore Society, pp. 392 and 393.
51. The Straits Times, 14 April 1983.
52. Ibid., 1 September 1983.
53. Ibid., 1 April 1985.
54. Ibid., 16 July 1983.
55. Ibid., 17 May 1983.
56. Ibid., 7 September 1985.
57. See The Straits Times, 14 April 1983, and the NTUC May Day Annual magazine and the Singapore Yearbook covering the years 1982-84.
58. See The Straits Times, 14 April 1983, and the NTUC May Day Annual magazine and the Singapore Yearbook covering the years 1982-84.
59. See The Straits Times, 14 April 1983, and the NTUC May Day Annual magazine and the Singapore Yearbook covering the years 1982-84.
60. See report and interview in Asiaweek, 10 March 2000.
61. See The Straits Times, 30 April 1985, which reports a significant increase in the number of "rank-and-file union leaders" elected to high office in the NTUC. Naturally this trend did not diminish the hold of PAP MPs on the critical centres of power in the NTUC Secretariat - the positions of Secretary General, Deputy Secretaries General and Assistant Secretaries General.
62. Chew Soon Beng and Rosalind Chew, "The Development of Industrial Relations Strategy in Singapore", in Anil Verma, Thomas A. Kochan and Russell D. Lansbury eds, Employment Relations in the Growing Asian Economies (London and New York: Routledge, 1995), p. 71.
63. See Toh Chin Chye's suggestion in The Straits Times, 19 March 1985, and Lee Hsien Loong and Augustine Tan's repudiation of Toh in ibid., 20 March 1985.
64. See Toh Chin Chye's suggestion in The Straits Times, 19 March 1985, and Lee Hsien Loong and Augustine Tan's repudiation of Toh in ibid., 20 March 1985.
65. Ibid., 12, 19 August 1985 and 28, 30 December 1985, 11 January 1986.
66. th month payments to civil servants who retire or die before December 31 in the year."
67. See ibid., and 9 and 19 February 1985.
68. "I Had a Job to Do: Whether the government liked it or not, says ex-president Ong", interview with Ong Teng Cheong, Asiaweek, 10 March 2000.
69. This interview was more revealing than the reports on the strike in The Straits Times, 3 and 4 January 1986.
70. th Annual NTUC Delegates' Conference, 7 April 1968, in Lee, Prime Minister's Speeches, etc.
71. For an exploration of the role of Confucianism in the government's ideology during the 1980s and early 1990s, see Chua Beng Huat, Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore (Routledge: London and New York, 1995), especially pp. 35, 36, 193 and 194.
72. The Straits Times, 19 August 1982.
73. Linda Rosa, "The Singapore State and the Trade Union Incorporation", Journal of Contemporary Asia, 20, 4 (1990), p. 499.
74. See speech by NTUC Secretary General at the NTUC Triennial Delegates' Conference, published 12 April 2000, at http://www.ntucworld.org.sg, sighted on 10 May 2000.
75. Lee Hsien Loong et al, Report of the Economic Committee. The Singapore Economy: New Directions (Singapore: Ministry of Trade and Industry, 1986), pp. 4 and 5.
76. Ibid., pp. 5-7.
77. Ibid., p. 6.
78. Lily Zubaidah Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community (Kuala Lumpur; Oxford; Singapore; New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 59-61 and 188. Rahim supports her claim that Malay teachers accept the "cultural deficit thesis" by citing her own interviews with Malay teachers, as well as those reported in The Straits Times, 23 June 1986, and in Tania Li, Malays in Singapore: Culture, Economy and Ideology (Singapore; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 176.
79. Lily Zubaidah Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community (Kuala Lumpur; Oxford; Singapore; New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 59-61 and 188. Rahim supports her claim that Malay teachers accept the "cultural deficit thesis" by citing her own interviews with Malay teachers, as well as those reported in The Straits Times, 23 June 1986, and in Tania Li, Malays in Singapore: Culture, Economy and Ideology (Singapore; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 176.
80. Lily Zubaidah Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community (Kuala Lumpur; Oxford; Singapore; New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 59-61 and 188. Rahim supports her claim that Malay teachers accept the "cultural deficit thesis" by citing her own interviews with Malay teachers, as well as those reported in The Straits Times, 23 June 1986, and in Tania Li, Malays in Singapore: Culture, Economy and Ideology (Singapore; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 176.
81. See for instance, Šumit Ganguly, "Ethnic Policies and Political Quiescence in Malaysia and Singapore", in Michael E. Brown and Šumit Ganguly eds, Government Policies and Ethnic Relations in Asia and the Pacific (Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: MIT Press, 1997), pp. 233-72, especially p. 238.
82. Li, Malays in Singapore, pp. 108 and 109.
83. Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma is the best single source on the plight of the Malays. See especially pp. 185-208 for her exposition of discrimination in the education system.
84. See Singaporean television programs such as Under One Roof, which portrays the typical Chinese family as middle-class and educationally supreme, while their Malay neighbours sell satay for a living.
85. See the report on Sidek Saniff and others establishing a new officially sanctioned Malay organisation in The Straits Times, 13 September 1985. Sidek had left the NTUC Central Executive Committee only months earlier, and was still a PAP MP.