Singapore experienced substantial changes during the 14-year tenure of the country’s second Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong (1990– 2004). Coming after a long period of growth and stability, the period brought to office a new generation of political leaders who faced the task of sustaining and building upon the policies of their predecessors. There were social and cultural initiatives and significant challenges to the economy arising from the Asian crisis of 1998 and the SARS outbreak in 2003. This volume examines the changes that took place during the Goh premiership and assesses its legacy. The 45 essays in the volume review
a range of issues from domestic politics and foreign policy to economic development, society, culture, the arts and media.

Contents:

Foreword 

Preface

Acknowledgements

Contributors

Goh Gallery

Introduction: A Redefined Singapore
Bridget Welsh, James U.H. Chin, Arun Mahizhnan and Tan Tarn How

Part I: Domestic Politics 

1. Succeeding Charisma 
   Janadas Devan 
   
   
2. A Journalist’s Note On A Quiet Rebel
   P.N. Balji
   
   
3. Re-Imagining the Nation: Goh Chok Tong’s Singapore
   Asad-ul Iqbal Latif
   
   
4. Public Administration: Change in Style and Continuity in Policy
   Jon S.T. Quah
   
   
5. Goh’s Consensus Politics of Authoritarian Rule
   Garry Rodan
   
   
6. Electoral Battles and Innovations: Recovering Lost Ground
   James UH Chin
   
   
7. Constructing a ‘Constructive’ Opposition
   Hussin Mutalib
   
   
8. Pruning the Banyan Tree? Civil Society in Goh’s Singapore
   Gillian Koh
   
   
9. Negotiating Boundaries: OB Markers And The Law
   K.S. Rajah
   

Part II : Foreign Relations & Defence Policy

1. Forging New Frontiers: Goh’s Foreign Policy Legacy
   Tommy Koh
   
   
2. Goh Chok Tong the Multilateralist
   Alan Chong
   
   
3. Connecting the Dot: Singapore in ASEAN
   N. Ganesan
   
   
4. Confronting the Weight of History: Singapore and Key Neighbours
   Joseph Chinyong Liow
   
   
5. Shooting Rapids in a Canoe: Singapore and Great Powers
   Kuik Cheng-Chwee
   
   
6. Goh to America: Mirrored Contradictory Images
   Bridget Welsh
   
   
7. Maturing the Singapore Armed Forces: From Poisonous Shrimp to Dolphin
   Bernard Fook Weng Loo
   
   
8. Hardening National Security: Emergence of an Agile Scorpion
   Zachary Abuza
   

Part III: Economics & Policy Challenges

1. Transforming the Engines of Growth
   Manu Bhaskaran
   
   
2. The Economist Prime Minister
   Lee Soo Ann
   
   
3. Spreading the Benefits of Growth and Managing Inequality
   Shandre Mugan Thangavelu
   
   
4. Educating the Next Generation
   S. Gopinathan
   
   
5. Prescribing New Medicine for Healthcare
   Phua Kai Hong
   
   
6. Bolstering Population Growth: From Babies to Immigrants
   Yap Mui Teng
   
   
7. Reshaping Urban Space: From A Tropical to Global City
   Ooi Giok Ling
   
   
8. Moving from Survival to Sustainability in the Environment
   Karyn Wang
   

Part IV: Society

1. Navigating Transnationalism: Immigration and Reconfigured Ethnicity
   Eric C. Thompson and Zhang Juan
   
   
2. Sailing a Steady Ship: Goh’s Multiculturalism
   Norman Vasu 
    
   
3. Chinese-Singaporean Identity: Subtle Change Amidst Continuity
   Eugene K B Tan
   
   
4. Dilemma and Anguish of the Chinese-Educated Elite
   Huang Jianli
   
   
5. A New Dawn in PAP- Malay Relations?
   Lily Zubaidah Rahim
   
   
6. Winning Over the Malay/Muslim Community: Politics of Engagement
   Yang Razali Kassim
   
   
7. The Man Who Nurtured Indians and Started the India Fever
   A. Mani
   
   
8. Women in the Goh Era: Chartering Empowerment?
   Constance Singam 
   
   
9. Soft Exterior, Hard Core: Policies towards Gays
   Alex Au
   
   
10. Networked Society in an Intelligent Island: Laying the Foundation
    Arun Mahizhnan 
     

Part V: Culture

1. To the Market: Cultural Policy Amidst Contestation
   Tan Tarn How
   
   
2. Liberalizing Culture
   Chua Beng Huat 
    
   
3. No News Here: Media in Subordination
   Cherian George
   
   
4. Missing the Hokkien Boy: TalkingCock.com and PM Goh
   Yen Yen Joycelyn Woo and Colin Yong Ping Goh
   
   
5. Singapore Sports: Heyday, Hollowness and New Heights
   Godfrey Robert
   
   
6. Broadening Horizons: Emergence of Contemporary Art in Singapore
   Eugene Tan
   
   
7. Redefining the National Museum: New Reflections on Heritage
   Kwa Chong Guan
   
   
8. Reviving Singapore Cinema: New Perspectives
   Jan Uhde & Yvonne Ng Uhde
   
   
9. Missed Opportunities for a Humane Style: Singapore Architecture
   Tay Kheng Soon

Bibliography

Index 

Bridget Welsh, James Chin, Arun Mahizhnan and Tan Tarn How, eds. 2009. Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies and NUS Press Singapore.

(546 pages, ISBN-13 978-9971-69-409-8, ISBN-13 981-9971-69-396-1)