The Singapore Bicentennial Conference was organised by the Institute of Policy Studies and held on 30 September and 1 October 2019 at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
The programme was designed to examine not only Singapore’s 200-year history since Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819. It also delved into the older story of Singapore as a bustling emporium connected to regional trade networks at least 500 years before Raffles. Another important aspect of the conference was the examination of the evolution of governance in a successful post-colonial state.
Historians and international thought leaders discussed the global context of Singapore’s history before, during and after British colonialism. This helped the audience reflect on the ways this history can provide important ballast for the country as it navigates the uncertain age that the world seems to have entered.
The conference comprised five plenary sessions, each with two speakers and a chairperson, and a dialogue session with the Guest of Honour, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat.
The programme sheet for the conference can be found here.
The full video recordings of the sessions, the report as well as media coverage of the conference can be found below.
30 September 2019
Opening Remarks
Mr Janadas Devan
Director
Institute of Policy Studies
Session One: War & WealthChairperson
Professor Danny Quah
Dean and Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Speaker
Professor Peter Frankopan
Professor of Global History
Worcester College
University of Oxford
Speaker
Associate Professor Peter Borschberg
Department of History
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
National University of Singapore
Welcome RemarksProfessor Tan Eng Chye
President
National University of Singapore
Dialogue with Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance
Chairperson
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee
Ambassador-at-Large
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and
Chairman
Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities
Singapore University of Technology and Design
Speaker
Mr Heng Swee Keat
Deputy Prime Minister
and
Minister for Finance
1 October 2019
Session Two: Separations & Connections Chairperson
Mr Kwa Chong Guan
Senior Fellow
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Speaker
Professor Leonard Andaya
Professor of Southeast Asian History
Department of History
University of Hawai’i
Speaker
Professor Wang Gungwu
University Professor
National University of Singapore
Session Three: Contestation & ChoicesChairperson
Mr Ho Kwon Ping
Executive Chairman
Banyan Tree Holdings Limited
Speaker
Professor Gyan Prakash
Dayton-Stockton Professor of History
Department of History
Princeton University
Speaker
Professor Tan Tai Yong
President
Yale-NUS College
Session Four: Diversity & IdentityChairperson
Professor Vineeta Sinha
Head
Department of Sociology
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
National University of Singapore
Speaker
Associate Professor Farish Ahmad-Noor
Coordinator of PhD Programme
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Speaker
Professor Brenda Yeoh
Raffles Professor of Social Sciences
Department of Geography
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
National University of Singapore
Session Five: Fighters & BuildersChairperson
Mr Warren Fernandez
Editor-in-Chief
The Straits Times
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Speaker
Professor Tommy Koh
Faculty of Law
National University of Singapore
and
Ambassador-at-Large
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Speaker
Mr John Micklethwait
Editor-in-Chief
Bloomberg News
Media Coverage
• Channel NewsAsia. 2019.
Singapore has to 'run even faster' amid rising competition: Heng Swee Keat. 1 October.
• Mothership.SG. 2019.
DPM Heng Swee Keat & SDP’s Paul Tambyah discuss Electoral Boundaries Review Committee. 2 October.
• Mothership.SG. 2019.
Tommy Koh spoke his mind & was full of quotable quotes at S’pore Bicentennial Conference. 2 October.
• Mothership.SG. 2019.
S’poreans didn’t take SG Climate Rally seriously despite climate emergency. Here’s why. 6 October.
• Mothership.SG. 2019.
Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh defends Alfian Sa’at amid Yale-NUS hullabaloo. 8 October.
• Mothership.SG. 2019.
Tommy Koh’s point was that some S’poreans will treat others like sh*t if they can get away with it. 8 October.
• The Independent News. 2019.
DPM Heng echoes LKY, ‘For Singapore to survive & prosper, we need to be relevant & useful to the world’. 2 October.
• The Online Citizen. 2019.
Prof Tommy Koh: What Singapore needs is not sycophants but loving critics and critical lovers. 2 October.
• The Online Citizen. 2019.
Prof Koh tells 4G leaders: We don’t want more S’poreans to become Grab drivers and angry voters. 2 October.
• The Online Citizen. 2019.
Online users agree with Prof Tommy Koh’s that Singapore is a first world country with third world people. 2 October.
• The Online Citizen. 2019.
许通美劝第四代领导 别让国人变成私召车司机和愤怒选民. 2 October.
• The Online Citizen. 2019.
许通美：第四代领导班子理应能接受异议和批评. 2 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Singapore is in a contested geopolitical space, must adapt to thrive: Experts. 30 September.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Arrests of left-wing forces a condition for Singapore becoming part of Malaysia in 1963, says historian. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Tommy Koh laments that Singapore is a First World country with Third World citizens. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Tommy Koh hopes 4G leaders' priorities include upholding racial harmony, a more equal society. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
South-east Asia has always been diverse and must continue to accept diversity: Panel. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Critical to forge a sense of unity among Singaporeans, says Heng Swee Keat. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Electoral boundaries committee independent, not politically motivated: Heng Swee Keat. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Singapore's history of separation sets it apart from Hong Kong: Historian Wang Gungwu. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Singapore must adapt to great power rivalry to thrive, say experts. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
How much has China learnt from Singapore? The two are fundamentally different, say panellists. 1 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Question on China taking a leaf from S'pore's book sparks debate. 2 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Singapore and HK - two different tales of separation. 2 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Singaporeans can be more civic-minded, considerate, says Prof Koh. 2 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Diplomat Tommy Koh spells out wish list for 4G leaders. 2 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Singapore does not need sycophants. It needs loving critics. 3 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Why are Singaporeans a Third World people? Public figures react to Tommy Koh's comments. 6 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Parliament: Liberal education makes for better citizens: NMP Walter Theseira. 8 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Nine receive awards for being exceptional English teachers. 9 October.
• The Straits Times. 2019.
Time to reconnect with the region. 16 October.
• Yahoo News Singapore. 2019.
Language and law the key legacies of colonialism, Lee Kuan Yew: DPM Heng. 1 October.
• Yahoo News Singapore. 2019.
DPM Heng stresses to SDP chairman that civil servants in electoral boundaries committee are independent. 30 September.
• 新明日报. 2019.
王瑞杰： 选区范围检讨委员会 独立公务员组成. 10 月 1 日.
• 新明日报. 2019.
我国是第一世界国家人民素质第三世界水平 学者：许通美教授这番话 犹如一记警钟. 10 月 2 日.
• 新明日报. 2019.
成年人的常识. 10 月 3 日.
• 新明日报. 2019.
公众谈‘第三世界’国民素质论 环保卫生观念待改善. 10 月 13 日.
• 联合晚报. 2019.
王瑞杰：要保持长治久安国家领导须持续关注世界局势演变. 10 月 1 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
王瑞杰：要保持长治久安 国家领导人须持续关注国际局势演变. 10 月 1 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
王瑞杰强调选区范围检讨委员会是独立的. 10 月 1 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
新马领袖认同应和平解决双边课题. 10 月 1 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
王赓武教授：“分家”是新加坡历史主轴 香港未真正与中国“分割”. 10 月 2 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
符合第一世界国家身份 许通美呼吁国人努力提升素质. 10 月 2 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
儿童节的意义. 10 月 5 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
清单不轻. 10 月 6 日.
• 联合早报. 2019.
第一世界的迷思. 10 月 6 日.
Additional Material
• Report on The Singapore Bicentennial Conference
• Opinion Essay by Associate Professor Farish Ahmad-Noor: Being Singaporean and South-east Asian, The Straits Times, 10 October 2019.
• Opinion Essay by Associate Professor Peter Borschberg: Singapore's shifting roles through the centuries, The Straits Times, 10 October 2019.
• Opinion Essay by Professor Wang Gungwu: Singapore and its relations with a new South-east Asia, The Straits Times, 16 October 2019.
• Opinion Essay by Professor Peter Frankopan: History shows the path to success is not plain sailing, The Straits Times, 16 October 2019.
