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AbstractThis paper examines the socio-economic role of pawnshops in Singapore. It suggests that pawnshops are a barometer of socio-economic changes in Singapore. The changing style and operation of pawnshops is explored, as is the changing varieties of the items pledged. The research shows that pawnshops have adopted a new image and continue to have a significant role in modern Singapore. This paper also suggests that pawnshops serve cash-strapped individuals, who ironically are not necessarily poor. Through data collected on redemptions and pledges, it is found that a high redemption rate both in number and amount reflects a period of economic growth; the reverse is true when the redemption rate falls.

When President Chaim Herzog of Israel was invited to pay a state visit to Singapore in November 1986 by President Wee Kim Wee, the worst expectation in the island-republic was that it would be received "with cold displeasure" in Malaysia. In the event, his visit served to arouse very strong political feelings on both sides of the Strait of Johor. The paper seeks to spell out Singapore's relations with Israel, structural tensions between Singapore and Malaysia, Palestine and Zionism in Malaysian politics among other issues. (DÜI-Sen)

This article outlines the arrival and adaptation of Shinnyo-en as an example of contramodernist Buddhism in Singapore. Shinnyo-en's contramodernist spirituality focuses on its founding Itō family. The arrival of Shinnyo-en is situated within the larger contexts of the Singapore–Japan relationship. Social memories of the Japanese occupation lingered within the population amidst increasing Japanese Foreign Domestic Investments in Singapore. These transnational migration trends brought Shinnyo-en practitioners and Shinnyo-en itself to Singapore. Simultaneously, Singapore's government had been actively monitoring and regulating religious groups in order to maintain religious harmony, societal wellbeing, and ensure the separation of religion and politics in Singapore. This study explores the adaptations of Shinnyo-en's organisational structure, religious practices, and activities in Singapore from 1983 to 2021. It argues that Shinnyo-en has actively adapted to the Singapore context and has actively courted the state for its political survival, adjusting its activities to gain social recognition from Singapore society as a Buddhist organisation. Despite these adaptations, Shinnyo-en Singapore retains its contramodernist Buddhist spirituality, focusing on its founding Itō family. This article highlights the integration of Shinnyo-en's contramodernist beliefs within Shinnyo-en's activities and how this contramodernist spirituality mobilises support for selected social causes through its practitioners.

"When after three decades of research Singapore could produce its own water, the little city-state was said to have lost its vulnerability. No longer would every policy have to bend at the knees for water survival. It was finally time to celebrate liberty! When did the same moment come in Bala's life? Was it when in mid-Atlantic he heard of his promotion as Controller of Posts? Or was it when he was appointed by the President as member of the Parliamentary Elections Minority Committee? Or was it at a moment of tragic loss when he realised he had nothing more to lose? Singapore, My Country tells M Bala Subramanion's story, a second generation Indian who lost his father to the Death Railway, witnessed Subhas Chandra Bose at the Padang and later emerged as not only a senior civil servant but the man behind multiple social interventions, living in a fast evolving Singapore. The histories of the man and his nation remain seamlessly intertwined, each peppered with equal doses of endeavour, ingenuity and a sheer will to survive!"--

Singapore in the Malay Peninsula was targeted by the British East India Company (EIC) to be the epicentre of their direct rule in Southeast Asia. Seeking new sources of revenue at the end of the 18th century, after attaining domination in India, the Company sought to extend its reach into China, and Malaya was the natural region to do this, extending outposts to Penang and Singapore. The latter was first identified as a key site by Stamford Raffles. The EIC Governor General Marquess Hastings (r. 1813-1823) planned to facilitate Raffle's attention on the Malay Peninsula from Sumatra. Raffles' plan for Singapore was approved by the EIC's Bengal Government. The modern system of administration came into the Straits Settlements under the EIC's Bengal Presidency. In 1819 in Singapore, Raffles established an Anglo-Oriental College (AOC) for the study of Eastern languages, literature, history, and science. The AOC was intended firstly to be the centre of local research and secondly to increase inter-cultural knowledge of the East and West. Besides Raffles' efforts, the EIC developed political and socio-economic systems for Singapore. The most important aspects of the social development of Singapore were proper accommodation for migrants, poverty eradication, health care, a new system of education, and women's rights. The free trade introduced by Francis Light (and later Stamford Raffles) in Penang and Singapore respectively gave enormous opportunities for approved merchants to expand their commerce from Burma to Australia and from Java to China. Before the termination of the China trade in 1833 Singapore developed tremendously, and cemented the role of the European trading paradigm in the East.

Enthält Interview mit Chee Peng Ng. - S. 10-12