The prize is given every two years to a book that has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of Singapore history. It welcomes works of any genre, period or topic which have had an effect on this area of research. Over the years, its authors have covered topics such as its multiethnic society, military and political history, urban cultural histories as well as social and labour histories.
Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished fellow at NUS Asia Research Institute. A jury made up of scholars from universities worldwide – such as those in the US and UK. The prize was established to commemorate Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence; Mahbubani himself proposed it through his Straits Times column.
He explained the impetus behind creating the prize in his essay. Citing American social scientist Benedict Anderson’s assertion that nations are imagined communities, and shared imagination – especially historical memory – is key in keeping society intact.
Mahbubani stated that the Singapore Prize, with a value of $50,000, would encourage greater engagement with Singapore’s history among non-academic audiences and make its complexities and intricacies more accessible for readers outside academia.
Looking at the Singapore Prize shortlist shows an eclectic mixture of academic research and novels written with personal perspective. One such novel by Kamaladevi Aravindan called Sembawang (2020; available here) subverts traditional notions of history as written about prominent individuals by instead centering around everyday Singaporeans who make history happen.
State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang (2017, available here) chronicles an extended family’s experiences during a time of instability when leftist political movements threatened to undermine Singapore. Leluhur: Singapore’s Kampong Glam by Hidayah Amin who was born at Gedung Kuning heritage royal building located at Kampong Gelam district is another novel up for consideration in this category.
Other books selected as shortlist finalists are Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Lynn Wong Yuqing and Lee Kok Leong; and Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage of 20th Century Singapore by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan Tiong Hee, Koh Keng We, Tan Teng Phee and Juria Toramae. All shortlisted titles explore various aspects of Singaporean history, from forgotten Chinese festivals to under-examined industrial heritage. Each book provides fresh perspectives into an aspect of our national identity and serves as an invaluable resource for planning and development in 2024. A winner will be announced. In the interim, the Jury Panel has also identified two other worthy works which warrant special commendation and recognition: an account of an obscure festival in Chinese Singapore and research into how people utilized public spaces for recreation and play.