Prof Kernial S. Sandhu became ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s fourth and longest serving Director from 1972-1992. During his 20 years at the institute, Professor Sandhu transformed it into one of the most, if not the most, respected institutions in Southeast Asia. He made the point that the institute must have “a judicious mix of academically inclined […]
Taj al-Salatin (The Crown of Kings)
Taj al-Salatin (The Crown of Kings) was written around 1603 in Aceh by Bukhari al-Jauhari and its objective was to underscore guidelines for just kingship and good governance in tandem with Islamic tradition. It advises kings on the norms of proper and just governance, in literary form. It also places emphasis on the rulers’ role […]
Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën (Old and New East-India)
Francois Valentijn (1666-1727) was a Dutch Protestant minister who arrived in the Dutch East Indies in 1685 in the employ of the Dutch East India Company where he served mainly in Ambon. He returned to Holland in 1694. After a break of ten years, he returned to the Indies in 1705 to serve as army […]
Digital Scholarship Day
With the increasing interest in Digital Humanities and Digital Scholarship (DS), more and more scholars are now trying to use new digital tools and methods for their research. Some researchers may be interested to embark on their first digital project or data visualisation but may be unsure where to begin. To that end, NUS Libraries […]
Prisoners Their Own Warders
Prisoners Their Own Warders is an 1899 publication which sketches the lives led by the prisoners in Bencoolen, Penang, Old Malacca and Singapore prisons during the 19th century. The writer, J.F.A. McNair, was a British Indian. A colonial official, his career took him from England to India, Malacca and Singapore. During his service in Singapore, […]
A History of the Educational Policy of the Straits Settlements with Recommendations for a New System Based on Vernaculars
Published in 1947, A History of the Educational Policy of the Straits Settlements with Recommendations for a New System Based on Vernaculars was originally a thesis submitted to the University of London in 1940. Authored by Dr David D. Chelliah, the book charts in detail the progression of education in the Straits Settlements from the […]
150 Years of Education in Singapore
150 Years of Education in Singapore was published by the Teaching Training College (TTC) in 1969 to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Singapore. Edited by T. R. Doraisamy, then principal of TTC, the book served to highlight the important turning points since its founding in 1819, and how education was co-entensive with the […]
Study on Perceptions of Singapore’s Built Heritage & Landmarks
We are pleased to launch an interactive web exhibit for the Study on Perceptions of Singapore’s Built Heritage and Landmarks. In collaboration with the IPS Social Lab team from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the web exhibit complements the study by highlighting its key findings and visualising the respondents’ perceptions of 53 […]
Journal of the Indian Archipelago & Eastern Asia
In 1847, a landmark scholarly journal — Journal of the Indian Archipelago & Eastern Asia (JIAEA) — was published in Singapore. At that time, scientific and literary knowledge was mainly disseminated via the medium of periodicals and journals. Such publications in the region then were dominated by missionary-related magazines and scientific journals of Java produced […]
Modern Singapore
In 1919, on the centenary of the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, two books were commissioned to commemorate the occasion. They were One Hundred Years of Singapore edited by Walter Makepeace, Gilbert Brooke and Roland St John Braddell and One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore by Sir Song Ong Siang. […]