The Media Enthralled: Singapore Revisited (International Communications and Popular Culture)

Rating:
Summary: The Lee Kwan Yew that very few Singaporeans know about!
Review: I was fortunate enough to locate the Malaysian edition of this fascinating book while I was visiting Malacca, Malaysia this past summer. Francis Seow's 'The Media Enthralled : Singapore Revisited' paints a very bleak picture of the government controlled press and the media in this authoritarian island-state. While on a trip to Singapore, I made enquiries about purchasing a copy of this book, but I was told by all the book-stores in Singapore that it was unavailable for sale or special order! Today, Lee Kwan Yew is a leader that is still feared by the state, and bookstores in Singapore do not want to risk incurring the wrath of Harry by carrying books that are highly critical of him. The fact that I had to purchase this book from Malaysia, is a good case in point of how tightly controlled this country has become. This excellent book chronicles the Singapore press from it's humble but independent beginnings to how Lee Kwan Yew turned it into the rag of his People's Action Party. A fascinating read for anyone interested in Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew, and the secret behind this Asian Miracle! One of Lee's 'secret-ingredients' for Singapore's success is to suppress the press!

Rating:
Summary: The Lee Kwan Yew that very few Singaporeans know about!
Review: I was fortunate enough to locate the Malaysian edition of this fascinating book while I was visiting Malacca, Malaysia this past summer. Francis Seow's 'The Media Enthralled : Singapore Revisited' paints a very bleak picture of the government controlled press and the media in this authoritarian island-state. While on a trip to Singapore, I made enquiries about purchasing a copy of this book, but I was told by all the book-stores in Singapore that it was unavailable for sale or special order! Today, Lee Kwan Yew is a leader that is still feared by the state, and bookstores in Singapore do not want to risk incurring the wrath of Harry by carrying books that are highly critical of him. The fact that I had to purchase this book from Malaysia, is a good case in point of how tightly controlled this country has become. This excellent book chronicles the Singapore press from it's humble but independent beginnings to how Lee Kwan Yew turned it into the rag of his People's Action Party. A fascinating read for anyone interested in Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew, and the secret behind this Asian Miracle! One of Lee's 'secret-ingredients' for Singapore's success is to suppress the press!

Rating:
Summary: A case study of tyranny
Review: Mr Seow's book is to date the only piece of research that I know which does an indepth study of a much misunderstood state apparatus. The singaporean government to date has been lavished with praise from most quarters, mainly due to misinformation on their part. Seow's book shows how Lee Kuan Yew pseudo-democratic state hides behind a veneer of democratic respectability. How the press and media is controlled by the state and how all independent avenues are banned. He also shows how government instrumentalities are used to police its hegemony on its behalf. An excellent study of deceit. A great study of Lee Kuan Yew.