As Singapore marks the upcoming 71st anniversary of the People’s Action Party (PAP), established on 21 November 1954, former trade unionist, activist, and scholar Amir Dastan revisits Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy through a critical lens. In this book excerpt, he challenges the heroic narrative surrounding the PAP by uncovering the power struggles and ideological contradictions shaping Singapore’s postcolonial trajectory and its continuing role within a neo-colonial regional project.
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About the author:
Amir Dastan left Kishan Dial School in Brickfields after completing LCE or Lower Certificate of Education. He then worked as a conductor in a rubber plantation, part of Unitac Rubber Estates group, near Seremban for almost four years. He left for London in early 1962 and worked as a machinist in factories and later worked on building construction sites over several years. While working, he attended evening classes in fits and starts to get entry to university as a matured student. He was offered a Bachelor of Technology degree course in Brunel University in 1968 and after completing it went on to graduate M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.