SINGAPORE — Stories of average Singaporeans take centre stage in the shortlist for this year’s prize, with a mix of history books and novels with a personal slant. In this way, the six titles challenge the traditional view of history as a record of big movers and shakers.
The book Sembawang (2020, available here) by Kamaladevi Aravindan examines life at an estate of the same name across five decades. It will compete with the historical tome Seven Hundred Years: A History Of Singapore (2019, available here) by Kwa Chong Guan, Tan Tai Yong, Peter Borschberg and Derek Heng. A novel with a more political bent, State Of Emergency (2017, available here) by Jeremy Tiang, follows an extended family through leftist political movements and detentions. The prize is awarded by the National University of Singapore (NUS). It was inspired by an opinion column Prof Kishore Mahbubani wrote in April 2014, calling for philanthropists to donate cash to be used to award a literary work that focuses on the island’s past. An anonymous donor agreed and placed S$500,000 in an endowment fund to support the prize.
An eminent archaeologist has won the inaugural Singapore prize for his research into the city-state’s pre-colonial history. Professor John Miksic’s book, Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800, uses archaeological evidence to refute a common misconception that Singapore’s modern history started with Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival. Miksic, a professor at NUS, will use the prize money to set up a website that highlights ancient artefacts found in Singapore.
NUS will also expand the scope of the prize to include works in other time periods and themes that relate to Singapore’s past, and may even consider fiction with clear historical themes. The prize panel will be appointed by NUS, and the criteria and mechanism for selecting a winner in any particular three year cycle will be announced together with the closing nomination date of the award.
Established in 1968, TOTO is the first lottery game launched by Singapore Pools. It was the first game to introduce a snowballing feature, which allows the prize amount to grow if no one wins the top prize. The game has been tweaked over the years to meet consumer demand, including a change to the ‘6 out of 42’ format and a system entry option in 1997.
Prince William will visit Singapore next week, where he will learn about local initiatives to protect the planet and the people who work to save it. He will meet Singaporeans to see how they are working to tackle issues such as climate change, sustainable development and wildlife conservation. The visit is part of a global United for Wildlife summit in Singapore that brings together governments, law enforcement agencies and business leaders to combat the illegal trade in animals and plants. The event will be attended by more than 200 guests from around the world.