THREE senior Straits Times journalists have written a book on
the ruling People's Action Party, describing the conflicts and the
power struggles of the PAP's early years.
The 692-page book also lifts the veil from some of the most
dramatic events in the party's 55-year history, such as the first
leftist plot to seize control in 1957 and how Mr Lee Kuan Yew's
parliamentary secretary came to lead the challenge against the
prime minister in 1961.
However, its most outstanding feature is the voices of leftists
in the retelling of key events.
Many of them were giving their views for the first time. They
had lost the struggle for control of the PAP, spent years in
detention and exile, and their voices are largely absent from the
Singapore story.
Said senior writer Sonny Yap, co-author of the book: 'Although
many of them spent years in detention and suffered tremendous
privations, they betrayed no bitterness and rancour while
recounting their experiences.'
Mr Yap, 59, co-wrote the book with The Sunday Times features
editor Richard Lim, 60, and senior writer Leong Weng Kam, 55.
Their final product - Men in White: The Untold Story of
Singapore's Ruling Political Party - is published by Singapore
Press Holdings (SPH).
To write it, the trio interviewed 300 party members, opponents
and observers, 25 of whom have since died. Among those they spoke
to were leftists banished from Singapore. The interviews with many
of them were conducted where they now reside, in Malaysia,
Thailand, Hong Kong and China.
The authors also relied on 200 taped interviews with politicians
deposited with the National Archives and 60 years of press reports
in the local Chinese, Malay and English newspapers, as well as
government and parliament records.
The book will be launched by SPH at The Arts House on Sept 8.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew will be the guest of honour and some
150 past and present PAP and non-PAP politicans will be
present.
The book, which has a print run of 30,000, will be available at
leading bookstores after the launch at $39.90 a copy before
GST.
