Ong Yong Lock
Singapore: Monsoon Books, 2014
ISBN: 9789814423779
Singapore on the Couch offers a unique insight into the Singapore psyche through a collection of interviews with 12 astonishing individuals, all of whom have achieved prominence in their specialty fields. Representing brawn are Ray and Roy Yeo, competitive bodybuilders and twins; displaying Singapore's celebrated business acumen are Richard Eu of Eu Yan Sang and global entrepreneur Vikram Chand; championing the Singapore arts scene are theatre and film producer W!ld Rice's Glen Goei, and music director of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra, Darrell Ang; discussing faith and its place in multi-ethnic Singapore are GP-turned-pastor and founder of Goducate Dr Paul Choo and the CEO and medical director of HCA Hospice Care Dr Akhilesh; dispelling the myth of the humourless Singaporean are quipsters Toh Paik Choo, Dream Academy's Selena Tan and Mr Brown; and representing A Truly Astonighing Singaporean - 'ATAS' for short - is Professor Tommy Koh, one of Singapore's Ambassadors-At-Large and role model for a nation.
The author and interviewer is a retired Singaporean psychiatrist who for many years practised overseas and is therefore able to offer a fresh perspective on his fellow countrymen with fewer preconceived notions of what, if anything, is normal in this little red dot. In his own quirky and idiosyncratic psychological approach, he boldly sets out to define themes which he feels are core, well-recognised themes in Singapore, to highlight the style, thinking and working of these successful individuals and, ultimately, to capture the Singapore psyche, if only in a snapshot, on the country's Golden Jubilee.
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