Singaporean media academic Cherian George and economist Donald Low will be releasing a new book come October 2020.

A party's internal struggles

The book, PAP v. PAP: The Party's struggle to adapt to a changing S'pore, will focus on how Singapore's ruling party might cope with new expectations post-GE2020.

The book will be an anthology composed of both George's and Low's numerous commentaries on local politics over the years.

It will also include new essays written in 2020.

As reflected in the title, the book will touch on the ruling party's internal struggles as it attempts to reconcile its long-held traditions with more progressive goals for the future.

In publicity material, George and Low cited a quote by the late Lee Kuan Yew, who as Singapore's first prime minister stated that rejecting activists with new ideas would be "inviting breakdown of the system", something which PAP should internalise in order to adapt to an ever-changing world now.

George and Low argue for the need for a reformed PAP, one that is "comfortable with political competition and more committed to justice and equality".

An adaptive PAP, they said, is one that is "buttressed with stronger democratic legitimacy".

This would help maintain what they described as one of the Singapore government's greatest strengths — "a strong consensus on the virtues of an expert-led, elite government".

Both George and Low are now based in Hong Kong.

George, who is a former Straits Times journalist, is known for his previous collection of essays, Singapore: The Air-conditioned Nation, on Singapore politics, first published in 2000.

George later moved to Hong Kong with his wife, and he now teaches and researches at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU).

Low was the Associate Dean for Executive Education and Research at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, before moving to Hong Kong.

He now works at the Institute of Public Policy of the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.

Low has contributed essays and edited the book Hard Choices: Challenging the Singapore Consensus.

PAP v. PAP: The Party's struggle to adapt to a changing S'pore retails for S$24, and will be available via pre-order here.

Totally unrelated but follow and listen to our podcast here

Top photo from Cherian George