September 10, 2019

Seeking to create an intimate narrative of working lives in Singapore, Associate Professor Gerard Sasges and Ms Ng Shi Wen (NUS Department of Southeast Asian Studies) explore in their new book, Hard at Work: Life in Singapore (NUS Press, 2019), the real-life stories of those who fuel Singapore’s development and progress. Together with a group of their NUS students, A/P Sasges and Ms Ng interviewed hundreds of working people, narrowed it down to sixty for the book, and shared two interview excerpts in an editorial in the Straits Times.

One of the interviews shared was with an academic ghostwriter and then NUS undergraduate. As a ghostwriter, the interviewee wrote papers anonymously on behalf of people in the university system such as academics and students for a fee. His or her story fleshed out details about the hidden informal economy of ghostwriting in Singapore’s education system, such as the prevalence of ghostwriting arrangements, the impossibility of detecting ghostwriting, and the profiles of the clients, largely wealthy foreign students. In talking about moral motivations, the interviewee characterised himself or herself as an intellectual rebel, whereby ghostwriting was a means to prove that there is more to education than just standardised testing and letter grades.

The second interview featured a funeral director named Jason, who detailed his journey towards entering the undertaking business; he recalled that he was only 24 years old with zero relevant experience when he was first employed in a funeral company, which he has worked at for more than 2 years. Jason said it was interest that got him into the industry and it was passion that kept him there despite the long hours and unsatisfactory pay. Jason ended the interview with a dose of practicality, where he claimed he will switch to a higher-paying company, even if the employees lack passion and the working culture is not good, when he needs to provide for his future partner.

Read the full article here.

Details for the book launch can be found here.