“I want to tell you all about what made this country. Hard work, persistence and a first generation that always sought hard seats – not the cushy seats we were sitting in for the dialogue session.” So said our Sixth President of Singapore, S R Nathan, a few months before his death last year when he kindly addressed a small group of our alumni, mainly our younger members who we invited to meet and hear from the great man.

At his request, that session was an intimate, closed doors dialogue, limited to a dozen. Though already ill, Mr Nathan graciously spent two hours with us to share his thoughts on social mobility, leadership and the future of Singapore. With true candour, he also shared his concerns for the less fortunate in our Society, his worry about stress, mental illness and suicides amongst our younger Singaporeans and exhorted us as privileged members of Society (especially our millennials) to feel a duty to put back into the country and to not just be takers.

Inspired by Mr Nathan’s call to emulate the public service and sacrifice of Singapore’s first generation leadership, the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Singapore inaugurated the Annual “S R Nathan Hard Seats” Lecture Series with eminent leaders as an annual keynote event of The Oxford and Cambridge Society, in memory of our beloved former President of Singapore.

The aim of the “Hard Seats” Lecture Series is to provide a platform for us to learn from leaders and changemakers from varied walks of life who have overcome and tackled challenging circumstances to bring about impact and change in their various spheres.

Watch the introductory video here.

Minister Chan Chun Sing (an alumnus) gave the inaugural lecture on 11 January 2018, talking about the issues that irk our society and sharing his views on Singapore’s future, our challenges and how we help the less fortunate.

Dato Paul Supramaniam, President of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Singapore, gave the opening speech at the lecture. You may watch a video of it here.

Watch a slideshow featuring the highlights of the evening here.

The Oxbridge Society, Singapore is holding its AGM on 6 July 2018, 8 pm.

Details of the AGM are as follows.

Date: 6 July 2018 Friday
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Pyramid Club, 2 Goodwood Hill, Singapore 258897

Programme:
7.00 pm – Registration & Welcome of Members, Guests & Freshers
7.15 pm – Dinner Buffet & Mingling – All
8.00 pm – AGM (with Election of Committee 2018 – 2020) – Members only
8.30 pm – Fireside Chat with Prof Dr Nawab on “Malaysian GE 2018: What’s Next – An Inside View on the Malaysian Political Tsunami” – All
9.30 pm ~ 10.00 pm – End

Cost: Free of charge for Members & Freshers; $30 for Guests

Attendance by RSVP through Peatix only at: http://oxbridgeagm2018.peatix.com

Fireside Chat

“Malaysian GE 2018: What’s Next – An Inside View on the Malaysian Political Tsunami”

Presentation by Prof Dr Mohammed Nawab ( Coodinator of the Malaysia Program at RSIS ), with Panelist Andrew Khoo ( CEO MUI Holdings), and Moderated by Dato Paul Supramaniam

———————————–

Mohamed Nawab Osman is the Coordinator of the Malaysia Program at RSIS. He also coordinates RSIS’ Seminar Series on Muslim Societies in Asia. His research interests include the domestic and international politics of Southeast and South Asian countries, transnational Islamic political movements and Islamophobia studies. Nawab has written various papers, books and journal articles relating to his research interests. He is the author of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia: Identity, Ideology and Religo-Political Mobilisation (London: Routledge, 2018) and Islam and Peace-Building the Asia-Pacific (Singapore: World Scientific, 2017). Some of his articles have been featured in prominent journals such as Asian Security, Contemporary Islam, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Islamophobia Studies, Sociology of Islam, Southeast Asia Research, South Asia, Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Indonesia and the Malay World and Contemporary Southeast Asia. Several of his opinion pieces have been featured in leading dailies such as The Straits Times, India Express, The Nation (Thailand), Jakarta Post, Manila Times and Today’s Zaman (Turkey). Nawab is a frequent commentator on political Islam, terrorism and Southeast Asian politics on CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, TRT International and Channel News Asia. Nawab sits in the board of a number of organizations including the Centre for Research in Islamic and Malay Affairs and Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN).

Dear members,

The President of Murray Edwards College, Dame Barbara Stocking DBE, will be delivering a lecture on “Collaborating with Men” and hosting a reception on 5 March at the National University of Singapore. Murray Edwards has kindly extended an invitation to the members of our society.

Please click here for more details and to sign-up.

Dear Members,

Following the extremely successful inaugural S R Nathan Hard Seats Lecture with Minister Chan Chun Sing which focused mainly on Singapore, our next event turns to developments in the UK and Europe.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to host His Excellency Scott Wightman, British High Commissioner to Singapore, as part of our Meet the Ambassadors Series. Under Chatham House rules, Scott has kindly agreed to share his thoughts on Brexit, new political and economic engagements, as well as the May government’s other priorities and challenges.

Join us for what is bound to be an engaging and interesting discussion, over dinner and drinks, moderated by Dato Paul Supramaniam. Sign up now via Peatix.

Venue: 2A Victoria Park Close, Singapore 266550
Date/Time: Tuesday, 13 March, 7.15pm for 8pm
Tickets: $38 for members; $48 for non-member guests (must be accompanied by a member)
Sign-up: Via Peatix

About the Speaker:

Scott arrived at the British High Commission, Singapore in May 2015 as British High Commissioner.

He began his career in the Diplomatic Service in 1983 and has worked in the British Embassies in Beijing, Paris, Rome and, most recently, in the Republic of Korea, where he was the UK Ambassador. Scott’s ties with Asia continued during his tenure as Director for the Asia Pacific region in the FCO from 2008 to 2010.Scott is from Edinburgh in Scotland and has a degree in French from the University of Edinburgh. He is married to Anne and they have two daughters.