Koh Buck Song
Encyclopedia
Koh, Buck Song is a writer, editor and consultant in branding, communications strategy and corporate social responsibility in Singapore
.
His non-fiction books include:
His four books of poetry are:
The anthologies he has edited include:
His works have been included in anthologies such as the following:
Koh is also the principal analyst and author of:
and the University of London
in the United Kingdom
, and of the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
in the USA, where he was a Mason Fellow and earned a master's degree in public administration. He studied leadership at the Kennedy School under Ronald Heifetz and also at Harvard Business School
under Warren Bennis
.
He was with The Straits Times
from 1988 to 1999, where he was literary editor, political supervisor and chief Parliament commentator, arts and features supervisor, and Assistant Editor of a weekly world affairs section. His regular opinion column, Monday With Koh Buck Song, ran for over 10 years. He also launched and anchored the column This Week In Politics. From 2003 to 2004, he was a contributing columnist based in the USA for the Singapore newspaper Today
, on current affairs relating to the USA and Singapore. From 2004 to 2005, he was a regular columnist on the theory and practice of leadership for The Straits Times. He worked for the Singapore Economic Development Board
from 1999-2003 and 2004-05 in strategic planning and marketing & corporate communications. While there, he led a team to devise the "global entrepolis" concept to position Singapore internationally. Since then, he has worked as a consultant in branding, communications strategy and corporate social responsibility.
He has taught a Master in Public Management course in leadership to senior public servants including vice-mayors and judges from 10 countries in Asia, as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
, National University of Singapore
, and media studies as Adjunct Faculty member at the Singapore Management University
, School of Social Sciences.
He was Deputy Chairman of the Censorship Review Committee 2009-10, and was also a member of the Censorship Review Committees of 1991-92 and 2002-03, the only person to have served on all three panels. He has also served on numerous other citizen committees, including as a Board member of the Media Development Authority and National Arts Council and as Chairman of the NAC's Drama Review Committee and the Publications Advisory Panel's sub-committee on newspapers under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He was General Editor of the multilingual literary and arts journal Singa.
In 1992, he was poet-in-residence at the Scottish Poetry Library
in Edinburgh under the Singapore-Scotland Cultural Exchange programme. He has also represented Singapore at literary conferences at Cambridge (UK) and Manila, in poetry readings at Harvard University
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in the USA. He has also spoken on Singapore's global reputation at international conferences including the 10th Harvard International Development Conference at the Kennedy School, Harvard, in 2004, and at MIT and the University of Chicago
in the USA.
http://www.nac.gov.sg/static/doc/sta/FINAL_Lit%20in%20SG%20publication_Preview%20Only.pdf
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Selected Published Works
Koh, Buck Song is the author and editor of 20 books.His non-fiction books include:
- Brand Singapore: How Nation Branding Built Asia's Leading Global City (2011)
- Brighter: Electricity In Singapore: From Beginning To Beyond (with Lee Geok Boi 2011)
- Heart Work 2: EDB And Partners: New Frontiers For The Singapore Economy (2011)
- Creating A Difference: 10 Years Of Fighting White-Collar Crime (2009)
- How Not To Make Money: Inside Stories From Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (2005)
- Heart Work: Stories Of How The Economic Development Board Steered The Singapore Economy From 1961 Into The 21st Century (2002)
- Toa Payoh: Our Kind Of Neighbourhood (2000)
- Southeast Asian Art: A New Spirit (1997).
His four books of poetry are:
- A Brief History Of Toa Payoh And Other Poems (1992) .
- The Worth Of Wonder (2001)
- The Ocean Of Ambition (2003)
- Heartlands: Home And Nation In The Art Of Ong Kim Seng (2008) .
The anthologies he has edited include:
- From Boys To Men: A Literary Anthology Of National Service In Singapore ( with Umej Bhatia 2002)
- Singapore: Places, Poems, Paintings (1993)
- Words For The 25th (1990).
His works have been included in anthologies such as the following:
- Writing Singapore: An Historical Anthology Of Singapore Literature (2009)
- Reflecting On The Merlion: An Anthology Of Poems (2009)
- Rhythms: A Singaporean Millennial Anthology Of Poetry (2000)
- New Voices In Southeast Asia, Solidarity, Manila, Philippines (1991)
Koh is also the principal analyst and author of:
- Living With The End In Mind (2011), a study of the end-of-life care environment in Singapore, for the Lien Foundation .
Career
Born in Singapore in 1963, Koh is an alumnus of the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and of the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in the USA, where he was a Mason Fellow and earned a master's degree in public administration. He studied leadership at the Kennedy School under Ronald Heifetz and also at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
under Warren Bennis
Warren Bennis
Warren Gamaliel Bennis is an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies....
.
He was with The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
from 1988 to 1999, where he was literary editor, political supervisor and chief Parliament commentator, arts and features supervisor, and Assistant Editor of a weekly world affairs section. His regular opinion column, Monday With Koh Buck Song, ran for over 10 years. He also launched and anchored the column This Week In Politics. From 2003 to 2004, he was a contributing columnist based in the USA for the Singapore newspaper Today
Today
Today may refer to:* Current events; see Portal:Current events* Present, the time that is perceived directly, often called now-Broadcast:* Today , a U.S...
, on current affairs relating to the USA and Singapore. From 2004 to 2005, he was a regular columnist on the theory and practice of leadership for The Straits Times. He worked for the Singapore Economic Development Board
Economic Development Board
-Overview:The Economic Development Board is a statutory board of the Government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment....
from 1999-2003 and 2004-05 in strategic planning and marketing & corporate communications. While there, he led a team to devise the "global entrepolis" concept to position Singapore internationally. Since then, he has worked as a consultant in branding, communications strategy and corporate social responsibility.
He has taught a Master in Public Management course in leadership to senior public servants including vice-mayors and judges from 10 countries in Asia, as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy is a school of the National University of Singapore . It was established in 1992 as the Master of Public Policy Programme under the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of National University of Singapore in collaboration with the Kennedy School of Government...
, National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
, and media studies as Adjunct Faculty member at the Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University
The Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
, School of Social Sciences.
He was Deputy Chairman of the Censorship Review Committee 2009-10, and was also a member of the Censorship Review Committees of 1991-92 and 2002-03, the only person to have served on all three panels. He has also served on numerous other citizen committees, including as a Board member of the Media Development Authority and National Arts Council and as Chairman of the NAC's Drama Review Committee and the Publications Advisory Panel's sub-committee on newspapers under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He was General Editor of the multilingual literary and arts journal Singa.
In 1992, he was poet-in-residence at the Scottish Poetry Library
Scottish Poetry Library
The Scottish Poetry Library was founded in 1984 by the poet Tessa Ransford. It originally had two staff members, including Scottish poet, Tom Hubbard, and 300 books, but has since expanded considerably to containing 30,000 items of Scottish and international poetry...
in Edinburgh under the Singapore-Scotland Cultural Exchange programme. He has also represented Singapore at literary conferences at Cambridge (UK) and Manila, in poetry readings at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in the USA. He has also spoken on Singapore's global reputation at international conferences including the 10th Harvard International Development Conference at the Kennedy School, Harvard, in 2004, and at MIT and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in the USA.
Reviews, Interviews, Citations
- Bell, Daniel A. & De-Shalit, Avner (2011). "The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in a Global Age". Princeton University Press, USA.
- Chan, Rachel (2011). Review of Brand Singapore. University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School website, USA.
- Stevens, Andrew (2011). "The Singapore Brand offers a Thoroughly Modern City". City Mayors Foundation website, UK.
- Hong, Xinyi (2011). "Branding Singapore Softly, Quietly". Public Service Division, Singapore. Challenge magazine July-Aug 2011.
- Institute of Policy Studies article June 2011: http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/ips/docs/enewsletter/jun2011/CKS_RT_Brand%20Singapore_110511.pdf
- Singapore Management University Knowledge@SMU article: "Singapore’s brand “keloid”: Going beyond canes and chewing gums". 5 July 2011.
- Lui, Tuck Yew, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (2011), "Commemorating Our Past, Celebrating Our Present and Charting Our Future", speech at the Committee of Supply debate, Singapore Parliament.
- Mah, Bow Tan, Minister for National Development (2008), speech at the launch of "Heartlands", Singapore Art Museum.
- Koh, Tai Ann (editor, 2008). Singapore Literature in English: An Annotated Bibliography. National Library Board Singapore and Centre for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University. ISBN 978-981-07-0060-7.
- Mohammad A. Quayum (2007). Peninsular Muse: Interviews with modern Malaysian and Singaporean poets, novelists and dramatists, Peter Lang, USA.
- Thumboo, Edwin & Sayson, Rex Ian (2007). Writing Asia: From the Inside, Asia-Pacific Literatures in English. Ethos Books, Singapore.
- Tan, Samantha & Brown, Juanita (2005). "The World Café in Singapore: Creating a Learning Culture Through Dialogue". Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, USA. March 2005 vol. 41 no. 1.
- Schwerin, David A. (2005). Conscious Globalism: What's Wrong with the World and How to Fix It. Digital Junction Press.
- Bishop, Ryan; Phillips, John & Yeo, Wei-Wei (2004). Beyond Description: Singapore Space Historicity. Routledge, UK.
- Toh, Hsien Min (2003). "Wilfred Owen meets Hokkien peng", interview with Koh Buck Song. Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Vol. 2, No. 2 January 2003.
- Zhang, Ruihe (2003). "Gritted Teeth and Stoic Strength", review of From Boys To Men. Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Vol. 2, No. 3 April 2003.
- Bishop, Ryan; Phillips, John & Yeo, Wei-Wei (2003). Postcolonial Urbanism: Southeast Asian Cities and Global Processes, Routledge, UK.
- Hoon, Chng Huang (2003). "'You see me no up': Is Singlish a Problem?". Language Problems & Language Planning, vol. 27, no. 1.
- Klein, Ronald D. (2001). Interview in Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature Volume 4: Interviews. Ethos Books, Singapore. ISBN 981-04-3706-4.
- Waller, Edmund (2001). Landscape Planning in Singapore. National University of Singapore Press, Singapore.
- ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (2000). Modern Literature of ASEAN.
- Singh, Kirpal (editor, et al 2000). Rhythms: A Singaporean Millennial Anthology Of Poetry. National Arts Council, Singapore. ISBN 9971-88-763-0.
- Singapore Heritage Society (1999). Our Place in Time: Exploring Heritage and Memory in Singapore.
- Khoo, S E. (1998). "A Singaporean Sense of Place: Urban Transformation and Post-colonial Ambivalence in Koh Buck Song’s Bugis Street". In Singh, K. Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature Vol. 1: Fiction (pp. 93-104). Singapore: Ethos Books.
- Toh, Mun Heng & Tan, Kong Yam (1998). Competitiveness of the Singapore Economy: A Strategic Perspective. World Scientific, Singapore.
- Westerly Vol. 43 (1998). University of Western Australia Press.
- Kain, Geoffrey (1997). Ideas of Home: Literature of Asian Migration. Michigan State University Press.
- Chua, Beng Huat (1997). Political Legitimacy and Housing: Stakeholding in Singapore. Routledge, UK.
- Moran, Albert (1996). Film policy: international, national, and regional perspectives. Routledge, UK.
- Zach, Wolfgang & Goodwin, K. L. (1996). Nationalism vs. Internationalism: (Inter)national Dimensions of Literatures in English. Stauffenburg.
- Means, Laurel (1994). "The Role of the Writer in Today's Singapore: Voice of the Nation?". Asian Survey, University of California Press, USA. Vol. 34 No. 11.
- Sharrad, Paul (1993). "World Literature in Review: Singapore". World Literature Today, Spring 1993, Vol. 67, Issue 2.
External Links
- Chua, Alvin: Singapore Infopedia, National Library Singapore: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1717_2010-10-27.html
- National Arts Council, Singapore - Literary Singapore: A Directory of Contemporary Writing in Singapore 2011:
http://www.nac.gov.sg/static/doc/sta/FINAL_Lit%20in%20SG%20publication_Preview%20Only.pdf
- Institute of Policy Studies Roundtable 2011: http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/ips/docs/enewsletter/jun2011/CKS_RT_Brand%20Singapore_110511.pdf
- Public Service Division, Singapore Challenge magazine "Branding Singapore Softly, Quietly" July-Aug 2011: http://www.challenge.gov.sg/2011/07/branding-singapore-softly-quietly/
- Author interview by Toh, Hsien Min, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore: http://www.qlrs.com/issues/jan2003/interviews/kohbucksong.html
- National Book Development Council of Singapore, Database of Singapore Writers: http://www.bookcouncil.sg/_writers/writers_k.php