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We Shouldn’t Dismiss the Idea of a Singaporean Yale

The establishment of Yale-NUS would foster better understanding of contrasting East-West viewpoints

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Ishaan Tharoor’s dismissive commentary about Yale’s effort to start a U.S. liberal arts college in Singapore does not reflect the very respect for alternative views that the writer espouses [“Illiberal Arts”]. For starters, Singapore isn’t the strait-jacketed country it once was. The establishment of Yale-NUS would have been unthinkable even a decade ago and even today, it has many traditionalist detractors. But Singapore is a great place to foster better understanding of contrasting East-West viewpoints. In a world where East Asia is gaining ascendancy, it makes sense to find sanctuaries where dialogue and not confrontation prevail. The writer disappointingly has taken a supremacist stance that is dated and out of place in today’s increasingly multicultural world.

Michael Chee, Singapore